edwin_907

The Olympus E-1 with Firewire or USB 2.0 and the Studio software would be an excellent option and it's 5MP would certainly be enough. It is a rugged long life DSLR compared to others in it's current price range and would be very suitable for producing large numbers of exposures. It has excellent auto white balance and it's exposures require nothing in the way of post-processing for excellent prints.

"Has the 4/3 sensor chip stalled at 8 MP?"

 

No more than the original Nikon D1 stalled at 2.74 megapixel, remember then the D1x at 5.4MP, and now up to the D2x at 12.84MP.

 

 

I still predict a non-Kodak 10+MP chip for the E-3. Will it have less noise than the Canon, certainly not, but it will probably be like the Nikon D2x at ISO 100-800, which will suit me fine as I've never even used 1600, not even on the Nikon.

Even if Olympus had the industry's best high ISO performance, we'd still hear all about the "tiny" sensor regardless of what make it was.

As far as the next E, I hope they don't sacrifice the great characteristics of the E-1 for the megapixel race.

 

Still quite pleased with the image quality of my Olympus.

 

A wedding client was raving about the quality of the pictures taken by me (E-1/Power Grip, 14-54, & FL-50/High Voltage pack) compared to some of her elitist friend's wedding photos, they were apparently jealous, but I'm still glad I don't do it for a living.

 

Shot some with a D2X Nikon, very impressive DSLR, of course it's not "full frame" either, but it's a heck of a camera. Didn't blow highlights, and shadow detail was very recoverable.

I'll predict a non-Kodak 10+ MP chip for the E-3, but what do I know?

Time will certainly tell.

I guess ".[. Z" is a Rebel or D70 user trying to justify his purchase to himself, hey I've got 12 other SLR cameras and 30+ lens but I have to admit, I like the E-1 quite a bit.

 

My last post to this thread.

"No evidence that it's any sturdier or long-lived than any other DSLR"

 

Pick one up, it's obvious, even the reviewers have said so, rated to what, 150,000 shutter cycles, no evidence?

"It's cheaper than a lot of crap. So what."

 

Build quality, shutter life, weather sealing are important factors.

 

End of point.

You said it yourself, "Merely reading reviews isn't enough."

"And you think you therefore need an $1100 Olympus?"

 

Well it's a heck of a lot cheaper than a $4000 Canon EOS-1D MkII (Canon's cheapest weather sealed DSLR), isn't it?

"I don't think either of those are particularly great buys compared to the image quality, features, and/or prices of the competition. With the Digital Rebel at under $700, and that level of quality expected to be similarly priced from the competition within a few months, it's hard to justify the E-1's 50% premium, more limited ability to print large, and severely limited lens selection. And two G for a 4MP 1+ kilo camera that's about to be discontinued?"

 

Depends on what you do with it.

 

Ever been whitewater rafting, rock climbing, boating, photographing in the rain, snow, ice, etc.

 

Build quality, shutter life, weather sealing are important factors for some, for others, the latest megapixel race.

"We see amazing low-light and high-ISO results from the $1500 8MP Canon 20D. If similar results come from the new (sub $800?) Canon Dreb, how will something like the E-1 be able to compete"

 

I'd love a 10MP E-3 DSLR with the noise characteristics of a Canon 1DMk2 if it maintained the photo qualities of the E-1, but I'd still take the vast majority of my photos at ISO 100 and in reality, value the dust shaker and weather sealing of the E-1 much more.

 

It's like the frame rate, I have almost never used more than 1 frame per 2 seconds in my life, despite having to have the latest motor drive for all my SLRs (I even have a XM Motor Minolta!).

 

It's all about being honest with your needs.

I wanted a rugged weather sealed DSLR and had no AF lens collection, so I went with the E-1 instead of a more expensive and being discontinued Canon 1D, the only other weather sealed DSLR under $3200 at the time.

The Canon was bigger, much heavier, about $600 more than the E-1 Power Grip combo, faster & better at low light (which I didn't need), required much more post processing, and would've required a more substantial investment in lens for the range and quality desired. Would it have been a mistake, of course not. Just about every available DSLR when matched with premium lens gives more than acceptable image quality for me, it's just that for my requirements, the E-1 fit the bill perfectly.

Would the Canon & "L" lens given a better upgrade path, well that depends on the price and performance of the E-3 you could say, but for ultimate performance, the Canon would be a better choice, but I'm not interested in spending more than $4000 on a DSLR body.

 

Right now you can buy a new D2h Nikon for less than $2000, or an E-1 for less than $1100 which are great buys, just like that $2600 Canon 1D a year ago.

I have had my E-1 for over a year now, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. My only complaint surfaces in 2% of my images shot with it, the ones I shoot at over ISO 400, and Neat Image fixes those spectacularly. Neat Image and Photokit Sharpener are about the only post processing I do, heck, you can print from the CF card with this camera and eliminate the computer altogether!

The 11-22 Zuiko continues to impress me every day I use it (this lens is a bargain), likewise the 50-200, the Macro 50 is simply awesome, and the 14-54 (supposedly the worst lens in the bunch) never lets me down on an image.

You won't get the power grip away from me with a crow bar (the E-1 is so well built I could use it to defend myself), and the FL-50 flash gives terrific exposure time and again.

 

It is STILL the only weather-sealed "reasonably" affordable DSLR on the market, bar none.

 

If you want a true "photographers" camera, you better buy it before they are all gone and they replace it with a body costing $1200 more like Canon did with the 1D (remember when you could buy one for $2600 new).

 

For the future I may buy an E-3 (or whatever they call it, I sure hope it uses the excellent power grip), the two fast mid range zooms being released (more $$$), and what of my current flawless E-1 and 14-54 lens? Well I'll keep them in the family and let my girlfriend use them.<div></div>

I've never lost my settings when changing the battery, even with the E-1 with no battery for over 3 hours.

The grid screen is great, and it's really easy to change. Once you install it, you'll never go back.

 

Edwin

Ray, if the 11-22 is indicative of the coming "pro" zooms from Olympus, we're in fine shape.

Sharpness is excellent, better than the 14-54 at equivalent focal lengths, distortion at the wide end is surprisingly low, you really have to look hard to find CA cause it's usually not there at all, contrast and color are spot on, and the useability factor of a 11-22 zoom is pretty good.

 

Edwin<div></div>

Ray, have you gotten the 11-22 Zuiko?

 

This is a lens you just have to have.

 

Edwin

"But the way they have you update the firmware is to first upgrade a utility program on the Windows/Mac machine"

The program is the imaging software that comes with the camera for Windows or Mac.

 

"You have to have an unrelated piece of equipment, viz. a computer with a particular piece of software on it"

 

How many people are going to drop 2 grand on a digital camera and not use it with a computer. Admittedly, the E-1 is one camera you can sucessfully print right off the CF card, but not many users will forgo the computer.

 

"to have a manufacturing defect in you camera fixed"

"If the camera needs repair to its firmware"

 

There is no manufacturing defect to fix (unlike many other DSLR bodies that have been released), and the firmware upgrades are not repairs, but "upgrades".

 

"Linux's problems with colour management are not quite solved yet"

 

That is unfortunate, but I feel for uses like digital photography Linux will only get farther and farther behind. Heck, I was never even able to get the scanner access to work reliably, but I had no interest in becoming a Linux expert, just a user. I even ran a dual boot Linux-Windows machine and used Linux for all I could, but Windows and Mac just got better and better.

Can Linux now read NFTS partitions?

Frank, I can assure you with total certainty that the upgrade works great on a Mac through firewire.

 

 

I used to be a Linux guy myself (I was a big fan of the Enlightenment window manager), but it just never was the thing for digital photography, they might have the color management thing down now, but didn't when I used it.

 

 

I've been using SLRs since 1973, and I'm a huge fan of Nikon, (I still have every piece of Nikon equipment I ever bought), and I was going to buy the D2h and some AF lens, but I really didn't need that much camera but I did "need" weather sealing. The E-1 with it's D2h like weather sealing and construction, as well as more resolution was perfect for me. Like everyone else, I am anxious to see the D2x, I doubt I'll buy one, but you never know.

 

Edwin

"do fault Oly for small-sensored.... E-1...tiny chip....also has less resolution... E-1 with lousy resolution... Image quality matters most."

 

 

Yes image quality does matter most, and resolution is only one part of it.

 

 

The "tiny chip" isn't really much smaller at all.

 

 

Comparing the Kodak KAF-5101CE 4/3 sensor to say the APS sized sensor of the 10D, we see that the Canon CMOS has a size advantage of only 1.6mm in the verticle dimension, and 4.7mm in the horizontal. So most of the size differential in comparison to APS sized sensors is due to the aspect ratio, 4/3 vs 3/2.

 

 

Compared to the current APS sized sensors the Kodak 4/3 sensor has much more resistance to blowing the highlights, retains highlight detail much better, has far more accurate color due to superior auto white balance of the E-1, and in it's rated ISO 100-800 range noise isn't a problem at all and certainly cleans up very easily with processing like NeatImage. Much more easily than trying to adjust color after the fact, one reason many users have switched to the Olympus, to decrease post processing time. The accurate metering of the E-1 compliments the performance of the Kodak sensor very well.

 

 

Edwin

I've had my E-1 since January, and it could not be a more positive experience.

No dust spots yet, we have had 2 meaningful firmware upgrades already, the lens quality continues to impress me, the 11-22 in particular is outstanding among wide zooms, and it seems a lot more photographers have embraced the system as an alternative.

If Olympus sticks to their lens "roadmap", that will tell us more about the future of this system than all the opinions we've see on the various camera web forums combined.

I have the Auto Rokkor 28mm f3.5, MC 28mm f3.5 (55 and 67 filter rings versions), MC 28mm f2.8, MC 28mm f2.5, and the MC 28mm f2.0.

In no way is the MC Rokkor 28mm f2.0 inferior to the others, even if you don't need the extra speed, it's just the best 28mm lens Minolta made, period. It's easily on par with my MC Rokkor 21mm & 24mm f2.8 lens.

Now the downside to the f2.0, it's pretty expensive, I think I paid $179 for mine (mint) off ebay, where as the excellent MC 28mm f2.5 or f2.8 can be had for much less ($79 like new at KEH, $53 for the MD EX shape or even cheaper on eBay).

The late MD 28mm f2.0 was changed to a 9/9 optical design from the 10/9 of the MC Rokkor-X and MD Rokkor as well as the filter thread being changed to 49mm, and I have no experience with that late model except that it's reputation is excellent.

 

Edwin

Hi Andrew, I own 12 other film SLRs (and I use all of them but I've never considered myself a collector) and maybe 30 prime lens (some obvious duplication of focal lengths) from 17mm to 500mm and the E-1 is really a delight when it comes to portability compared to these 35mm prime lens & body setups.

Don't get me wrong, the 1Ds and "L" primes is the highest quality thing going, no question about it, but for my non pro use, it's hardly required. I initially considered selling everything, even my XM Motor Minolta and 85mm Varisoft lens to get a Canon 1Ds and a few zooms, but I think I'll hang on to the old bodies and lens a while longer, I've gotten very attached to them, they are mostly in mint shape and a pleasure to use.

If money were no object, I'd get a 150mm f2.0 Zuiko and a 300mm Zuiko f2.8 to go with my E-1 system and have the 300mm "customized" in white with a matching Zuiko teleconverter.

http://www.myfourthirds.com/

 

This website will give you a better idea of the photographic qualities of the camera than any number of words ever could.

 

That said, if you need to shoot at over ISO 800 regularly, get a Fuji or a Canon. For sports a D2h or 1D MkII. But if you just a regular photographer, the weather sealed E-1 with the 11-22, 14-54, and 50-200 Zuikos will most likely cover your needs. Fast, light, compact, and ergonomically it's the best body out there. As best I can tell, the sensor is optimized for dynamic range and color accuracy, not noise, and it shows in the beauty of the photographs. And the lens, being optimized for the sensor, are wonderfully sharp to the edge even wide open with very little distortion or CA.

And if we get an E-3 with 8MP and 8FPS ($$$$) in the next year, well the E-1 will make a terrific backup, or in my case, a DSLR for the girlfriend with the 14-54.<div></div>

Gripes, things I'd like to see in a firmware upgrade, etc.

The HLD-2 Power Battery Grip BLL-1 batery uses a different charger than the body's battery, a "travel charger" that would charge both would be very convenient (especially if it ran off 12 volt also) but is currently unavailable.

 

Autofocus could be faster, especially in low light, but at least it's always dead accurate! Plus there is a improvemnet when you use the HLD-2 Battery Grip.

 

You have to replace the focusing screen to get one with the "grid", it'd be nice to be "electronic", but once you replace it with the grid screen you won't go back to the regular one. Both are great for manual focusing, and the manual focus "by wire" is the best on the market.

 

Metering (3 modes) is superb on the body, but multi-spot metering would be nice.

 

More custom reset functions and more registerable functions, as well as more parameters easily adjusted by pushing a couple of buttons and turning the command dial, rather than going through the menu system.

 

Greater zoom range on the LCD display of images.

 

Prime lens, but they're coming however, along with some very nice zooms.

 

Wireless flash options, however the FL-50 is amazingly well integrated and works splendidly.

 

Lower noise at ISO 800, however it cleans up beautifully with NeatImage, and otherwise the camera's images require the least post processing of any DSLR due to accurate auto white blance.

 

Much faster in camera noise processing.

 

A better battery meter.

 

Instant histogram is desired by many, but it's not a big deal for me.

 

A finer adjustment on the in camera contrast control.

 

How about a dedicated Olympus case for the E-1 & 14-54 Zuiko and the HLD-2 Power Battery Grip.

 

A tougher connection for the remote cord.

 

Many users fuss that the ISO setting isn't constantly displayed, but this isn't a film camera and you are free to change ISO as you wish, and the same with the focus mode selector, I think it's nice it doesn't lock as you can easily switch it to any mode you like.

 

The selected focus indicator isn't illuminated, not a big deal to me as I usually use just the center one.

 

A teleconverter that can be used with the prime lens at f2.0.

 

An upgraded Olympus Studio that works faster (probably coming with the "pro" E-?.

 

More focusing screen selections.

 

Nobody makes an "L" plate for the body or battery grip yet.

 

 

 

Must have accessories.

 

The Kirk E-1 body (or Power Grip) Arca plate.

 

A good (no, great) tripod & ball head.

 

The Power Battery Grip.

 

The remote cord.

 

The FL-50 flash & Stofen OmniBounce.

 

Several sets of 2300mAh NIMH AAs & charger for the FL-50.

 

The 11-22 Zuiko lens, it's that good.

 

Fast (Lexar 40X or Sandisk Extreme or Transcend 45X) cards.

 

The Grip Strap.

 

The grid screen.

 

The 50mm Macro f2.0 lens, very small, very light, very sharp.

 

NeatImage and FocalBlade (or equivalent) to use with PS CS.

 

Olympus Studio ($130!) cause it's RAW convertor is much better than the "generic" one in even the updated Adobe Camera RAW (although the free Viewer gives you it too) and the other features (camera control, etc.).

I have had an E-1 since early January, and you just have to get the 11-22 lens. If you like a wide angle zoom, you will absolutely love it. When Olympus comes out with the "pro series zooms" (35-150mm, f2.8 & 14-42.5mm f2.0 ??) next year, they and the 11-22 will probably be the lens I'll carry in a kit.

As far as the battery capacity with the hand grip, 850 to 1100 shots depending on how much you use the LCD.