First DSLR - Canon or Olympus?

William72

I'm sure a question just like mine has been asked many times so sorry but here goes anyway. I'm purchasing my first DSLR and have narrowed it down (using the brilliant dpreview) to two cameras:
The Canon Eos 100D http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos1000d/page34.asp and the Olympus e420 http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse420/page30.asp

They are both "highly recommended" with the Canon slightly shading it. Now any advice I have taken from people in the know is Canon all the way. But when I point out that there is a €140 difference (on pixmania) between the two they have found it hard to justify why I would go for the Canon. Budget is a concern for me (as you will note from the types of cameras I'm looking at). I am in no way a photography buff but wouldn't rule that out in the future. Right now I just want to take nice pictures.

Help - beginning to lose myself in woods, trees and the like Which camera should I plump for?

Tallon

I started with an olympus for that exact reason, money
Didn't take long for me to upgrade though

To be perfectly honest, I'd go with the canon, because in the long run it will serve you justice once you get 'good at taking photos'
Also canon lenses are cheaper and all over the place

nilhg

Both will take fine pictures, and most folks here will advise you to go with the Canon but as an Oly user for the last 4 years I can honestly say if you buy it it will be fine.

There is a good expolration of the various issues you face buying your first DSLR here, have a look at it and see if it helps you see through those trees.

CabanSail

It all depends if this will be a "one off" purchase & that is as far as you will be going or if you think you will progress in photography & along with that increase the amount of gear you will own.

If it's the former, then get the cheapest camera that will fill your criteria. Simple. If that is the case then you may well be better getting a Bridge Camera anyway.

If you plan to develop & expand then look at the system you are buying into & which has the support for your expansion. There are really three systems out there now which have the range. The first two are Canon & Nikon which are the market leaders. The third is Sony, which is in third place now & rapidly developing it's range on the heritage of the old Minolta system.

Olympus used to be one of the market leaders back in the 80's along with Nikon, but they have slipped right down in recent times to having a very small section of the market now.

fguihen

If you intend to get more into the photography lark, i would suggest canon. When you upgrade ( for the most part) your lens's will carry on to the newer/higher spec camera body, as will most accessories. There are much more lens's and accessories available for canon, and this, along with the feel of the camera is why i went for canon.

duffarama

Tallon wrote: »

I started with an olympus for that exact reason, money
Didn't take long for me to upgrade though

To be perfectly honest, I'd go with the canon, because in the long run it will serve you justice once you get 'good at taking photos'
Also canon lenses are cheaper and all over the place

Sorry what? If you're good at taking photos the equipment shouldn't make any difference. Or am I wrong and should I sell all my Olympus and Contax cameras and buy only Canon from now on?

OP either one of those cameras will do just fine, personally, I'd go with the E420 as it's a great small camera and the kit lenses are superb and sharp corner to corner at any aperture. The camera itself offers an awful lot of functionality for the price point.

Morrisseeee

I guess what Tallon means is the upgradeability of Canon. But duffarama is right, both are excellent as starter cameras, the E420 will be compact, light and user friendly, and the kit lens is very good.
I have the E420's bigger brother, the E510, and I've no complaints. I also bought adapters, so that I can fit older lenses, also from different manufacturers, eg. Nikon, Pentax, Olympus OM.

Tallon

duffarama wrote: »

Sorry what? If you're good at taking photos the equipment shouldn't make any difference. Or am I wrong and should I sell all my Olympus and Contax cameras and buy only Canon from now on?

You obviously missed the the two '

I meant in terms of gear, the canon offers a wider range of lenses than the olympus, thus in the long run, would be ideal.....

The majority of my best shots are taken with my bridge or P&S, so don't get all worked up about it

I advise the OP to go for the olympus because of his price concerns. (As this is what I did)
I don't like canons but still advised it as the best option in case of future interest as they are cheaper lenses, more choice and wider availability..... As stated in my first post

AnCatDubh

Kinda depends on where / how far your photographic journey will take you. I think that generally the forum has landed at a place where practically all entry level DSLR's regardless of brand are fine cameras with lashing of features to keep you endlessly tearing your hair out happy.

If you are going to get rather serious about it - read - potentially doing it as a profession - then the choice should be canon / nikon. Yet, that being said there are plenty of professionals which would use the Olympus stuff.

From what the forum has seen here there are few distinguishable traits to the end product whether produced by the Olympus or a Canon. The distinguishable traits will almost always be the experience, creativity and dedication of the photographer to the output of the camera rather than how 'better' such a camera may be over another.

Yes, probably higher end gear is available for the Canons if you are going to be that serious about it or have too much money to know what to do with but (and not meaning to belittle the query which is valid) it may be a long, long, long, time before you land in that particular place (fair play to you if this assumption is incorrect).

So, if budget is an overriding factor and you are buying a kit (body + lens) then imho you should go with the Olympus purely on the cost advantage - it isn't better than the canon but the canon isn't better than the Olympus so the reviews are quite correct. If the reviews give a slight edge to the canon, i'd hazard a guess that it would be a very technical and low level edge which for most mere mortals won't be an issue. When funds allow and you are considering some sort of upgrade (which should be at the point of buying your very first 'serious' lens), the you may have a better idea of where your photographic goals will lie and whether you need to go with a system which will take you beyond what particular brands will do for you. Again, note my words - before you do any upgrades - if you start to upgrade and later switch system then you are likely to lose more in the translation to the new system. Having said that, we had a thread earlier in the week where there was a canon head with excesses of gear contemplating chucking the lot on eBay and switching to Nikon so its not a bleak wilderness at that point in time.

Canon will be more common place but accessory availability won't be an issue with the Olympus either. You may also meet more people using canon that you can share gear with / swap / try out at meets etc... - Eh, if that's your kind of thing.

The popular vote would be Canon but then again you should include nikon, sony, and pentax - all which at that level produce smashing DSLR's with SFA to differentiate.

Freddie59

I've used Olympus and Fji (P&S + bridge camera) and now have a 450D. If you have the few quid get the 450D instead of the 1000D.

The Olympus quality is stunning, and, as I've often read on here, when you get to DSLR level, they'll ALL produce great results - once you know how to use them. As someone else said - just because you have a load of plumbing gear doesn't mean you're a plumber.;)

PS:

Get THIS BOOK.

Imposter

Genuine question:
Can someone give me an example of a lense (or other toys) that Canon/Nikon has that can't be got for or got to work with Olympus? From a beginner or intermediates perspective.

The reason I ask is that this "there's more gear for the Canons and Nikons" argument doesn't seem to be true from my point of view as someone who bought an E520 last year.

William72

this is all great feedback guys - many thanks for taking the time...


so what I'm hearing is that

• they are both very good cameras for my (at the moment) limited needs
• the olympus offers great functionality at its price point - also its small and light
• if I wanted to pursue it later I should think hard b4 upgrading next time round

its clear from the feedback that there really is little to seperate these two cameras with voices from both sides, in that case what does seperate them is €140 and for me, for now, that'll do it. I'll make my purchase tomorrow I reckon (and see what else i hear in the meantime) but again thank you all - you're a very helpful bunch

any other recommendations for reading - the title alone of Freddie59's recommendation frightens the bejaysus out of this nooby

kgpixels

I'd say start as you mean to continue. Its pay now pay or later. I know its easy said, but been a cannon digital user for the past 6yrs, I'd go for the cannon.

nilhg

Imposter wrote: »

Genuine question:
Can someone give me an example of a lense (or other toys) that Canon/Nikon has that can't be got for or got to work with Olympus? From a beginner or intermediates perspective.

The reason I ask is that this "there's more gear for the Canons and Nikons" argument doesn't seem to be true from my point of view as someone who bought an E520 last year.

The obvious one is the fast inexpensive prime (nifty fifty), followed by fast expensive primes, though there are Sigma alternatives available.

AnCatDubh

William72 wrote: »

any other recommendations for reading - the title alone of Freddie59's recommendation frightens the bejaysus out of this nooby

Whether you are new or an old hand at this lark - get that book. Understanding Exposure should be re-read by all photographers of all skill levels at least every six months. It is excellent.

Read lots here and ask lots of questions.

duffarama

nilhg wrote: »

The obvious one is the fast inexpensive prime (nifty fifty), followed by fast expensive primes, though there are Sigma alternatives available.

There's the pancake, but even cheaper is an OM50mm F1.8 and a Chinese apadtor!

Of course, I got the expensive Olympus adaptor as it's a lovely piece of metal

nilhg

William72 wrote: »

this is all great feedback guys - many thanks for taking the time...


so what I'm hearing is that

• they are both very good cameras for my (at the moment) limited needs
• the olympus offers great functionality at its price point - also its small and light
• if I wanted to pursue it later I should think hard b4 upgrading next time round

its clear from the feedback that there really is little to seperate these two cameras with voices from both sides, in that case what does seperate them is €140 and for me, for now, that'll do it. I'll make my purchase tomorrow I reckon (and see what else i hear in the meantime) but again thank you all - you're a very helpful bunch

any other recommendations for reading - the title alone of Freddie59's recommendation frightens the bejaysus out of this nooby

If you can stretch the budget a little more have a look at the twin lens kit, you'll never buy as good a lens for as little money again.

duffarama

What Nilhg said is good advice, it's an extra €100 I think but the lens costs €250 new. Even if you put it on ebay straight away you'll make your money back and a tidy profit.

William72

What Nilhg said is good advice, it's an extra €100 I think but the lens costs €250 new. Even if you put it on ebay straight away you'll make your money back and a tidy profit.

ok - so where are you guys seeing this?

CabanSail

kgpixels wrote: »

I'd say start as you mean to continue. Its pay now pay or later. I know its easy said, but been a cannon digital user for the past 6yrs, I'd go for the cannon.

Cannon or Nikkon?


Sorrry couldn't ressisst.:D

Something to consider is what you will be using it for.
I have an olympus e-410 and I do alot of hiking with my camera.
The 4/3rds system is smaller so less bulk carrying around if thats what you will be at.

If your gonna be doing alot of indoors shots then maybe the canon as they are supposed to give less noise in low light/high ISO speeds

duffarama

William72 wrote: »

What Nilhg said is good advice, it's an extra €100 I think but the lens costs €250 new. Even if you put it on ebay straight away you'll make your money back and a tidy profit.

ok - so where are you guys seeing this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-EZ-4015-2-Zuiko-Digital-40-150mm/dp/B000INDZ60/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1248362302&sr=8-1

I know that since the lens went on sale it's generally been €100 extra from the single lens kit for the twin lens kit and then second hand prices between €100 and €200.

If you don't think you need it save your money though :pac:

Mycroft H

That old arguement that canon and nikon are the best because of the gear availible doesnt really hold water in my opinion.

Unless you want super long telephotos greater then 600mm and you want fancy tilt sift lenses, ANY of the systems will do you well. There is plenty of used olyumpus gear on the bay to be had and a good amount in the photo shops in dublin.

Pentax and sony are other systems too look at if your budget is limited.

Canon are good if you want to stretch the budget a little bit, though the 1000d is not 140 euro more of camera

William72

duffarama wrote: »

If you don't think you need it save your money though :pac:

landyman wrote: »

Canon are good if you want to stretch the budget a little bit, though the 1000d is not 140 euro more of camera

two great bits of advice which I will choose to heed I think - thanks folks

Morrisseeee

I don't use my 40-150mm (kit lens) anymore, as I use my old manual lenes instead, so I'd be willing to part with it, PM me if you are interested.