Four/Thirds Question

kbeelitz · May 9, 2008

Unless I've missed something, it's my understanding that with the 4/3rds system, I can add any camera lense I want?

Instead of buying Olympus lense for the Olympus body, I can buy a Canon lense for the Olympus body? ...and b/c of the 4/3rds system it will be compatible?

Is this making sense to anyone? Could someone clear this up for me please.

Thanks in advance

Garbz · May 9, 2008

Not as far as I know, it's just another mounting system. It is however an interchangeable and open standard which means there are a few manufacturers which are part of the standard now. I believe Leica makes lenses for the system and Panasonic makes their Lumix bodies 4/3 compatible as well.

I don't know why they suddenly decided there needs to be a standard for this, Canon and Nikon have got on 60+ years without supporting each others lenses, I doubt they'd start now.

One thing that I noted on a quick google search though was that the focal distance of 4/3 lenses is closer than standard lenses. This means you may be able to get 4/3 to Canon EF or 4/3 to Nikon F adapters without losing infinity focus, but you still lose autofocus and it won't work on all lenses depending on how the aperture is controlled.

Don Kondra · May 9, 2008

The converters are ~ $400 and will only work for the brand they are made for, ie., Canon/Oly or Nikon/Oly...

Unless you have old glass, there is no need to look outside the 4/3 family of lens manufacturers

Cheers, Don

Rick Waldroup · May 9, 2008

I now shoot a Lumix L1, which is a 4/3 mount. I can use Leica lenses made for it or I can use the Olympus 4/3 lenses on the body. I currently have the Leica 14-50 zoom (which is the equivalent of a 28-100 zoom in 35mm film terms) and I also have the Olympus 40-150 zoom. Sigma also makes some lenses in the 4/3 mount.

The Leica zoom is one of the best zooms I have ever used. Leica also makes a 25mm 1.4 lens, but it is expensive and hard to find. I actually found one in Canada for 800.00 and ordered it, but the damn thing was lost in the mail. :grumpy:

It was insured, but still, it was a pain in the ass.

I have finally decided to order the Sigma 30 1.4, which is very affordable.
I also have on back order the new Olympus 25 2.8 pancake lens, which, with it's extremely compact size, should make the L1 an even better street shooter.