vuyisich

Thank you for the review. Your camera/lens combo is very appealing.

First of all, new 8400's have been selling on ebay for around $400, so no need to dish out 600.

 

I have owned an 8400 for 2 years, and I love the camera. The lens on it is better than any kit lens on any camera I know. I can get stunning 11x14. The camera is simply wonderful to handle as well, with the swiveling screen, NEF files, ...

 

The only downside is the speed. When I shoot a sequence of 3 bracketed NEF shots, the camera takes 30sec to record them. If you are shooting landscapes like I do, then it is not an issue. But if you shoot action, forget about it.

 

If you are interested, all shots posted on my website are taken with my 8400. www.wildwestgallery.com

Those are National Forests. You can search for Sandia mountains and Manzano Mountains, and you will find lots of info.

Just in case anyone cares, I just went to a local shop and compared (visually)

several viewfinders. Here are my observations:

 

Olympus E-500 is the smallest of all (really bad). Nikon D50 and Rebel XTi are

next in size (not big enough for my taste). Sony alpha and Canon 30D are

noticeably larger (acceptable). Nikon D80 is even larger, and by a good margin

(I don't know how Nikon does it). What is nice (IMO) about the D80 VF is that

the image is close (in your face), so that tunnel effect is gone. I don't know

how important VF is to most people, but to me that is in the top 3 features I

will look at when comparing/buying a dSLR.

 

I hope this helps someone.

Are you asking about the difference in camera or photo quality? As for the cameras, I don't know. Photo quality: I have seen 12x18 inch prints from both cameras, with L lenses. The prints were done by the same person on the same printer. The difference is very clear. When you get close to the print of 30D, the loss of details is obvious. On a 5D print, you can get as close to the print as you want, and it looks perfect to our eyes. The viewfinder on 5D is also amazing compared to 30D.

I vote for the Pentax, but this is only based on what I have read. The viewfinder is best, and the anti-shake itself pays off the camera compared to 2-3 Canon/Nikon IS lenses.

I would have considered buying if it had a 28mm lens and RAW. This way, there is no way I will buy it.

I also hate those flash animations.

Based on what I read, the camera's image quality is on par with the best 8MP cameras. Also, the lenses that come in the kit seem better than other kit lenses (canon/nikon 18-55). One major downside is that the viewfinder is so small in E500, that I would probably not buy the camera for that reason. If money is an issue, it's probably the most bang for the buck out there.

IMO, one of the main reasons why Oly dSLRs have not sold well is that their viewfinders are tiny. I looked through the E-500 viewfinder and asked myself "and they want me to compose pictures through that?"

 

Also, they must have invested a lot of money in development of the E-330, but it is not selling well, because it is not well engineered.

 

Oh well, I guess Sony is coming in with their practical approach and will put Oly out of business.

Here are some destinations, in the order from best to less best:

 

- Turqoise trail (HWY 14) to the top of Sandia Mtns. This road goes south of Santa Fe through some cute towns (like Madrid), then you drive to the top of Sandia Mtns. The view from the top at sunset is breathtaking! One way travel is 1.25hrs.

 

- Tent Rocks National Monument (about 45min from Santa Fe). Hike the 1.5 hr trail and bring a large memory card!

 

- Bandelier National Monument (spend about 1hr there). Don't forget to stop for a sunset photo at Overlook park in White Rock on the way back from Bandelier. You get a view similar to this one:

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/4093261&size=lg

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/3026865&size=lg (Bandelier)(distance from Santa Fe, 1hr)

 

- Valles Caldera National Preserve (west of Los Alamos on HWY4, 1hr from Santa Fe). This place is nice, but when clouds and fog come in, it turns into magic. You can see the caldera, Jemez springs, soda dam, Jemez canyon...

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/4601340

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/3200298&size=lg

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/3809408

 

- Ghost Ranch west of Espanola. Lots of short hikes, especially good for sunset. 1hr from Santa Fe.

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/4010385&size=lg

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/3966020&size=lg

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/3059690&size=lg

 

- The High Road to Taos (HWY 285, 76, 75, then 518). Visit Chimayo, Las Trampas (head east into the mountains as a side trip), Ranchos de Taos... Total time is 2hrs

 

- Santa Fe itself: lots of great architecture and people

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/3804029

 

- You can even find something nice in a grocery store:

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/3200269&size=lg

Will you have a car? How long will you be able to take off at a time (in terms of hours)? I need to know your range before I can make suggestions.

Canon 30D + 50mm f1.8 lens ($1500)

You just need a very nice light, and no GND or PS is necessary. Here is an example:

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/991254&size=lg

Steve and Erik. Thanks for your answers. They are exactly what I was hoping for.

If you shot a JPG instead of RAW (damn it!), and you want to process the photo

in PS (contrast, levels, color balance and saturation, sharpen...), would it be

better to convert it to 16bit TIFF before all the manipulations? Thanks.

From the sample photos available online, I would exclude the H5 because of the extreme purple fringing. Here is the same shot taken with:

 

Sony H5:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_h5-review/DSC00011.JPG

 

Canon S3:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s3-review/IMG_0028.JPG

 

Panasonic FZ7:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fz7-review/P1000002.JPG

 

Panasonic FZ30:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fz30-review/P1000117.JPG

 

Panasonic TZ1:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_tz1-review/P1000020.JPG

 

If you want a small camera, I think that TZ1 is the best. If you don't mind the size, I think the FZ30 is the best.

Nikon 8400 is awesome.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4898002

$250

Might want to check out the Nikon 8400. The lens is awesome. All my New Mexico pictures were taken with the camera.

I will be in Austin during the first week in July. Can someone suggest nature

photo locations in and around the city (within 2-3 hours of driving). What is

there to shoot in the "Hill Country" and where is it?

 

Thank you.

Thanks for another nice report.

If someone gave me an E-500, I would hurry and sell it. The viewfinder in that camera is so small, that it would make photography more frustrating than enjoyable. This is just my opinion.

More photos please. And more after-work reports. Thanks!