Dilemma over upgrading camera body and or equipment

[ianpinion]

I'm considering my next upgrade at the moment, but I'm not sure which direction I should go. Presently, I use an Olympus E620, which for the money is a well specified camera. I have the Zuiko 12 - 60mm f/2.8-f/4 and 50mm f/2 lenses for it, but do I continue to upgrade my other lenses for better Zuiko lenses and upgrade my camera body to an E5 or have a complete change of brand?

The main reasons why I want to upgrade my camera body is that I find the viewfinder a little small and not as bright as I would like. It also struggles with controlling noise compared to other camera, though saying that the E5 isn't great either on this front from the reviews I've read.

I've had a look at a few other more advanced cameras from both Canon and Nikon, namely 7D and D700 respectively, but as yet I haven't found one I like the feel of. They're either too heavy or the buttons aren't laid out in the right places for my hands and feel a little bit alien to me. I've not managed to track down an E5 as yet to see if it would handle any better, so I've got nothing else to compare them to.

It seems I either have to stick with Olympus and buy the E5, a 50 - 200mm f/2.8 and possibly the 7 -14mm f/2.8 in time when funds allow or sell everything I have and change systems completely, but to what? I predominantly shoot landscapes and macro, though I have to do the occasional family portrait too, so what would you advise? Which cameras from both Canon and Nikon would you recommend I take a look at for comparison purposes?

[ianpinion]

bump!

[donoreo]

Regardless of the brand there is one thing to consider: does your camera body limit you right now? Is there something you cannot do because it cannot? I do not mean it does but a new one does it better, I mean is there something you want to do that you need a new body for?

If the answer is no, then buy new lenses

Now, to your brand. I have heard that the Olympus's models have a problem with noise. I have heard this from people with them and read it in reviews. If that noise keeps you from doing something (see, I am going back to my point above) then yes it may be time to upgrade.

When you switch camera brands, I am sure they will all feel alien. I am sure someone that had done so can give you some help with that.

[ianpinion]

Originally Posted by donoreo

Regardless of the brand there is one thing to consider: does your camera body limit you right now? Is there something you cannot do because it cannot? I do not mean it does but a new one does it better, I mean is there something you want to do that you need a new body for?

If the answer is no, then buy new lenses

Yep! As I mentioned I find the viewfinder small and as it's only a 95% view, which means it can be a little difficult both framing and composing shots in certain situations. The E5 has 100% view and it's much bigger and brighter. My only other niggle is it's performance in lowlight and the problem it has controlling noise above 400ISO. I know other brands perform much better with this.

I'm going to try a friends Nikon D7000 and other friends Canon 50D, 7D and 5D Mark II for size, but are there any other cameras I should really be considering?

[amk1977]

I used to have the Olympus E-510. My Nikon D90 felt completely alien and huge when I first got it and I felt like the buttons were in all the wrong place. There were also a lot more of them too lol. Now I'm completely used to it. From the first photograph I took, I could immediately see the improvement in image quality over the Olympus, which in comparison looked grainy and noisey. Personally, I wouldn't be put off if a camera doesn't immediately feel right in your hands. You will adapt and before long will become second nature to you. I'd be more concerned with its performance and features and how they will impact upon my photography.

Although I enjoyed using all the old glass on the 4/3 system, I did find that the crop factor was a bit of an issue, mainly for wide angle shots. If it were me, I'd look to sell all the Olympus gear and go for a complete change of system. I'd also look more towards the full frame sensors, mainly for the lack of crop factor and superior low noise capabilities.

Had a play with the Canon 5D MKII with the 16-35mm f/2.8 USM II, which is being used for music video making. All I can say is wow! You get very professional looking results straight out of the camera. I definitely won't be disappointed with one of those or a D700. I know I wouldn't be lol.

[ianpinion]

Originally Posted by amk1977

I used to have the Olympus E-510. My Nikon D90 felt completely alien and huge when I first got it and I felt like the buttons were in all the wrong place. There were also a lot more of them too lol. Now I'm completely used to it. From the first photograph I took, I could immediately see the improvement in image quality over the Olympus, which in comparison looked grainy and noisey. Personally, I wouldn't be put off if a camera doesn't immediately feel right in your hands. You will adapt and before long will become second nature to you. I'd be more concerned with its performance and features and how they will impact upon my photography.

Although I enjoyed using all the old glass on the 4/3 system, I did find that the crop factor was a bit of an issue, mainly for wide angle shots. If it were me, I'd look to sell all the Olympus gear and go for a complete change of system. I'd also look more towards the full frame sensors, mainly for the lack of crop factor and superior low noise capabilities.

Had a play with the Canon 5D MKII with the 16-35mm f/2.8 USM II, which is being used for music video making. All I can say is wow! You get very professional looking results straight out of the camera. I definitely won't be disappointed with one of those or a D700. I know I wouldn't be lol.

Thanks for your reply. I will say that the E620's image quality is better than the E510 as it has the newer 12.3MP sensor and a superior picture processing engine too. To be quite honest I'm pretty satisfied with the quality of the images I can produce with it.

I can see the benefit from moving to full frame, though even if I sell all my Olympus gear, I still think I'll only have a maximum of £2500 to spend and that doesn't go very far towards a full frame camera body, a small selection of decent quality lenses and an external flashgun. To be honest I'd probably need nearer double that amount for new gear.

I guess it's just a case of trying a few out and finding one I like.

[amk1977]

Maybe have a look at the Canon 5D MKII. It can be had body only for under £1700 from Bristol Cameras. A 50mm f/1.8 MKII lense is about £75 new. Its a bit cheap feeling but, the optics are great. Flashgun for a couple hundred quid. Leaving you a fair bit to get another lens or sundry items.

As for lenses, until you could afford some decent quality EF / L glass (you'd drool over the 16-35mm f/2.8 USM II lol) you have the option of using old glass from other manufactures via adapters, such as M42 mount, Olympus OM, Pentax PK, Nikon F, Minolta MD and Practika.

If you're shooting mostly landscapes, get yourself something like the Nikon 28mm f/2.8 Ai-s or 24mm f/2.8D and some extension tubes for the 50mm for macro work (or reverse the 28mm), as AF isn't required for either really. Alternatively, the Tamron SP90 DI generally goes for £200 on eBay. If you wanted a dedicated portrait lens, then you could keep your eye open for a Nikon E-Series 100mm f/2.8.

[ianpinion]

Originally Posted by amk1977

Maybe have a look at the Canon 5D MKII. It can be had body only for under £1700 from Bristol Cameras. A 50mm f/1.8 MKII lense is about £75 new. Its a bit cheap feeling but, the optics are great. Flashgun for a couple hundred quid. Leaving you a fair bit to get another lens or sundry items.

As for lenses, until you could afford some decent quality EF / L glass (you'd drool over the 16-35mm f/2.8 USM II lol) you have the option of using old glass from other manufactures via adapters, such as M42 mount, Olympus OM, Pentax PK, Nikon F, Minolta MD and Practika.

If you're shooting mostly landscapes, get yourself something like the Nikon 28mm f/2.8 Ai-s or 24mm f/2.8D and some extension tubes for the 50mm for macro work (or reverse the 28mm), as AF isn't required for either really. Alternatively, the Tamron SP90 DI generally goes for £200 on eBay. If you wanted a dedicated portrait lens, then you could keep your eye open for a Nikon E-Series 100mm f/2.8.

I don't think I'd want go down the route of buying a Canon or Nikon camera and then buying non Canon/Nikon Fit lenses and a series of adapters. I would find the lack of full functionality a real pain!

I've heard great things and seen the evidence about the Tamron SP90 DI lens. Would a Sigma 10-20mm be ok with a full frame or is it best to use this lens with a crop sensored camera? The I would just need a decent telephoto lens and I'd be sorted.

[amk1977]

It depends which you bought and what lenses you used on them. If you paid out £1800 for the D700 then you have all the old Ai/Ai-s, D lenses available to you. The only thing you would lose is the AF on the AI and Ai-S lenses. With Canon, you'd have to use adapters as the old FD mount lenses don't work on the EF bodies without them.

The loss of AF on the Ai/Ai-s lenses is certainly no big whoop at all for landscape photography. If anything, it will make you pay more attention to your focal point in the scene. Then select your aperture on the ring and that's it. You'd still have full metering on the D700.

I have the Tamron SP90. Its a nice bit of kit for macro. Its also good for portraiture, although it can hunt a bit and I find the focus wanders off a little. It is a pig mechanically though and slow to focus. I think the Sigma 105mm suffers the same. Not a problem really though, as macro is best performed manually. If you didn't want to pay out for the DI version, you could look for the older Adaptall-2 mount. Its slightly faster at f/2.5 but, you need the extension tube to get 1:1 ratio on the old version.

I think the Sigma 10-20mm is designed for APS-C sensor cameras. Same as the Tokina 116 too. Remember though, you don't have to go as wide on FF as you do on ASP-C. On your Olympus 10-20mm would be 20-40mm on FF due to the X2 crop factor. 15-30mm on Nikon DX bodies. Get an 18mm lens on the FX body and its going to capture the full 18mm.

[ianpinion]

I've previously mentioned I didn't like the feel of the Nikon D700 when I tried it. It's too big for my hands, though I was impressed by the image quality and the brightness of the viewfinder.

It looks like I've got a fair bit of research to do before I make a decision.