E-20 Compared

Ian has posted his review of the Nikon Coolpix 5000 with comparisons to the E-20 and Sony DSC-F707. As I read it, the important difference between our E-20 and other two was the E-20's image softness. He found the DSC-F707 had superior lens as manifest by the superior ability to capture detail on long shots. The E-20 shines with respect to it's build and handy features.

Other Opinions??, Charles

CORRECTION: Phil, not Ian> My apology. Charles

cdlee said:

Ian has posted his review of the Nikon Coolpix 5000 with
comparisons to the E-20 and Sony DSC-F707. As I read it, the
important difference between our E-20 and other two was the E-20's
image softness. He found the DSC-F707 had superior lens as
manifest by the superior ability to capture detail on long shots.
The E-20 shines with respect to it's build and handy features.

Other Opinions??, Charles

Click to expand...

cdlee said:

Ian has posted his review of the Nikon Coolpix 5000 with

comparisons to the E-20 and Sony DSC-F707. > The E-20 shines with respect to it's build and handy features.

Other Opinions??, Charles

Click to expand...

Hasn't it gone quiet around here?
--TomB

Tom Barlow said:

cdlee said:

Ian has posted his review of the Nikon Coolpix 5000 with

comparisons to the E-20 and Sony DSC-F707. > The E-20 shines with respect to it's build and handy features.

Other Opinions??, Charles

Click to expand...

Hasn't it gone quiet around here?

--
TomB

Click to expand...

if you look at his reviews there hasn't been a nikon made that phil doesn't love. to him its a status symbol and everything else is for the masses

cdlee said:

Ian has posted his review of the Nikon Coolpix 5000 with
comparisons to the E-20 and Sony DSC-F707. As I read it, the
important difference between our E-20 and other two was the E-20's
image softness. He found the DSC-F707 had superior lens as
manifest by the superior ability to capture detail on long shots.
The E-20 shines with respect to it's build and handy features.

Other Opinions??, Charles

Click to expand...

as far as being soft i guess its subjective but isn't soft recommended for post processing whereas point and shoot cameras do most of the work for instant gratification and no post processing?

Well said. You make your choice...
Derek

dash9 said:

cdlee said:

Ian has posted his review of the Nikon Coolpix 5000 with
comparisons to the E-20 and Sony DSC-F707. As I read it, the
important difference between our E-20 and other two was the E-20's
image softness. He found the DSC-F707 had superior lens as
manifest by the superior ability to capture detail on long shots.
The E-20 shines with respect to it's build and handy features.

Other Opinions??, Charles

Click to expand...

as far as being soft i guess its subjective but isn't soft
recommended for post processing whereas point and shoot cameras do
most of the work for instant gratification and no post processing?

Click to expand...

--Derek

Phil is making progress. We all know he loves Nikon. It must have broken his heart to give the CP5000 only recommended. I know how he feels. I own a Nikon CP990 and was interested in a new camera and was disappointed in Nikon's CP5000 announcement. So I looked around a decided to get a Sony DSC-F707. I went to a store to check out the 505 to feel it. While in the store I spotted an E-10 fell in love when home to investigate Olympus and ordered an E-20N. I like that Phil picked these three to compare. He should add a row for operation which I would give to the E-xx for is fast shutter release. All I can say is Phil and I don't see the same I'm color blind. You can see where we differ here...



--JJMack

What does Phil mean there is no MF confirmation on the E-series? Aside from it being an unmistakable switch on the side of the camera, unlike the rest of the models compared, it is also clearly shown in the top LCD as "MF". In the viewfinder, the lack of the AF confirm dot indicates MF status. Not as intuitive as a real "MF" label in the viewfinder, but you CAN tell AF/MF by it.--- Dr. G.E-10 FAQ: http://www.tokenasians.com/articles/e10faq.html

Yup, the E-20 is what I use for people shots (not large groups) and candids due to quick shutter release and pleasing color. I use the 707 for landscapes and other shots where higher resolution and harder contrast is needed. Both are great in differing ways. Seems like the Nikon 5k is not even up to the great Canon G2. A pity.
Robert

cdlee said:

Ian has posted his review of the Nikon Coolpix 5000 with
comparisons to the E-20 and Sony DSC-F707. As I read it, the
important difference between our E-20 and other two was the E-20's
image softness. He found the DSC-F707 had superior lens as
manifest by the superior ability to capture detail on long shots.
The E-20 shines with respect to it's build and handy features.

Other Opinions??, Charles

Click to expand...

Dr. G.

I think what Phil is talking about is the over sharping of the image Nikon does on the LCD. Of course Nikon does nothing in its optical viewfinder. And Phil does not court that the E-xx can see the image get sharp because there is no split image or other focusing aid just the extra fine ground glass. Phil loves Nikon not Olympus.--JJMack

My brother-in-law like Phil got my neice a Nikon digi-cam for Christmas mostly because of the snobbish name. I tried to talk him into an Olympus since I have three and love all of them. I tried hers (I forget the model), extremely slow response, and dumb proprietary battery). You can't beat the Olympus way of using standard double AA's. This is a bigger issue than the reviewers let on. Propretary batteries are extremely costly.

dash9 said:

if you look at his reviews there hasn't been a nikon made that phil
doesn't love. to him its a status symbol and everything else is for
the masses

Click to expand...

--Photography is a hobby. I own some slr's, and Olympus C2000, and an Olympus E-20

Doc, I believe Phil means there is no confirmation when focus is achieved while using manual focus. No beep, no green dot in finder when focus is found when in manual focus. Regards, Jim N'AZ

Dr. Gonzo said:

What does Phil mean there is no MF confirmation on the E-series?
Aside from it being an unmistakable switch on the side of the
camera, unlike the rest of the models compared, it is also clearly
shown in the top LCD as "MF". In the viewfinder, the lack of the AF
confirm dot indicates MF status. Not as intuitive as a real "MF"
label in the viewfinder, but you CAN tell AF/MF by it.
--

• Dr. G.

E-10 FAQ: http://www.tokenasians.com/articles/e10faq.html

Click to expand...

--Jim N'AZ

I'm probably preaching to the choir but ... you've GOT to be kidding! If that's what Phil means, then by all means the E DOES have clearly visible AF/MF confirm in both the viewfinder (duhh, a sharp image, plus the infernal green dot) and in the live view via the strong sharpening mask (interesting to see that Phil has STILL not caught on to that). Interesting that Nikon's sharpening mask is noted while the E's is not. Clearly, the Nikon CANNOT have a MF/AF focus confirm in the viewfinder -- it's not TLL for cryin' out loud! I usually don't buy into the "Phil's bias" accusations but this one is really out there.

Jim N' AZ said:

Doc, I believe Phil means there is no confirmation when focus is
achieved while using manual focus. No beep, no green dot in finder
when focus is found when in manual focus. Regards, Jim N'AZ

Click to expand...

--- Dr. G.E-10 FAQ: http://www.tokenasians.com/articles/e10faq.html

cdlee said:

Ian has posted his review of the Nikon Coolpix 5000 with
comparisons to the E-20 and Sony DSC-F707. As I read it, the
important difference between our E-20 and other two was the E-20's
image softness. He found the DSC-F707 had superior lens as
manifest by the superior ability to capture detail on long shots.
The E-20 shines with respect to it's build and handy features.

Other Opinions??, Charles

Click to expand...

You know--it surprised me, but I see no reaction whatsoever from the Sony board. Some from the Nikon board. One of the longest threads is the 5000 vs. the G2. I have a G1--so today I took it and the E10 out to shoot (terrible day, just walking around our pastures, etc.)---I realize the G2 has better AE now, but there is still no contest for me between the 2. I can't see any contest between the 5000 and it either. So--this leaves the Sony I guess. Isn't it funny why we won't buy a Sony--memory stick for one. I have never ever even considered the Sonys because of that. Then--I don't like my photos so saturated. I wondered, as I read the review--what the sky actually DID look like--like the more saturated blues of the Nikon and Sony (those look more like what I get with the Canon) or the faded blues of the E10? The same with the rest of the colorations. I have found--and I'm very fussy about color--that the Olys colors are just 'truer' and that's a real biggie for me--even though I'm a b/w person. My day to day work revolves around color, so color is important--period. I would rather not have as much noise, but.....

Anyhow, the review was interesting, but its pay your money and take your choice LOL.

Cheers, Diane --Diane B http://www.pbase.com/picnic/galleriesB/W lover, but color is seducing me

Doc, I hate to belabor this, but.... There is NO "infernal green dot" that signals focus confirmation when in manual focus. Yes, there are the other methods you mention, but trying not to speak for Phil here, I believe he means there is the green dot confirmation in autofocus, but the same confirmation is lacking when in manual. For instance, I can see the use of the green dot when using manual focus in darkened, less than perfect scenarios, where you are having difficulty determining if the image is sharp in the finder. Or, when in manual exposure and you choose to use strobe light, but guess what? The LCD is too dark to ck. focus. Here, the green dot would be nice to have in MF. I know you could switch to S, A or P mode and see the LCD just fine and ck focus, but you better remember to switch back to manual exposure for your shot. I speak from experience, you can forget! Having the green dot in manual would preclude all these difficulties, that's all. Regards, Jim N'AZ

Dr. Gonzo said:

Jim N' AZ said:

Doc, I believe Phil means there is no confirmation when focus is
achieved while using manual focus. No beep, no green dot in finder
when focus is found when in manual focus. Regards, Jim N'AZ

Click to expand...

--

• Dr. G.

E-10 FAQ: http://www.tokenasians.com/articles/e10faq.html

Click to expand...

--Jim N'AZ

I don't understand the need for focus confirmation in manual mode - I thought the whole point of manual mode was that it was fully under control of the photograper - but then I've just moved to the E20 from years of using the manualy focussed OM cameras - I really don't see the need.

Alan

Jim N' AZ said:

Dr. Gonzo said:

Jim N' AZ said:

Doc, I believe Phil means there is no confirmation when focus is
achieved while using manual focus. No beep, no green dot in finder
when focus is found when in manual focus. Regards, Jim N'AZ

Click to expand...

--

• Dr. G.

E-10 FAQ: http://www.tokenasians.com/articles/e10faq.html

Click to expand...

--
Jim N'AZ

Click to expand...

--Alan Scott

I thought this chart interesting as well:

You've pretty much put it like I see it - maybe it isn't an advantage not having digital zoom or movie clips (but it sure isn't a disadvantage).

But putting an EVF viewfinder on a par with the OLY optical one is amazing, and then, to make the E10 worst of class because it weighs more - most strange.

The problem with these comparisons is that they give you no overall picture of the 'feel' of a camera (not Phil's fault this one).

Ah well - why should we care?

kind regards
jono slack

--Jono Slack http://www.slack.co.uk

Don Gross said:

My brother-in-law like Phil got my neice a Nikon digi-cam for
Christmas mostly because of the snobbish name. I tried to talk him
into an Olympus since I have three and love all of them. I tried
hers (I forget the model), extremely slow response, and dumb
proprietary battery). You can't beat the Olympus way of using
standard double AA's. This is a bigger issue than the reviewers let
on. Propretary batteries are extremely costly.

Click to expand...

Have you looked at the price of the (proprietary) lipo? In excess of US$800 in the UK

Ummm, not so sure about comments like this. Particularly as Phil's review wasn't tremendously favourable to the CP5000.

If I had a complaint, it was about the way that the E20 was criticised for it's bulk and weight. In many ways this is a positive aspect of the camera. It is not a pocketable point&shoot but a "traditional" photographers style camera.

I have an E10 myself as well as a CP950 (and a Nikon film SLR) and I'm not interested in using the CP950 because it is small and awkward to hold and to view and just can't compare to a proper optical SLR design with the 'proper' zoom and focussing rings and the film camera style exposure controls.

I know the E20 is in a different price bracket and so expections should be that much higher but even so I think Phil understated the ergonomic advantages of the E20 in the review - to me he made it sound like he was treating the E20 as if it was a P&S in his comparison.

dash9 said:

if you look at his reviews there hasn't been a nikon made that phil
doesn't love. to him its a status symbol and everything else is for
the masses

Click to expand...

Agreed - especially as the camera wouldn't know which part of the image was supposed to be in focus!

alan scott said:

Alan

Jim N' AZ said:

Dr. Gonzo said:

Jim N' AZ said:

Doc, I believe Phil means there is no confirmation when focus is
achieved while using manual focus. No beep, no green dot in finder
when focus is found when in manual focus. Regards, Jim N'AZ

Click to expand...

--

• Dr. G.

E-10 FAQ: http://www.tokenasians.com/articles/e10faq.html

Click to expand...

--
Jim N'AZ

Click to expand...

--
Alan Scott

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