Olympus E-520

[ret]

First of all hi to everyone

I am a newbie to the world of DSLRs. I made my entry to it with the purchase of Olympus E-520 some 3 weeks ago. My Oly came with the 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses.

I had shortlisted the Oly E-520 and Canon XSi after checking out a variety of models from different manufacturers. Too bad the Nikon D90 was announced after my 14 days return period got over or i probably would have pre-ordered that. I played around with both the E-520 and the XSi and chose the Oly because of the Zuiko ED kit lenses, in-body stabilization, better camera feel in the hand, built quality appeared to be better [BMW like] and the menu [software] in the camera was more intuitive.

As I am a newbie, I m learning a lot about exposure by reading books and searching the internet [thats where I came to know about this wonderful forum]. I have started with 'Understanding Digital Photography' by Bryan Peterson.

Gear:
- Oly E-520
- 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses
- Hoya UV filter
- Lens cleaning kit
- Roots Safari RSF107 bag
- CF and xD cards
- Extra battery

So far I am happy with the E-520. I have tried out stuff from Bryan Peterson's book and it seems to work. I usually try to shoot in Aperture mode and did a few tricks in the Manual mode too. I guess the experience is like trying to tame a fine horse as you know that once you understand the camera the output will be great.

I am also considering getting a tripod. The store recommended the Manfrotto 190pro with a ball head. Any suggestion on this would be appreciated.

And those of you who have experience with Olympus and the four-thirds, whats your feedback and what other lenses are needed. I heard that the 7-14mm lens is superb for wide-angle, the 12-60mm lens is a pro quality lens, while the 50-200mm lens is good too for telephoto.

[tirediron]

First of all hi to everyone



I am also considering getting a tripod. The store recommended the Manfrotto 190pro with a ball head. Any suggestion on this would be appreciated.

Hi, and welcome. I'm not an Olympus guy, so I can't make any comments other than to say that I've heard good things about them. With respect to your comment about the tripod, I would concur with the salesman's reccomendation. The 190Pro is an excellent set of legs; I have one and it has served me well for a number of years. For general photogrpahy, a ballhead is definitely the way to go; something along the lines of the 488 is a nice mid-range unit that will be suitable for your camera and anything up to medium-large zooms/telephotos.

[ret]

thanks for your recommendation @ tirediron

I would like to take this opportunity to give my 2 cents on other models that I looked around

1. Canon XSi

It was my #1 choice before i checked it out in person. I would have got this one if not for the Olympus. The 35mm based image sensor, i guess, is bigger than one in the four-thirds and thats one of the advantages this one has. But the camera felt plasticky in the hand, the menu was tiresome to use .... to use the live view, you have to press the 'set' button, which shows that Canon needs to redesign the camera with respect to new features being added. it's probably like Canon is following 'if it's not broke, don't fix it' but the overall design looks dated

Pros: 12mp, access to Canon lenses, 35mm based sensor
Cons: plasticky and dated feel, tiresome menu, no specific button for Live View, EV +/-2
Remark: Not worth the price Canon is asking for it. Would recommend buying the kit for not more than $650

2. Nikon D60

Pros: access to Nikon lenses, 35mm based sensor
Cons: No Live View, basic JPEG quality when shooting RAW+JPEG
Remark: feels dated .... unless Nikon updates this one like it did for D80 with D90, it's hard for me to recommend this one

As someone upgrading from point and shoot and with the hype surrounding Canon and Nikon, I wanted to start out with one of these brands but after checking out their offerings in the entry-level segment, i felt that these two are resting on their laurels and taking things for granted. And yes, Nikon finally touched my senses with the D90 but it was a week too late

for those who are starting out, remember
1. We are not used to shooting with tripods at first so get something with in-body stabilization or get stabilized lenses to get you started with your best foot forward
2. After using the viewfinder, i like it but LiveView helps so its better to have that option than not
3. Check the quality of kit lenses as those supplied may not be up to the mark

[ret]

is there a compositional grid [rule of thirds grid] feature on Olympus? if yes, then how to activate it

[ret]

it has the grid in the live view mode

settings D > frame assist > 1. grid, 2. golden section, 3. scale [3 options]