DSLRUsers.com

Hi,

I'm a little confused about my options with DSLRs (there's so much information out there, and it's been a long time since my last highschool photography class...)

At the moment, I'm using an Olympus E300, with two lenses. The standard kit lens, and a small telephoto (goes to 150mm). I bought the camera from my Dad when he upgraded, so it was pretty cheap and I didn't do a great deal of investigating since it was a good deal, I'd used the camera before and enjoyed it, and it was just so easy.

I'm a digital art student at the ANU, focusing mainly on animation and web composition. Photography is supplementary, but incredibly useful, and it's something I've really been enjoying getting into. Most of my photography is just stuff I take when I'm wandering around the city/suburbs/bush - I'm working on expanding my own photolibrary (it's a great source for web composition work), so mostly I just take photographs of anything that catches my fancy. I haven't done much portrait work, but that is something I'd really like to get into once I work up the courage to ask people to let me photograph them (I'm still a bit antsy about this, and about taking photos in busy public spaces - but reading the Street Photography thing in the FAQ was a bit of a confidence booster).

Recently, I've been getting a bit frustrated since I can't really do indoor work with the lenses I have. I can do it if I set up the tripod, but this makes it hard to just take a photograph just because something incidently catches my fancy - I tried to take a photograph of my morning porridge the other day, and had to give up since there wasn't enough light...

I've been looking around at getting a prime with a wide apature... which is where my dilemma comes in.

Olympus doesn't seem to have a comparable range of lenses at the lower end of the price range to that of Nikon/Canon. They have a "pancake" f2.8 25mm for $350; whereas Canon and Nikon both have f1.8 50mm for around $150. I know the $150 lenses aren't going to be the best quality lenses ever, but the reviews I've read of these lenses seem to be pretty favourable, and I've had a bit of a play with a friends canon 450D with that lens, and it was pretty nice.

I guess my question is pretty much: Since I don't really have much invested into my Olympus camera at the moment, is Olympus a brand I should be sticking too, or would it be advisable for me to switch to Canon or Nikon while it would still be relatively painless. I certianly don't expect Canon or Nikon to make me a better photographer, but I just don't know enough to know if my concerns about the range of lenses, quality of bodies, etc are really valid, or if I should just bite the bullet and start building a proper collection of Olympus lenses. Ideally, I would like to have at least one prime and a bigger telephoto, and something really good for macro would be good too. I am planning to upgrade the body (which will give me a whole new series oh headaches, all I know about bodies is that you attatch lens, adjust settings, take photograph) at some point, but if I am sticking with Olympus that is not such an issue right now (although advice on that is much appriciated).


Wow, that got a bit tl:dr for an intro post, but thanks a lot for anyone who gets through all that and can offer any advice.

Welcome to the forum. It's amazing, a new person who actually read the FAQ and put a meaningful location in their profile without being asked! Well done, 100 points! I haven't really got a good answer to your question but I know that a lot of people have plenty of useful information. I have the Nikon 50mm 1.8 and several friends have the Canon version and everyone I know loves them as a great bang for your buck. Personally, I think you will keep the lenses and upgrade the body, so if you don't have a huge investment in your current setup then look at other options. Go into the stores and have a play.

Hi Chia,

First and foremost, I recommend SWITCH - Nikon or Canon will give you more range to choose from over the Olympus - I vote Nikon (but I am biased).

If you do decide to change over to Nikon then consider a D80 (great value atm) or a D90. In terms of lenses if you dont want to get one of the many kits that these two cameras come in (18-135mm for D80 is my preferred, and 18-105mm VR for the D90) I would grab some affordable fast glass so look at the Tamron Action Kit (17-50mm f/2.8 + 70-300mm) and a 50mm f/1.8. This will allow you to have a well rounded kit that will do a good job for general work. Then as you progress look to get a Tamron 90mm Macro (regarded as one of the best macros in the 90-105mm range, and also the cheapest).

If you decide to go to Canon then consider the 450D or the 1000D (they are best bought in the twin IS kit's) and then add the 50mm f/1.8, with the Tamron 90mm Macro as a long term goal. Once again the Tamron Action Kit can be bought for these cameras as well.

If you want to retain Olympus and build a system around it then look to get the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 as your fast glass and either 35mm or 50mm f/2.8 macro (the Tamron does not come in Olympus mount) and then look at:
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/products/lense.html
Unfortunately I do not know the pricing on many of the four thirds mount lenses, but the Olympus 14-35mm f/2 looks good (will probably cost an arm and a leg though)

If you want to upgrade your body then look at the E-520 or aim for the E-3, keep in mind that staying with Olympus means you are buying into the Four-Thirds mount which is supported my Panasonic and Leica as well.

Hope this helps.

Hi Chia, and welcome.

I just finished 4 years at the ANU School of Art, so I know it is a great place to learn.

If your main purpose in changing is low light, then consider bodies with good low light characteristics. This will allow you to shoot at much higher ISO (light sensitivity) than otherwise. Unfortunately, this excludes all the cheap bodies. The Nikon D3 seems to be the best in this regard at the moment with second and third placegetters also Nikons. None are exactly cheap though. (D3 is > $7K)

At the more realistic end, Do third party lens makers do mounts for the Olympus? If so, something like the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 may work for you. Ideally, for low light you want f1.4 (or faster! lenses) But fast glass is expensive. There is a lot of it (glass). It is difficult to make, and difficult to design. Couple, say the Nikon D3 with the Nikon 85 (or 50) 1.4 and you can happily take photos by candle light.

I use a 24-70 2.8 lens on a Nikon D200 as my main combo, but swap to my 85 1.4 when I want a usable photo in low light. It makes a big difference.

If you think you may make the body switch, do it early. ATM you only have two lenses. If you wait until you have four or five, it will be much harder to justify.

Both Canon and Nikon have a vast range of lenses, so consider these as your first options. At the moment Nikon seem to have the edge on bodies, but this is likely to change. It has in the past. Glass is more important though. You will keep your glass, and replace your bodies over time. I have had a Nikon FM2, F3, D70 and D200. I still use my original Nikon lenses on occasion though, even though they are fully manual.

That said, consider the ergonomics of the body. Which one suits the way you shoot? Is it comfortable in your hands? Too Large? Too small? Too heavy? too light? Do the controls make sense? Are they in the right spot for you to use easily while shooting?

Good luck in your quest.

Thanks a lot for the advice.

My head is overflowing with options at the moment, and the more I find out, the more options there are, and the more confusing it is.

I think, for the moment, I will do some research and try and find out which lenses will fit my Olympus e300 and fill the (massive) gaps in my lens range. Thinking about switching to Canon/Nikon is a pretty big headache (then I have to think about body+lenses), and I want to look at what my options are for sticking with Olympus. Quite a few of the camera store people I have spoken too (a couple of guys at Teds in Civic - both the Canberra Centre store and the other one) have been quite helpful and have told me that Olympus lenses are very good quality and one told me that they do have quite a good range, and they're generally comparatively more affordable than equivilent Canon/Nikon? I certainly don't know enough to agree or disagree with him, but I do like my Olympus camera, and I suspect a bit of my desire to change was playing with a Canon and having that moment of "ooh, shiney!"

There are a lot of options for lenses, I guess, so I will have a good look through them and shortlist some. If I went for the Sigma 30mm f1.4 Aim45x mentioned, would that work with the Olympus autofocus?

If I did upgrade the body, I think it would be to the e520 - the e3 is probably out of my price range until I graduate and have a real job again. I think I will go and do some price checking tomorrow, and see how much the various places in Belconnen are selling it for. Olympus also has a 25mm f2.8 "pancake" prime lens that has had some pretty good reviews, I might see how much I can get the two packaged together. I'm really excited to try out working with a prime, I think it will force me to work in a bit of a different way. And I think the combination of a e520+the pancake lens would be pretty good for street photography, nice and lightweight and easy to carry around.

I know there aren't many Olympus users here, so I might stop musing on that one.

Thanks a lot for the advice - I'm feeling a lot more solid about staying with Olympus now.

Chia wrote:If I went for the Sigma 30mm f1.4 Aim45x mentioned, would that work with the Olympus autofocus?

Yes, Sigma makes a four-thirds (olympus) mount version of that lens, if you look at that link that I posted in my previous post that should give you almost all the lenses available for your camera.

Chia wrote:Olympus also has a 25mm f2.8 "pancake" prime lens that has had some pretty good reviews, I might see how much I can get the two packaged together. I'm really excited to try out working with a prime, I think it will force me to work in a bit of a different way. And I think the combination of a e520+the pancake lens would be pretty good for street photography, nice and lightweight and easy to carry around.

The Pancake 25mm is as a concept a nice lens, but from what I have read, it is not as good as it could be and does not warrant the price tag associated with it. But if you can get it as a kit then away you go. Otherwise go with the larger, faster Sigma 30mm f/1.4, which will translate to 60mm equiv on the olympus bodies.

Cheers