Looking to Upgrade my E-510

I currently have the E-510 paired with the 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 zuiko kit lens and the 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 zuiko. I am wondering which of these four options would get me the best quality images. I am aiming for sharper images with nice depth of field. I would also like to get better results in lower lighting.

1. Upgrade my E-510 body to an E-620 and keep my two lenses

2. Upgrade my E-510 body to an E-3 and keep my two lenses

3. Upgrade my E-510 body to an E-30 and keep my two lenses

4. Keep my E-510 body and get the Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 lens

In addition, I would possibly upgrade both the body and the lens eventually, but only have the money for one at the moment. So I'm interested in getting the most improvement for just one now and upgrade the other later. With that in mind, any suggestions?

IMHO your best options are 3 and 4. An E-30 is a significant step up and the best of the three body options (not a consensus opinion, but distinctly the case for me). The 14-54 is a lot better than the kit 14-42 and will make an immediate improvement on the E-510.

I guess it gets down to exactly what areas you wish to improve first. The E-30 gives higher ISO, greater dynamic range, much better shutter and OVF, and excellent articulated rear display. It also takes the 510's battery. The 14-54 is weatherproof, faster, sharper and longer, and has a metal mount flange.

Myself, I'd get the body now and lens upgrade later. You can also consider the 12-60, which is amazingly good.

Cheers,

Rick

--
"Whiskey is for drinking, digicams are for fighting over."
—Mark Twain

I took your option 4 about 12 months ago and now love my Olympus again. I was previously thinking of getting rid of my E510 but the 14-54 brought new life to it. I was so impressed I got a second hand 50-200, 9-18 and a legacy prime. I hope you have a similar experience !

I also suggest buying the lens only, then wait until Olympus comes out with its new offering later this year. It will also bring down the cost of all of the other models second hand prices.

I sold my 510 to finance my E-30, and alway regretted it. There is just something about the E 510 pictures. Don't get me wrong, the E-30 is by far a better handling camera. I also have an E-3 that I like alot, I use it the same amount as I use the E-30.

--
Allen Shields

I can only speak up for an E-30 upgrade. I switched from the E-520 and I saw a significant change of lens speed when using it with the lenses: 50mm f2, 70300mm ED. I had it for almost 4 years and I can tell you that was my best purchase as far as camera gear. Pair it with the Oly grip and you'll get a more stabilized body cam for landscaping and portraits.

Forgot to add, I also found that the E-30 handles higher ISO captures way better than the E-520.

I say go for the lens. The E-510 is still a fine camera.

3 or 4..

I don't think any E series camera before the E-5 is as sharp as the 510 except the E-30.  The E-5 and the 520 and 620 are all "softer" (heavier AA filter than the 510).

The 14-54 is a significant step up from the kit lens.

If you can find an E-30 in good shape for a good price, then go for it.... Otherwise hold on to the 510 (which I would do anyway) and wait and see what comes out later this year (it might cause a price drop on the E-5).

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What are you looking to upgrade?

a) Low light capability?

b) Better DR?

c) Improved AF? (C-AF? BiFs?)

d) Sharper image?

e) 'bells and whistles'  Tilt/swivel screen, control knobs, electronic level, art filters)

A- could be improved w either a faster lens or body upgrade

B or C calls for an E-3 or E-30

D would best be served by a lens upgrade, then picking up an E-5 when that is replaced.

E- Can be gotten in E-30, and most in 620 as well.

I got the impression you're seeking higher quality/sharper images... for that I'd say upgrade the lens, as the 30/620 wont give you much more in the way of sharpness (higher resolution is balanced by heavier AA filter)  The body that will give you a sharper image is the E-5

If you don't see moving over to m43 any time soon, I'd look for a 12-60mm over the 14-54.

If budget is really tight, look for the 14-54 MkI.

And if you do see yourself adding an m43 PEN, OM-D, or G camera down the line, the 14-54 MkII will give you the best compatibility.

--
Art P
"I am a creature of contrast,
of light and shadow.
I live where the two play together,
I thrive on the conflict"

If your are not in a hurry then I suggest you wait for the new body release later in the year.

That's when . . .

1. people will sell off their old bodies to help finance the new one

2. people with too many bodies already  will sell off one to make room for a new camera in their house. In my case I'll be selling an E-30.

It's reasonable then to expect more used E-30s and E-5s  in the market place at lower prices at the end of the year.

Peter

It looks like I can get the lens used on ebay for around $300-$350 range and the E-30 body used for around the $400-$450 range. I would love the 12-60mm but it is going for more like $500. I'm not sure that I'm quite ready to put that much into one item at this point, but might consider it if it would be a much bigger upgrade than the 14-54mm.

I have the E-510, E-1 and E-30 (bought in that order) with copies of most of the kit lenses.

I also have the 7~14, 14~54 MkII, 50~200 MkI, f/2 50 macro, f/2.8 25 pancake, EX-25 and EC-14. Also a swag of legacy lenses etc up to an f/8 500 mm Maksutov mirror lens.

Some of the best images I have ever taken in my life were taken with my E-510 and its two kit lenses.

The list of reasons I "upgraded" to the E-30 is perhaps surprisingly short:

- Far better optical viewfinder (OVF) than the E-510, but much the same as my E-1, for helping me with the weakest element in my photography - composition.

- Flippy screen

- Far better AF. Not more accurate (the E-510 is very accurate, IME), but faster and more flexible. It also focuses FAR better than E-1/510/620 in low light.

- Commercial duty shutter

- Better IQ at higher ISO. The E-30 is usable at ISO 1600 in poor light. The E-510 isn't really. Not a big deal for me anyway.

I wouldn't put the 14~54 MkII far ahead of the 14~42 in terms of optical quality. It is weather dust sealed, better built, and is a lot faster optically and for AF. It also focuses very close to the front element, which I find exceptionally useful in a walk-around standard zoom.

Note that none of these things have a direct bearing on basic image quality, except maybe at the margins.

Unless you can specify particular photographic reasons as to why you need to "upgrade", don't bother. Of all the cameras you mention, the E-30 is probably your best option, and not far behind the E-5 in IQ either.

Thus my advice - KEEP your E-510. It's a terrific camera. I still have mine, and use it.

--
Regards, john from Melbourne, Australia.
(see profile for current gear)
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I'd go with the lens option too.

Don't rule out the 50mm macro.  You should find one for the same as the 14-54  or less.  It's incredibly sharp and, being f2, is great for playing with DOF.  It's by no means just for close-up work. Don't worry about it being a prime - it's actually a plus.

The 11-22 is also very good - not just as a wideangle option.

The main reason why I would like to "upgrade" is that I feel like I'm not able to get the sharpness in my photos that I'm looking for. Maybe it's just me and my lack of experience. Maybe I just need to practice more with the lenses I have, but I feel like my images are always soft. I wan't to be able to get that crisp shot that I see professionals get all the time. I know I am not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, but I would like to work toward getting closer to one. So I would at least like to get a reasonably priced option that could get me one step further so that I know that it's not my equipment that is holding me back, but my lack of experience. I don't know, maybe I'm looking at it all wrong, but I kinda feel like I need some new glass to get me re-inspired with my Olympus to reencourage me to continue practicing and trying to improve.

I tried upgrading the lenses and bought 14-54 and 50 mm for my E-510 but while it helped to get better pictures in lower light with increased speed, the focusing issues with E-510 were always a problem for me. AF is not the best on the 510 and SAF+MF is hard because of the small OVF. E-30 was a blessing! Such a difference. You can pick up a nice copy now for about $450 and never look back.

Good luck!

Are you shooting RAW only, RAW + JPEG or JPEG only?

What mode are you shooting? P, A, S, M; or AUTO/Scene modes?

What are your camera settings? These will mainly only affect the OoC JPEGs.

What PP s/w are you using?

IME, the image displayed on the E-519 is good for judging image quality at up to 5x. 7x at a pinch. Try to chimp when you are in the shade - this will help you establish whether a shot is good or not. 14x is only good to check for motion blur, IMNSHO.

"Professionals" don't get crisp shots "all the time". Maybe they have a far higher ratio of potential keepers, but so will you after you have shot hundreds of thousands of shots ...

Practice ... Preferably in relatively controlled conditions - e.g. camera on a tripod, subject (flower) in a vase or static. Move the tripod. Practice getting the object in focus, and your technique good (if shooting hand held). Carefully examine your images on the computer.

The E-510 is fine to ISO 800 in good light, even ISO 1600. ISO 400 when the light is lousy. Practice the relationship between ISO, shutter speed and aperture. I almost always shoot in aperture priority mode, adjusting the ISO to get the shutter speed up.

Money cannot improve your photography. Practice can, and costs next to nothing. Learn to critically examine your images on your monitor. Calibrate your monitor (actually, calibrating your video card ... ). Spend the bucks and buy a decent monitor if you are using a cheapie.

There are any number of sharp images on my web site taken with the E-510 and kit lenses. I have printed some of these to A2 size, and they remain razor sharp. Use the search facility and search for "e-510", without the quote marks.

--
Regards, john from Melbourne, Australia.
(see profile for current gear)
Please do not embed images from my web site without prior permission
I consider this to be a breach of my copyright.
-- -- --
.
The Camera doth not make the Man (nor Woman) ...
Perhaps being kind to cats, dogs & children does ...
.
I am a Photography Aficionado ... and ...
"I don't have any problems with John. He is a crotchety old Aussie. He will smack you if you behave like a {deleted}. Goes with the territory." boggis the cat
.
Gallery: http://canopuscomputing.com.au/gallery2/v/main-page/

Bird Control Officers on active service.

I currently only shoot in JPEG because I don't have any PP s/w that can work with RAW images

I shoot in AP mode 98% of the time. I haven't ventured into full Manual mode too much yet, and only really use SP mode if I'm trying to get a shot where there is movement involved. I don't know that I've ever used the scene modes to be honest.

I currently only have Photoshop Elements 7

Thank you for this reminder. I know this, but sometimes in the moment when I look through my photos and find so many junky ones, I forget this.  And I get caught up in envy, looking at professional photos wanting so badly to be able to capture images like theirs, that I forget how much work and probably failed photos they had along the way.

I often try to "practice" with my nieces and nephews, but often get caught in a rut of doing the same thing over and over instead of branching out to try new things. I guess when you do the same thing, you get the same results.

I try hard not to go above ISO 400 because I have this irrational distaste for the potential for noise, but maybe I need to try using ISO 800 more to help improve some pics in better lighting.

I guess the only question I have about this is, if money cannot improve your photography, then why do "professionals" buy the better more expensive cameras if they can get just as good of images with the cheaper equipment. I'm probably not at the point that money could improve my photography that much since I haven't even completely figured out my current lens, but couldn't it still at least give you a little bit of a leg up?

John's right; money can't buy good photography. I think the time to upgrade is when you know exactly how and why your camera is holding you back, although many of us, of course, only come to that conclusion in hindsight. The E-510 is a little gem once you get to know it, even with the standard-grade lenses.

Perhaps the issue lies with technique rather than the gear you're using? If you post a range of typical "best shot" photos, including the EXIF, for some gentle, useful critique, it might give you a better feel for the path you need to take.

I upgraded to the 14-54Mk1 a couple of years ago. Got it at an excellent price (to me), and am glad I upgraded. Thought about moving to the E-30 or E-5, but don't feel my photo skills warrant that move yet.

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jan/aja
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E30+50-200SWD

E510+40-150(kit lens)

As you can see, not much diference for relative low motion.

In my opinion get 14-54I or II. When i bought 14-54 E510 changed. In a good sense. Focus speed was/is great, colors become great. E30+kit lens is not more that you allready have.

Get the lens, becouse in time maybe you'll get a PEN, maybe another 4/3camera.