I know this sounds silly but can u help me out (Oly e510)

[bigsarg7]

As i said in previous posts, i am new and i own a olympus e510, however thats about as far as i can go with infomation. I brought it July 07 ish with the dual lens pack, i do want to buy some new lenses as i mentioned in other posts, but $$ are tight seeing as i have 3 kids, the money just doesn't go as far as i'd like it to when it comes to buying the gear i want. That being said there have been numerous comments about the lens available for my camera but looking into them i am finding them a tad expensive, buti know you get what u pay. Others mentioned adapters etc to suit other lenses but i have no idea about any of this. Can anyone try explain it to a beginner? Panoramic lenses? worth it? fish eye lenses? i really have no idea, my current two lenses are great, but i'd like a smaller lens for more panoramic shots and clearer images....or so i've read, but really i feel like i have a wall in front of me stopping me from understanding any of the info given to me, sorry to bother u with all this but i really do want to learn more and take my passion to a new level.
Can u help?
CONFUSED KRISTEN

[aim54x]

Alright, lets start with adaptors (god I wish I was doing my honours in photography - I would have so much more done than I am doing at the moment!!)

Adaptors exist to change Olympus film mount (OM mount) lenses to four-thirds mount (the mount on your camera) these are really designed for people with old (and very good) film Olympus Zuiko lenses. It is probably not a great option for you at this point in time as they can be expensive and shopping for lenses after the adaptor may not be as successful as hoped.

COST unfortunately there is little point in putting money into those inbetween lenses that you will end up upgrading again as this will just lead to more money spent, so in general we advise you to buy good glass (which is unfortunately expensive) however I do sympathise with your position being a poor uni student. So the trick is to work out what you want and then work towards it.

Panoramic shooting and fisheyes the first thing is, fisheyes are FUN, but they are also lenses that quite often get left behind as they are not always the most useful (I want a fisheye at the moment as well) so if the money is tight I would shelve the fisheye for now. Panoramic shots dont really seem to matter with what lens you use (someone will jump on my for that) but a need is a good tripod with a good head so you can take a series of photos and stitch them together to get a good result.

Taking into account your other post, and this post I would probably recommend you save for the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (a quick shopbot.com.au search yielded a price tag of $519 + postage which CR Kennedy will happily match, but if the $ goes back up then you could be looking at less still) and use this as your lens for portraits and then either use this or the 14-42 that you already have for your panoramas. The Panasonic (Leica) 25mm f/1.4 and 14-50mm f/2.8-3.5 are hideously expensive pieces of glass.

Hope this helps!

[bigsarg7]

thank you, you explained it in simple and easy to understand language! I will continue to save my pennies then. If anyone else has any other suggestions on a specific lense that will be useful for any other situations like capturing lightning (good example as theres been a few good shots that i've seen on here) please let me know so i can save for at least 2 lenses. thanks again.

[aim54x]

thank you, you explained it in simple and easy to understand language! I will continue to save my pennies then.

No worries, we all try to help here on the forum, most of it is knowledge that I have picked up from working in a camera store (the tech detail of the hardware for olympus, and the ability to translate it to english)

If anyone else has any other suggestions on a specific lense that will be useful for any other situations like capturing lightning (good example as theres been a few good shots that i've seen on here) please let me know so i can save for at least 2 lenses. thanks again.

For that I will have to say that I really hope that other olympus users can help here, I will have troll through my stuff to see what I have shot with olympus and what lenses and then post them if I find anything, but I only had a loan of a E-510 for a weekend or two a while back.

[bigsarg7]

in all honesty had i known a bit more b4 buying the camera (which i did do a lot of research before buying it) i think i would have gone for a nikon or cannon, i love my camera don't get me wrong, there just seems to be more suitable things and better priced things for nikon and cannon. so i'm not knocking olympus or the other users of it but just commenting that if i were to choose again i most likely wouldn't choose this one again but its mine and i love it!!

[aim54x]

in all honesty had i known a bit more b4 buying the camera (which i did do a lot of research before buying it) i think i would have gone for a nikon or cannon, i love my camera don't get me wrong, there just seems to be more suitable things and better priced things for nikon and cannon. so i'm not knocking olympus or the other users of it but just commenting that if i were to choose again i most likely wouldn't choose this one again but its mine and i love it!!

funny that i quite liked the E-510, it was great value for money and would have meant i would not spend soo much money on accessories!! I dont think i could live with the tiny viewfinder or the funny colours (compared to the Nikon and Fuji that I am used to) though.

Maybe stay where you are with the E-510 and then look to grab a NIkon (easier for you to move to, closer control set than canon) when you have some money.

[ziggy]

What are the ones you have not doing for you? They are HIGH quality , reasonable speed 28-300mm equivalents f3.5 - 5.6 , that focus quite close for macros , and as a kit probably cost about $200, and the only way they fall over is in aperture. If you are wanting to do pics of your kids inside by a single light bulb then yep they will not suit without flash, but anything outside they will work extremely well.

Point 1 - DONT be afraid to raise ISO , you have a e510 which will do good at ISo 400 , 800 is reasonable , and 1600 at a pinch, that and the built in IS should compensate for the relativly slow lenses.

2 IS is no substitute for a tripod period. Want the best IQ then suffer the inconvenience

But Identify what the ones you have arn't doing. As you may not need new ones. And try to wait out the dollar drop, as when the dollar was high, American stores like B&H and Adorama were no brainers for lenses, but now that has all gone to ....

But that said, if you have specific needs like a sharp macro then the 50mm F2 macro, best of any 50mm reviewed by DPreview.
Wide then the upcoming 9-18 mm looks like it will be a stunner.
Standard type FL's , the 14-54 is hard to beat for the price, size and speed.
Longer? then the 50-200 amazes me everytime I take it out, 100-400mm f2.8-3.5for a $1000 bucks and only 1 KG - nothing like it in other brands as good for the price / weight
Good Luck, but really get out and use what you have and work out where you need it better.

[bigsarg7]

thank you so much, are you using an Olympus? I do like my lenses but the guy in our local store said that its always best to have a smaller lens eg the 50mm as it gave a clearer image, but as far i figured it wouldn't make that much difference, its more what i the user can do with the lens rather then the other way around, if u know what i mean. I would love that size lens, and its one i'm saving for but it'll take a while as i still need to buy the flash for the camera as well. I really do appreciate your comments. Thanks again.

[phillipb]

Just a couple of things kristen, when you say clearer pictures, what do you really mean? If you are talking about sharpness, then more often then not the dearer lenses will be the sharper ones regardless of whether they are small lenses or big lenses.
Also, when you said panorama lenses, I suspect you may have meant wide angle lenses which are the next step up from fisheye lenses. I may be wrong though.

[ziggy]

Yes, I have had Olympus for 3 years now, I have a e330 and a e300.

I no longer use the kit lenses , but they were my mainstay for ages, but i wanted longer for motor racing , and wider for landscapes. However I had the older versions of the kit lenses you have , the old 14-45, while not bad, suffered from some distortion and wasnt as sharp as the 40-150, which for the price is quite an amazing little lens. Put that 40-150 on your 510 , and set it to 50mm and see if it works for what you want, and you will see if it is a focal length that works for you.

Anyway the e510 is a pretty complicated beast , read and experiment, especially read this web site http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/e510-sett.html , it is the manual that should have come with the camera.

Also most of the articles on this site will help.. http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/index.html


Good Luck

bruce

[bigsarg7]

Thanks so much, that was so helpful, i will view the web sites this arvo, i've got so much to do this morning, but i'm going to class and then doing some more practice shots with the camera, also it is the wide angle lens that i would love to own, but first things first i guess, by the sounds of it i've still got lots to learn and got to get used to my current lenses a bit more. But i appreciate you informing me of the website, if its printable i plan on printing out some of the info on it. Thanks again everyone. You've all been great.

[soarer]

Any good lens, whether it be Canon, Nikon or Olympus will cost a lot of money, like you said before, you get what you pay for. For what you need, i recomend getting the 14-54mm f2.8-3.5. Later once you get a bit more serious, you can look at getting a prime lens, 50mm f2 and the 50-200mm f2.8-3.5. the kits lenses are decent enough and you will learn a lot from them. save your pennies, get a flash and lens later on