Over the past few years, Micro Four Thirds cameras (MFT cameras) have become quite popular and are giving a tough competition to DSLR and point-and-shoot cameras. When it comes to style and interchangeable lenses, MFT cameras steal the show. Here is a comparative view of the top 5 MFT cameras of 2014:

Panasonic Lumix GH4– At the top of the list is the Lumix GH4 by Panasonic.

Sensor & Speed: It sports a 16.05 megapixel Live MOS sensor which allows you to continuously shoot at amazing speeds of 7.5 fps (AFC) and 12 fps (AFS).

Salient Features:

• 3 inch OLED at the back with a 1036k dot resolution

• 500 shot battery life

• 220 minutes of high resolution 4K video recording

• Dust proof body

• Wi-Fi connectivity

Performance: The Lumix GH4 has an ISO range from ISO200 to ISO25600 with an extended low at ISO100. Noise increase points are ISO400, ISO800, ISO1600, ISO3200, and ISO6400. At ISO12800, the performance of this camera is lower as compared to the E-M10 by Olympus. Built-in chromatic aberration and shading compensation make for great lens performance with very nicely controlled purple fringing.

Price: Placed at £1,299 (body only), the Lumix GH4 is probably the most economical digital camera in the market with the capability of 4K video recording. With the 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 lens kit, it is priced at £1749.

Olympus OM-D E-M10– Following closely behind is the OM-D E-M10 from Olympus.

Sensor & Speed: This camera comes with a 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor with a speed of 8fps continuous shooting with fast AF.

Salient Features:

• 3 inch touch screen at the back albeit at a 1037k dot resolution

• 320 shot battery life (lower that Lumix GH4)

• 12 Art-filters

• Focus peaking

• HDR modes

• 3-axis image stabilization

• Time-lapse movie capture

Performance: This camera has the same ISO range as the Lumix GH4, that is, from ISO100 to ISO 25600. Noise is extremely low at ISO100, with a very minute increase at 200 and 400. Low noise and good detail up to ISO1600 but it increases at ISO6400. At ISO12800 and ISO25600, the performance is better than E-M5. In high contrast areas when the images are viewed at 100%, slight purple fringing can be seen.

Price: This camera is offered at £529 (body only) and at £699 with the 14-42mm EZ zoom lens kit.

Panasonic Lumix G6 – Taking the fourth spot in this list is the Lumix G6 from Panasonic.

Sensor & Speed: Though it also supports a 16.05 megapixel Live MOS sensor, the speed offered by this camera is lower when compared to the GH4 and OM-D E-M10. It allows 7fps continuous shooting and 5fps continuous AF shooting.

Salient Features:

• 3 inch rotatable OLED at the back with a 1036k dot resolution

• P/S/A/M manual video control

• Electronic shutter

• 19 filter effects

• Auto panoramic filter

• One touch picture sharing and remote shooting

Performance: ISO range from ISO160 – ISO25600, with low noise at ISO160, 200 and 400 and a slight increase at ISO800. Noise is very clearly visible at ISO12800. Macro performance of the lens is disappointing although it does give a fair performance in terms of purple fringing and chromatic aberrations.

Price: Available for £629 with a 14-42mm lens kit.

Panasonic Lumix GX7 – Running fourth is the Lumix GX7 from Panasonic.

Sensor & Speed: This camera has a very slightly low end Live MOS sensor as compared to the GH4 with 16 megapixels. Also the speed offered by it is relative low at 4.2 fps continuous AF and 9fps continuous single AF.

Salient Features:

• 3 inch tilting touch screen at the back with a 1040k dot resolution (lower than GH4)

• 22 creative effects

• HDR

• -4 EV focus

• Full HD video recording 60/50p

• Sensor shift image stabilization

Performance: The ISO range of this camera goes from ISO200 to ISO25600 with an extended low of ISO125. At ISO125 and ISO200, this camera shows better results than the OM-D E-M5. At ISO400, ISO800 and ISO1600, E-M5 shows finer detail in pictures.

Price: This camera is valued at £819 body only, and at £899 with 14-42mm OIS II lens kit.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 – Sitting at the fifth spot is the OM-D E-M5 from Olympus.

Sensor & Speed: It comes with a 16.1 megapixel Live MOS sensor with a shooting speed of 9fps continuous and 4.2 fps continuous with AF.

Salient Features:

• 3 inch tilting OLED at the back with a 610k dot resolution (very low as compared to others listed above)

• World’s fastest AF system plus 3D tracking

• World’s fastest 5-axis Image stabilization

• Dioptre adjustment

• Vignetting correction

• Eye-detection

Performance: ISO range varies from ISO200 to ISO25600. Up-to ISO16000, this camera gives fair results however, at ISO20000 you can clearly notice color loss in the pictures. Lens performance is good but with the aperture closed, chromatic aberrations are visible in some shots.

Price: This camera can be purchased for £999 (body only) and with the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm 1:3.5-6.3 lens kit for £1149.99.

To Sum Up

Hope the above list helps prospective buyers in picking the camera best suited to their needs. A good point to mention here is that, when working with hundreds of technically perfect pictures, special care must be taken to take backups of exquisite ones. This helps in safeguarding against photo loss or accidental deletion. None-the-less, if you do come face-to-face with such a situation, do give Stellar Photo Recovery software a try.