4/3 system standard

Have you heard of the 4/3 system standard? It’s actually another kind of camera similar to DSLR but the sensor is slightly different. Read after the jump.

• The Four Third system is a standard created by Kodak and Olympus specially for digital single- lens reflex camera (DSLR).
• This type of camera is only found in digital form as it was only started to be developed after the digital era.
• Special lenses are designed for the special sensor being used. As the sensor is smaller than the normal ones, the telephoto lenses can be smaller.

The Olympus E-PL1
• The system has a crop factor of about 2.
• Ever wonder where does the name come from? It is because the sensor used is the 4/3 type. The aspect ratio of 4:3 is applied rather than the normal 3:2

• As you can see above, there are different sizes for the camera sensors which are available in the market now. The four third system is actually quite small to the sensor used by the normal DSLR.
• In august 2008, Olympus and Panasonic introduced a sub system called micro four thirds(MFT).
• The difference of MFT compare to four third system is MFT does not provide space for a mirror and a pentaprism thus the body of the camera could be smaller.

Special video camera that uses the four third standard sensor- Panasonic-AF105

Do you want to know the pros and cons? Here are some of it.

Cons

i. It does not work very well in low light condition as the sensor area is much smaller compare to DSLRs

Pros

i. Angle of view

-What you see in the viewfinder is what you will get in your picture

ii. Lens resolution & cornershading

-The lens of this system is specially designed to have ultra fine resolution

iii. For edge to edge clarity

-All Four Thirds-optimsed lenses feature so- called near telecentric optics. The light will hit the sensor at right angles using telecentric construction and thus the edge to edge colour, brightness and clarity can be maintained.

iv. Standardization

-There are 3 definitive standards: mechanical, optical and communcication.

The Panasonic Lumix Dmc GF1 which uses the micro four third standard(MFT)

After seeing all the facts, now you know the basic difference between a normal DSLR and the Four Third standard camera. Why not buy one and try it out youself.