Lens with Image Stabilisation for the Olympus E420. Is there one and do I need it?

[Naboo32]

Hi folks! This is my first post outside of the "Introductions" forum, so please be gentle with me .

I am completely new to the world of digital SLR photography and during my research into which camera I should buy, I was completely distracted by a "one day only special offer" on the Olympus E420 - which is now sitting beside me . Great piece of kit though it is (for the money), the camera offers no Image Stabilisation, nor do either of the two supplied lenses. Of course, I knew this before I bought it and just assumed that I could add a lens with IS at a later date, if I felt it was necessary.

It's early days with the camera yet and I haven't taken it outside (due to heavy rain and a week full of night shifts ), so all of my experimentation has been done indoors and in poor artificial light. So far though, it appears that camera shake is much more of an issue than I thought it would be, as every hand-held shot I have taken using the zoom lens (40-150mm) appears slightly blurred.

Now, I know that once I have spent more time with the user manual I will discover ways to reduce this blurring (bigger aperture settings, faster ISO, using the self-timer function etc.), but I had really hoped that the camera could be easier to use, "hand held", in low light conditions, in either "Auto" or preset modes. Two of the situations where I had planned to use it regularly (and where camera shake could be an issue) are; indoor portraits of friends at parties etc. and ad-hoc wildlife photography, "on the move" (i.e. no tripod), using the full extent of the zoom lens.

So, my questions are:

1. Is Image Stabilisation really the answer, for blur-free telephoto lens shots without a tripod, or would a lens with a wider aperture give even more stable images?

2. Does anyone manufacture a lens (standard or telephoto) for the Olympus E series with IS? I've Googled around, but couldn't find anything.


I'm aware that my decision to buy the E420 on price alone (and disregarding the lack of IS) was possibly a bit rash and now I'm having second thoughts . But, it is a very well built and easy to use camera and will certainly improve the quality of any daylight and tripod pictures that I take in future. The big question for me now is, do I stick with this Olympus and keep upgrading it, or do I consider keeping it for indoor work and (eventually) move on to another brand (with IS camera bodies/lenses) in the future!? But, that's another thread ....

Thanks, in advance, for your views on Image Stabilisation .

 

[stan the man]

sorry,but i'm no help with regards to lens with IS in the olympus range,but the E520 does have IS in the body,so you could always get one of them in the future i suppose.is it not possible to return the 420 and get the 520 instead :shrug:.my sony alpha 350 has IS onboard,and it makes a difference in image sharpness,especially at the longer focal lengths..

 

[a1ex2001]

Hi folks! This is my first post outside of the "Introductions" forum, so please be gentle with me .

I am completely new to the world of digital SLR photography and during my research into which camera I should buy, I was completely distracted by a "one day only special offer" on the Olympus E420 - which is now sitting beside me . Great piece of kit though it is (for the money), the camera offers no Image Stabilisation, nor do either of the two supplied lenses. Of course, I knew this before I bought it and just assumed that I could add a lens with IS at a later date, if I felt it was necessary.

It's early days with the camera yet and I haven't taken it outside (due to heavy rain and a week full of night shifts ), so all of my experimentation has been done indoors and in poor artificial light. So far though, it appears that camera shake is much more of an issue than I thought it would be, as every hand-held shot I have taken using the zoom lens (40-150mm) appears slightly blurred.

Now, I know that once I have spent more time with the user manual I will discover ways to reduce this blurring (bigger aperture settings, faster ISO, using the self-timer function etc.), but I had really hoped that the camera could be easier to use, "hand held", in low light conditions, in either "Auto" or preset modes. Two of the situations where I had planned to use it regularly (and where camera shake could be an issue) are; indoor portraits of friends at parties etc. and ad-hoc wildlife photography, "on the move" (i.e. no tripod), using the full extent of the zoom lens.

So, my questions are:

1. Is Image Stabilisation really the answer, for blur-free telephoto lens shots without a tripod, or would a lens with a wider aperture give even more stable images?

2. Does anyone manufacture a lens (standard or telephoto) for the Olympus E series with IS? I've Googled around, but couldn't find anything.


I'm aware that my decision to buy the E420 on price alone (and disregarding the lack of IS) was possibly a bit rash and now I'm having second thoughts . But, it is a very well built and easy to use camera and will certainly improve the quality of any daylight and tripod pictures that I take in future. The big question for me now is, do I stick with this Olympus and keep upgrading it, or do I consider keeping it for indoor work and (eventually) move on to another brand (with IS camera bodies/lenses) in the future!? But, that's another thread ....

Thanks, in advance, for your views on Image Stabilisation .

IS is nice especially on longer lenses but photographers have gotten by without it with years so I wouldn't see it as the be all and end all.

 

[Naboo32]

...but the E520 does have IS in the body,so you could always get one of them in the future i suppose.is it not possible to return the 420 and get the 520 instead :shrug:.....

Not really :|. The whole kit cost me just £240, whereas the E520 is over twice that price everywhere I've seen it. Besides which, I'm not sure that Olympus would be my "brand of choice", all things being equal, as they don't appear to have the same level of cross-compatibility as some other (non-four-thirds) brands, such as Canon and Nikon :|.

Initially, I didn't want to spend lots of money on a camera, in case the hobby was short-lived (although I do do a lot of indoor photography of musical equipment, using a pocket camera and the E420 will be much better for that purpose). At £240, the E420 seemed like a no-brainier - even if it can't do everything, at that price it's still worth keeping for home use or for future situations where I wouldn't want to take a £1,000 worth of Canon 40D & lens (for instance), if I owned one .

I know that it seems a bit premature to be talking about upgrading a 3 day old purchase , but I want to be clear about a strategy, before I start throwing money into the hole (as I've done with other hobbies). In short, if I can get a telephoto lens for distance work/low light conditions with Image Stabilisation for the E420, then I'd consider doing so and accessorising my E420, rather than buying a different camera in the future. But, if there is no such product (nobody's told me that there is yet :|), then I know that it would be foolish to spend money on other accessories, which are only compatible with Olympus cameras (flash unit, remote control, macro lenses etc.), as I would only have to buy those items again if I change to another brand.

You see my dilemma !?

 

[two_lens_jackson]

The E510 has IS in body too - Olympus put the IS in body so no need for it in the lenses as well.

 

[stan the man]

Not really :|. The whole kit cost me just £240, whereas the E520 is over twice that price everywhere I've seen it. Besides which, I'm not sure that Olympus would be my "brand of choice", all things being equal, as they don't appear to have the same level of cross-compatibility as some other (non-four-thirds) brands, such as Canon and Nikon :|.

Initially, I didn't want to spend lots of money on a camera, in case the hobby was short-lived (although I do do a lot of indoor photography of musical equipment, using a pocket camera and the E420 will be much better for that purpose). At £240, the E420 seemed like a no-brainier - even if it can't do everything, at that price it's still worth keeping for home use or for future situations where I wouldn't want to take a £1,000 worth of Canon 40D & lens (for instance), if I owned one .

I know that it seems a bit premature to be talking about upgrading a 3 day old purchase , but I want to be clear about a strategy, before I start throwing money into the hole (as I've done with other hobbies). In short, if I can get a telephoto lens for distance work/low light conditions with Image Stabilisation for the E420, then I'd consider doing so and accessorising my E420, rather than buying a different camera in the future. But, if there is no such product (nobody's told me that there is yet :|), then I know that it would be foolish to spend money on other accessories, which are only compatible with Olympus cameras (flash unit, remote control, macro lenses etc.), as I would only have to buy those items again if I change to another brand.

You see my dilemma !?

yeah,i see what you're saying

you may have been better off getting the sony alpha 200,which can be had for less than the olympus..and has image stabilisation built into the body,but if you intend moving to canon/nikon if your photography interest develops..the E420 will be a good camera to hone your skills on.i've bought into the sony system,and whilst i'm more than happy with it,had i got advice from someone knowledgeable..i may have gone the canon/nikon route.

 

[Naboo32]

The E510 has IS in body too - Olympus put the IS in body so no need for it in the lenses as well.

I think I see your point - if I could find a "body only" deal on a discontinued E510 (or get a used one), I'd have an IS upgrade for little more than the price of an additional IS lens (which may not even exist anyway ).

Hmm, I'll have to think that one over. Thanks .

 

[photon]

Whatever your choice over Olympus body, assuming the old lenses are compatible, get a 50mm standard lens. It'll be ideal for party headshots. For groupshots, you'd need something around 18mm plus a flash.

 

[Naboo32]

Whatever your choice over Olympus body, assuming the old lenses are compatible, get a 50mm standard lens. It'll be ideal for party headshots. For groupshots, you'd need something around 18mm plus a flash.

Thanks for the tip .

I know that we're getting into lens territory here (different part of the forum, I believe?), but I was thinking about using the two supplied lenses with an E510/E520 body (if I can find one cheap enough) and then keeping the E420 for strictly indoor/tripod shots only. In that case, I would probably go in search of a lens suitable for close-up (maybe even macro) and portrait work.

I'm still learning about the differences, but at the budget end of the Zuiko range, which one of these two would anyone recommend for general indoor/portrait shots, please?

ZUIKO DIGITAL 35mm 1:3.5 Macro lens:

ZUIKO DIGITAL 25 mm 1:2.8 Pancake lens:

I'm guessing that the Macro lens is the one for the job, but the Pancake lens seems like it would be good for wider angle portraits as well - I'm just not sure how good it would be for macro mode shots :|!?

 

[jgs001]

The old Oly OM mount lenses aren't directly usable, you need an OM - 4/3's adapter.

 

[theMusicMan]

The 35mm macro is a good low cost macro lens that is fairly sharp and can be used for portraits. You will find though that the kit lenses; 14-42 and 40-150 are also superb pieces of glass for kit lenses.

You might want to ask these Oly specific questions over on the dedicated Olympus forum here - http://e-group.uk.net/forum/index.php - as you are likely to get more detailed answers from Oly experts over there.

 

[Naboo32]

The 35mm macro is a good low cost macro lens that is fairly sharp and can be used for portraits. You will find though that the kit lenses; 14-42 and 40-150 are also superb pieces of glass for kit lenses.

You might want to ask these Oly specific questions over on the dedicated Olympus forum here - http://e-group.uk.net/forum/index.php - as you are likely to get more detailed answers from Oly experts over there.

It seems that there's a forum for everything these days (must go and check Google for "IngrowingToenail.net" after this, to see if I can get some advice on that little problem too ).

Anyway, thanks for the link, MM - I'll check it out.

BTW, do you just play piano, or do you have any affiliation to this outfit? ...

 

[theMusicMan]

Hehe... I have no affiliation to that outfit, nope. I do play keys, and own several synths - I like messing with sounds and effects you see, though keyboards is my second instrument. I am a brass man, and can play any brass instrument to a reasonable level. I also own the busiest brass discussion forum on t' net. Chuck that italicised text into google and I'll be the first on the list

 

[Almost_Invisible]

Once you get outside you will find blurring is not as bad as indoors.
I had a E-410 for just about a year and all the pics in my gallery were taken with it (also not had the chance/weather to get out with my recent purchase) and more often than not I was closer to the 150mm end of the two kit lenses. The sensors are not renowned for being brilliant at low light or high ISO and I used to struggle indoors in what to me appeared reasonably good light but camera sensors see things differently
You will be amazed how much faster it will focus and how much easier it is to handhold once out on a bright day; and equally frustrated once you get to dusk or are stuck indoors

 

[Naboo32]

Once you get outside you will find blurring is not as bad as indoors.
I had a E-410 for just about a year and all the pics in my gallery were taken with it (also not had the chance/weather to get out with my recent purchase) and more often than not I was closer to the 150mm end of the two kit lenses. The sensors are not renowned for being brilliant at low light or high ISO and I used to struggle indoors in what to me appeared reasonably good light but camera sensors see things differently
You will be amazed how much faster it will focus and how much easier it is to handhold once out on a bright day; and equally frustrated once you get to dusk or are stuck indoors

Quite possibly !

One of the major areas that I had hoped to tackle, where my current pocket camera is way out of it's depth :thumbsdown:, is night-time city/street scenes. As I would be doing this without the aid of a tripod (a bit too conspicuous for my tastes ), I was really counting on an IS system to make those longer exposures possible.

Still, I have just discovered that Leica make a (very well received) lens for the Olympus E Series, with a built-in (and therefore, tailored) Image Stabilisation system ...

At 14 -150mm, it would probably cover all of my photographic needs in one lens (albeit at a cost)! Just gotta figure out the pros and cons of going down that route, as opposed to changing the E420 body for the E510/520.

Oh well, plenty of time yet .

 

[Blaque]

IS is nice especially on longer lenses but photographers have gotten by without it with years so I wouldn't see it as the be all and end all.

Well people have been changing tv channels manually, before tv remote was invented.

OP thanks for letting me learn from your dilemma. I am staying off any camera without IS or shake reduction technology built into it I think.

 

[Naboo32]

Well people have been changing tv channels manually, before tv remote was invented.

OP thanks for letting me learn from your dilemma. I am staying off any camera without IS or shake reduction technology built into it I think.

You should keep in mind that I've only just got this camera and so my lack of skill and knowledge play a big part in my thinking that I can't manage without IS.

That said, as IS becomes increasingly common on budget SLRs and seeing as it can be switched off, I think that there's no good reason to be actively against it. I'm still deleting over half of the night-time shots that I take and trying to shoot them again , because of camera shake - anything that helps me to avoid that is well worth a bit more expenditure .

 

[Blaque]

You should keep in mind that I've only just got this camera and so my lack of skill and knowledge play a big part in my thinking that I can't manage without IS.

That said, as IS becomes increasingly common on budget SLRs and seeing as it can be switched off, I think that there's no good reason to be actively against it. I'm still deleting over half of the night-time shots that I take and trying to shoot them again , because of camera shake - anything that helps me to avoid that is well worth a bit more expenditure .

Yeah I agree, I was merely trying to illustrate that in this day and age, I am of the believe that IS, shake reduction et al is needed on a camera. I think the rule of photography is that we should all shot on tripod most of the time, but this is not exactly so in practice. Hence why imo those features will come in handy. [Plus other things to help combat blurry images]