Camera Labs

I don't understand the limited power options on cameras like the E-410 and E-510. These are supposed to be serious cameras, and they should have more options than just a proprietary battery that peters out quickly (and then takes hours to recharge). I am a product photographer. If I want to spend 5 hours photographing products, I need a camera that has a power adapter -- yet neither of these cameras do.

I was intending to buy the E-510 because it has live view. I photograph jewelry components from above, and looking through a viewfinder is very awkward from that position. If I use live view constantly, the battery will peter out after 200 to 300 shots -- which won't take long if I take a dozen shots of each item. If I am using the camera right out of the box, I would have no choice but to stop working and charge the battery for five hours. In order to prevent that, I will have to buy extra batteries (and they aren't cheap!) AND I would have to have the foresight to charge them ahead of time.

Why doesn't Olympus anticipate situations like mine? And why, Gordon, don't you indicate this lack as a shortcoming in your reviews?

Right now I am very disappointed that I CAN'T buy the camera I've been looking forward to buying for several months. These cameras are the first good DSLRs with live view that I have seen.

Hi Caleb, welcome to the Cameralabs forums!

As far as I know, there's no AC adapter accessory for the E-510. I didn't mention this as a shortcoming in my review as it wouldn't bother as many people as some other aspects, such as the viewfinder or manual focusing.

If you're after Live View and a DC input option from a DSLR, I'd wait for the highly anticipated Olympus pro DSLR. Its predecessor the E1 has a DC input, so it's likely to be present on the new model.

We're only speculating now, but judging from the prototype photos, the new model will have Live View AND a flip out screen, which I'd imagine would be even better-suited to your style of photography.

So fingers-crossed there's an official announcement later this year!

Our preview is here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/analysis/Olym ... age3.shtml

Gordon

Thank you for your response.

I've only owned point-and-shoot cameras before, so I find it surprising to be upgrading to a DSLR only to find that it is lacking a feature my point-and-shoot camera has.

I do think that you should mention this kind of thing in your reviews. How pitiful is it that a device costing $1000 only works for 2 hours and then must be recharged for 5 hours? At the very least, Olympus should include two batteries.

Upgrading to Olympus' new pro model may not be feasible because I don't have huge amounts of money to spend on a camera -- I want to keep my expenditure to $1000.

Your site is great, by the way -- I discovered it just recently, and already it is a favorite place to visit.

Caleb

I've been looking on eBay, and I've discovered that there are many third-party versions of Olympus' battery which are very cheap. Are third-party batteries generally safe? If so, I could get a bunch of them and that would solve my problem. There are also many third-party chargers.

Caleb

Hi Caleb, you might want to read this thread about third party batteries:

http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=544

May I ask why you'd prefer to use a DSLR to a point and shoot? If the latter is in a studio environment, you can fix the ISO at 100 and get pretty good quality. The macro modes are normally excellent and as you say, you also often get DC inputs. And maybe also an articulating screen for easier composition... If you can't stretch to a higher end DSLR, it strikes me a higher-end P&S could be a great choice...

Gordon

The reason I want a DSLR is, first, because of my perfectionist nature, and second, because of all of the reviews and sample photos I have looked at! I have looked at hundreds of sample photos, and I find that even good point-and-shoot cameras -- such as the Canon A-series (which I've bought before) -- have quite a lot of noise even at low ISOs.

I sometimes use crops of 100% to show my customers various aspects of the products, and I want those crops to be noise-free. Also, I want the very best color accuracy, since my current point-and-shoot -- the Canon A620 -- doesn't always render the same colors that I see with my eyes (although that may be due to my monitor).

But there's more. I am moving from New York City to a town in New England with 11,000 people, and I expect to be doing a lot of photographing around the town, since it is so cute. So I'm not just a product photographer.

When I went to my new town for a vacation, I took dozens of photographs with my Canon A620 (on Auto) and was surprised by how much noise there was in the pictures -- more noise, in fact, than I used to get with my Canon A40 on Auto, which was the first digital camera I owned. The amount of noise was really shocking, and that -- plus looking at all those sample pictures -- has led me to the opinion that noise is increasing in P&S cameras. Thus my desire for a DSLR.

I'll read the thread on batteries. Thanks!

Caleb

Yeah, well the noise! There is no way around it than to buy a DSLR with a large sensor.
As to your energy probs: May I suggest you get a cam with a battery grip? The only other solution are more (third party) batteries.
Even better - buy the Nikon D80: you can get a power adapter for it!
(You knew, I would say this )

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