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Old 02-10-2008, 11:28 PM
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Chippy (Nick)
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Olympus E-520 ?

I'm looking to buy a DSLR. Originally I was pretty sold on the EOS 450D but have been checking out the Olympus E-520. It has a lot of nice features for the price (and feels good in the hand) so was thinking I could put the savings over a Canon EOS 450D towards other good stuff. I have read some very positive reviews, as well as some not so flattering.

1. I would like to hear from anyone that owns an E-520 / E-420 / E-510 about their thoughts of the camera.

2. I'm interested to hear if anyone knows how it is for AP. I will be initially using it for terrestrial only, but may want to get into AP down the track. I'm not worried about getting it modded - but want to be able to get adaptors etc to use it with my refractors. It uses the 4 thirds system/chip so it's a little different to the Canon, Nikon and others in that respect - and uses different lenses. I realise it wouldn't be quite up to the same level as the 450D in sensitivity because of the smaller LMOS sensor - but expect it would still be reasonable. My concern is mainly will I run into compatibility headaches because it's not Canon et al.

Nick.
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Old 02-10-2008, 11:37 PM
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RB (Andrew)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chippy View Post
My concern is mainly will I run into compatibility headaches because it's not Canon et al.

Nick.
G'day Nick,

When you say compatibility problems because it's not Canon, what do you mean?
Do you mean finding a T-adapter for it?
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Old 03-10-2008, 07:16 AM
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sheeny (Al)
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I have an E-510 and I have a 4/3 to OM adapter so I can use all my old OM lenses and my old OM T ring, but I would be surprized if you would have any problems getting a 4/3 T ring.

I find the E-510 is a great camera for sport, landscapes, bushwalking and travel. It is light and compact, has live view and 2 modes of IS, etc. I find it is noisy for astro work due to the small sensor size most probably, but if AP isn't high on your list of priorities for the camera it's a wise choice. There are some excellent lenses available for 4/3 cameras if you have the money... You can do respectable AP with it, but I think you might have to work a bit harder (i.e. collect more data) to achieve comparable results to a larger format Canon or Nikon.

Al.
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Old 03-10-2008, 01:37 PM
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Chippy (Nick)
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Hi guys,

Thanks for the responses so far.

Yes I meant T adaptor - and any other accessories I'm likely to need/want to use with it for AP.

Al, I take it from your post that you have used it for AP. Is that through a lens or connecting it through a scope?

Also any aspects relating to the software for it. It uses a different RAW format I gather. Also, it doesn't have the same level of control from a PC as the Canon 450D (eg. realtime Liveview feed) - but I'm not sure how much of a deal that is likely to be.

The more info the better basically. So anything you know about this camera and/or how it might compare with the 450D. I've read reviews and the specs. But I'm after some real world knowledge. It's very similar to the E-510 and E-420 so any experience with those models would be equally valuable.

Nick.
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Old 03-10-2008, 02:01 PM
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dannat (Daniel)
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Nick - I have an e-500 which is the forerunner to the e-510. There is no problem getting adapters for it - be it 4/3 r the older OM- t ring (i have the OM as i bought one here for $15, and bought an OM-4/3 adapter off ebay for $10. I have taken mmon shots by hooking up to my intes mak - no problem.

One thing you need to consider for Ap is that remotes avail for oly are the basic ones , ie just take exp. I have not seen the programmable ones like you can get for canons.

Comp control iis also more difficult- although PS supports the oly RAW format (i have PS elements) - they released the 520 raw plugin a few months back

Overall I really like the camera, great to use (more options in a cheaper unit get the twin lens pack very light & great lens better than canon IMO- you will have to work harder with the focus (think how you are going to focus) - not all focus programs support olympus {very few i think})

oly cameras can be severe on Ha, on CN I read my camera (e-500) has better red absorption than the later models but i am yet to test it

I forgot the dust reduction is very good, but does make startup little slow - it hasn't worried me
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Old 03-10-2008, 05:14 PM
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sheeny (Al)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chippy View Post

Al, I take it from your post that you have used it for AP. Is that through a lens or connecting it through a scope?
I haven't actually used it through my scope yet, but I don't anticipate any problems. I have an OM T ring for my old OM-1 and a 4/3 to OM adapter... I expect it to work just as the old OM-1 did. I have used it for wide fields though various lenses though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chippy View Post
Also any aspects relating to the software for it. It uses a different RAW format I gather. Also, it doesn't have the same level of control from a PC as the Canon 450D (eg. realtime Liveview feed) - but I'm not sure how much of a deal that is likely to be.
I did download Olympus Studio for it, but it expired before I tried it. But so far I haven't found the need for PC control. Focus and framing is no problem with live view and live view assist on (to see the really dim stuff). I like the fact that I don't need a PC... no fuss, no cables, no bother... It might be a different story if you wanted to operate it remotely from the warm room of an obs, say, but I can't see me doing that in the foreseeable future.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chippy View Post
The more info the better basically. So anything you know about this camera and/or how it might compare with the 450D. I've read reviews and the specs. But I'm after some real world knowledge. It's very similar to the E-510 and E-420 so any experience with those models would be equally valuable.

Nick.
I can't comment on the 450D, I have no experience with it, but I would expect it to be pretty similar to the E-510 in terms of ease of use given it has live view... (I assume it would have something equivalent to live view assist to boost levels in the live view for very dark subjects).

Al.
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