Returned my E-PL1

Read this thread and I am more like BobT

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=37168940

except I graduated from PnS, he is coming from DSLR. The likes of E-PL1 and MFTs have more work to do, especially in low light. Accessories are stupidly expensive, sorry.

I have a FZ5 but that has become old plus technology improved so much so I thought this is the right time to take a leap forward. Nope!

What I will do is to buy a PnS like Fuji F300EXR or SD4000IS - more like in the range of 200 - 250$ and wait for 1 - 2 years to buy a good MFT.

Thanks.

I thnk one of the biggest mistakes people moving to the E-pl1 expecially from the point n shoot world make is their belief that like a P & S the kit lens is capable of doing everything. The whole point of using a u 4/3 camera is lens interchangeability. If you are not willing to invest in other lenses there is no point in going to u 4/3. The kit lens is slow...repeat.....slow, and also short (i.e. 3X zoom). Is was made that way to make it inexpensive and compact. A prosumer point and shoot has a 4X zoom and is at least one to two stops faster (in some cases F2.0 v. F3.5-4.5). This is done becuase it is easier and cheaper to make a fast small lens for a camera with a small image circle and also because you are going to be stuck with that one lens forever.

If you want to shoot sports with a u4/3 you are going to have to invest in a faster, longer lens. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg. Even a fast 50mm legacy lens (about $50.00 for a good one) will give you more reach than the kit lens and three F stops more speed. There are a lot of good, compact F2.8 135mm SLR film lenses (what $75.00 at most?) that fit the bill. Absolutely have to have auto-focus? (why I don't know), look at Oly's 40-150mm u 4/3 lens for about $190.00, not very fast but lots of reach.

Going to shoot indoors? Again you are going to need a faster lens. Oly makes a F 2.8 20mm, Panny makes an F 1.7, voigtlander makes an F0.95! What more do you want?

So if you are leavng u 4/3 because there are certian pictures you can't get but you are not willing to change lenses, go back to point and shoot. APS dSLR's days are numbered for consumer cameras, it is only a matter of time. So if you want to buy into that dying system, go ahead (not talking about FF here).

tedolf said:

I thnk one of the biggest mistakes people moving to the E-pl1 expecially from the point n shoot world make is their belief that like a P & S the kit lens is capable of doing everything.

Click to expand...

Why offer a kit lens then? Why not just sell the body?

The whole point of using a u 4/3 camera is lens interchangeability.
Even DSLRs offer that.

If you are not willing to invest in other lenses there is no point in going to u 4/3. The kit lens is slow...repeat.....slow, and also short (i.e. 3X zoom). Is was made that way to make it inexpensive and compact. A prosumer point and shoot has a 4X zoom and is at least one to two stops faster (in some cases F2.0 v. F3.5-4.5). This is done becuase it is easier and cheaper to make a fast small lens for a camera with a small image circle and also because you are going to be stuck with that one lens forever.

That will serve 99% needs though.

tedolf said:

If you want to shoot sports with a u4/3 you are going to have to invest in a faster, longer lens. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg. Even a fast 50mm legacy lens (about $50.00 for a good one) will give you more reach than the kit lens and three F stops more speed. There are a lot of good, compact F2.8 135mm SLR film lenses (what $75.00 at most?) that fit the bill. Absolutely have to have auto-focus? (why I don't know)

Click to expand...

why because when we are at a party like a birthday, I don't want to ask people "hey please wait a minute, my lens is slow, cut the cake after 2 mins"!!!!

look at Oly's 40-150mm u 4/3 lens for about $190.00, not very fast but lots of reach.

tedolf said:

Going to shoot indoors? Again you are going to need a faster lens. Oly makes a F 2.8 20mm, Panny makes an F 1.7, voigtlander makes an F0.95! What more do you want?

So if you are leavng u 4/3 because there are certian pictures you can't get but you are not willing to change lenses, go back to point and shoot. APS dSLR's days are numbered for consumer cameras, it is only a matter of time. So if you want to buy into that dying system, go ahead (not talking about FF here).

Click to expand...

Excuse me, but I don't want to spend 1000$ and still be sorry.

Unless you need the improved image quality from the bigger sensor, or the depth of field control from faster lenses/bigger sensor, a nice compact cam is the ticket for most people, and will be much cheaper. A canon s95 or panny lx5 will perform very similarly to the epl1 (or any m4/3) with the kit lens.

The f2.0 lenses at wide angle make up for the 2 stops of noise advantage. The only difference is when you upgrade- there is no compact solution that can compete with a gf1 or ep1 with, say the panasonic 20 f1.7.

For most people, i'd say if you plan on buying yourself a m4/3 and just sticking with the kit lens, you'd probably be happier with a good point and shoot.

Good luck!

PhotoMED said:

why because when we are at a party like a birthday, I don't want to ask people "hey please wait a minute, my lens is slow, cut the cake after 2 mins"!!!!

Click to expand...

I have seen plenty of professional wedding photographers hold up the show for an hour (while the guests languish at the reception watching the ice sculpture melt) waiting for the photographer to futz with his equipment getting wedding party pictures.

You can probably use the 20mm 1.7 for the entire indoor party, then switch to something else when you go outside for pin the tail on the donkey.

I used the kit lens at our church's Christmas potluck and gift exchange last weekend, using both the relatively low ambient light and flash, and got some wonderful pictures. The high ISO noise was correctable in Lightroom 3 on the low ambient light pictures. I admit, this has taken practice on my part, sitting in the living room photographing the family cats, and reading the manual and reading this forum until I learned how to focus in low light and how to set up the camera.

The more I use the E-PL1, the better my pictures get and the more I like it. But I don't just keep clicking in frustration, hoping for better results. I study what I am getting and how to improve it. I use a lot of the settings, from program mode to manual, from iEnhance to Natural color, and occasionally the canned scene settings as appropriate. I've taken new mama/baby portraits in flourescent lit hospital rooms, the full moon, sunsets, sunrises, horses in action, bright sunlight on the bay, the Rocky Mountains with snow...all this with the kit lens and the 40-150 four thirds with the adapter. I'm getting the 20mm 1.7 and the VF2 for Christmas, but I'm still having a lot of fun until then. I have some great point and shoots, but nothing that touches this.

Yes, probably transition from FZ5 to E-PL1 was no easy.
May be you need FZ100/FZ40 style camera first?

Check them - they have good zoom range, good ergonomics, and not that expensive. And they will give you right feeling after all
--
DSC-R1, DMC-G1(14-45)

PhotoMED said:

tedolf said:

I thnk one of the biggest mistakes people moving to the E-pl1 expecially from the point n shoot world make is their belief that like a P & S the kit lens is capable of doing everything.

Click to expand...

Why offer a kit lens then? Why not just sell the body?

The whole point of using a u 4/3 camera is lens interchangeability.
Even DSLRs offer that.

If you are not willing to invest in other lenses there is no point in going to u 4/3. The kit lens is slow...repeat.....slow, and also short (i.e. 3X zoom). Is was made that way to make it inexpensive and compact. A prosumer point and shoot has a 4X zoom and is at least one to two stops faster (in some cases F2.0 v. F3.5-4.5). This is done becuase it is easier and cheaper to make a fast small lens for a camera with a small image circle and also because you are going to be stuck with that one lens forever.

That will serve 99% needs though.

PhotoMED said:

If you want to shoot sports with a u4/3 you are going to have to invest in a faster, longer lens. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg. Even a fast 50mm legacy lens (about $50.00 for a good one) will give you more reach than the kit lens and three F stops more speed. There are a lot of good, compact F2.8 135mm SLR film lenses (what $75.00 at most?) that fit the bill. Absolutely have to have auto-focus? (why I don't know)

Click to expand...

why because when we are at a party like a birthday, I don't want to ask people "hey please wait a minute, my lens is slow, cut the cake after 2 mins"!!!!

look at Oly's 40-150mm u 4/3 lens for about $190.00, not very fast but lots of reach.

PhotoMED said:

Going to shoot indoors? Again you are going to need a faster lens. Oly makes a F 2.8 20mm, Panny makes an F 1.7, voigtlander makes an F0.95! What more do you want?

So if you are leavng u 4/3 because there are certian pictures you can't get but you are not willing to change lenses, go back to point and shoot. APS dSLR's days are numbered for consumer cameras, it is only a matter of time. So if you want to buy into that dying system, go ahead (not talking about FF here).

Click to expand...

Excuse me, but I don't want to spend 1000$ and still be sorry.

Click to expand...

You are proving my point.

Right now Staples is selling the E-pl1 with kit lens, 40-150mm Zuiko zoom, 4/3-u4/3 adapter, backpack, and other extras. for $599.00. You can pick up a 50mm f1.7 OM1 legacy lens for about $50.00 + $29.00 for the adapter (becomes a 100mm eqivalent F1.7 lens on the E-pl1- great for portraits!). So you have everything covered from 28mm-300mm (35mm equivalent) for less than $600.00 including a very fast lens. Plus you now have access to all of the Oly 4/3 lenses and all of the Olympus OM1 lenses, some of which are the finest in the world.

Try that with a dSLR at that price.

Try that with a point n shoot at any price.

Sound like a clear case of buyer's remorse (especially considering your recent post on my thread about not being 100% happy with my first Panny 20mm shots).

I'm also selling my E-pl1, only because I can't justify carrying $750 value (475 camera and 275 for 20mm lens) pocket camera around everyday for fun (fun, hobby,interest). Even though it's a great camera, I can't casualy see myself owning it. My wife never complains about the cost of my toys, so it's just me feeling this way. I purchased camera,by doing a easy wedding job for a friend of mine. I found myself using the pinhole filter a lot. I might repurchase in the near future.
--

Olympus E-300 and E-500, Olympus E-pl1 w/ kit lens, mft 20mm 1.7, OM 50mm 1.8, OM 135mm 2.8, OM 28mm 2.0,43rd Sigma 18-50mm 2.8 and Oly 40-150mm 3.5-4.5

rpm40 said:

Unless you need the improved image quality from the bigger sensor, or the depth of field control from faster lenses/bigger sensor, a nice compact cam is the ticket for most people, and will be much cheaper. A canon s95 or panny lx5 will perform very similarly to the epl1 (or any m4/3) with the kit lens.

The f2.0 lenses at wide angle make up for the 2 stops of noise advantage. The only difference is when you upgrade- there is no compact solution that can compete with a gf1 or ep1 with, say the panasonic 20 f1.7.

For most people, i'd say if you plan on buying yourself a m4/3 and just sticking with the kit lens, you'd probably be happier with a good point and shoot.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Agreed, if you are just going to stick with the kit lens, for many (not all) people a pro-sumer point n shoot is an excellent solution. However, I also believe that once people try situation specific lenses, they will never go back to a point and shoot as an exclusive camera. That is why Oly's bundling of the E-pl1 with 14-42mm and 40-150mm lens and 4/3-u4/3 adapter is genius, even if they are not making any $ on the 40-150.

Really, it does not take 2 minutes to change a bayonet mount lens. If you can't do it in less than 30 seconds you shouldn't be wielding a scalpel!

I would suggest take a good look at the Canon S95 or the Panasonic LX5. Both are good cameras.

which is selling all of what you said for 599$

PhotoMED said:

which is selling all of what you said for 599$

Click to expand...

After a quick review of their web site I only found this package for $499.00. It has everything except the 40-150mm zoom and adapter:

http://www.staples.com/Olympus-Pen-E-PL1-Digital-SLR-Camera-Kit-Black/product_899932?cmArea=search_rr

But in the store they have the same package with the 40-15mm and 4/3 to u4/3 adapter for $599.00. I was there yesterday (Seattle, WA) and saw it myself. It is a great buy.

Usually you can pick up the 40-150mm + adapter for less than $200.00 if you don't live near a Staples.

Tedolph

Tedolph

look at the Samsung TL 500. It has the best manual controls and the fastest lens.

Yes, you must have saw something else. I have a staples nearby and they don't offer everything for 599$. If they do, then that is a good price.

looks like a good choice too . but why isn't it included in the compact enthusiast group despite getting the silver award alongside P9000/ LX5 and S95?

Have you called the store and asked? Here is the number of my local store. (206) 938-4495. Give them a call.

It was on an isle dispaly with big (empty) boxes near the front/center of the store. Maybe an in store special?

Good Luck

Tedolph

Because it is a Samsung.

Well it was already reviewed, whereas the other 3 weren't yet.

It's also older and down on features a bit (movies).