Welcome Goldilocks

Some HistoryRegular readers will recall that since its inception I have not been much of a fan of the Four Thirds format. When I reviewed theOlympus E-1back in 2003 and insubsequent discussionsI wrote that I regarded the Four Thirds format as an evolutionary dead-end. The reason for this attitude was that the cameras themselves were not that much smaller than reduced frame (APS-C) sensor cameras and therefore having a 2X size reduction over the 1.5X and 1.6X of the other mainstream players would put Olympus (the primary Four Thirds player then) at a competitive disadvantage. Sensors would get less expensive over time (as they indeed have) and therefore any cost advantage that the smaller format's sensors might have would be negated. With five years of hindsight this has proven to be correct.

The potential size advantage when it came to camera bodies was not well realized either. The first few offerings in Four Thirds were at best only slightly smaller tha...