Olympus E-450 VS Nikon D3000 VS Canon EOS 1000D

Hey all,


I currently own an Olympus E-420. Nice camera and I am getting along OK with it. Doing a (very) basic photography course and hope to be able to enjoy photography for many decades to come.


Still a complete beginner, I am considering changing camera. I stick to Argos for irrelevant reasons, and I noticed they have two cameras in the same price range that look interesting enough. I was wondering which you guys think is the better overall camera for a beginner?



They have an Olympus E-450

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/0562335/Trail/searchtext%3EOLYMPUS.htm








And they have a Nikon D3000

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5593189/Trail/searchtext%3EDSLR.htm







I'm a little unsure what to do to be honest (if I do decide to change at all). The E-450 is a minor improvement* over my E-420, but it does have video recording which could be handy at times (though I'm sure the audio sucks).

*According to DPReview



The Nikon on the other hand is in my mind for a reason that I'm not quite sure of. To explain, as a complete beginner to DSLR photography, I don't want to spend hundreds of euro on a lens or flash gun that I may never use any more than one time to play about with. With Olympus, there seems to be a real lack of second hand stuff or just cheap quality stuff made compatible.

Although I'm not familiar with Nikon, I assume, however, being a more popular brand it would be mor elikely I could pick up accessories, etc. cheaper in the long run? Could anyone confirm if this is the case?


I almost always run into someone who has picked up a bargain Canon/Nikon with a bucket load of accessories for feck all money, and it drives me mad knowing that with Olympus, I'll have to keep on buying brand new gear if I want to try anything out (however, in saying that, I'm just assuming this, as I have never really looked for Nikon equipment second hand).


Both of the lenses supplied in the Argos kit seem about the same.



So.. may i ask, to you knowledgeable posters on boards... With the above in mind, what would you recommend I go with?


Cheers for any assistance

(and I realise this is my second thread in the same day, so apologies if I'm cluttering the board).




EDIT: Actually, it appears there are more than just those on the Argos site. Other cameras don't appear under a "DSLR" search.



Could you more knowledgeable guys pit this camera against the above two aswell please? It's a Canon, so a different brand, but again, the only reason I'd plan to change brand would be to get cheaper accessories for it. I'd imagine all the cameras themselves are fairly similar?



http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5592829/Trail/searchtext%3ESLR.htm

Chorcai

I can give u a canon to try for a while and ya could head into town and check out a nikon. Ill pm u.

duffarama

Why not get a better lens for your existing camera, the 14-54 II is available cheap enough via reputable online retailers and the mark I is available in Dublin for less than €500

If you like a longer lens the 50-200 can be got via ebay for a reasonable price in relation to the quality of the lens. I'd stick with the camera you have and get better glass if I was you.

The 25mm pancake is a great buy too.

duffarama

duffarama wrote: »

Why not get a better lens for your existing camera, the 14-54 II is available cheap enough via reputable online retailers and the mark I is available in Dublin for less than €500

If you like a longer lens the 50-200 can be got via ebay for a reasonable price in relation to the quality of the lens. I'd stick with the camera you have and get better glass if I was you.

The 25mm pancake is a great buy too.

The 50-200 on eBay seems to be about €800!?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-OLYMPUS-ZUIKO-DIGITAL-ED-50-200mm-F2-8-3-5-SWD-LENS_W0QQitemZ290380411229QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item439c05715d



I'm sure it's a fantastic little lens, but I don't want to pay almost a thousand euro for a lense that I may take out once or twice and realise I don't really care for it.


This is a 50-200mm lens for Nikon/Canon;


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SIGMA-50-200-HSM-OS-CANON-DIGITAL-NEW-UK-DEALER_W0QQitemZ200441443804QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item2eab3db5dc


Now whilst it's not officially made by either company (I'm not sure about different lens makers or who makes what, so i dont't know if 'SIGMA' are a well known and high end brand or a Tesco Quality brand) but I'd rather pay 200 for an inferior lens that will let me know if it's worth my while investing in a proper 50-200mm lens in future.




What set this off in my head is that I am interested in picking up a flash gun. I'm in no rush to get one, but I would like to have one sooner or later, and I don't want to have to pay a fortune for an Olympus one, if there's a Nikon/Canon equivalent for a lot less money.

For example, I just mooched through the photography section of Adverts.ie, and Olympus barely appear, especially in a search for "flash gun". Nikon/Canon, however, are pretty much every second thread!

nilhg

KKV, None of thee bodies you posted are really an upgrade to your current Oly, just a sidestep, at that level all the brands match each other tightly.

If you want a significant upgrade with Olympus you have to look at one of the bodies with IS, either the E520 or E620, that would be a step worth taking IMHO, your keeper rate in tough conditions will rise significantly. If you were to get the same effect jumping to Canon/Nikon you'd be looking at buying both a new body and IS lenses.

When you compared those lens prices you weren't comparing like with like, a much closer match to the oly 50-200 is something like this, even though you lose a little zoom at the wide end.

If you did want to go for a longer lens I'd recommend this, I've one my self and it's a star, huge value for the money but probably best on one of the IS bodies.

Canon/Nikon have lots more SH stuff available, that's true but if you're careful and keep an eye out you'll pick up stuff on adverts or ebay, if you're after a flash there are new flashes from Metz easily got new at less than OLY prices and Metz are a very reputable make.

Ricky91t

Deleted User wrote: »

The 50-200 on eBay seems to be about €800!?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-OLYMPUS-ZUIKO-DIGITAL-ED-50-200mm-F2-8-3-5-SWD-LENS_W0QQitemZ290380411229QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item439c05715d



I'm sure it's a fantastic little lens, but I don't want to pay almost a thousand euro for a lense that I may take out once or twice and realise I don't really care for it.


This is a 50-200mm lens for Nikon/Canon;


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SIGMA-50-200-HSM-OS-CANON-DIGITAL-NEW-UK-DEALER_W0QQitemZ200441443804QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item2eab3db5dc


Now whilst it's not officially made by either company (I'm not sure about different lens makers or who makes what, so i dont't know if 'SIGMA' are a well known and high end brand or a Tesco Quality brand) but I'd rather pay 200 for an inferior lens that will let me know if it's worth my while investing in a proper 50-200mm lens in future.




What set this off in my head is that I am interested in picking up a flash gun. I'm in no rush to get one, but I would like to have one sooner or later, and I don't want to have to pay a fortune for an Olympus one, if there's a Nikon/Canon equivalent for a lot less money.

For example, I just mooched through the photography section of Adverts.ie, and Olympus barely appear, especially in a search for "flash gun". Nikon/Canon, however, are pretty much every second thread!

That lens for the olympus is an excellent lens,It's more like the 70-200 f/2.8 than a 55-200 f4 - f5.6

Also on a Olympus the focal lenght is doubled..So it's a 400mm f/3.5

Which is great.

I might be wrong but you're paying that price for a 70-200 f/2.8

For example alot of sports photography posting on here would be using a 300mm f/2.8 and a Canon 1 series meaning they have a focal lenght of 390mm @ f/2.8, If you were considering sports(or wildlife) I'd stick with the olympus atleast for a while as you'll have a huge advantage over other manufactures using different sensors.

You're right canon/nikon equipment on the used market will be cheaper and more of it but it isn't cheap moving from one manufacture to another.

Morrisseeee

Loads of choices here or here, especially the 70-300 f4-5.6. Its a very good cheap(ish) zoom lens. The only reason I'd upgrade my E510 at the moment is if I won the lotto but seriously tho the only reason would be ISO performance.
Also, have you looked at getting some adapters, ie. so that you can mount other lenses from other manufacturers, primarily old prime lenses from Olympus OM, Pentax & even Nikon (they are cheap, cheerful but.........more importantly > quality).
eg:
Old Nikon 50mm f1.4


Old Nikon 135mm f3.5


3 more old 50mm's

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the opinions and advice so far. I do appreciate it.


I'm going to try and take a different approach to this thread, and see if the responses alter much or at all.


I currently own an Olympus E-420. I can use this in against the cost of a newer camera. My camera is valued at €445.

With that in mind, I'm not going to be paying a lot of money to switch over to a different brand.

Honestly, I am tired of trying everything with Aperture to try and get decent 'Depth of field' style shots. I'm convinced that either the lens or camera just aren't up to the job (of course, speaking realistically, it's probably got more to do with me being crap!). I'm also tired of looking for gear with Olympus as there is no second hand market (this has less to do with me being crap!).

Olympus strike me as a proper camera company that everyone should use if they know what they're doing. The only reason I can really chalk up that Olympus have no second hand market, it because their stuff is just quality all-round. I have nothing against Olympus and think highly of them.


However, I'm a learner, and I do not want to be buying brand new gear for my camera, especially in a case where the products I want may be useless in real life. For example, I want a flash gun. I have no use for one whatsoever (though I do think I can use it to improve my photo-taking of people in indoor settings). I will use it for a few days perhaps (if even!) and then it may never be seen again.

For such a scenario, I would much prefer to buy a second hand one. Most of the second hand stuff I see is usually in brand new condition, but just not wanted any more.



This is one of the reasons that I am highly interested in swapping over to another brand. I reckon it will work out cheaper in the long run and allow me to gradually build a smal kit of useful items (vertical grip, flash gun, etc.) without the cost of brand new items (which seems more suitable to a beginner like myself).


I was actually looking at this;

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5592252/Trail/searchtext%3ESLR.htm


It will cost me about €140 (and my camera), but it has two lenses, one of which is a 75-300mm lens, which I wouldn't mind having to play around with. However, I haven't looked into the lenses, so I won't know if they're any better/worse or the same as the Olympus 14-42mm lens I already have. (Also... just out of curiousity, can I use my Olympus ZUIKO 14-42mm lens on that Cannon camera?).


So my situation... It's less to do with the brand of camera, and more to do with trying to get through the learning and expirementing process that bit cheaper than it would be with Olympus.

dinneenp

I'm in a similar boat- buying first DSLR (probably Pentax K-X).
It's not straight forward to check what lens are available and what prices 2nd hand & new.
It'd be great if there was 1 website/page explaining what type of lens fit what make (including adaptors etc.)

duffarama

Let's make it simple for you then:

canon camera - canon, sigma, tamron, tokina misc
nikon camera - nikon, sigma, tamron, tokina, misc
olympus camera - olympus, sigma, panasonic/leica
pentax camera - pentax, sigma, misc
sony camera - sony, konica-minolta, sigma, misc

Who are Zuiko and where do they fit in to that list?

Also, seen as you know so much Duff, any chance you could list the lens brands in order of quality?

ie; Are Sigma the Rolex of the camera world, or the Tesco quality counterpart, etc.?

Or do each brand focus on different things (ie; sigma love telephoto and excel there, whlist Olympus cater more for a macro audience?)

nilhg

Deleted User wrote: »

Who are Zuiko and where do they fit in to that list?

Zuiko is Olympus's brand name for their lenses, like Nikkor for Nikon

Deleted User wrote: »

Also, seen as you know so much Duff, any chance you could list the lens brands in order of quality?

ie; Are Sigma the Rolex of the camera world, or the Tesco quality counterpart, etc.?

Or do each brand focus on different things (ie; sigma love telephoto and excel there, whlist Olympus cater more for a macro audience?)

It's not quite as simple as that, Oly have 3 grades of digital lenses, Top Pro, Pro and Standard, most of the Pany/Lecia would probably be between Standard and Pro as would some of the Sigmas while some others might not be as good as the Standard lenses.

Nothing comes close to the Top Pro ones.