Any thoughts on Olympus?

theinlawjosie · July 16, 2007

So, I have been bugging my wife for quite some time now and I think she is finally willing to let me take the plunge and get a DSLR. I currently have a 35mm (Canon Rebel TI) which I love, but I have been stuck with an advanced point and shoot in the digital world for quite some time now. I am leaning towards an XTi or a 30D if I can afford it, but I know of a few photographers that love Olympus cameras and I am tempted by the "Live View" they are flaunting. I was thinking of maybe going with the E-510.

I was just wondering what some of your thougts are on this camera and if I would be better off sticking with a Canon. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

GJMPhoto · July 16, 2007

Selecting DSLRs...
I'm sure you're going to generate a whole bunch of responses identifying features and service records etc... I offer you one, slightly different view:

Digital cameras have quickly become more electronic equipment than photographic equipment. It's not to say that optics are not a differentiator, because they still are...but if you're just thinking quality...you can no longer think about copmanies with photographic history...you need to update your thinking to companies that make electronics for a living.

I'm a Canon bigot...love their optics, love their cameras...always have. My opinion...Go Canon.

- Gary.

theinlawjosie · July 16, 2007

GJMPhoto wrote:

I'm sure you're going to generate a whole bunch of responses identifying features and service records etc... I offer you one, slightly different view:

Digital cameras have quickly become more electronic equipment than photographic equipment. It's not to say that optics are not a differentiator, because they still are...but if you're just thinking quality...you can no longer think about copmanies with photographic history...you need to update your thinking to companies that make electronics for a living.

I'm a Canon bigot...love their optics, love their cameras...always have. My opinion...Go Canon.

- Gary.

Thanks Gary, I am leaning a bit more towards Canon.......I am a bit leary of the four thirds mount that Olympus is trying to standardize and it would be nice to have a couple of lenses right off the bat, even if they aren't digital only.....thanks for the input!

Phil U. · July 16, 2007

I won't claim to be any kind of gear expert but I will give you a different opinion (everyone's got one right?).

It seems to me that in the world of interchangeable lens cameras, it's more about the lens system than the camera body. (ok, not 100% true in digital these days.) With that in mind, I will say that I'm very pleased with my Olympus glass. I can cover 35mm equiv. FOV range of 28 - 400 with two very good zoom lenses (their 14-54 F2.8-3.5 & 50-200 F2.8-3.5). I wouldn't call them cheap but they're also not outrageous. Those are in their mid-range line. If price is a concern, they also have some good quality budget lenses. Of course if you want to spend more money and want to get a workout while carrying your lenses they have a pro line that produce some really great results.

I did buy up in the pro line on one of my set - the superb 7-14 F4. Really great lens - I don't know, but I think it'd be hard to find something equivalent elsewhere (please don't flame me, just an opinion). It's pricey and I had buyer's remorse while waiting for it to arrive but the first time I snapped it on and went shooting I forgot all about the price.

On the bodies: Olympus has been doing some thinking and really offers full-featured bodies to compete with the best of 'em (in the same price class) - they offer good bang for the buck. The dust buster really does work! I haven't had the opportunity to try the live-view or the anti-shake but both features have been getting good reviews including real life owner reviews. Olympus takes a beating for having small viewfinders. Most people using them seem to be OK with them even though they say it'd be nice to have larger. I have the E-500 which is said to have the smallest - I don't have a problem (except when trying to manually focus - I don't do it much but I did put in a Katz-eye focusing screen that helped). The bodies feel sturdy (even on the lower-end) and have (in my opinion) good ergonomics - you have to decide for yourself how they feel in your hand.

The one downside: Everyone is hung-up on digital noise. If you're someone who NEEDS to shoot in low-light situations requiring high ISO settings with a minimum of noise, Olympus is probably not for you. You probably need to go with the largest sensor size you can afford. The four-thirds standard uses a 2x FOV crop size sensor which means the pixels have to be at a higher density to get the same pixel count. Higher density generally means more noise. The ISO issue totally depends on what you shoot and how much you care about noise. I don't do much that requires high ISO so it's not an issue for me. When I do, I will say that the noise from the Olympus images seems to clean up nicely in post with minimal loss of detail. Still, all things being relative, any of the DSLRs will have a better noise ratio than the P&Ss.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your decision & happy shootin'

sparky675 · July 16, 2007

Oly owner
I have been shooting an Oly 500 since april. The only downside I have found is the lack of choices in Accesories. [lenses and flash gear] It is fairly easy to start and has loads of settings. If i could get a decent 70 to 300 Zoom with out busting the bank it would be good. You can see my shots at sparky675. Also figure with any you will want a flash, the built on ones suck. good luck sparky

theinlawjosie wrote:

So, I have been bugging my wife for quite some time now and I think she is finally willing to let me take the plunge and get a DSLR. I currently have a 35mm (Canon Rebel TI) which I love, but I have been stuck with an advanced point and shoot in the digital world for quite some time now. I am leaning towards an XTi or a 30D if I can afford it, but I know of a few photographers that love Olympus cameras and I am tempted by the "Live View" they are flaunting. I was thinking of maybe going with the E-510.

I was just wondering what some of your thougts are on this camera and if I would be better off sticking with a Canon. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

hamster · July 16, 2007

There was a thread here that really helped me decide to replace my current Olympus with another Olympus:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=63695&highlight=e-500

The wrotniak link was particularly helpful. Good luck! I don't think you can go wrong with an Olympus.

wesleyt · July 17, 2007

I love my 30D. If you have any lenses for your film Rebel, they'll work on the 30D.

The four thirds system's biggest advantage in my view is the smaller, lighter-weight cameras and lenses; a friend of mine has an E410; it's amazingly small and light compared to my 30D with the 17-55 f/2.8.

Would I change? No; I've been shooting Canon since the late 80's, so I'm a long-time fan.

Re XTi vs 30D, that's a tough one, and really depends on your needs. For me, it's a no-brainer: 30D. I like the controls, displays, and their placement. It's very similar to a 5D, which may be my next body. It's an excellent camera.

claudermilk · July 17, 2007

To sum up what everyone is hinting at: You need to look at the system as a whole before jumping. While the cameras are more computer that just a light-tight box any more, it's still the lenses that make the most difference. The good news is all the major competitors are long-time camera manufacturers and have good optics (Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, ...ok, Sony, too with the Minolta lenses).

So, look at your shooting habits and identify the most important aspects of the camera to you. Then go looking at what fits within your budget. You should soon narrow down to a small group of potential options. From there, if you can pick up an actual camera to see how it feels in your hand & how the controls works for you, that should further narrow the field.

Both Nikon and Canon probably have the most complete system as far as bodies, lenses, flashes, and other accessories. Pentax made a good move in that it seems most all of their older lenses work with the new K10D and K100D bodies, so they also have a decent selection of gear. I don't know about Sony or Olympus; my impression, which may be wrong, is the system is more limited.

Since you have a film Canon body already, you have lenses already. Don't worry about "digital" lenses, that's mostly marketing nonsense (what makes a flash, or a tripod more suited to digital? Nothing.); for Canon there are several EF-S lenses that work on the 1.6 crop bodies only (Rebels, 20D, 30D), but the standard EF lenses work on everything. Of my lenses 3 are EF, 1 is EF-S, and 1 is a Tokina intended for 1.6 crop.

My bias would push you to a 30D as well--it's one of the best cameras on the market.

S. Horton · July 17, 2007

If you make Image Quality #1, then you'll find that lens quality is the dominating theme.

Second is sensor technology; specifically look for comparisons by real professionals onsharpness, color accuracy and saturation.

Sites which can help include CNET.COM and PHOTO.NET.

[edit] - Amost forgot - Look at PhilU's smuggy pages; great stuff --> gear matters far less than the photographer.

theinlawjosie · July 17, 2007

Thanks everybody.....I appreciate all the feedback. I have spent several hours looking at specs and reading reviews for a LOT of camera's. As I said before, the major issue I have with Olympus is the four thirds mount. I am also kind of turned off by the small censor. Seeing as how I already have the glass for a Canon I will probably be going in that direction. I am really hoping I can afford a 30D but will probably have to settle for an xTi.

S. Horton · July 17, 2007

^^ I know the feeling! To save money, we have bought used gear before.

Consider a used 1D; it may have fewer pixels, but it is still astounding.

Also consider a used 20D; it is the same body, smaller LCD screen, or a used 30D.

If you select used, caution is required with any private seller but my luck has been good overall. B&H was excellent with used gear, I'd imagine Adorama may be as well.

Enjoy, good luck, and welcome back to the pic world!

claudermilk · July 18, 2007

I'd also suggest a used 20D. Lemme see, B&H lists XTi, body only for about $650...KEH lists EX (which to me says it's as good as new) 20Ds at about $840. IMHO that $200 is well spent. Oh, and B&H only has one 20D for $1k with a kit lens right now, KEH seems to have a number of 20Ds, in the $800-900 range. Of course, there's a constant stream of them going through FM B&S, and they frequently show up here in the Flea Market.

Any thoughts on Olympus?

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