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E1 for Eva - will she like it?

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Louis_Dobson

Louis_Dobson

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Gotta get a dSLR for Eva on Monday. Obvioulsy an Oly so we can share lenses. Needs to be cheap - won't get paid for this job for a month, and I've spent the money from the last one, so an E330, or even another E500, is out.

E300 and E1 are both dirt cheap.

If I get her an E1, I can swipe for shooting on beaches and other hostile environments.

On the other hand Eva is totally technology hostile. She can use my E500, is there ANYTHING about the E1 that is going to make her want to toss it out of the window?

While she's learning does it have a nice, quiet, well behaved P mode I can switch it to and leave her to it?

Don't mind the lack of flash - these built in flashes are so feeble they cause more confusion than anything else.

Or should I go for the 300? If she doesn't like the 300 she can have my 500 and I'll use it (WB and metereing barely interest me). But I don't want to end up using the E1, 5MP is not enough for my purposes, so if she gets an E1, she'd better like it...

--
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Why don't you ask Eva to go to a camera store with/without you, give her time to try them all, and gasp let H E R decide?

shaking head

Judy
 
it seems to me tha you are thinking of your backup camera should it be e-300 or e-1. if you're not thinking about it that way maybe you should :)

i beleive that it will take her pretty much the same to learn how to operate both.

Assaf
 
And why don't I ask her which one she'd prefer? I did. She says whichever one I think will suit us better.

Thanks for the radical thought though.

Although actually I'm not sure it is a very good one anyway - giving someone with no SLR experience two cameras for five minutes and saying "which do you prefer" is roughly as stupid as choosing your car on the basis of a short test drive when you don't have a driver's licence.

If I wanted an easel and other oil painting kit, I'd ask her to go get it for me, because I know nothing about the subject and she knows a lot.
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Does she already have a compact camera and if not would something that fitted in her handbag be a better idea than any SLR?
 
about photography, and prepared to lug stuff about.

Trouble is, with the E500 I can do things she can't, so her initial enthusiasm has worn off (it is boring going somewhere with someone and being aced all the time). A dSLR should rekindle her enthusiasm.

Have a look at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peke_cheeks

Nothing wrong with those I'd say - once she's got a real camera she'll be unstoppable.

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to read the thread before posting that?

I did ask her. She told me to get whatever is best. Quite sensibly really, since she has no interest in cameras other than using them, and has never heard of an E1 nor an an E300, and has no wish to waste her life reading test reports. We sad geeks, on the other hand...

Actually, I tell a lie, she saw a picture of the E300 and thought it looked ugly (sorry Carlos). On the other hand she thinks my E500 is heavy, and the E1 is heavier. So, even balance at that point.

One of the least charming things about the internet is that everybody always seems to assume everyone else is stupid, dishonest or ill intentioned.

If she'd told me which camera she wanted, why on Earth do you think I'd be in here asking your advice? Yes, I know, obvioulsy, because I'm not you, I must be stupid, dishonest and ill intentioned.
--
Unoffical DPReview OLY photo comp info here - go on, have a go...

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=17525056

http://www.flickr.com/photos/acam
http://www.pbase.com/acam/
 
Truly, you would be better off with the E-500. The smaller size, better metering and better iso performance will probably be more appreciated by a beginner. There is only a $100 difference in the US between both kits but I don't know the situation you are in so either the $100 is going to be real tough to part with, the deals aren't the same out where you are or you found an AWESOME deal on the 300 which I have seen a lot of lately.

Any way, comparing the E-300 to the E-1, I have the E-1 and absolutely love it. I would never trade mine for an E-300 or and E-500 for that matter. For a beginner though, it is a different story. Here is why I think the E-300 is better for a beginner.

1) Smaller, if only slightly.

2) Built in flash. I don't think you can discount how much this means. I assume she will be using it for all kinds of shots and won't have an external flash available right away. The built in flash can make or break people shots in bright sunlight and interiors. Not having one would make some shots downright impossible. Shots of friends at an evening party, night portraits with city lights as the background.

3) Scene modes. While the E-1 has a great P mode, it still doesn't beat scene modes for the average beginner. Modes, like beach/snow mode, night portrait, sports, etc. can be a real help to someone who is just starting out.

Best of luck in your decision.

--
Tarek
http://focusonlife.net
 
Better off with the E300 Louis...it has those scene modes,portraits,lenscapes,etc.. as long as she doesn't hit you outside the head with it...it will be OK.

:-)

Carlos
 
Why not think of your new purchase as an interim camera. At the pice point now, you probably wouldn't lose much if you ebay'd it in a year or so, especially if it was sold with a warranty.

If this is the case, then the E-1 may be the one to get as the weather resistant sealing might be a big plus, depending on the type of photography you take. Believe it or not many women are very practical in their approach.
 
Louis_Dobson said:
One of the least charming things about the internet is that
everybody always seems to assume everyone else is stupid, dishonest
or ill intentioned.

If she'd told me which camera she wanted, why on Earth do you
think I'd be in here asking your advice? Yes, I know, obvioulsy,
because I'm not you, I must be stupid, dishonest and ill
intentioned.
Click to expand...
Go back and read your post, Louis. As usual, it's all about you, you, YOU. And no matter WHAT advice is given YOU, you'll get the camera YOU want.

What do I care what you get your Eva? It seems to me you come up with BS like this just for the sake of posting here.

Try this forum instead: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1018

As usual, it looks like you're thinking more of yourself than anyone else around you. Don’t take that wrong, it’s simply that way I perceive you.

Why don't you take her on a nice, romantic week-long vacation instead? Surprise her with something sexy from Victoria's Secret. Have a bottle of champagne and a plate of strawberries ready in the room. I'm sure she'd appreciate that more than lugging around Louis's backup camera gear.

If she doens't, you lost her a long time ago.

Suggestion: if and when you do return home, spend less time on the Internet and more time with the one you love.

If I'm out of line, tough munchies.

To help reduce the number of posts by you on this forum, I'll refrain from replying to yours in the future.

Have a good whatever, Louis.

--
Kind Regards,
Steve

Equipment in profile

http://www.terradreamer.com/
 
Decison made, subject to availability, E1.

She won't want scene modes, in fact she'd be offended at the suggestion, and she has the FL50 when she needs a flash.

And I had forgotten she'd seen an E300 and gone "yuck" - I know looks don't matter but it IS a present and I'd like her to feel good about it.

Very useful discussion, the more people pointed out the E300 virtues the more I realised they didn't apply in this case, so thanks for the input.

--
Unoffical DPReview OLY photo comp info here - go on, have a go...

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=17525056

http://www.flickr.com/photos/acam
http://www.pbase.com/acam/
 
You made the right choice for a lot of reasons. Most notably, the E-1 is actually easier to use IMHO. My wife is a complete technofobe, and she regularly takes some really nice shots with the E-1. I just hand it too her in P. The other thing is that the E-1 takes better out of camera jpegs IMHO. If she doesn't want to fool with post processing, that will save everyone some headaches. Good luck.
 
Tell her it stand for "Perfect Picture" and she'll be fine with the E-1.

Cheers, Seth

--
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?

--
http://www.wallygoots.com
 
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