Olympus DSLR

[John G]

I'm thinking of buying myself, sorry the company :D , a new digital camera and need a little bit info from the camera buffs on here. The model I'm looking at is the Olympus E420 DSLR with the twin lens at a decent prices of around the £380.00 mark. The reason for this model is I think its the smallest DSLR on the market - I don't want to have to lug around a huge camera bag with loads of lenses and accessories.

I've had an SLR before but it was an old pentax K1000 film camera so I kind of know my way around an SLR. Any info on this camera would be appreciated such as build quality, picture quality and ease of use - or even alternative brands.

Cheers John

[Paul]

personaly I would't buy a Olympus :) I dont know why. never had one but I just would't ;)

I think all best about dslr's r lenses. so I like to have a lot of them. but every one is diferent.

if you realy want small dslr why not have a look on sony alpha series? A230 is VERY small! and you can get old and classic minolta lenses. very good quality and in good price ;)

btw. what you r planing to photograph John??

[John G]

Hi Paul, I think the sony is quite large compared to the olympus, I was wanting something the same size as a bridge camera - thats why i was thinking of the Olympus as its small compared to the rest.

I haven't used my Pentax slr since I got my first digital camera - a 1.3mp kodak that came free with a Tiny Computer. The photo quality was pretty bad but got me hooked on digital, since then i've had a Canon, Nikon and am currently using a Fuji s5600 - nothing compares to an slr lens though for clarity.

I used to take photo's of everything including camping trips, my kids, landscapes and for competitions but lately my Fuji is solely used for website shots.

I've been thinking of photography as a hobby again and not just for work so thinking of joining a camera club too.

Cheers John

[Paul]

hmmm... well... I dont think you need dslr then tbh John. but if you thinking about joining camera club I recomend you to get bigger piece of dslr ;)
but there is saying... not camera taking pictures. photographer does... :) so its realy all about your knolage not the camera :)
but as you sias... nothing can compare with good bit of "glass" :)

btw. I just finish my first "glamoure" shot. I can show it off if you wish ;)

[John G]

Hi Paul,
Yes, I know its the person who takes the photo that counts but since going from a film slr to compact digitals i've always been disapointed in the quality of the end result. I love the ease of digital photography and have had some decent results but you can't replicate the image an slr gives due to the superior lenses available, no matter how much you photoshop it.

I tend to disagree about not needing an slr for landscapes - I think you need the quality of lens to get the info and sharpness in the background. I bet you enjoyed the glamour shoot - studio type work never really interested me but I think camera clubs do a fair bit of this so might have to have my arm twisted a bit. :D

Going back to the Olympus E420 - do you not rate it due to it being a smaller, four thirds, sensor or is it the Olympus build quality?

Cheers John

[swimwivsquid]

John, I have been a pro photographer for forty odd years,owned and run a pro lab and have been using olympus gear since the old OM1 days. Always liked the compactness of the marque and when dragged screaming into the digital age have bought an Olympus 520 which I am very pleased with. With an adapter it even uses my old analogue lenses. Nikon and Canon are very good, have used both...recently a Canon D5 and exceptional quality but for my general work I still go back to the olympus. It handles right and the results are stunning. If you need it to built like a tank then go for the pro version but otherwise I don't think you will be disapointed.

[John G]

Thanks for that - I'll not need a bomp proof pro version so the 420 or even 520 would suit me fine. Think i'll pop into currys/dixons and have hold of the olympus and compare it against the sony/nikon/canon DSLR's. I think i'll know which one to go for as soon as I pick it up.

Thanks for the advice so far Paul & swimwivsquid

Cheers John

[swimwivsquid]

John thats exactly right..if it feels right then thats the one.

[Paul]

sorry John about that I make some mess in your topic but just want to show off my first "lady" shot. :P

http://trzebuchowscy.com/MMH/images/c5vn54bf9166aw5x0bn4.jpg

what you think?

[Calypso Bay]

Wow,

That is an awesome picture.

[Paul]

thank you. one of my first glamure shots ;)

[John G]

Excellent shot Paul, pin sharp and nice model too! :D