How many times do I say Full frame and Micro Four Thirds?? 😅😅

Hey! That's me! ☺️📷

I’m a retired optical scientific instrument designer… perhaps my viewpoint will be of interest. When taking the same photo - with the same depth of field and shutter speed - the total amount of light used to form the image is a constant - independent of sensor size. If the sensors are of the same underlying technology/design the perceived image noise will be very similar for a fixed amount of light. To the clear - the REAL image noise is independent of sensor size. What confuses people is they insist on comparing noise for a given ISO. To my mind that’s unimportant. Surely what matters is the noise when taking the same photo?

Both interesting and useful.  So refreshing to listen to someone who actually knows what they are talking about as opposed to pontificating on things they know hardly anything about - the curse of YouTube.  Keep the videos coming.

I’ve been shooting m43 for four years (OM-5 for the last 6 months) and have never felt constrained by noise or low-light shooting. As you say, you have to work within the constraints-envelope of any system, and their are always trade offs. The skill is to master whichever system creatively. I tried full-frame for a few weeks (admittedly, only with a kit lens) but was so unimpressed that I sent it back and bought some pro m43 lenses with the money I saved. Better glass made me happier than a bigger sensor.

A few weeks ago, I was in the Luray Caverns.  The lighting was very dark in most places.  I chose to shoot with my Panasonic 9mm F1.7 lens on my M4/3s camera.   Depending on the lighting,  the F-stop ranged between F1.7 to F2.8.   In every case, I allowed the darkest shadows to go black.   The result was the photos were very dramatic and beautiful.

thank you! youtube influencers are all about bringing back the details from the shadows and highlights but then sell over-saturated, over-sharpened, and contrast-y or film simulation presets 😂

Plain English, easily understandable, and acknowledgeable, keep up the good work.

Jimmy. I agree with you, just for different reasons. Full frame cameras have twice the SNR as M43 cameras when the two sensors have the same Megapixel rating, all other things being equal. But if the sensors have the same size pixels (i.e. the full frame camera has four times as many pixels) then the SNRs would be similar. The signal to noise ratio is determined at the photsite (pixel) level. It's not the crop factor that causes the noise difference; it's the difference in the size of the pixels between different cameras more than anything else.
That said, most full-frame cameras are about 24MP, so your suggestion for M43 shooters to 'ETTR' is sound advice.
Here's a slightly more detailed example: The total signal is a function of the sensitivity of the pixel and its surface area. If a full-frame and M43 sensor are both 20MP, then the M43 sensor's pixels are four times smaller in surface area and thus collect 1/4 the signal. The noise is a function of several things. The largest is typically shot noise, which can be estimated as the square root of the signal. For the sake of simplicity, let's say the electronics noise is similar between the two cameras and is small. If a full-frame sensor collects 400 ADU counts of signal, the shot noise would add about 20 ADU of noise. This is an SNR of 20 (400/20). With the same settings, a M43 sensor collects 100 ADU counts of signal and 10 counts of shot noise. This is an SNR of 10 (100/10). Therefore, opening the aperture by two stops or increasing the exposure time by two stops on an M43 camera can offset the difference in SNR.
If you have a full-frame camera with the same photosites, i.e. the MP count on the full-frame is 4 times higher, then the SNR between the 64MP full frame camera and a 16MP M43 camera would be the same, all other things being equal. But, who wants to deal with 60+ MP files anyways?

This was a very good explanation to help with a better understanding of how MFT sensors function.

Great video, Jimmy...totally agree with your approach to exposure. I shoot a lot of Fuji SOOC JPEGs (though I use RAW too), so getting the exposure right in-camera matters to me since I’m not doing much post work beyond a crop or level adjustment. I’m fine with a bit of blown-out street lights or crushed shadows, especially in night city shots, often it adds to the mood and feel I’m after. Of course, I aim for a good balance overall, but a little clipping here and there doesn’t bother me. I think some people worry about that far too much in everyday shooting.

good advice Jimmy. Don't fight against the limitations work with them. It can be used in all aspects of life as well.

Very good advice, thanks.

Excellent! That’s the 3rd video I watched from you, and your narrative and approach to photography are very sound. Your photos are also very educational and inspiring. Been using my OM-1 ii with the 20mm and 50-200 while ETTR, along with my FF cameras for different intents and purposes. I shot at ISO 16k at times, and noise has been very manageable, especially with DXORaw v6.
Subscribing to your channel. Looking forward to many more videos from you.

Thank you. Good to have more people with knowledge making education content about Photography. I could heat your accent from Sweden, and I loved it. Thank you for bringing up the knowledge about the tiny particles called Photones, the light bearers of the universe.

Thanks. Studying whole a lot again from the beginning after using micro 4/3. Your videos lecture me very much.

Great post. I hadn’t thought about the aperture in this way and I am exactly doing the under exposing you mentioned

Thank you Jimmy, this was excellent.  I really appreciated all the information.  Cheers.

Exactly!  Let the darkness/shadows be dark! I use spot metering and put the spot on the subject, let the rest go.  If I want the whole frame well lit, I'll come back when the scene is well lit. Otherwise spot meter what is important... and curse the scene for not being lit for your skills. 🤣

I found this video quite usefull. Thanks