First DSLR, for Iraq and Africa E3 or E30 OLY?

TurboWalt

Hello,

I'm moving up from a point and shoot to a DSLR. My point and shoot is a Olympus, thats where my brand loyality comes from. I've narrowed down my choices to a E3 or E30. I'm open to other brands and looking for suggestions based on my needs. Extreme enviroment, do I need the dust sealing of the E3 over the E30? Is one more user friendly than the other, etc? I'm not realing looking for a which is better comparison. Just what will work best for me. I realize these two cameras may be more than I need. But, I want to invest in something that will serve me well for a long time to come. I work in Iraq, will be taking a Safari to Africa soon. Next year will be a trip to Le Mans for the 24 Hours. Will I need a tele lens for wildlife? Do I need two lenses, or is there one that will work well for most shots? I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks, Walt

Jeremy Winterberg

Welcome to Dgrin!

You're definitely going to want the Weather Sealing the E3 provides. If any of that sand gets in the sensor... ouch! Don't even want to imagine that happening!

I'm not familiar with the olympus line of lenses, or what your budget is, but I would say get either the 70-300mm if you don't have much of a budget, or the 50-200mm if you have a higher budget.

Now, if i were to recomend Canon to you (what I shoot) I would say: 50D or 5D, 70-200mm f/4L or f/2.8L

You will want a telephoto for wildlife, and you'll want a wide angle for landscapes... I recommend something in the 17mm range for the wide angle.

But, then again, all of this depends on your budget! (From what it sounds, you're in the military[camp liberty in your profile], so the budget thing is probably not a huge deal)

ziggy53

Walt,

I suspect you may be familiar with the concept of "ruggedized".

The Olympus E3 is pretty resistant to weather, but so is the Canon 1D MKIII and Nikon D3. Some of the Pentax bodies are also weather sealed. The Canon 1D series are pretty popular for foreign correnspodent photojournalists with the Nikon D2/D3 series a very worthy alternative.

Also look for lenses which are weather sealed to complete the system. Some lenses are not sealed until you add a front filter.

http://www.zoriah.net/blog/2009/05/camera-corner-the-best-camera-for-photojournalism-and-documentary-photography.html
http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/technical/pros_favourite.do
http://www.pdngallery.com/cobrand/nikonnet/ontheroad/iraq/index.html
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-6456-7033

chrisunderwoodimages

If you choose Olympus, I would suggest the following as a good place to start since weather sealing is important to you.

E-3, 12-60mm swd, and 50-150mm swd, and the 1.4 teleconverter

This will get you well covered from the equiv of 24mm to 560mm eqiv including the TC. Both those lenses are from the Olympus high-grade lens category which makes them very resistant to water and dust. A weather sealed body will not be much use for keeping the elements out without weather sealed lenses as well.

I own the 70-300 and while it is a good lens, it is not weather sealed.

silversx80

Well, Olympus makes a great camera, their lenses are fantastic and the in-body image stabilization makes every lens better. Also, the supersonic wave filter is THE BEST sensor dust reduction system on the market. The 14-54 (mk I and II), 50-200 (SWD and non SWD) and 12-60 are all dust and drip proof. I only have the 14-54 (right now), but I hear all the others are superb and I can attest to the 14-54's quality.

I've had my E-410 from the beach in North Carolina to the desert sands in UT and I've had no issues with dust, sand, etc. The E-30 has the new sensor, but the E-3 has the weather-proofing. Tough call.

I agree that the 50-200 + EC-14 (1.4X teleconverter) will make a great telezoom.

Internaut

Interesting question at a time when I might be buying myself an E-30 (imminently). If it's an Africa/Iraq proof camera you want, the E-3 is probably has the best environmental sealing (and a good range of lenses to go with it). By many accounts the E-30 is tough but Olympus do not specify weather sealing of any kind.

The other manufacturers all make cameras that are weather sealed to some degree but you'll need to ensure any lenses you pick up are also weather sealed (with Olympus it's simple - if the lens is pro level or above, it's pretty much as weather proof as the E-3). The Pentax K7 is a nice, reasonably priced outside contender IMO.

dwayne_bradley

If you don't mind considering buying used...
you might want to check out the Buy & Sell forum over at 4/3 Photo:

http://forum.fourthirdsphoto.com/forumdisplay.php?f=43

Dwayne

TurboWalt

I really appreciate the info and advice. The Canon 1D MKIII and Nikon D3 are out of my budget. The EOS 50D would meet the budget, but I'm not sure about the weather sealing of it? So it looks like I will be going with the E3, to bad it doesnt have the E30's new sensor. Anyway, I will be investing in good lenses for it. I'm thinking the suggested 12-60mm swd, and 50-150mm swd, with the 1.4 teleconverter. It sounds like the Zuiko lenses are the way to go with the Olympus? Anyone else like the Pentax K-7?

Thanks, Walt

ziggy53

TurboWalt wrote:

... Anyone else like the Pentax K-7?

Thanks, Walt

Too early to know much for sure as far as reliability. Quality looks good from the few samples I've seen but I haven't seen a serious review against a production camera yet.

Whatever you chose try to get information relating to how you would handle service issues while abroad, just in case.

20DNoob

I'm thinking you really can't go wrong with the E-3(unless you like shooting really wide) considering the price and features it offers. I was hoping that Oly would unveil the next variant be it E-3x or E-4 this past PMA, but they didn't so I wound up with my N.

Ridgetop

One Example of Use in the Field
Michael Yon is shooting a 5D MKII over in Afghanistan right now. He's having good luck so far with it.

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/

TurboWalt

I would like to thank everyone for their input on my question. I decided to go with the E-3, 12-60mm swd, and 50-200mm swd, and the 1.4 teleconverter, along with the battery grip. I think I should be well equipped for for quite a while now. I did pick up some of this gear used but in excellent condition. So it helped with the budget. Namibia is only 2 weeks out. Looking forward to getting some great shots of the wildlife.

Walt in Iraq

silversx80

Congrats. You'll be very pleased with that kit.

20DNoob

Congrats, looking forward to the pics.