EVOLT or EOS

[brian_bahn]

I know this question has been discussed frequently here and I have searched the

forums and read what I coudl but still feel I want a little more opinion. I may

purchase a dSLR in the near future. Probably not as soon as I would like but still

want to be as knowledgable as I can when ready.

 

I am trying to decide which would better suit me and be a better deal. Basically it

comes to this. I see I can get an EVOLT with two lenses(14-42 and 40-150) for

slightly more money than the EOS with the kit lens 18-55. The idea of two lenses

to start with is obviously intruging and also the IS in the EVOLT body as well.

 

Now, I have an OM-1 with three lenses I would like to use on the dSLR. a 50mm

1.8, a 28mm 3.5 and a Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm 3.5. I also have a Vivitar 2x

converter. I know I will be using them manually on the dSLR and I'm not sure I

have gotten a clear answer as to which camera the older lenses work better on.

Seems like maybe they work better on the Canon but would like to hear more

thoughts on it.

 

So I guess my comparison comes down to is the EVOLT for approx $70 more

with the 2 lenses and IS built in better than the Canon with slightly larger

viewfinder, better usability with my manual Zuikos and Vivitar. Also I understand

the Canon has the slightly larger sensor and I am still trying to get my head

completely around exactly the difference the older lenses will be on the digitals.

 

I am really just getting started in the hobby but will mainly be doing nature and

architecture stuff.

 

Thoughts? Opinions?

[godfrey]

In essence, they will work identically on both Canon EOS and Olympus E-System

camera bodies. Adapted lenses on either operate 100% manually ... there is no

information coupling between lens and body so focus and iris control is all manual.

Metering is limited to manual and Av stopped down. If you want full functionality,

you must buy either EOS or 4/3 System lenses, respectively.

 

BTW, most people refer to Olympus E-System as 4/3 System, not EVOLT. 4/3

System has a shorter mount register than Canon EOS so there are a couple more

lens adapters available for 4/3 System. Lenses from Olympus OM, Nikon, Pentax,

Exacta, Leica R, Contax/Zeiss, and Minolta MD mounts can be used ... all manually

as above.

 

I can't get into the "which is better" discussion. Both systems provide very good

quality and lots of options. I personally prefer the available Panasonic/Leica and

Olympus 4/3 System lenses over Canon lenses, so I have 4/3 System equipment

now. I had Canon equipment in the past.

 

Godfrey

[richsimmons]

Because of your current OM lenses I'd go with the Olympus. But keep in mind that the focal length of the 4/3rd system is a factor of 2, so all your lens focal lengths will double (ie: your 50mm will be a 100mm,etc.) because of the sensor of the camera. I'm assuming your looking at the E-510 since you mention IS and the kit lenses you mention. What will be nice is that your 70-210 will be like a 140-420mm. You'll need an adaptor for the legacy lenses, that's about $100us and they will be manual on the camera.

[bueh]

Uh, which EOS are we talking about?

 

Keep in mind the Olympus cameras have a physically much smaller sensor than all other dSLRs. Since sensor (or film) size is paramount for image quality (and things like background blur, high-ISO performance etc) I'd always go for the camera with the larger sensor.

 

If you want image stabilization in the body, also consider a used Pentax K10D. By the way, except for the 50mm prime your OM lenses are not worth using on a modern body -- even the kit lenses will outperform the vintage Olympus gear.

[brian_bahn]

Sorry, I was comparing the E-510 and the Rebel XTi.

[godfrey]

Sensor sizes between those two bodies differ by relatively little ... Rebel XTi is 22.2x14.8 mm vs E-

510 at 17.3x13.0 mm. Format proportions are different (2:3 vs 4:3) and depending upon what size

prints you like to make (if you make prints), that difference can narrow even more.

 

(I tend to make 6x8 and 11x14 inch prints, which means cropping the XTi's 2:3 proportion sensor to

14.8x19.7 mm effectively.)

 

So I wouldn't consider sensor size to be of much consequence. Your 50mm lens will net a field of

view that differs only a small amount between them, about two degrees on the short side of the

format. A 50mm lens will produce a field of view that is considerably tighter than on your OM series

film camera, that's true for both.

 

Both the Zuiko 28 and 50mm lenses are quite good quality, I've used them both on my cameras and

gotten excellent results. But their advantage over the kit zooms is small, mostly due to their

additional speed. The Vivitar lens I have no experience using.

 

Godfrey

[bueh]

<blockquote><i>Sensor sizes between those two bodies differ by relatively little

</i></blockquote><p>

Well, the EOS' sensor has an area that is physically nearly 50% larger than the one of the Evolt, that is quite a lot! The 50mm has a very different field-of-view on both cameras, it equals 31° on an APS-C camera and 24° on a 4/3rd camera.

<p>

Olympus offers a very limited system. While there are excellent high-end lenses available (e.g., fast zooms), they are breathtakingly expensive (even compared to Canon's professional gear) and virtually no used markets exists for them.

[godfrey]

Area: <br>

<br>

14.7mm x 22.2mm = 326.3 mm^2<br>

13mm x 17.3mm = 224.9 mm^2<br>

<br>

FoV:

<br><br>

<table border="0" cellpadding="1" align="center">

<tr>

<td colspan=4>Canon EOS (1.6x crop)</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td colspan=4>Width = 14.7 mm, Length = 22.2 mm, Diagonal = 26.6257

mm</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>f</td>

<td>Hor</td>

<td>Vert</td>

<td>Diag</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>28</td>

<td>43.2</td>

<td>29.4</td>

<td>50.9</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>50</td>

<td>25.0</td>

<td>16.7</td>

<td>29.8</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>100</td>

<td>12.7</td>

<td>8.4</td>

<td>15.2</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td> </td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td> </td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td colspan=4>Olympus 4/3 System (2.0x crop nominal)</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td colspan=4>Width = 13 mm, Length = 17.3 mm, Diagonal = 21.64

mm</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>f</td>

<td>Hor</td>

<td>Vert</td>

<td>Diag</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>28</td>

<td>34.3</td>

<td>26.1</td>

<td>42.3</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>50</td>

<td>19.6</td>

<td>14.8</td>

<td>24.4</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>100</td>

<td>9.9</td>

<td>7.4</td>

<td>12.4</td>

</tr>

</table>

<br>

You can see from the above that the sensor area is different by about 40%, but that

the field of view isn't all that different because the linear dimensions of the two

sensors aren't all that different.

<br><br>

Regards the lens system, Olympus offers a full complement of 17-18 standard, high

grade and super high grade lenses from 7mm to 300mm in focal length, plus

telextenders that take the max out to 600mm. The standard grade lenses are very

good quality, the high grade and super high grade are at the same pricing levels as

Canon L-class pro lenses ... There are also Leica designed lenses in several

different focal lengths (14-50/2.8-3.5, 25/1.4, and 14-150/3.5-6.3). I don't bother with

used lenses. It's hardly a "limited" system. ;-)

<br><br>

The two-lens kit that the E-510 comes with represent a huge range of field of view

for not very much money and are very high quality, if not particularly fast. They're all

that many people need. The high grade lenses are full pro-class lenses, all

weathersealed and superb quality, quite reasonable in price for the field of view they

return. Not many people need the super high grade exotica in either system.

<br><br>

Godfrey

<br>

[duane_mills]

Hi Brian, I shoot Pentax and am a firm believer that in-body IS or SR as Pentax calls it is the way to go. The Olympus 4/3 sensor is a far cry from small digicam sensors. The E-510 is a fine camera and feels better than the XTi in your hand. The only complaint I had about the E-510 when I looked at it a few months ago was the "button clutter", however it's a personal preference thing. Given the short list, I believe the Olympus is a better choice.

 

Here's an interesting comment that was made in the Canon forum in early April by well know photographer and Canon`expert Bob Atkins: "If I were Canon I'd be worrying about the fact that Sony, Olympus and Pentax are offering DSLRs with built in sensor shift image stabilization. That's a feature that should pursuade a lot of consumers to go with them while Nikon and Canon are sticking the the more expensive and less available stabilized lenses. I'm even eyeing the Pentax K20 myself!"

 

That statement in itself speaks volumes.

Hope you enjoy your new camera. Cheers.

[brian_bahn]

So, how much of a difference does the sensor size make when making prints? I would eventually like to print sizes of around 8x10. Would the smaller sensor size hinder that? What about 11x14? Nothing that would be museum quality viewing or anything now. Haha

 

Also as for the adapters...do both the 4/3 and Om to EOS adapters mount to the body or the lenses? In other words would I have to keep switching the adapter from lens to lens if I choose to use them?

[godfrey]

You won't see any difference with 8x10 or 11x14 prints based on sensor size. What

you *might* see is that the apparent noise level is different or produces a different

appearance at ISO settings above 800. I haven't compared XTi vs E-510 high-ISO

RAW captures directly, however, so I can't say for sure. But properly exposed and

at those sizings, even that would be a stretch.

 

(I've made a couple of 16x20 inch prints from the 5Mpixel E-1 at ISO 400. They're

exhibition grade prints...)

 

BTW: Both those print sizes are a very close match to the 4/3 System format

proportions, where the Canon format will need to be cropped to produce those sizes.

This is one of the reasons I prefer 4/3 System equipment: I prefer photos with a

more-square proportion than 2:3.

 

Regards the adapters: Most of the 4/3 System mount adapters can be fitted to the

body and the lenses interchanged without removing the adapter. Some of the EOS

mount adapters are the same. The reason why some are different and need to be

fitted to the lens, then the assembly to the body, has to do with the difference in

depth of the mount register and other possible mechanical interferences. The 4/3

System mount register is ~38mm where the EOS mount register is ~44mm so

makers of adapters have 6 mm more room to work with when building adapters for

4/3 System.

 

Olympus sells a very good quality OM system to 4/3 adapter for $99. Camera Quest

offers good quality lens adapters, albeit at somewhat high prices, see www.cameraquest.com for details. You can also obtain 4/3 System lens adapters

from vendors on Ebay with pricing from $12 to whatever ... quality varies of course.

 

Godfrey