Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic - Leaving Olympus and moving to a different system...advice?

holgs · Joined: 05 Dec 2005 Posts: 91 Location: South America

>> Where was I talking about noise in my post?

Well you said "all the disadvantages of a small sensor" - to many these are primarily higher noise and a greater depth of field. The advantages of the smaller sensor are not just weight of the system, but also the overall image quality - including edge to edge sharpness. This isn't just visible in MTF charts, its pretty obvious in the final image.

>>The cold hard fact is that 12MP may bring way more money for microstock submitters than 10MP.

Agree with you here - although its still only one of number of factors. The extent of difference this makes really depends on how large your portfolio is and what proportion of sales are in XL files.

>> And, another point. E3 with 12-60F2.8-4 lens weighs 1345g and costs $2600 at B&H. D300 with weather-sealed 17-55F2.8 lens weighs 1579g and costs $2979. Extra 234g and $379 buy you constant bright F2.8 aperture, the most sophisticated at present AF system, the most sophisticated flash system, way wider selection of lenses, way easier shopping experience (try buying Leica superzoom for 4/3 cameras ;) ) etc. And if one is willing to get an optical analog of 12-60 Zuiko (16-85 Nikkor, for example), the weight drops to 1310g and the costs drops to $2478 (so Nikon system becomes lighter and cheaper).

Last time I checked 1 lens and 1 body didn't equal a "system". Don't get me wrong - I certainly wouldn't dismiss an D300 as an excellent choice, its just that you also have to consider other lenses also. For me the addition of the very light 40-150 kit lens means that I have a lens in the kit that weighs next to nothing, but expands my range in areas that aren't my main focus. If I wanted a pro-spec lens in a similar range, the 50-200 f2.8 would also be available.

>> And, parenthetically, if you really think that you can shoot any weather sealed camera in harsh environment without protection, read, what a small rain did to weather sealed bodies and lenses here: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/aa-07-worked.shtml .
I read the article - it refers to a whole lot of Canon and Nikon pro bodies failing, but I can't see any Olympus E3's in the line up. From what I've seen from the E1s and E3s, I doubt that they'd have the same sort of failures. Unlike other line ups, all of Olympus's mid and high range lenses are weather sealed.

>>Finally, if Zuiko lenses have better MTF characteristics, that's not because Olympus wants to make the best lenses in business, it's because they need to make better lenses to compensate for the sensor size. I've not seen yet any test that shows that Olympus system (camera+lens) achieves HIGHER resolution than competition. Yes, they do match it, and Olympus does make very nice cameras and very nice lenses. But, IMHO, for microstock work there are better alternatives that will give the owner better bang for the buck spent/gram carried ;)

Again sharpness and image quality are more than just MTF charts. Whether there are "better" alternatives really depends on what is being shot. So far I must say that I'm very happy with the bang for buck/weight equations on my existing kit.

Anyhow - I asked about eppicphotos' current lenses - if one of the 11-22 or 12-60 aren't already in the kit, then I'd suggest that the addition of one of these lenses instead of a whole new system might surprise in terms of overall improvement of the system.

hellobob · Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 12:57 pm

d200 is discontinued. the nikon d300 is the best new camera of the year with incredible features and cost less than your price in combo with a vr lens. check the reviews on dp review or ken rockwell. i am trading my quite new 200 for the 300.

domhnall · Joined: 29 Oct 2005 Posts: 71 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Socrates · Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 45

I would suggest you to take a look at Canon G9 - to my knowledge the best compact digital camera currently on the market! And lots of pixels (12MP).

To visually compare photos (side by side) from different cameras yourself, see
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM I believe you will be impressed by what the G9 is able to do. Try a comparison, say, with Nicon D3 and you'll see the compact G9 does surprisingly well.

If you are into close-up and macro photos, the G9 is just fine too.

Socrates

stasvolik · Joined: 29 Jul 2005 Posts: 909 Location: Vancouver, BC

imagex · Joined: 05 Nov 2006 Posts: 278 Location: www.samdcruz.com

i would say get the Canon 450D (just came out)

I have shot all my stuff with the 400D (the camera that the 450D has replaced) and it is a remarkable camera, still performing well for me

I cannot see any advantage of buying the 40D over the 450D - in fact i would say the 450D has the advantages. it is lighter weight, more megapixels and now they have included spot metering. It is hard to imagine many people could want more than that...

Im just wating for the Canon 5D replacement to come out and then my 400D will go as my 2nd body.

Also i recommnd buying into the L lenses early on (rather than wasting money on cheaper lenses and then upgrading later) The 70-200 F4L IS gives simply breathtaking shots. its all about the glass at the end of the day.....

Vista · Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 121

imagex · Joined: 05 Nov 2006 Posts: 278 Location: www.samdcruz.com

in reply to the stuff about the Canon G9.....

I use the Canon G7 as a backup to my 400D (professionally) - and it has performed very well when needed. So i can only assume the G9 will be even better and would be a good buy.

hellobob · Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:09 pm

color rendition, focusing, live view, size of screen, custom options and many other options. it is in your price range so why not go forward in technology and not backward!

[quote="domhnall"][quote="hellobob"]d200 is discontinued. the nikon d300 is the best new camera of the year with incredible features and cost less than your price in combo with a vr lens. check the reviews on dp review or ken rockwell. i am trading my quite new 200 for the 300.[/quote]

yeah the d300 is amazing, but the d200 is still a very fine camera, and for landscape work, the low light performance and faster frame rate really aren't so important. The fact that so many of us have jumped for the latest upgrade means there are some great bargains out there on D200s.

Domhnall (an ex D20 and current D300 owner)[/quote]

therion256 · Joined: 07 Aug 2005 Posts: 56 Location: Acton, MA, USA

I'm not too sure about that just yet...according to the nikonusa site anyway, the D200 is still on there with a price tag, so it's still in production...but I imagine that its production days are numbered.

As a (soon to be former) D200 owner, I originally vowed to "sit out" this generation with respect to the D3 and D300 releases, but I gave in, and got the D300...and quite happy I did so.

eppicphotos · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 12:43 am

Wow I'm AFK for a couple days and there's 6 pages on this thread! I just finished looking at all the posts and there was a great variety of opinions and recommendations which is truly wonderful.
In answer to a question concerning what I now use, it's a 10MP Olympus E-510 with the excellent 14-54mm F2.8 being my main workhorse lens. I also have the Zuiko 40-150mm as well as a legacy 50mm F3.5 macro which is a great macro lens.

I find myself much of the time at the 14mm end of things and want more wide angle, which gives me a few options in Olympus terms. To me the 7-14mm is out as it's too freakin' expensive at 1800.00 Cdn.

I've looked at both the 11-22 and the 12-60 but in reality I'd only be buying them for what I can't do at 14mm and those lenses are close to 1000.00 each.

I feel like I'm at a crossroads as I have money to spend, but I really am not comfortable where Olympus is going with their line of DSLR's. Wide angle primes aren't even an option with Olympus at present.
I'm not at all knocking the quality of Olympus and their fine line of lenses; but I'm not sure if it's right for me as a landscape photographer and I'm thinking long term as far as lens investment.

Again, I love Olympus and it's served me well up until this point, but I think it's time for me to move to another system before I spend more money in camera equipment.

Now what to get. Currently (and I'm in no present rush to get anything for the next few months) the top camera body on my list (at present) is the Sony A350 14.1 MP body as I truly love live view and it also has a feature set that I like and is still comparable in size and weight to the E-510. Sony has a great growing line of lenses as well as the Minolta legacy lenses. Plus Sigma and other 3rd party manufacturers have a great selection of lenses for the Sony
.
I've found the Sony 350 to have the best comparable selection of features that compares to the great feature set that I now enjoy on my E-510.

The Pentax K200 is intriguing as well and the D200 is a proven workhorse, so they are still possibilities.
The 5D is still over 2000.00 here so it's too expensive.

I'm also looking to get a Sigma 17-70mm as a primary workhorse lens, but I still need to do more research. The somewhat macro ability of the 17-70mm is a good selling point for me also.

Eventually I'll also snag a 12-24 or an 11-18 plus a cheap 70-300 as I like to have a telephoto around at times but I really don't use one all that often. I'd love to delve into wide angle primes eventually like the 14mm which isn't an option with Olympus.

Bottom line why I'm looking at changing brands? I don't think Olympus is going where I'm wanting to go concerning my style of photography. I certainly don't feel like I've "outgrown" Olympus, I just feel that other brands like Sony, Nikon, Pentax etc. offer me alot more of what I'm looking for in both bodies and lenses.

I never thought I'd consider Sony, but doggone it they're building up a pretty compelling system of bodies and lenses.

I'm planning on making a purchase in July which still gives me plenty of time to do more research. Any other opinions/ thoughts/ recommendations are certainly welcome.

Incidentally, some mention the need for F2.8 glass. I rarely shoot anything faster than 6.3 and usually hang around between F8-F16 for best DOF and sharpness. I want good glass but I don't need fast glass.

Oh yes and I should also mention that I have a Canon G9 as more of a secondary camera which I quite enjoy using and have had a number of it's photos approved here at SS.

jeffbanke · Joined: 18 Dec 2005 Posts: 7208 Location: www.xlr8photo.com

As an owner of a D70, a D100 and a D300, I would say stay away from the lower end I.E. D50, D70, 6 MP cameras. I am not sure about the D40, D40x, D80 and D60, but would suggest that you look into the file size.
The "problem" with the lower end Nikon's is that they compress even the RAW files, and since my D100 is like the D70s a 6 MP camera, yet saves an uncompressed RAW file, I can tell you from experience that I have not had any images rejected for noise from the D100 where I have had a few from the D70s.
I suspect the D40, D40x and D60 may be the same.
Pretty sure that the D200, is like the D100 and D300 in that it will save uncompressed RAW files.
If you shoot JPG forget what I said and buy the D60, it is smaller, cheaper!

stasvolik · Joined: 29 Jul 2005 Posts: 909 Location: Vancouver, BC

holgs · Joined: 05 Dec 2005 Posts: 91 Location: South America

The difference in field of view between 11mm and 14mm is 89deg as opposed to 74deg - this is actually much bigger than the difference in mm's sound. This lens is available for around US$674 at bhphotovideo who I often order through (much bigger price difference in Australia) - not sure what the policy of B&H is re: shipping to Canada, but I'm sure its still going to be cheaper than buying locally.

Also you mention that you shoot between f8 and 16 - on the 4/3 system, I've found that beyond f8 sharpness deteriorates significantly through diffraction. Its important to remember that the depth of field is actually larger than on cameras with bigger sensors so there usually shouldn't be any need to go beyond this. Actually I've found that the sharpest point on most 4/3 lenses is about 1 stop from maximum aperture, although there is very little noticeable difference upto about f8.

stasvolik posted a link to a flickr profile for a guy who uses both a D3 and E3 (and various other E-System cameras in the past) probably a good one to look at for inspiration in any case!

eppicphotos · Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:43 am

Yes I've heard about the increased DOF thing with smaller sensors before which helps explain why the P&S'es with their tiny sensors have minimum apertures of say F8 but still pull off alot of DOF.
Olympus and Panasonic have 10MP DSLR's, but how much higher in MP count can they pull off with the smaller 4/3 sensor? Stock photography, at least microstock photography seems to place alot of emphasis on pixel count, where bigger is better.
Does my Canon 12MP G9 take better pictures than say a 6MP Nikon D70? Probably not but if I posted two identical images, one taken by the G9 at 4000x3000 pixels and one by the D70 at 3000x2000 pixels, which one would a potential buyer take if they were (1) both the same price or (2) the buyer was looking to make a print out of it and wanted a large image?
I'm guessing the buyer would take the G9 image.