Am I missing the boat by not switching to Canon (Olympus user)

[elnoralouisa]

Ok, one more person says to me...why didn't you buy a Canon? and I am going to

scream......but of course that small voice in me says....ummm.......

So....here's the story....

 

I bought my Olympus E500 about four months ago. The ONLY reason at the time I

didn't buy the Canon XT was because the store I was going to buy at was

closing for the night when I went! So, I thought, ok, I will buy the

Olympus. Main selling points were: dust reduction, and two lens.

 

I have learned a ton about photography over the last four months, and looking

into the future, say, am I just being stubborn about the Olympus, or is

switching to Canon at this point the thing to do.

 

Pros of Olympus: at the time dust reduction, but now Canon XTI has it.

Two lens, but well, I have enough knowledge now on lens that to buy another

lens is something I can do and know what I am doing. I 'thought' the 2x thing

on Olympus was a good thing, but the more I read, it actually isn't.

 

So...I am sitting on that bridge right now, thinking it might be time to look

at lenses.....worried that Olympus is not going to be a company to be with two

years down the road. Canon (and lens that fit) are so popular that I would

think bargains can and will be found more readily now and in the future.

 

Then there is the whole 4:3 thing on Olympus (which I don't totally

understand), but I know Olympus people are always defending it.

 

So....while I have the current Olympus model, and a lens that I can get close

to 100% value on 14-54mm right now, is it time to switch? I am not sure my

photography is going to be any better either way. If you look at my pictures,

I do more than just zoo and flowers, just prefer not to post my people pics on

the internet. One thing that is important, though, is I work for a dog rescue

in my free time, so a camera that takes good pics of moving 'objects' is a

must! (I had to photograph 21 puppies yesterday, it was a bit much! :)

 

So, am I just in a mood about cameras, or is it time to move over to

Canon...........

 

Debbie

[jay_rick]

Yes, switch now. I'm a Nikon user and you either have to have a Nikon or a Canon if you want the best selection of lenses.

[eric friedemann]

If I lost all my Nikon DSLR gear, I'd replace it with Canon DSLR gear- not Olympus. That having been said:

 

 

1. What on Earth gives you the idea you could get "close to 100% value" for your used Olympus gear? If your Oly stuff is in mint condition you may get 40% of the new price on trade-in.

 

 

2. Olympus has an excellent group of DSLR lenses- certainly any number of lenses that would allow you to photograph flowers and puppies:

 

 

http://www.olympusamerica.com/e1/sys_lens_150mm.asp

 

 

3. The 4:3 thing is the aspect ratio the camera shoots at. There is nothing wrong with the 4:3 format- its just less oblong than the 2:3 format on Nikon and Canon DSLRs.

[elnoralouisa]

Ok, I won't get 100% for the camera body, but I will get close to that for the 14-54. It's almost new, and most people on Ebay are actually paying more than what I paid for it because it's a hard to find lens. I know I will certainly lose money at this point, but my question is the FUTURE, and with cameras that could mean next month!

Also, what I hate about the 4:3 is having to crop every picture down to 3:2. I wasn't sure if Canon was 3:2 or not. I know, I know, enlargements, but because most of the people that want copies of my pictures still want 4x6 pictures, I do usually crop for that all the time.

[wgpinc]

I always say it isn't the camera - it's the photographer. There are a lot of good to great photographers using Olympus. Have a look. Then go out and take pictures with your camera.

 

http://www.olympusamerica.com/e1/gal_jisaac.asp

 

http://www.olympus-esystem.jp/gallery_e/isaac_j/

[elnoralouisa]

I KNOW it takes good pictures. I have plenty of them. What I am asking is, do I start investing in Olympus stuff as I want to future my photography, lens, etc. or why is the Olympus gang getting so small, and the Canon crowd is getting bigger by the moment. That's what I am asking. If I buy more lenses, then obviously at some point when I want to upgrade the camera it would be to another Olympus (if I continue with them). Is there something I am not seeing, or is this just a popularity thing right now? That's what I am asking, WHY is Canon considered so much better?

[jeffcallen]

The 4/3rds system is good if you always print 8x10, if you print 4x6 or 8x12, then the Canon/Nikon (and others) DSLR's are fine. If you shoot Canon and always print 8x10, you will have to remember that the edges will be cut off.

 

I compared my EOS 20D to a friends Olympus (forgot which model) and found my focus faster and quieter (USM lens) and that at 1600 ISO, I got less noise in the images. That said, which camera doesn't matter very much unless your camera drives you crazy so much that you miss shots.

[chuck_c_charlottenc_]

Debbie,

 

From reading everything that you've wrote, I think you've already answered your own questions.

 

If you're interested in a Future with an excellent System, then Canon's Lenses and their continued development of their Camera Bodies answers what your direction should be.

 

No camera company can compete with Canon's Total System and that's why the majority of the professionals use Canon.

 

//Chuck

[basscheffers]

What you need to ask yourself is *which* lenses do you need, rather than looking at simply

who sells the most.

 

I like my E-1 and, for me, Olympus sells the right lenses. Sigma is also making more and

more of them and now even Leica is getting in on making lenses for the system too; it

doesn't look like it is dead in the water to me...

 

If I were to start from scratch now, I might be looking at other systems (though not Canon)

but I see no reason to dump what I have and start over.

[basscheffers]

PS: Why not print 5x7s from you Oly pictures? That can be done with very little cropping and

a slightly larger picture than 6x4 looks much nicer to me. Many labs now also offer 6x4.5,

which is a perfect match for the 4:3 format which is also what virtually all digicams work in.

[elnoralouisa]

Size--ok you convince my relatives and friends that they want more expensive prints of my pictures. I can't even convince them not to go to what processing place is the cheapest. If I had my way about it all mine would be 8x10 :)

Also that odd sized print is not going to work in the standard photo album.

[archie_alcantara1]

In regard to Olympus, I carry two very light lenses and this covers 90% of my shooting. Well, this might not work for you, but each manufacturer pretty much have complete set of lenses to cover pretty much the focal lengths needed. On a personal note, I chose Olympus as they are not big as the Canon's and Nikon's.....kinda root for the underdog. And by the way, pleased with Olympus..very much. In regards to 14-54mm, good luck on getting a good price for this lens. This is one of the mostly used lens in the Olympus lineup of lenses.

[mark_chappell]

I use Canons, but I see no reason to dump your Oly gear if it does what you need from it,

now and into the reasonably foreseeable future. If there was some kind of lens you

desperately needed that the Oly system lacks and Canon has, then maybe there would be

cause to switch. For example, if you want a long telephoto for wildlife work, or a tilt/shift

lens, or a very high-magnification specialized macro, at the moment Oly is deficient

compared to Nikon, Canon, etc. But it doesn't sound like you need that kind of optics, and

the 'normal' range of lenses seems well covered in the Oly system.

[john carter]

What Boat!

[lee_bacsik]

Debbie T wrote << The ONLY reason at the time I didn't buy the Canon XT was because the store I was going to buy at was closing for the night when I went! >>

 

Just my slant on things, but if I'm seriously considering any major purchase (and I believe today's DSLR's qualify for that catagory), have done the research, decided what's important to me, planned the budget, etc. I'd be willing to wait until the next morning to make my purchase. The store was closed? We're not talking a scarf or pair of shoes to match the handbag (no male/female agenda here since I'm addressing a comment by Debbie, just making a point). Hey, I own Olympus gear but if that was truly the ONLY reason you should have waited a day and got the Canon. You make valid points about lens availability (Canon and third-party) and sound like you had your mind made up. Canon has a long history and makes great gear. Sounds to me like you feel you settled because of a store's schedule. I can offer a couple of suggestions:

1) If it's the 14-54 you have (NOT the 14-45) you'll get a decent price for it. Supply and demand and right now the supply seems thin.

2) Look to the internet. There are hundreds of posts in this forum and others to steer you to reputable on-line retailers (and away from less-than-honest ones). Best part is...they never close the internet.

Whatever you choose...happy shooting!

[john schroeder]

There is nothing wrong with your camera. Yes Canon and Nikon have more lenses available but how many lenses do you need? Your 14-54mm will handle 90% of your shooting needs and you can always pick up the 40-150mm for your telephoto needs. The autofocus system on the E500 is just as good as Canon's EOS system and the E500 has a better metering system. Switching brands won't make shooting puppies any easier. It really is the photographer, not the camera, that makes the difference.<div></div>

[jeff_s]

<p>Debbie, you may have made your purchase decision in a haphazard manner, but you did perfectly okay, so enjoy your Olympus. You know how you can tell if a photographer's got some experience or not? You watch to see if they have a feel for the light or not: The brand of camera danging from their neck means nothing.</p>

 

<p>The main downside of the 2x multiplier you wind up using a lot of very short focal lengths, and those have inherently deep depth of field whether you want it or not.</p>

 

<p>Below are links regarding David Burnett, a pro not afraid to use $14 toy cameras</p>

 

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/technology/circuits/08schiesel.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=c2c5650d56297840&ex=1275883200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss" target="new">NYT Article: Which Camera Does This Pro Use? (free reg req'd)</a></p>

 

<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/essays/vanRiper/010706.htm" target="new">Washington Post article "Dr. Burnett's Magic Box" (reg req'd?)</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.davidburnett.com/" target="new">David Burnett's website (no reg needed)</a></p>

[screeny]

NO

[elnoralouisa]

The picture is too cute!

Anyway, I have to explain the store thing. I LOVE Olympus. I had an Olympus p&s awhile ago. Only reason I switched (to Sony) was because I outgrew the camera, and Olympus didn't have what I wanted at the time. I wanted the Olympus SLR, but EVERYBODY said, get the Canon. So...I was in the store, they had the Canon, the lady starts closing up the store, and I started walking out. She's like, oh, did you want to buy something....I guess I knew I wanted the Olympus.

 

This whole thing started the other day. I sold my zoom camera because I never use it, but I wanted a small p&s to just carry around with me. I went to the store, wrote down 10 different ones in my price range, and went home to look them up. I emailed a friend who knows cameras very well--doesn't take many pics, but she knows cameras :) and without giving her the model numbers, so said, well the Canon is the best one. I just get so tired of people saying wow, you're pictures are really nice. What kind of camera do you have. An Olympus. Oh well, I know someone who has that Canon, that's the best camera......you know, it just gets tiring after awhile......so I think it's easy to start saying maybe I need a Canon.....even if I have no clue why!

All I have to say is Olympus better not go out of business next Spring or something........yikes!

[todd_masters]

I had the Olympus E1 system before I converted to Canon - what seems like a lifetime ago (also had a good ol' E-10). I was very satisfied with the quality Olympus offered but as I looked to future product roadmaps I decided to switch to Canon to have more options and I thought all the new lens choices would save me lots of money (but I still buy L lenses new so that never happened haha). This was all before the evolt stuff came out. Now the quality of my images are still as good as I am but the technology is IMO much more flexible and does offer more choices today and more choices down the road. I have never second guessed my decision to move to Canon from Olympus and I don't miss the 4/3rds that much, but it was nice. If I were you, I would switch now while you can get out cheap.

[elnoralouisa]

Todd, I swear if I switch, I am going to blame this on you! Yeah, it's really about companies, and futures, not about picture quality. I don't honestly believe at this point there is much if any difference, and yeah, I do know most of it is me and my ability or lack there of to take pictures. I don't know, every web I look at, Olympus seems to slip further and further down, which really is a shame. And also I went looking at Canon lenses on a few websites, and right away found ones that I wanted AND COULD AFFORD! My thought is, I love my Olympus, but I don't want to be crying the blues next Spring when all of a sudden Olympus is going downhill, and my camera is worth nothing. BTW, I have my order all made out for the Canon, I just have to press the button.........I don't know......actually, I want to run out to the local camera shop today, even though I don't think anyone in the city has the camera in stock right now.

[vandit]

It is true that Canon and Nikon have bigger collection of lenses than Olympus. But are they lenses that you need? Do you see yourself buying a $5000 lens in the future? How about a $8000 body? Do you really care about differences that are only visible when viewed at 100% on screen or on a 16x20 print?

 

Canon and Nikon have more complete systems that cater to the 5% or fewer "extreme needs". That doesnt mean that Olympus and Pentax, to name a few, are inferior when it comes to "mainstream" needs.

 

Ask yourself - what is it that you WANT to do but are unable to do with the Olympus?

 

My guess is that you will answer "nothing" to the question.

 

Ignore the gearheads that think a better camera equals better photos. A better photographer equals better photos. Olympus's system is complete enough that most hobbyist photographers.

 

And Olympus has a very fine tradition of making excellent products - the next person that tells you that you needs a Canon, ask them if they have heard the terms "Zuiko" and the "OM series."

 

My sincere advice to you is - dont get caught up in the "upgrading just for the sake of upgrading". Use the money on a photo trip, a new lens or something.

 

Of course, if you feel you are missing something in your current system, that'd be a good reason to switch. But switching to Canon just b/c of their 600mm lenses and FF bodies and TS-E lenses makes no sense unless you will be buying these products.

 

Vandit

[jcuknz]

It is damm stupid to change cameras just becuase people, leeming like have been taken in by advertising, and did buy Canon. A huge range of lens is of no interest to you if you are happy with the two you currently use and others in the Olympus range.

 

A different camera won't get you better photos ... you do that.

 

If Oly suits you, stick with it. The advantages do not lie with Canon but with the likes of Sony and particularly Pentax at the moment with their design features. Until the 'big' players [Canon/Nikon] wake up and include in=body stabilisation etc I will not be looking at them, a personal choice.

[robert goldstein]

Debbie, in case you have not already figured it out, Photo.net is full of Canon users. Like most of us, they are attached to their possessions and gain pleasure and a sense of justification if they can persuade others to choose the same products that they did. So take all the advice that you receive with a grain of salt, and choose equipment because it truly suits you and not because it will make you a member of a particular fraternity.

 

It may turn out that Canon is the best system for you, but do not expect that switching from Olympus will make your photos better or make you a better photographer. If long-term sustainability of a system is your first priority, then Canon or Nikon are the way to go. If you consider yourself a bit of an iconoclast and are willing to bet on the "little guy," then Olympus is a worthy choice. From all that I have read, their cameras are very capable and their selection of lenses, though limited, is more than adequate for most users.

[lee_bacsik]

Debbie T wrote <<I don't want to be crying the blues next Spring when all of a sudden Olympus is going downhill, and my camera is worth nothing. >> When General Motors dropped the Oldsmobile line the value of those vehicles on the road (and still on dealer lots) did not suddenly drop to zero. Nor did all those Plymouths. Likewise, the Canon 20D did not suddenly become "worth nothing" the day the 30D was introduced. Your camera will still take pictures. Olympus, while in the camera business, has as it's mainstay the medical field; specifically the endoscopes it produces (hence the optics connection). Nice to have another line to "fall back on" if camera sales slump. Ask yourself this...Sony, a leading name in electronics and now cameras, produced one of the first VCR's; the Betamax. Seen any Beta tapes lately? Did Sony go downhill when their Beta format didn't fly? No. Good companies adapt. I believe Olympus is a good company.