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E-20N Should I Buy?

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Russ Schultz

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My wife and I are contemplating purchasing the E-20N. She has been using a point and shoot film camera, and I have a Sony Mavica, so we are looking at taking a major step up in terms of quality. Is this the best camera for us? We will be taking landscapes on vacations, family pictures, events, and some sporting events, like Nascar races and Supercross races. We are very much amateurs and have heard that the Canon D60 is worth the wait. Please help with any feedback possible. Thank you.
 
Russ Schultz said:
My wife and I are contemplating purchasing the E-20N. She has been
using a point and shoot film camera, and I have a Sony Mavica, so
we are looking at taking a major step up in terms of quality. Is
this the best camera for us? We will be taking landscapes on
vacations, family pictures, events, and some sporting events, like
Nascar races and Supercross races. We are very much amateurs and
have heard that the Canon D60 is worth the wait. Please help with
any feedback possible. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Joe Peoples writes:

I hate to say it (mainly out of disappointment in what the E-20 COULD HAVE been), but for the variety of subjects you shoot, the Canon is the way to go, if you can wait until it hits the shelves. The E-20 was my first digital camera (and currently the only one I own) and though the results are often surprisingly stunning, the camera has its limitations. You'll have much more flexibility and options with the Canon.
 
Is the Canon D60 worth the wait? If you have glass for it, then I
would say, "sure". Also, is money an issue? If so, I would get an
E-10 and with the money you save, purchase the TCON 14B,
and some filters. The E-10 is, very much capable of shooting what
your wanting. Good Luck in your decision.
--Bob Graham
 
Russ,

I guess it all comes down to money. The E20 is a great camera and takes great pictures. It has some drawbacks - the worst (in my opinion) being the time taken to write to the buffer - ie you take 4 pics in a second and then wait and wait and wait before it is ready again. I cant really fault much else (as an amateur).

If you go for the D60 - by the time you have bought some decent glass - and it will need to be good to match the E20, you will have doubled the cost of the E20. Is an extra $1500 bucks value for the extra benefit? I certainly couldnt justify it.

My strategy (in a similar postion to yourself) was to get the E20 and see how I got on with it before I blew $3000 on a (then) D30 and cannon glass. I am over the moon with this camera - and when I get a D100 or whatever in a few years time I will keep the E20 as a second camera.

Best of luck with your choice.
Russ Schultz said:
My wife and I are contemplating purchasing the E-20N. She has been
using a point and shoot film camera, and I have a Sony Mavica, so
we are looking at taking a major step up in terms of quality. Is
this the best camera for us? We will be taking landscapes on
vacations, family pictures, events, and some sporting events, like
Nascar races and Supercross races. We are very much amateurs and
have heard that the Canon D60 is worth the wait. Please help with
any feedback possible. Thank you.
Click to expand...
--Dr BobGallery: http://www.gm0eco.com !!!Haggis thread now in the Gallery!!!
 
I think all this depends on how much you are going to spend on the camera. If you have plenty of money to spend then Canon is your choice otherwise you'll need to consider if E-20 or E-10 is enough (I'd say as an owner of E-20 that E-10 is enough). Canon with lenses you need will cost at least twice the price of E-20 (you'll need some wide angle and with D60's focal length multiplier of 1.6 you'd get 27mm equiv by buying 17mm lens which won't be cheap).
Russ Schultz said:
My wife and I are contemplating purchasing the E-20N. She has been
using a point and shoot film camera, and I have a Sony Mavica, so
we are looking at taking a major step up in terms of quality. Is
this the best camera for us? We will be taking landscapes on
vacations, family pictures, events, and some sporting events, like
Nascar races and Supercross races. We are very much amateurs and
have heard that the Canon D60 is worth the wait. Please help with
any feedback possible. Thank you.--Juha Koskela
Click to expand...
 
Hi Russ,

I suppose it depends on how much money you have to spend. A D60 or D100 are about $2000, and that is without any lenses. If you will be shooting some sport events, you will certainly need a lens that will be able to keep up with the action. So, plan on another $1500-$1800 for just one lens, such as a AF-S 80-200 for the D100, or the 70-200L IS USM for the Canon. Since you will need a landscape lens or a wide-angle, add another $1500-$1800 to that figure for a 16-35mm or a 17-35mm. In addition, you will need a lens to fill-in the focal gap you have. So, add another $1000-$1500 for a 24-85mm lens.

So, if you have around $7600 to spend, I say go with the D100 or D60. You can get Sigma lenses for either camera, such as for your landscapes, but the quality may not be as good. The Sigma lenses will cost around $500 versus $1500-$1800. But you cannot skimp on your primary telephoto lens, such as the 80-200 or the 70-200mm range, and you cannot get by on a 24-85mm or similiar lens for your everyday photography either. So, have at least $6000 to spend on your equipment.

With that said, and after you have got back into your chair after falling out of it, you may just need an E-10. You can get an E-20, but it will offer you only a slightly larger picture, and the buffer is the same as on the E-10.

You say you are "very much" amateurs, so honestly, I would stay away from the D60 and D100 or any interchangeable-lens camera, until you play around with an E-10, and it's accessories.

E-10 - $1200 new.
WCON-08B (Wide-Angle) - $140 new
TCON-14B (slight telephoto extension) - $150 new
TCON-300 (a prime lens, fixed zoom to get you 420mm) - $500 new.

So, you are saving quite a chunk of money. I personally used my E-10 for 13 months, and I am upgrading because I now know what I need. You may want to do the same or you will become overwhelmed with costs of lenses. I am getting 2 very-high quality lenses for my D100 and then getting a lesser-expensive Sigma lens for my wide-angle. However, as I said above, don't plan on getting away with cheaper lenses for your entire collection. I won't be using wide-angle photos that much, so I can get away with it. But I will be using the 24-85mm lens almost all the time, and the 80-200mm, I want to be sure I don't sacrifice any quality (for those action shots--which you want as well).

Feel free to drop by the DigitalDingus forum (the link is below) and talk about your options more. There are several Nikon owners, Canon Owners, and Olympus E-10 and E-20 owners. We'll find out what you need eventually! :)

--Forum: http://pub103.ezboard.com/bthedigitaldinguscommunityWebsites:http://e10club.topcities.com/http://d100lounge.topcities.com/-- 'I do just about everything in my CCDs...'
 
Russ, I agree with the posts written above. Having used an E-10 for a year and a half, I continue to be very pleased with what it can do. It's extremely versatile, and even more so once you add a few of the lens extras. The cost of wide-angle adapters or telephotos for the E-10 is about 1/10th the cost of separate Canon or Nikon lenses.

You really can't beat this camera, for the price. Mine has taken many thousands of shots -- wildlife, portraits, studio shots, weddings, sports, vacations. If you do your part, the results are wonderful.

The only wall I run into is after you've taken 4 rapid shots, and then wait for the buffer to clear before taking more shots. In most settings it's not a problem, but for some candid or action shots it can be limiting. Still, it's hard to justify a few thousand dollars more primarily to eliminate that delay. (At least for now!)
Forester
Jason Busch said:
Hi Russ,

I suppose it depends on how much money you have to spend. A D60 or
D100 are about $2000, and that is without any lenses. If you will
be shooting some sport events, you will certainly need a lens that
will be able to keep up with the action. So, plan on another
$1500-$1800 for just one lens, such as a AF-S 80-200 for the D100,
or the 70-200L IS USM for the Canon. Since you will need a
landscape lens or a wide-angle, add another $1500-$1800 to that
figure for a 16-35mm or a 17-35mm. In addition, you will need a
lens to fill-in the focal gap you have. So, add another $1000-$1500
for a 24-85mm lens.

So, if you have around $7600 to spend, I say go with the D100 or
D60. You can get Sigma lenses for either camera, such as for your
landscapes, but the quality may not be as good. The Sigma lenses
will cost around $500 versus $1500-$1800. But you cannot skimp on
your primary telephoto lens, such as the 80-200 or the 70-200mm
range, and you cannot get by on a 24-85mm or similiar lens for your
everyday photography either. So, have at least $6000 to spend on
your equipment.

With that said, and after you have got back into your chair after
falling out of it, you may just need an E-10. You can get an E-20,
but it will offer you only a slightly larger picture, and the
buffer is the same as on the E-10.

You say you are "very much" amateurs, so honestly, I would stay
away from the D60 and D100 or any interchangeable-lens camera,
until you play around with an E-10, and it's accessories.

E-10 - $1200 new.
WCON-08B (Wide-Angle) - $140 new
TCON-14B (slight telephoto extension) - $150 new
TCON-300 (a prime lens, fixed zoom to get you 420mm) - $500 new.

So, you are saving quite a chunk of money. I personally used my
E-10 for 13 months, and I am upgrading because I now know what I
need. You may want to do the same or you will become overwhelmed
with costs of lenses. I am getting 2 very-high quality lenses for
my D100 and then getting a lesser-expensive Sigma lens for my
wide-angle. However, as I said above, don't plan on getting away
with cheaper lenses for your entire collection. I won't be using
wide-angle photos that much, so I can get away with it. But I will
be using the 24-85mm lens almost all the time, and the 80-200mm, I
want to be sure I don't sacrifice any quality (for those action
shots--which you want as well).

Feel free to drop by the DigitalDingus forum (the link is below)
and talk about your options more. There are several Nikon owners,
Canon Owners, and Olympus E-10 and E-20 owners. We'll find out what
you need eventually! :)

--
Forum:
http://pub103.ezboard.com/bthedigitaldinguscommunity

Websites:
http://e10club.topcities.com/
http://d100lounge.topcities.com/
--

'I do just about everything in my CCDs...'
Click to expand...
 
I'd say the E20 is the way to go if you cannot afford the D60, except for action shots. The manual focus is very hard to get it right, and shooting action with autofocus is out of question.

Seb.
Russ Schultz said:
My wife and I are contemplating purchasing the E-20N. She has been
using a point and shoot film camera, and I have a Sony Mavica, so
we are looking at taking a major step up in terms of quality. Is
this the best camera for us? We will be taking landscapes on
vacations, family pictures, events, and some sporting events, like
Nascar races and Supercross races. We are very much amateurs and
have heard that the Canon D60 is worth the wait. Please help with
any feedback possible. Thank you.
Click to expand...
 
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