Camera Labs

Hi,

I'm new here so basically I'm an architecture student, not a photographer, but it's important that we take a lot of photos and I have an interest in photography anyway, but I'm by no means an expert nor do I aspire to be. However I am planning on buying a DSLR and have found that right in my budget I can get an Olympus E-620 with 14-42mm lens kit. The girl in the store kind of wanted to steer me away from the Olympus to buy the equivalent Canon DSLR because she said she prefers Canon and for a first DSLR the lenses are more readily available for Canon than for Olympus (I'm in Ireland by the way)

Anyway I just wanted some opinions of some people who are more in the know than I am.

Thanks

I don't know much about olympus but I looked on amazon and for an extra £50 you can get the 14-42 and the 40-150mm. Also wide angle lenses are very good for photographing building so you might want to consider the olympus 9-18mm for around £400. If you are planing on using this camera for a long time this would lens would definitely benefit you.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

Olympus is a dead brand now honeslty. You can get better sensors with Canon & Nikon at the same price & cheaper lenses too.

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Gear: Nikon D80, 18-105mm, 35mm F/1.8, 85mm F/1.8, SB-600
Visit my work here

thanks for that. I guess there's nothing to stop me getting those lenses later on though?

thanks Razvan. I do like the idea of the articulating screen though. any similarly priced alternatives?

Olympus is far from dead, but really alive isnt it too.

They make good DSLRs and excelent lenses, and if you dont want to buy new stuff over 10 years I dont know why you shouldnt buy Olympus.
Over 10 years there's enough used Olympus lenses on the market if it's really dead then.

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

There is the d5000 and the more expensive 60d with articulated screens.

_________________
Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

Being the seemingly only resident Oly fan-boy, I agree with the sentiment that the Olympus direction for the FourThird format has been more focused on the micro4/3 side of things lately - giving less attention to the development of new 4/3 DSLRs. Nevertheless, I would also submit that with the introduction of the e-5, that they are far from dead -- for those of us who prefer Olympus products.

To the OP, I would make sure you are very clear why you want to go with the e-620. My personal decision was taken on the basis of the following points:
* outstanding build quality - using glass fibre to create a light, strong body
* excellent feature-set vs price point - including things such as full auto-bracketing (even ISO), depth-of-field preview, live view w/face detection, etc.
* Super Control panel and direct control buttons
* body size - even with my large hands, the e-620 is a dream to handle - even with one hand -- for me
* Olympus-Zuiko glass is the best glass available, even at the budget lens level.
* Olympus colours are legendary

I do admit to my harbouring considerable disappointment that there is nothing on the horizon to replace the e-620 or e-30. However, do I really intend to upgrade my body any time soon? Nope -- my previous digital was a Canon G3 -- and I used it heavily for more than 6 years before I bought the e-620. If the e-620 needs to be replaced in less than 5 years, then I will be discouraged -- I expect this will not be the case -- it's nearly 2 years old already and is a wonderful companion for all my photography needs.

Be clear on what you want in a camera, and then get into a proper camera shop and handle the e-620 -- because it very well may not be the right feel in your hands, and this is the most important test after you read all the conflicting opinions (I stress that these are opinions) out there.

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Olympus e-620 / 14-42mm / 40-150mm
Metz 48 AF-1
Kata 3-N-1 20, LowePro Orion Mini, LowePro Nova 2
My Flickr

thanks for your help.

The deal for the E-620 was the camera with a 14-42mm lens, a case and a memory card for €499.99 (£421 UK or $679 US) .Is that a good price, just so I can compare?

Thanks again

First off, you're right in that picking up an Olympus, even if things were to go sideways and the DSLR business were to shut down, you could still get lenses for many years to come on the used market - so as long as the camera could serve your needs, you were happy with it, and you didn't have any upgrade body needs, a person could shoot for many happy years with an out-of-production camera or brand. Just make sure you research the camera, make sure you like it, and that the lens availability now and in the future won't be a worry. And for now, Olympus is still in the game.

Secondly, you asked about articulating screens, and received some mention of the available Canon 60D or Nikon D5000. To add to that list, take a look at almost any Sony DSLR as tilting screens have been one of their big features for many years now - the A500, A550, A560, A580, A33, and A55 of the recent models all have tilting LCD screens. These also all have the only truly usable live view systems of any DSLR - as they can shoot with full phase-detect autofocus and with no shutter delay. Like Olympus, they have in-body stabilization, and have backwards compatibility to another defunct brand - Minolta. All Minolta Maxxum/Dyxum lenses will work normally on Sony bodies. The sensor in the A500/550 and A33 is the same as that in the Pentax KX, Nikon D3100, and D5000. The sensor in the A580 is the same as in the D7000 and Pentax K5 (Sony makes most of the sensors for both Nikon and Pentax).

In the end, the brand doesn't much matter - and I know some photogs still shooting with Minolta bodies who take better photos than some folks picking up brand-new high-tech Nikon D7000s. The camera brand won't make you a good photographer - it's just a tool. If you are fully aware of Olympus' focus lately on their Micro 4:3 line rather than the DSLR line, and that they may or may not continue DSLRs in the future, then as long as you're happy with it, go for it. Otherwise, certainly consider what's available from Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Pentax too.

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

+1 to Justin's points.

In the end it's about what the camera feels like in your hands. I ended up ignoring most of what I read on the internet in the reviews, and got my best advise from my local camera shop where the employee was not on a commission, but was a photographer first. He was a Canon life-time shooter, and we talked at length about the various models and makes. In the end, he suggested I try on the e-620 for size, and after playing with it for some time and making at least 4 more trips back to the store, that's where I landed.

Insofar as the articulating screen is concerned. The best implementation, bar none, is the side-swing-out hinge as on the e-620 or 60D. The Nikon bottom hinge interferes with a tripod mount, and the tilt-out screen doesn't really give the fullest flexibility.

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Olympus e-620 / 14-42mm / 40-150mm
Metz 48 AF-1
Kata 3-N-1 20, LowePro Orion Mini, LowePro Nova 2
My Flickr

wrong & subjective.
sharpness depends of the sensor size as much as the optics. I know Olympus has some amazing optics,but atached to their bodies are producing the same level of details (or less) than the bigger sensor cameras.
The only cool feature of built-in IS,which is very useful, is somewhat neglectable because of the higher prices for Olympus glass. I admire the built quality of Olympus products,when Canon for example still feels very cheap & glossy in the begginer department.

This conversation is not about features that you might not need,like articulated screen. This is about pure quality/price efficiency.

_________________
Gear: Nikon D80, 18-105mm, 35mm F/1.8, 85mm F/1.8, SB-600
Visit my work here

well actually I beg to differ, because I think this conversation is about features such as the articulating screen, because I already said I'm not a photographer, and already said that I believe that will be a useful feature for me, but I do appreciate the advice