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I Think I ... Just Bought... an E10

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Gary Eickmeier

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OK, OK, I was a die-hard E20 man (future E20 man - I don't currently own a digital camera) - but after so much bitching about the write times and after Circuit City reduced them down to $1099, I thought this would be a good way to get my feet wet without spending too much. I plunked down my credit card and had them ship it from their Virginia warehouse. I had to pay sales tax, even for an interstate purchase, but I'd rather get it from CC because it is a local store, with good return policies in case of any problems.

I also wasn't real concerned about the missing megapixel, because all of the comparison tests I have seen in the most rabid arguments about the differences have proven to me that there is precious little difference. The two cameras use the SAME lens, fer Petesake. About a year ago I was fondling an E10 over at Best Buy, after they had just gone down to $1899 - a $200 price drop! I got myself a CF card to test the camera out myself, in the store. The pix I took home were blazing sharp, and I have lusted after that camera ever since.

Do you guys realize what a fantastic piece of industrial design this camera is? It looks fantastic, has this big, bright optical viewfinder, manual controls where they count, the unique prism system instead of a mirror so you can have live preview, a feature unique in all SLRdom, the dual memory slots, the PC contact for external flash (just like a real camera), and of course the availability of so many superb accessories such as the LIPO grip.

Now I have a question or two before it arrives. It comes with some sort of lithium batteries - what do I get for the longer lasting rechargeables? If I get a 256M CF card, how many pix would it hold at the mildest J-peg setting? As I recall, that records something like - oh, I forget how many megs.

Anyway, now I will be able to sit back and wait out the Foveon/Canon/Nilon wars and see what happens with the OlyDak and not worry so much about figuring out the perfect camera to buy - because I've got it!

Gary Eickmeier
 
I can get 133 images at 4:1 compression with a 256MB CF. I know some folks shoot 8:1. For me, that is too much compression though.

Good luck.
Gary Eickmeier said:
...
Now I have a question or two before it arrives. It comes with some
sort of lithium batteries - what do I get for the longer lasting
rechargeables? If I get a 256M CF card, how many pix would it hold
at the mildest J-peg setting? As I recall, that records something
like - oh, I forget how many megs.
Click to expand...
--
TonyK
 
A great big CONGRATULATIONS to you! We can't wait til you get it and start shooting. Please post here so we can see what you're up to! You're gonna love it!
Beth
Gary Eickmeier said:
OK, OK, I was a die-hard E20 man (future E20 man - I don't
currently own a digital camera) - but after so much bitching about
the write times and after Circuit City reduced them down to $1099,
I thought this would be a good way to get my feet wet without
spending too much. I plunked down my credit card and had them ship
it from their Virginia warehouse. I had to pay sales tax, even for
an interstate purchase, but I'd rather get it from CC because it is
a local store, with good return policies in case of any problems.

I also wasn't real concerned about the missing megapixel, because
all of the comparison tests I have seen in the most rabid arguments
about the differences have proven to me that there is precious
little difference. The two cameras use the SAME lens, fer Petesake.
About a year ago I was fondling an E10 over at Best Buy, after they
had just gone down to $1899 - a $200 price drop! I got myself a CF
card to test the camera out myself, in the store. The pix I took
home were blazing sharp, and I have lusted after that camera ever
since.

Do you guys realize what a fantastic piece of industrial design
this camera is? It looks fantastic, has this big, bright optical
viewfinder, manual controls where they count, the unique prism
system instead of a mirror so you can have live preview, a feature
unique in all SLRdom, the dual memory slots, the PC contact for
external flash (just like a real camera), and of course the
availability of so many superb accessories such as the LIPO grip.

Now I have a question or two before it arrives. It comes with some
sort of lithium batteries - what do I get for the longer lasting
rechargeables? If I get a 256M CF card, how many pix would it hold
at the mildest J-peg setting? As I recall, that records something
like - oh, I forget how many megs.

Anyway, now I will be able to sit back and wait out the
Foveon/Canon/Nilon wars and see what happens with the OlyDak and
not worry so much about figuring out the perfect camera to buy -
because I've got it!

Gary Eickmeier
Click to expand...
--
Olympus E-10, TCON, MCON, WCON and Fl-40
Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/galleries/cokids
 
Gary, I'm awaiting the UPS/FedEx man as well! I ordered one yesterday and should have it Friday. I sold my Nikon 35mm slr a couple of years ago top get into digital with an Oly c2020, and now can say for my needs, film is dead.

I'll probably order two or three sets of batteries from this place:

http://www.nimhbattery.com/

It's frequently referenced in the DP Review pages and appears to have some pretty good prices.

I already have a 64mb sm card, and the camera is coming with 2 32mb sm cards. I'll probably buy another 256mb cf card as well.

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve...
 
dave525 said:
Gary, I'm awaiting the UPS/FedEx man as well! I ordered one
yesterday and should have it Friday. I sold my Nikon 35mm slr a
couple of years ago top get into digital with an Oly c2020, and now
can say for my needs, film is dead.

I'll probably order two or three sets of batteries from this place:

http://www.nimhbattery.com/

It's frequently referenced in the DP Review pages and appears to
have some pretty good prices.

I already have a 64mb sm card, and the camera is coming with 2
32mb sm cards. I'll probably buy another 256mb cf card as well.

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve...
Click to expand...
Yes, the CC website says that it comes with a 64m Smartmedia card - is that the standard deal? I have a CF reader only, but I can always use the SM read from the camera.

But what is the deal with the batteries? You either get a LIPO or a few NiMH batteries? And a recharger? OK, I'll check the site.

Gary Eickmeier
 
Gary,

Congratulations on the purchase. I agree with you about the design; for the price nothing comes close.

If you get the Lipo, you will wonder how you ever got along without it. The rechargeables are fine to start out with. I got my charger and batteries at Radio Shack, and I still use them for my flash and my D-510 (backup/wife's camera).

Can't wait to see the pictures when you post them!

Bill Goosie
 
I like the idea of the LIPO, but the price is out of reach for me (~$400). I can literally buy half a gross of NiMH AA's for the price of the grip & batttery. If I ever were to get into commercial work where I was taking MANY, MANY pictures it would make sense, but there are other things I'd buy before it.

I didn't buy my E-10 from CC -- I bought a demo for $995 from a Oly dealer, but it comes with the full 1 yr Oly warranty. I wanted a new one and was about to order from CC when I came across this one. He made it more enticing by throwing in a charger & set of batteries in addition to the 2 new lithium batteries it'll come with. But, it IS used, no matter what they call it...

You may have found it already, but here's an interesting e-10 site:
http://davidweikel.com/E10_samples/index.shtml
Gary Eickmeier said:
dave525 said:
Gary, I'm awaiting the UPS/FedEx man as well! I ordered one
yesterday and should have it Friday. I sold my Nikon 35mm slr a
couple of years ago top get into digital with an Oly c2020, and now
can say for my needs, film is dead.

I'll probably order two or three sets of batteries from this place:

http://www.nimhbattery.com/

It's frequently referenced in the DP Review pages and appears to
have some pretty good prices.

I already have a 64mb sm card, and the camera is coming with 2
32mb sm cards. I'll probably buy another 256mb cf card as well.

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve...
Click to expand...
Yes, the CC website says that it comes with a 64m Smartmedia card -
is that the standard deal? I have a CF reader only, but I can
always use the SM read from the camera.

But what is the deal with the batteries? You either get a LIPO or a
few NiMH batteries? And a recharger? OK, I'll check the site.

Gary Eickmeier
Click to expand...
--
Dave
 
Gary,

Contragulations!

I too love the design of the E-10/E-20 for the price, compared to much weaker alternatives (including the Nikon Coolpix which was my last digital).

Batteries: I hate to say this, but you need to go to Wal-Mart. (sigh) For $10 you can get the RayOVac 1600 mAh NiMH 4-pack, which is one of the highest rated NiMH cells according to tests run by several digital camera sites. Don't skimp on the charger, though! Be sure to get a nice rapid charger with independent channels.

And my 256MB card holds 275 images at 1:8 JPEG when full, depending on what I'm shooting of course. However, you might want to consider shooting at 1:4 instead. I began at 1:8 but switched to 1:4 when I noticed that I was losing edges in some high-detail scenes due to JPEG compression. At 1:4 I get 135 or so, if I remember correctly.

Good luck, and enjoy your camera!

-Aron
 
Gary Eickmeier said:
But what is the deal with the batteries? You either get a LIPO or a
few NiMH batteries? And a recharger? OK, I'll check the site.
Click to expand...
Congrats you two. You will love it smile . I used several sets of 1800 NiMH batteries and a good charger until I got the LiPo. They work great--just keep them fresh and you'll get lots on each set.

Diane

--
Diane B
http://www.pbase.com/picnic/galleries
B/W lover, but color is seducing me
 
If you and Dave keep your eyes open and check around, you might find the original Lipo set (4200maH battery) for $199-$2?? if there are any left around. I got lucky and got my Lipo about a month or so ago when Samys was selling them at $199 +$10 S/H, not bragging, informing. It might pay to check around once in a while and watch the board here. I saw a post from someone else that got it for $199, and bought mine the same evening.(My thanks to I forget who...)

It's a nice battery and extends the grip a bit for larger hands(very welcome). In the meantime, NiMHs are the way to go. The Walmart recommendation sounded good for the 1600's, I have Radio Shack 1500s that did well too. At the time I bought them, you could get a set of 4 and a microprocessor controlled "intelligent" 1 hour DC fast charger for $15. Add an $8 or so adaptor and you can recharge in the car or at home. You will surely want more than one set, just in case. :-) I got around 130 shots per charge, but always topped them off/recharged within 24 hours of using them, they do bleed charge as they sit. Leaving the LCD off obviously helps considerably. If you do eventually get the LiPO they make nice backups and are handy for the flash.

Enjoy your "christmas"! :-)
 
The guy at Circuit City recommended "Monster Powercells" which are described as "Ultra-High Capacity Rechargeable 1800mAH" and they work GREAT!!! I bought a pack with the charger and an extra pack...I have yet to run a set down in a day of shooting, turning off, reviewing, downloading, etc. If I do run out, I keep the spare set handy.

Ed Gelasi
Gary Eickmeier said:
OK, OK, I was a die-hard E20 man (future E20 man - I don't
currently own a digital camera) - but after so much bitching about
the write times and after Circuit City reduced them down to $1099,
I thought this would be a good way to get my feet wet without
spending too much. I plunked down my credit card and had them ship
it from their Virginia warehouse. I had to pay sales tax, even for
an interstate purchase, but I'd rather get it from CC because it is
a local store, with good return policies in case of any problems.

I also wasn't real concerned about the missing megapixel, because
all of the comparison tests I have seen in the most rabid arguments
about the differences have proven to me that there is precious
little difference. The two cameras use the SAME lens, fer Petesake.
About a year ago I was fondling an E10 over at Best Buy, after they
had just gone down to $1899 - a $200 price drop! I got myself a CF
card to test the camera out myself, in the store. The pix I took
home were blazing sharp, and I have lusted after that camera ever
since.

Do you guys realize what a fantastic piece of industrial design
this camera is? It looks fantastic, has this big, bright optical
viewfinder, manual controls where they count, the unique prism
system instead of a mirror so you can have live preview, a feature
unique in all SLRdom, the dual memory slots, the PC contact for
external flash (just like a real camera), and of course the
availability of so many superb accessories such as the LIPO grip.

Now I have a question or two before it arrives. It comes with some
sort of lithium batteries - what do I get for the longer lasting
rechargeables? If I get a 256M CF card, how many pix would it hold
at the mildest J-peg setting? As I recall, that records something
like - oh, I forget how many megs.

Anyway, now I will be able to sit back and wait out the
Foveon/Canon/Nilon wars and see what happens with the OlyDak and
not worry so much about figuring out the perfect camera to buy -
because I've got it!

Gary Eickmeier
Click to expand...
 
What about the added weight of the LiPo plus grip? Have you found that to be an issue after a couple of hours around your neck?
Gerald M. Payne said:
If you and Dave keep your eyes open and check around, you might
find the original Lipo set (4200maH battery) for $199-$2?? if there
are any left around. I got lucky and got my Lipo about a month or
so ago when Samys was selling them at $199 +$10 S/H, not bragging,
informing. It might pay to check around once in a while and watch
the board here. I saw a post from someone else that got it for
$199, and bought mine the same evening.(My thanks to I forget
who...)

It's a nice battery and extends the grip a bit for larger
hands(very welcome). In the meantime, NiMHs are the way to go.
The Walmart recommendation sounded good for the 1600's, I have
Radio Shack 1500s that did well too. At the time I bought them,
you could get a set of 4 and a microprocessor controlled
"intelligent" 1 hour DC fast charger for $15. Add an $8 or so
adaptor and you can recharge in the car or at home. You will
surely want more than one set, just in case. :-) I got around 130
shots per charge, but always topped them off/recharged within 24
hours of using them, they do bleed charge as they sit. Leaving the
LCD off obviously helps considerably. If you do eventually get the
LiPO they make nice backups and are handy for the flash.

Enjoy your "christmas"! :-)
Click to expand...
--
Dave
 
Hey Gary,
Congrats on the e-10. How have ya been?
I like ThomasDistributing.com for batteries and chargers..
Also, those Monster batteries are really good batteries.
Well, I hope you get that thing soon!!
see ya
Dwayne
 
I've got two E-10's from CC --- one at the old price (over a year ago) and one at the new price (a couple of weeks ago). The E-10 has been great, and the "added" features of the E-20 were not enough to be worth the extra $$$. I've been in photograpy for more than 40 years --- but, the E-10 was the first SLR that I've been really comfortable with --- and, digital at that! Have fun with it, you've got a real classic camera!
Jim
Gary Eickmeier said:
and after Circuit City reduced them down to $1099,
I thought this would be a good way to get my feet wet without
spending too much. I plunked down my credit card and had them ship
it from their Virginia warehouse. I had to pay sales tax, even for
an interstate purchase, but I'd rather get it from CC because it is
a local store, with good return policies in case of any problems.
Click to expand...
 
Er, I use the handstrap with the LiPO. So far, both arms are still about the same length, so... :-)

I'll admit the E-10 alone can get very heavy around the neck, a wide padded strap is pretty much a must.
 
DWAYNE ANDERS said:
Hey Gary,
Congrats on the e-10. How have ya been?
I like ThomasDistributing.com for batteries and chargers..
Also, those Monster batteries are really good batteries.
Well, I hope you get that thing soon!!
see ya
Dwayne
Click to expand...
Hi Dwayne! I think you were some influence in my thinking, in not worrying about the E20 so much. But where do you get these Monster batteries? Circuit City?

Gary
 
jrdii said:
I've got two E-10's from CC --- one at the old price (over a year
ago) and one at the new price (a couple of weeks ago). The E-10
has been great, and the "added" features of the E-20 were not
enough to be worth the extra $$$. I've been in photograpy for more
than 40 years --- but, the E-10 was the first SLR that I've been
really comfortable with --- and, digital at that! Have fun with
it, you've got a real classic camera!
Jim
Click to expand...
Agreed - when you think about it, all of the other pro SLRs are converted 35mm cameras, but the E is a dedicated digital design from the ground up. The new OlyDak will be as well, if it ever comes out. But I am really not interested in changing lenses during a hot and heavy shoot. The E is a classic.

Gary Eickmeier
 
Gary:

Got 'em at Circuit City:
$39.99US for Charger plus 4 batteries
$19.99US for 4 batteries only

Ed Gelasi
Gary Eickmeier said:
DWAYNE ANDERS said:
Hey Gary,
Congrats on the e-10. How have ya been?
I like ThomasDistributing.com for batteries and chargers..
Also, those Monster batteries are really good batteries.
Well, I hope you get that thing soon!!
see ya
Dwayne
Click to expand...
Hi Dwayne! I think you were some influence in my thinking, in not
worrying about the E20 so much. But where do you get these Monster
batteries? Circuit City?

Gary
Click to expand...
 
After learning RAW...I have never shot JPEG since. Half of the Exx capabilities is in the ability to shoot RAW at 9 meg per file. Bite the bullet and get a 1 Gig Microdrive and a Digital Wallet (if you shoot 107+ shots in a session). These two accessories will most likely be transferable to your next DSLR - so the investment is long term. Despite other's concerns about the mechanical aspect of a Microdrive, I have shot 11,000+ shots on the microdrive without one problem. My 2 cents on the subject.

John
Gary Eickmeier said:
Now I have a question or two before it arrives. It comes with some
sort of lithium batteries - what do I get for the longer lasting
rechargeables? If I get a 256M CF card, how many pix would it hold
at the mildest J-peg setting? As I recall, that records something
like - oh, I forget how many megs.

Gary Eickmeier
Click to expand...
 
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