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E3 v. 11-22 purchase dilemma

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mtw527

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Hi everybody....some opinions would be great if you have the time.

I currently have the e500, 2 kit lenses, 35 macro, 70-300zd, and FL50. I am going to make another purchase in the coming weeks but am trying to decide between adding the 11-22 or buying an E3 body and using my current lenses.

I like the idea of the 11-22 quality and w/a...but the E3 upgrade seems to be the better choice now and get the 11-22 at a later date.

Thanks,
Tom
 
The 11-22 would be your first HG lens and the images will knock your socks off.

The E 3 may not improve your image quality but rather the ability to get them faster and in more difficult situations.

I would say go for the 11-22 now and the E 3 will drop in price by the time you have saved up again. That is of course if you are ok with the speed of the 500.

JimB
--
Anything is possible except what you tell yourself isn't.
 
Thanks Jim.

I've been looking around the net today and am now wondering if I would be better off going for the E3, 12-60 combo....keep the 35macro and 70-300...and sell off the e500 with 2 lens kit.....decisions, decisions.....

I wonder if the factory demos that Cameta offers is the way to go.....

Thanks for the input....
Tom
 
You may not get a lot for the 500 and kit lenses but the E 3, 12-60, 70-300 and 35mm would be a nice kit.

I have helped a few people by showing them Cameta or Oly auctions, and don't remember any complaints.

JimB
--
Anything is possible except what you tell yourself isn't.
 
Replacing the lens kit with the 11-22mm lens will improve the quality of your images, much like getting a new camera. Plus you'll get more flexibility in terms of WA range. Your 35mm macro may get more use thus improving the sharpness and resolution of your images.

And besides, lens get to keep their value much better than camera bodies.

--
Villebon
It's more about pixel size than pixel count!
 
I absolutely agree. Go for the lens. I have the 11-22 and have kept my E-300 as a backup to my 330 and 510 and the photos I get with that combo are really superb. Ditto re: the other cameras. Unless there is some compelling reason to get the heavy and still expensive E-3 I'd have fun with the magnificent lens and wait for the next generation of cameras or for a dramatic E-3 price cut.
--

Take photos not pixel counts....
 
the multiple AF points, articulating screen, weather sealing, and high speed shutter?

The 520 won't give you those, or better low light focusing, but will get you live view and IS... then there's that rumored 'tweener' cam due out in the fall.
I will say IS makes a noticable difference in quality of my 70-300 images
Just trying to complicate matters :)
--
Art P



Select images may be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8131242@N04/
 
I love my 11-22 on any of my bodies, but for some reason the 300/11-22 combo just works for me. Add the 7-14 on the 330 and I'm in wide angle heaven. (yes there are days I leave the E 3 at home)

JimB
--
Anything is possible except what you tell yourself isn't.
 
The way my thought process is going...given the price of the E3/12-60 combo... maybe I should purchase the E3 body and the 11-22...then keep the 35macro and 70-300......

Then I get the upgraded body and the quality lens......

....like a kid in a candy shop... :)
 
mtw527 said:
Hi everybody....some opinions would be great if you have the time.

I currently have the e500, 2 kit lenses, 35 macro, 70-300zd, and
FL50. I am going to make another purchase in the coming weeks but am
trying to decide between adding the 11-22 or buying an E3 body and
using my current lenses.

I like the idea of the 11-22 quality and w/a...but the E3 upgrade
seems to be the better choice now and get the 11-22 at a later date.

Thanks,
Tom
Click to expand...
It's easy. Get the 11-22. The e500 is a highly rated camera in terms of IQ. You already have the 35 mm lens and 11-22 would be wonderful addition. A wide angle lens dramatically change the way you take pictures and I believe the output of your hobby would be much improved than by purchasing the E3 (I would buy the E3 mostly for the flip LCD but fortunately still there is e330 for that). E500 is cheap and you need to put a lot of money for E3 now much more than 11-22 would cost you. Maybe latter when E3 drops in price.

I have the 11-22 and very rarely leave my e510 (only to make room for 35 mm). Good luck
--
Viorel
 
Get the lens.

Camera bodies come and go. Two years from now, I would guess that there will be no shortage of E-3's selling for much lower prices (remember what happenned to E-1 prices) and Oly will be preparing a new pro model.

But a good lens is always a good lens. It doesn't become obsolescent with new sensor developments or new camera features.

In five years, I wouldn't be surprised if the top-o-f-the-line Oly has a 16MP sensor with 4 stops of IS and high performance at ISO 1600. Could happen. We don't know how far things will advance. That will obsolete anything they now have...except the lenses. the 11-22 will still be a great lens on a 16MP camera in the future.

This is why I got a DSLR. I got tired of throwing out the baby with the bath water. Every time sensors got better, I had to chuck the old pro-sumer...lens and all. I got a DSLR so I could INVEST IN LENSES and upgrade bodies at my leisure.
 
Thanks everyone....

I am convinced that I should get the 11-22......I really apprecate the opinions from everyone....

I'll be sure to post pics after I make my purchase.....

Tom
 
The E-500 is about 4 years old now and the 11-22mm lens although amazing optics is about 5 years old as it was originally to provide a wider lens than the 14-54 at the time the E-1 was introduced. The 11-22 doesn't use the new faster focusing motors for example.

I would recommend that you purchase the E-3 first if you can afford it. The camera will add so many opportunities for shooting in lower light situations. On the E-500 I rarely accepted anything beyond ISO 200, whereas with the E-3 ISO 1600 is a great image. The live view with articulating display gives you so many options.

Obviously after you purchase the E-3 you'll want to get a better lens at some point, but I would suggest the 12-60 instead of the 11-22 if you are limited in what you can purchase. My reasoning is that you'll be able to shoot probably 75% of everything you'll ever shoot with the 12-60 mm lens whereas the 11-22 is great for landscapes and all but I'll bet you'll use it 25% of the time or less.
 
It's not --that-- wide. Keep your body, get the 7-14mm lens instead. You will then have a lens that can offer opportunities no other lens can.

-Garth
 
I agree that the 11-22 was great with the 14-54. With the 12-60 you only need one lens, albiet about the same price. E3 w 12-60.
--
Phil
 
I'd go for 11-22 without any doubt, this lens will make a difference in your album,
unlike a new body.

--
Sergei,
Calgary
E-one+ZDglass=:-)
 
Barry Weber said:
The E-500 is about 4 years old now and the 11-22mm lens although
amazing optics is about 5 years old as it was originally to provide a
wider lens than the 14-54 at the time the E-1 was introduced. The
11-22 doesn't use the new faster focusing motors for example.
Click to expand...
Do you care to elaborate to explain why you need a faster autofocus on a wide angle lens? Also, there are some very old but very good optics lenses that outclass some new digital lenses so "oldness" is not an argument.
Barry Weber said:
Obviously after you purchase the E-3 you'll want to get a better lens
at some point, but I would suggest the 12-60 instead of the 11-22 if
you are limited in what you can purchase. My reasoning is that you'll
be able to shoot probably 75% of everything you'll ever shoot with
the 12-60 mm lens whereas the 11-22 is great for landscapes and all
but I'll bet you'll use it 25% of the time or less.
Click to expand...
It's up to the user if doesn't mind swapping lenses. Besides, 12-60 is not that wide and 1 mm counts in wide angle territory. Plus some distortion at 12 mm. As a one lens solution 12-60 may be better but you can do fine with 11-22, 35 mm and 50 mm.
--
Viorel
 
The 12-60 does well, but from the shots at 12mm I've seen, they don't quite match the 11-22. And unlike the 7-14, which I own, the 11-22 is a great walkaround lens. When I take the 7-14 out, typically I will have a shot already planned. It's a magnificent lens, but due to the extreme FOV's that it has, not a lens you just casually stroll around with.

A better idea is this - for quite a bit less than the cost of the E3, you could get the 11-22 and an E510. Shouldn't be more than $900, probably less if you shop carefully. That gets you a lot of the improvements of the E3 without the high cost, and would be a big step up in capability over the E500.
 
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