Hows Olympus E-1

[climb_jam]

Hi,

I'm new in photography and will want to pursue it more and am intending to get an Olympus E-1.

I've been taking alot of pics with just those small point and shot Digi cam, can see it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/climb_jam/

Now I'm intending to go further into photography. Do anyone of you have any reviews abt Olympus E-1?

I quite had my mind set on it after checking out other photography sites.

[Dylan]

Originally Posted by climb_jam Hi, I'm new in photography and will want to pursue it more and am intending to get an Olympus E-1. I've been taking alot of pics with just those small point and shot Digi cam, can see it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/climb_jam/ Now I'm intending to go further into photography. Do anyone of you have any reviews abt Olympus E-1? I quite had my mind set on it after checking out other photography sites.

Now is if you can still find the E-1 on the brand new maket or not.
Unless second hand...

[climb_jam]

oh yes, quite true.. hmm...
I'm also looking at E-500, but haven read much abt it yet. But def. if I can get an E-1, 2nd hand, good condition and all, it'll be good.

[emerson_chew]

Originally Posted by climb_jam oh yes, quite true.. hmm... I'm also looking at E-500, but haven read much abt it yet. But def. if I can get an E-1, 2nd hand, good condition and all, it'll be good.

E-1 is a better choice, cos i used E-500 before but the WB is not gd...you will not regret getting E-1.

[sehsuan]

It's a lightweight system, but you might want to consider the lenses properly first. The viewfinder's kindof dark compared to "regular" Canons and Nikons, since Olympus has a 2x FOV crop. Might be a problem when you combine a shallow DOF with manual focussing. my dad used to have the E1, so that was based on my short experience with the camera then. Since then, I have handled a few friend's E330/500 setups, but I can't get used to the dark viewfinder. If you're considering lightweight shooting while climbing, the E1 may be your cup of tea.

[climb_jam]

Oh, how did you know I climb? Anyway, yes, I'm inteding to use it for climbing, sports photography and humanitarian work, and also landscap and all.

But not sure if they still have it in e market like what Dylan said. Guess I would have to look ard for 2nd hand.

[hazmee]

Go get the E-1. Its a fine camera. Olympus makes fine lenses too.

Read more about it here. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse1/

[shchow]

Originally Posted by climb_jam Oh, how did you know I climb? Anyway, yes, I'm inteding to use it for climbing, sports photography and humanitarian work, and also landscap and all. But not sure if they still have it in e market like what Dylan said. Guess I would have to look ard for 2nd hand.

you can consider getting from the state, e.g. eBay (Cameta) which is selling new sets... however, they don't ship to singapore. also you can consider going through Singapore vPost to get that shipped to singapore.

Good luck!

[tao]

Originally Posted by sehsuan It's a lightweight system, but you might want to consider the lenses properly first. The viewfinder's kindof dark compared to "regular" Canons and Nikons, since Olympus has a 2x FOV crop. Might be a problem when you combine a shallow DOF with manual focussing. my dad used to have the E1, so that was based on my short experience with the camera then. Since then, I have handled a few friend's E330/500 setups, but I can't get used to the dark viewfinder. If you're considering lightweight shooting while climbing, the E1 may be your cup of tea.

You sure you tried the E-1 before? Comparing with other cameras with APS-C sensor, viewfinder of the E-1 is larger and brighter than the likes of Nikon D70/D70s and Canon 20D/30D. Only Pentax has bigger and brighter viewfinder.

[sehsuan]

Yes. I tried the E1 before. But that was in the early days just after the E1 was launched at 4000+ if I remember correctly. My dad didn't keep it for long, and decided to sell it off for a loss of 1K then. Since then, it's scary to see the sheer depreciation in the price of the E1.

I can't clearly remember how dim it was, but you have to remember to compare with a lens of the same aperture. The eyecup is particularly comfy, but that's about it. Nice handling size, but a tad too light for my liking. Without the vertical grip, the camera feels like a toy to me.

Main consideration might be the severely limited ability to loan lenses... of course you could circumvent that by having more Olympus 4/3 using kakis

[aloyq]

Originally Posted by climb_jam oh yes, quite true.. hmm... I'm also looking at E-500, but haven read much abt it yet. But def. if I can get an E-1, 2nd hand, good condition and all, it'll be good.

Here's a review for both the cams. not sure if u've seen them yet.

E-1 http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse1/
E-500 http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse500/

another useful site that might be of help would be
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/index.html

Lastly if u've got a vpost account u can get your E-1 from http://www.e-trend.co.jp/shopping/se...&st=1&limit=20

hope that this will help

[Michael68]

Originally Posted by shchow you can consider getting from the state, e.g. eBay (Cameta) which is selling new sets... however, they don't ship to singapore. also you can consider going through Singapore vPost to get that shipped to singapore. Good luck!

Hi,
Just wondering how I can arrange Vpost to ship to Singapore? Contacted Cameta several times and wonder how I can tie up with them thru Vpost.....

[coldface]

Originally Posted by Michael68 Hi, Just wondering how I can arrange Vpost to ship to Singapore? Contacted Cameta several times and wonder how I can tie up with them thru Vpost.....

Forget about VPOST. Cameta does not even accept credit cards issued in Singapore, get your American friends to help you to buy and ship here.

[drakon09]

Originally Posted by coldface Forget about VPOST. Cameta does not even accept credit cards issued in Singapore, get your American friends to help you to buy and ship here.

As well as credit cards issued from Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Russia....

[igpenguin]

how does the high ISO noise of the E1 compare to the E300?

[drakon09]

Originally Posted by igpenguin how does the high ISO noise of the E1 compare to the E300?

How do I say?

The ISO noise from the E-1 is more "film-like", whereas the E300 noise is more harsh
(for lack of a better word).

Tell you what, watch this space, I'll do a test and post them images tomorrow.

[igpenguin]

that will be great! TIA!

i have a E-300, and shoot a lot of available light pics. the high ISO noise does bug me. i'm looking to get a second cam, and been wondering about the E1.

[drakon09]

Ok, as promised (albeit one day late ).

All taken with 50/f2 Mac at f5.6 on tripod with AWB:


First, the E-1 at ISO 1600:




Next, the E-1 at ISO 3200:




Finally, the E-300 at ISO 1600




Note: due to CS Gallery constraints, jpegs have been compressed at 1/8

100% crops to follow in the next post...

[drakon09]

100% crops (400 X 300), at 1/4 jpeg compression:


E-1 at ISO 1600:




E-1 at ISO 3200:




E-300 at ISO 1600:



At ISO 1600, the E-300 exhibits slightly harsher luminance/chroma noise, IMHO.

[igpenguin]

Thanks for the comparisons!!

the ISO 1600 samples look quite close. still overall i think the E1 ISO 1600 looks better than the E300 ISO 1600.