Looking to buy a DSLR

[craig_sager]

Hi guys. I am looking to buy my first dslr and was wondering how you guys like

your e-510. And am also wondering about the 4/3rds system as to why i would

like this over the normal format, the local camera shop says they have no

experiance with the 4/3 rds and can't tell me anything about it. So i thought i

would come to the place that knows. Anything that would help me deside on the

brand of camera would be cool. I know that i'm about to swear here but i have

been thinking about the Sony A700 or the Canon 40D. The reason i havn't

considered olympus is my camera place can't answer any questions i have about

it even though they sell it there. They are heavy into Canon and Nikon. By for

now Craig

[herve_laurent]

Hello Craig

I have been using several brands of cameras ( still do for film cameras). all the cameras you

mention are good cameras. I think it would be useful to know what kind of pictures you want

to make to give you the best advice

also there is no "normal format". The choice between the 3 sizes widely available should be

determined by your budget and the kind of pictures you make.

let me know

H

[richsimmons]

I have an E500, but I've played with the 510. It's a nice camera, but the sensors on the Olympus cameras are smaller than the others. The Canon 40D is a great camera I'm hearing and the comparable Olympus Camera would be the new E3. Did the shop have all the cameras you were talking about? In order to really make a decision, you need to know all the accessories that are available for each and decide which system you want to buy into. The E-510 is still an entry level camera, but it does a lot. I still like my E-500, but I'm starting to see how I'm outgrowing it in some respects, but good glass makes a huge difference.

[randy_rogers1]

All current DSLRs are capable of producing great quality images. I think it now comes down to more look and feel and what suits in choosing a camera. The primary reasons I bought the E510 are as follows:

 

1. In body image stabilization which allows the flexibility of using any lens. The stabilized lenses from Nikon and Canon are larger, heavier than non stabilized lenses. Whether it is required to see the stabilization via the viewfinder is not really and issue for me.

 

2. Cost the E510 kit with coverage of 28 ? 300mm (35mm equiv) would require buying an additional Canon lens or an expensive stabilized Nikon lens (18-200 VR). Either the Canon or Nikon were nearly 2x the cost of the E510 with an equivalent lens set. So will a 16x20 print from the Canon, Nikon, Sony, or Pentax be 2x the quality of the Olympus? The short answer.. No!

 

3. Lightweight and compact body / lens combination. I use the camera mostly outside so the weight and volume are important criteria.

 

4. The 4:3 format requires less cropping than the 3:2 APSC format. The APSC is a larger sensor but when the minimum crop is 20% for an 8x10, 16x20 there are a lot of pixels going into the bucket. The 4:3 format requires a 16.7% crop.

 

5. Very good kit lenses. Both the 14-42 and 40 ? 150 are sharp across the frame, little or no vignette. The Olympus pro lenses promise to be even better. Having read reviews and seen sample images from the Olympus 12 ? 60 looks exceptional. It might be worthwhile to get the E510 body and the 12-60 in lieu of the kit lenses?? That combination should run about $1400 which would be close to the cost 40D / 17-85 IS.

 

6. Live view, at that time I purchased the E510 there were few options for live view, at the time I thought I could take it or leave it. However, having used the live view feature now I do use that capability regularly.

 

To be fair here are the cons and nits I have with the E510:

 

1. Small viewfinder compared to other DSLRs in this class. I bought a magnifying eyecup after several weeks. This improves the viewfinder but it is still not as large or bright as the others.

 

2. The E510 sensor has a lower dynamic range by about 0.7 stops with the noise reduction disabled than Canon, Nikon, or Sony. Moving the noise filter to low increases the DR but smears some fine details. This is really pixel peeping and in general the E510 output looks great. I usually leave the noise filter off, shoot below ISO 800 and just adjust the exposure to correct burned highlights. Outside in bright sunlight the E510 histogram often shows the blue channel clipping. Using a polarizing filter seems to make a significant difference.

 

3. The standard raw development software (Olympus Master) is very basic and does not allow full manipulation of the raw files. I have been using Raw Therapee (freeware) and have had good results. Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom, and others are other options but all represent significant cost.

 

Overall I am very happy with the E510. One must realize that technology moves quickly and as with everything electronic these days tomorrow will bring something better, cheaper, smaller, and with new features ..

 

here is a great links to more information on the Olympus and 4:3 standard:

 

http://www.four-thirds.org/

 

http://www.4-3system.com/

 

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/index.html

[craig_sager]

Hey Guys thanks for the info. I guess im looking to get into a camera i can grow into instead of growing out of it fast. Herve my wife and i want to start up a old time photo shop and want to be able to take the camera out in the field also, plus i really like to do macro since it shows alot of cool things that everyday people just pass by and have know idea what there missing up close, plus i want to do wildlife to. Now all i need is to find all the cloths i need for the shop :)

[Tom Wiggins Photography]

I purchased my e510 last August. I love the camera. It's my third Olympus, C4040Z, and e300 previously. It?s light weight is great for travel and when hiking. The image stabilization was a lifesaver on my trip to Spain, in October. Some of my long lens hand held shots would never have come out with the e300.