Olympus E510 vs Canon 400D body + EF 28-135mm IS USM

ciarancummins

Hi,

I'm looking for advice, feedback. Sorry if the title suggested otherwise.

I am going to purchase my first DSLR and I am trying to decide between 2 choices:

1. Olympus E510 with Kit 14-42 mm 1:3.5-5.6 Lens (€800)
2. Canon 400D body + EF 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens (€870~€580+€290)

The Olympus is very recent, and reviews seem to be excellent. Features such as built in IS and live view really appeal to me. I will have to get a general pupose zoom lens at some stage I would say. (Would you?)

The Canon brand appeals to me, and the 400D reviews are quite good, but the camera is already a year old. The lens is the only reason I want to go for this, as I stumbled across this price.

I was Very close to buying the Olympus, but I this has really put me off. I have been reading reviews, websites, forums for days and have ruled out the likes of the Pentax K10D, Nikon 40X, and Olympus E410.

Also, what speed CF cards are needed to not slow down these camera's? What is a decent size, nothing too big, don't want to lose too much if it ever happens? Would a SanDisk Ultra II 4GB be good, or is it noticeable to get an Ultra III, or IV for these specs?

So, hit me! Let me know what you think from experience, owning one etc...

Thank you in advance,
Ciaran

magicbastarder

i don't know much about the canon, but speaking as an E500 owner, bear this in mind - the olympus has a smaller viewfinder, and it's also got a smaller range of available lenses. but they're good cameras.

zerobeen?

Hey, you're definitely better off with the Canon. I'm shooting semi professionally for the Ulster Bank, among others, and it's a brilliant camera. The kit lens is decent, if nothing spectacular, you do have a huge range of lense options available too. I work in a photo lab/camera shop, and I have to say I've yet to be impressed with an Olympus camera.

Olympus is a company which specialises in compact, consumer level cameras, and the E510 is a high end camera for them, whereas Canon produce pro cameras. The 400D is more like a high spec camera toned down a notch, as opposed to a low spec camera toned up.

Hope this helps

ciarancummins

I can see where you are both coming from. I plan on going to a local camera shop today to hold use both of them. the attraction to the E510 is the built in IS and liveview. The built in IS will mean cheaper lens upgrades, and liveview is appearing on Canons higer end DSLR's. The Canon is over a year old at this stage and I'd say there is E450 around the corner.

I have to say I am a bit of a gadgets person, not necessarily going to get very serious about it. I am coming from a point and shoot background and that is why the liveview really appeals to me. I would not use it all the time, but having it as an option, and also for other people to use would be geat.


By the way, what about the lens I mentioned I was going to get with the Canon? it would be my only lens at the start, is it good ok for close'ish shots, not marco stuff.

SanDisk 4GB Ultra II CF card good choice, or is faster better. I dont think camera can actually take advantage of faster? Prove me wrong...


thanks,
Ciaran

TelePaul

ciarancummins wrote:

I can see where you are both coming from. I plan on going to a local camera shop today to hold use both of them. the attraction to the E510 is the built in IS and liveview. The built in IS will mean cheaper lens upgrades, and liveview is appearing on Canons higer end DSLR's. The Canon is over a year old at this stage and I'd say there is E450 around the corner.

I have to say I am a bit of a gadgets person, not necessarily going to get very serious about it. I am coming from a point and shoot background and that is why the liveview really appeals to me. I would not use it all the time, but having it as an option, and also for other people to use would be geat.


By the way, what about the lens I mentioned I was going to get with the Canon? it would be my only lens at the start, is it good ok for close'ish shots, not marco stuff.

SanDisk 4GB Ultra II CF card good choice, or is faster better. I dont think camera can actually take advantage of faster? Prove me wrong...


thanks,
Ciaran

I wouldn't let the fact that a '450D' might be on the cards put you off; I have the 350D and it's a great camera.

Practical photography reviewed the Olympus last month. It was an okay review I think, nothing special. The lens you have is fine, with a crop factor of 1.6 it's the equivalent of a 200+mm zoom on a film camera - i think I have that right. And with image stabiliser you should be able to shoot handheld without much grief.

Calina

There are a couple of Olympus users who may have their own views to add.

YOu don't say what you want from the camera. I'd be wary of buying the Olympus - not because it's a bad camera, but because lenses are generally on average more expensive and less easy to get. Both the Olympus guys I know have complained a bit about that. I shot film with Olympus for about 15 years and their cameras are generally, very, very good and their lenses are excellent.

The Canon is a very, very good camera with a corresponding range of lenses available. I have a 350D and cannot complain about it.

Speed of the cards is pretty much not so important unless you are doing a lot of continuous shooting. I do, and get on fine with Sandisk Ultra IIs and one Extreme III.

What is noticeable about your post is that you are not talking about what you want to do with the camera, but with the gadget freakery side of things. You need to decide what sort of photographs you are going to want to take rather than asking how people get on with X Y and Z. What you want to do with the camera is kind of important when discussing what kind of a camera you want to get.

ciarancummins

I come from a compact background. I have always used the lcd to compose pictures, so liveview really appeals to me. I know it's limitations, and that nothing beats the lens viewfinder for accurate composition.

Friends have a Canon 350D and a Nikon 40. Both take pictures that are always "better" in every way than a compact, even when just using it in auto mode. I will be taking pictures at family occasions, and with a camera of this quality I would start to take landscape/scenic pictures. The results from a compact have always disappointed me. That is probably down to my skills too.

I want a camera that I will take seriously, maybe even go to a class. My wife has a good compact for the pocket, quick snaps. I want a camera that will be great out of the box, and also allows me to take it more seriously if I want to in the future.

Price is a concen for me, I always research alot before buying to get value for money.

I can now get an Olympus E-510 Kit incl. 14-42 + 40-150 mm for €830.39 del.
I can get a Canon E400 kit and EF 28-135mm IS USM for €900 (€650+€250) Friend works in Argos, staff discount.

I prob will not need a new lens for a good while, other than the nifty 50 for the canon that I know alot of people use.

Hope this clears up where I am coming from,

Ciaran

magicbastarder

zerobeen? wrote:

Olympus is a company which specialises in compact, consumer level cameras, and the E510 is a high end camera for them

no, it's actually their mid range DSLR. their high end one is due to be replaced in the next month or two.

magicbastarder

my main reason for buying the olympus was the fact that i have 5 OM zuiko primes, 3 OM zuiko zooms, and a tamron OM mount; and i bought the adapter for the E500. so i have lots of lenses for it, albeit with reduced functionality.

the olympus weaknesses would be the reduced lens range, smaller viewfinder, and inferior performance at high ISO. but, as you say, it has several advantages too.

duffarama

Hello there,
I have the E-410 with live view, and the twin lens kit (which I'd recommend over the single lens kit, anyway...) and I think it's a fabulous little camera. The E-510 is better but not by much I'd say.

What you get with the Olympus is 2 very good kit lenses, sharp but a bit slow at times. Live view can be useful but it's not the best for using to take photos, composing a shot yes but very slow for shooting on the fly.

As for what card to get, the Olympus also has a dual slot so you can use xd and cf cards, I've a 2GB card of each in mine. The most you can take with either in a burst is 3 shots, which is decent at this price point.

I ain't liking the Olympus hating above by the way, they make very good SLR cameras and the upcoming Pro model should be peachy. There are more players in the market than Canon.

nilhg

Hi Ciaran

Another Oly user here, I think of the choices above the Oly is the best bet, and I am basing this on the lens choice. A 28mm on a 1.6 (= 44.8) crop camera is not wide enough for the uses you have given below. It may be a decent lens but you will want a wider lens very quickly.

Look at the Oly twin kit which gives a 35mm equivalent of 28 to 300, the Canon is 44.8 to 216. You will notice the difference especially at the wide end.

ciarancummins

I just had the 2 in my hands, (in my opinion) and in terms of finish, the E510 is far nicer. It has a rough plastic feel, the 400D has a clean moulded look to it, maybe a bit too plasticy.

There are probably too many buttons on the E510, but the menus are quick to navigate through. I took more than 3 pics in multi-pic mode, not sure where you saw 3 limit? The 2 lens kit is quality and the anti-dust is supposed to be alot better than the 400D.

I have decided to go with the E510, for €830 del for the kit I am a happy bunny and think I have made the correct, informed choice. Plus, it has a 2 year international warranty. 1year more than most...

Hmm, everyone else choses canon for a reason....

Sigh, I'm not looking back,
Ciaran

Calina

Congratulations Ciaran, you'll be well fine with it.

Grow up, kids

Good choice man. You should consider the 50mm f2 as your first lens purchase. Stunning lens, it rarely leaves my camera.

ciarancummins

Hi,

Thanks for the advice, where would you suggest I buy the f2 50mm?

Ciaran

magicbastarder

if this is the macro lens, a mate of mine bought one in halls on talbot street.

Grow up, kids

magicbastarder wrote: »

if this is the macro lens, a mate of mine bought one in halls on talbot street.

It's probably me you're talking about.

I paid €550 for it in Halls about 6 months back. I spotted one new on EBay for €380 yesterday though.

MICKNOLAN

Can anyone tell me where the best buy for the above camera is? I would really appreciate it.Thanks.

nilhg

I bought mine here

barryfitz

Wehey. first post in the Photography forum. Just picked up an E510 in the states. My brother is out there and got it yesterday. Sadly I wont be seeing it for a week or two tough. Im very much a beginner, Im coming from a P&S camera so I suppose I have a lot of learning to do. Any advice for my bro when transporting the camera home?

pete4130

Barryfitz,

I recommend you get your bro to flatpack the box your cam came in with receipts etc..., post that home to you and for him to get a small cam bag and place the cam in his luggage that way. If by chance he did happen to get stopped by customs when entering Ireland they won't suspect the camera as having just been bought and wont be looking to charge the VAT on it. chances are you probably don't need to do any of that though.