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A History LessonThe Four Third format is now ten years old. The last Four Thirds (FT) camera to enter the market was Olympus' then flagship, the E5, launched in 2010. But two years prior, in 2008, the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) format was introduced, sounding the death knell for the Four Thirds format,  its progenitor.  The difference between the two formats comes down to one thing – flange distance. This translates into  viewfinders, lens mount and focusing. And therein lies a tale.

Four Thirds was conceived by Olympus as a new Pro format , at least as it was marketed initially. If your photo industry memory stretches back to the early 2000's you'll recall that Olympus poured a huge amount of money and effort into promoting Four Thirds toward Pros. These were the early years of the digital revolution and Olympus saw an opportunity to carve out a new niche for themselves. The Four Thirds sensor was smaller than full frame, of course, but not that much smaller...

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Michael Reichmann
Michael Reichmann
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Michael Reichmann is the founder of the Luminous Landscape. Michael passed away in May 2016. Since its inception in 1999 LuLa has become the world's largest site devoted to the art, craft, and technology of photography. Each month more than one million people from every country on the globe visit LuLa.
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