Help with long term Olympus upgrade plan

ChrisMClark

ChrisMClark

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When I bought my E-420 last year I did so because it was cheap and compact, and to be honest, knowing what I'm like with hobbies, I didn't want to spend too much for something I may have got bored with. Well, that didn't happen. I'm loving togging and want to branch out a little, so I've started looking at my long-term plans for buying new kit. My current kit can be seen in my sig. I'm going to list my final gear list that I'd like, and if anyone can recommend adding anyting, or indeed taking anything off (please, it's gonna get expenseive otherwise!) please speak up.

My final list, with items I already have in italic:

Olympus E-520 body
Olympus E-420 body, backup
Olympus 14-42 1:3.5-5.6 ED
Sigma 55-200 1:4-5.6 DC
FL36-R flashgun plus one more
Olympus 25mm 1:2.8 Pancake
Olympus 40-150 1:4-5.6

And assorted accessories:
Tamrac Expedition 5x bag
Prolinca IR trigger
Sekonic Flashmate L-308s
Ebay radio triggers

The list isn't entirely exhaustive, but I'm interested to know people's feelings on it before I add it all up and brace forself for my wife throwing things at me.

EDIT: Should also say that I'm interested mainly in portrait work, the odd bit of landscape, and through work I tend to cover mostly reportage style stuff.
 
I know it's not been quite 24 hours, but I'm off to work shortly, and I could really do with some help with this, so here's a little bump.

Any help?
 
Not many Olympus owners here - can't help on this myself, but if you put Olympus in the thread title you might attract those in a better position to help?
 
Cheers PD, will do.
 
ChrisMClark said:
My final list, with items I already have in italic:

Olympus E-520 body
Olympus E-420 body, backup
Olympus 14-42 1:3.5-5.6 ED
Sigma 55-200 1:4-5.6 DC
FL36-R flashgun plus one more
Olympus 25mm 1:2.8 Pancake
Olympus 40-150 1:4-5.6

And assorted accessories:
Tamrac Expedition 5x bag
Prolinca IR trigger
Sekonic Flashmate L-308s
Ebay radio triggers

EDIT: Should also say that I'm interested mainly in portrait work, the odd bit of landscape, and through work I tend to cover mostly reportage style stuff.
Click to expand...

My first thought is that the 40-150 and 55-200 overlap a fair bit. What about the Oly 50-200 or 70-300 instead?

Sigma do a wide angle as well - 10-20? not sure?

How about the 14-54 ?

I started with the e510 twin kit which was about the best value of anyhting (whatever brand) at the time I bought.

I then added an E1/14-54 (£350 used on fleabay) Do you have a problem with buying used?

For portraits, if the pancake or the 14-54 dont do what you want, you could go for an adapter and a couple of manual lenses. I've got 50mm 1.7 and 1.8 which I quite like.
 
I was going to say for me that line up really lacks one thing and thats speed, I'd want at least one lens around f1.8 for candida and indoor work. I was very close to buying the sam camera you did but it was the expense of lens upgrades that finally put me off, Oly have some lovely glass but it does cost plenty!
 
Tell me about it. I may ditch the Oly 40-150 off the list and look around for an older OM mount fast lens and an adaptor. The big thing for me first would be the new body and a new bag so I can fit it all in, plus hopefully my old ST605 body and lenses too. I'm also going to look out for an M42 to 4/3 adaptor and try my old Fujica glass on it.

EDIT: I just got my ST605 out and I've got 3 primes for it. a 135mm 1:2.8, a 35mm 1:2.8 and a 55mm 1:2.2 so I think it'll be a good idea to scratch the lenses off for now and just get the converter off eBay!
 
You know, Chris, I was in exactly the same boat as you last month ;)!

I too started last year with an E420 twin-lens kit and wasn't sure if I'd stick at the hobby or not. Like you, I fairly swiflty decided that I was going to make photography a serious hobby (my main one, in fact) :) and started to ask myself questions about the upgrade options. But, that's where the similarities end :| ....

My conclusion was that the half-size sensor of the Olympus (unique to them and Panasonic), was always going to limit my choice of lenses and that eventually, they might even become obsolete! What's more, I was desparate for a lens with Vibration Reduction, having already seen just how much it could help with hand-held photography. The only IS lens made for the E420, AFAIK, comes from Leica and costs 4 figures :eek:!

So, I took what seemed like a very bold (foolish) step in January and "cut my losses", going over to Nikon instead and jumping right in at the deep end with a D700 :$. Whilst it was a fairly hefty purchase, I now have a camera body that I will be more than happy with for years to come and can shop freely for lenses from Nikon and all major third-party manufacturers, including lots of fast glass and the option of VR.

Whilst I'm not advocating that you should run out and buy a full-frame Nikon, I would just urge you to jsut think about the possibilty of keeping the Olympus kit as it is (their kit lenses are amongst the best out there, I believe) and looking at the cost of another camera and lens from a 1.5/DX sensor brand.

I really have nothing against Olympus (I still use mine a lot), but as their quality glass is as pricey as everyone elses and will only work with the little Olympus sensor, you really are painting yourself into a corner where future camera body changes are concerned :|.

Just my $0.02 ;)
 
That's certainly food for thought there Naboo, and I thank you for your opinion. Perhaps that would be an idea. I'm not too keen on starting over, but in the long run I suspect you may be right.

Well, it's off to Warehouse express I go then!

EDIT: Even at a cursory glance I'm sorely tempted by the D60....SD cards a a darn sight cheaper than CF, lenses are more readily available and cheaper, plus extras like battery grips etc are also asier to come by...hmmm...and if I'm honest it'd be nice to have a larger camera than the diddy E-420, I like it's light weight, but it can feel a bit small in the hand.

....or do I go Canon? :p
 
cf is faster *** ;)
all the useful stuff i can add, but i watch with interest as my mate just bought the twin lens kit
 
Well I think my wife's just said yes to me spending a bit :D Luckily she understands that in the long run it'll be the right move and should save me a few quid. She wants to talk more when she gets home tomorrow :lol:

Though I don't know if I can stretch to a D60 as a switch means forking out for a new flash as well. I use my camera for work a fair bit, so I can't build up my kit slowly like I have before. I'm looking at a D40 I think. And if I make the move then my Oly will have to goo to fund it lol
 
The ideal lens for portait work would be the ZD f/2 50mm macro lens, most of my portraits are taken with this lens. My most used lens for landscapes is the ZD 11-22, of course both thesa are profesionel grade lenses and so cost a little mopre than budget lenses. You may not be happy with the D60 as the af does not work with a lot of the Nikon lens range :)
 
I rarely use AF anyway to be honest, and the lenses are so much cheaper than the Oly ones. And as mentioned it's a bigger sensor. I think my mind's made up!
 
While not wanting to encourage anyone to dump Olympus kit ... your final list does not add anything that will gain you anything significant over your existing kit. Sure you get additional reach and the pancake aids in lower light but will you see enough differences to make you feel the outlay was worth it? I am not so sure you would. I moved from the E410 twin lens kit to the E3, 12-60SWD & 50-200SWD after a serious amount of mind changing over moving to Nikon. The differences I saw were huge but of course so was the outlay :gag:
I have no experience of the smaller Nikons but get to have a go with a D700 now & then and if your E420 with the slow lenses annoys you as much as my E410 did when trying to focus in dimly lit places then just that aspect of a D700 will make you think the money was worth it :) Fortunately I do very little low light stuff and the E3 with faster glass is heaps better - just not as good as the D700.
Sadly this photography lark insists on complying with "you get what you pay for" so to get good improvements whether you stay with Olympus and pay for the faster glass or move to Nikon it will hurt the wallet. Maybe you should go to a store and play with a few systems to see the differences. You may like the low light capabilities of the larger sensors but not like carrying the weight of the larger telephoto lenses around. Alternatively you could attend a TP meet and pester everyone else to let you try theirs :) I would certainly try and experience 1st hand another system before jumping in.

Good luck.
 
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