Olympus E-330

YeAh!

After continuously viewing this photography forum and viewing the fantastic photos that people upload here I have come to realise that I am certainly never going to reach this standard on my Fujifilm Finepix F410 (stop laughing..........I mean it!).

I am an amateur who has gone past the point and shoot stage and want to move on to something more serious so I think its time to find myself a midrange camera. I've been checking out the Olympus E-330. It looks great, has a huge set of options to keep me busy and learning, even though most of them i dont (yet) understand, low power consumption, 7.5 megapixels and can get from ebay for about €950 new with charger.

I think its the best thing to do, to buy the midrange camera and get straight stuck in there learning how to be a good photographer besides messing around with an entry-level digital camera that will never give me the results I want to achieve. All thoughts, comments, views and cash (to fund the camera) welcome

masteroftherealm

I would much more reccomend you go for a Canon or a Nikon. Both have models superior to the e-330 in the same price range and the options on each will outlast you.

il gatto

I bought a Canon Eos-350D before Christmas and I have found it to be fantastic. It's my first digital camera but I have found it very similar in usage to film. It's very flexible. You can with practice, create stunning photos in-camera. Always the best way. Battery life is really good too. It feels a little small i your hand, but there is a battery grip available, which I highly recommend, even if you don't buy the second battery straightaway, it feels great and looks the part(If that matters to you). You should check out Topvisionshop.com It's based in Luxemburg. I bought mine there. I got two decent enough Sigman lenses(18-55 and 70-300) a battery grip, the Eos-350D body and a Lowepro rucksack for less than 1200euro including shipping. And they were fast too.

Ruu_Old

il gatto wrote:

I bought a Canon Eos-350D before Christmas and I have found it to be fantastic. It's my first digital camera but I have found it very similar in usage to film. It's very flexible. You can with practice, create stunning photos in-camera. Always the best way. Battery life is really good too. It feels a little small i your hand, but there is a battery grip available, which I highly recommend, even if you don't buy the second battery straightaway, it feels great and looks the part(If that matters to you). You should check out Topvisionshop.com It's based in Luxemburg. I bought mine there. I got two decent enough Sigman lenses(18-55 and 70-300) a battery grip, the Eos-350D body and a Lowepro rucksack for less than 1200euro including shipping. And they were fast too.

Im after that one also when I get a few quid.

antifuse

I'm with everyone here. Go with the Nikon D50 or Canon 350D. They're both highly recommended in all the reviews. If you want to buy online, check out the links in the sticky at the top of the page, Warehouse Express is particularly good (I would personally recommend against ebay - for the camera itself, at least. Most of the time you can get equally good deals online, and those dealers are actually recognized by the manufacturers). Most importantly, though, go to an actual shop (Jessops, or whatever), and actually hold one in your hand. I was looking at the 350D at first, but it is just too small for my hands, so I ended up with the D50 (which also happens to be a bit cheaper) and I love it!

Smokeyskelton

It is whatever you feel comfortable with. check out dpreview.com or stevesdigicams.com for good reviews of all these cameras and more. Go into shop and handle all the options. A DSLR certainly beats any p&s for speed and ability to change settings quickly, but obviously bigger and heavier (and more expensive).

The Canon 350D sounds great in theory and produces great images, but it is way too small to use comfortably in my opinion, others may disagree. I was all set to buy the Canon until I handled it in the shop. I Got the D70 myself and was very happy. The D50 is often described as the best value on the market. Practical Photographer did a head to head on the D50 v. 350D last month and preferred the D50, but it was pretty much a dead heat, with both cameras performing above their price points. they didn't do a comparison with the Olympus.

Both Nikon and Canon are ahead at the moment, but many love Olympus and other brands too. Read the various reviews, handle the cameras and see what suits you in terms of price, performance and ergonomics. It's you who will be using it at the end of the day.

If you are really going to get into photography see what lenses are available. Don't know much about Olympus top grade lenses, but have heard they are excellent, but expensive. Canon has the edge on longer lenses and Nikon the edge on wider lenses and use of flash, or so the common consensus seems to run. All three "systems" are very good it seems.

Also, check out what guarantee if any you get on ebay. Have never bought off ebay myself, so can't comment.

Sorry if that was too long, but better too much information than too little. Best of luck.

Smokey

halenger

Again another voice for Nikon or Canon. I've a D50 myself. Love the camera. Latest lens I bought was a late 80s 70-210mm f/4. It's old but it works and works well at that. You won't be able to do that with Olympus - as their DSLRs use 4/3s mount whereas their old lenses were OM mount. There are very few lenses and they are quite expensive. This may change after Photokina but that's a matter of waiting and seeing.

YeAh!

I really appreciate all your replys. I will read some more reviews on the Nikon D50 and Canon 350D before coming to my final decision. I will also visit camera shops and go through these cameras and get the feel of them etc which as mentioned is very important and something that I would have overlooked.
I hope I have it to enter the new photo challenge of "Long Exposure" .
Thanks again for all your help!