SP550uz w/ raynox 2.2xtc OR Bigma w/ my E300 ???

Expiredyoghurt · 6th February 2007

ok, here's my delima ... i've been saving for a little over a year now (in NS) for a bigma (which will give me 100-1000mm) on my e300, mainly for birding purposes ..

the bigma will cost me $1930 (ex gst .. i think) ... which puts it at 2030 w/ gst .. and will give me 100mm-1000mm ... a very good focal length for birding right? .. only issue would be the weight ... but i got a tripod for that ..

alternatively, since the sp550uz just came out, i've wondered, would it be more worth for me to get the sp550uz and a raynox 2.2tc? .. it'll give me 28mm-1109mm and killer frame rates (al though at lower resolutions .. and probably weigh less than the bigma itself ..

i'd expect the sp550uz and raynox 2.2x tc to be set me back around 1.3k ...

what do u guys think i should do? ..

(obviously i won't be buying either yet ... but i wanna hear your opinions .. )

Nerd · 7th February 2007

Until the Olympus SP550UZ is out, and there are reviews of it showing the picture quality / noise level, everyone will wonder about the image quality. But one thing for sure is that DSLRs will generally have better image quality at higher ISOs which you may or may not need depending on light levels. Of cos the Olympus has dual IS mechanism. But what about focus speed?

Any 2nd hand Bigmas lying around?

Expiredyoghurt · 7th February 2007

no idea ... but the sp550uz has pre-capture ... and high frame rate, 7fps at 3.2mp is pretty good leh ... hopefully the focus speed and tracking speed is decent ...

Clockunder · 8th February 2007

1) Resolution
SP550 UZ with 2.2x teleconverter is 84.2mm x 2.2 = 185mm on a very small 1/2.5" sensor

vs

E300 with Bigma is a much longer 500mm on a much bigger 4/3" sensor which is 3.1 times longer in length or 9.8x bigger in area than 1/2.5" sensor.

Definitely, the E300 with Bigma is going to give very much better resolution than the SP550 UZ.

2) Aperture size
SP550 UZ with 2.2x teleconverter at the longest end is F/4.5 x 2.2 = about F/10.

The actual aperture size at 185mm @F/10 is only a very small 185/10 = 18.5mm.

You are likely to have extremely slow focus at F/10 and at such small aperture, you may not get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze flying birds.

E300 with Bigma at 500mm is F/6.3 which will be faster by over 1 stop. 500/6.3 = 79.4mm which is a very much bigger size than SP550UZ's 18.5mm to allow more light. You're likely to get very much faster shutter speed than the SP550UZ.

3) Compatibility
Will you get vignetting with the 2.2x teleconverter on SP550 UZ? Almost certain on the shorter end of the focal length. Not sure about at the long end.

4) Handheld shutter speed
SP550 UZ with 2.2x teleconverter has an actual focal length of about 185mm only. Moreover, with an image stabiliser, you can handhold shots at even slower than 1/185 at the long end.

E300 with Bigma : At 500mm, you would require faster than 1/500 for handheld. So a tripod is often necessary at the long end.

5) Noise and picture quality
Wait for the SP550UZ review. Given the specs, the E300 will likely win hands down.

Moreover, a teleconverter degrades picture quality and sharpness quite a lot especially with a high converter ratio like 2.2 even on very good quality lenses. It may suffer so much that the picture quality is not acceptable.

raycsk · 8th February 2007

Just to add on...

- Effects of technology - Obsoletion of the SP550 but not the BigMa.
- OPTICS - the sheer number of lens elements compared to a compact P&S/Prosumer
- Resale value - ties in with #1
- Limits of control - should you get creative next time... can the SP550 offer as much manual control?
- BigMa can be used with TC and more importantly EX-25 which means accessible macro without intrusion. Can SP series do that?

nightwolf75 · 8th February 2007

EY - i just played with the SP550 today at TK cos i was looking for a compact camera. pretty decent camera, with super-boosted ISO to 5000 (IIRC)...

i just played with it a ISO1600.

overall, a decent camera. the ISO1600 images were a little noisy in the shadows. however (viewing on the cam's LCD), the details were significantly degraded once i zoom in. i suspect its becos of the aggressive NR feature. thus, as long as one doesn't overly enlarge ur pics during print, it can give decent 4R prints (all things being equaled).

BUT, for ur case, i suggest u get a bigma lens. the focusing for the SP550 at its max focal length is darn slow. unless u are shooting rock steady things, i suggest u invest in the lens.

Expiredyoghurt · 8th February 2007

hmmz .. ok, thanks for the run-down guys ... oh wells, i'll keep saving for the bigma then ... =P ... i'm like .. 60% there, on my miserable NS allowance ... missed promotion somemore ... *sniff* ...

Clockunder · 10th February 2007

Just to add :

6) Weight
The E-300 with Bigma is very much heavier and longer physical length than the SP-550 UZ with a 2.2x teleconverter and therefore much more difficult to handle and a tripod/monopod is necessary.

7) Depth of field and Bokeh in pictures
The Bigma has a much longer actual focal length and will therefore have a shallower Depth of Field for the same composition shot from the same distance at same aperture F number using the same 35mm format equivalent focal length. Moreover, the Bigma also has the advantage of possibly using a bigger aperture to achieve a shallower DOF than the SP-550 UZ with 2.2x converter. A shallower DOF will make the bird stands out more against the background.

I think the Bokeh for the Bigma will also looks much better since the background is pulled much closer with a much longer actual focal length. Although the angle of field is similar for both at the same 35mm format equivalent focal length, the compression of the distance differences between foreground and background is different because of the different actual focal length used. The SP-550 with 2.2x converter is using a higher crop factor to get a longer 35mm format equivalent and only has a max. actual focal length of 185mm compared to 500mm for the bigma.

7th February 2007	#2
Nerd Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Singapore - Jurong West Posts: 699	Re: SP550uz w/ raynox 2.2xtc OR Bigma w/ my E300 ??? Until the Olympus SP550UZ is out, and there are reviews of it showing the picture quality / noise level, everyone will wonder about the image quality. But one thing for sure is that DSLRs will generally have better image quality at higher ISOs which you may or may not need depending on light levels. Of cos the Olympus has dual IS mechanism. But what about focus speed? Any 2nd hand Bigmas lying around?

7th February 2007	#3
Expiredyoghurt Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Yishun Posts: 1,385	Re: SP550uz w/ raynox 2.2xtc OR Bigma w/ my E300 ??? no idea ... but the sp550uz has pre-capture ... and high frame rate, 7fps at 3.2mp is pretty good leh ... hopefully the focus speed and tracking speed is decent ...

8th February 2007	#4
Clockunder Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,767	Re: SP550uz w/ raynox 2.2xtc OR Bigma w/ my E300 ??? 1) Resolution SP550 UZ with 2.2x teleconverter is 84.2mm x 2.2 = 185mm on a very small 1/2.5" sensor vs E300 with Bigma is a much longer 500mm on a much bigger 4/3" sensor which is 3.1 times longer in length or 9.8x bigger in area than 1/2.5" sensor. Definitely, the E300 with Bigma is going to give very much better resolution than the SP550 UZ. 2) Aperture size SP550 UZ with 2.2x teleconverter at the longest end is F/4.5 x 2.2 = about F/10. The actual aperture size at 185mm @F/10 is only a very small 185/10 = 18.5mm. You are likely to have extremely slow focus at F/10 and at such small aperture, you may not get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze flying birds. E300 with Bigma at 500mm is F/6.3 which will be faster by over 1 stop. 500/6.3 = 79.4mm which is a very much bigger size than SP550UZ's 18.5mm to allow more light. You're likely to get very much faster shutter speed than the SP550UZ. 3) Compatibility Will you get vignetting with the 2.2x teleconverter on SP550 UZ? Almost certain on the shorter end of the focal length. Not sure about at the long end. 4) Handheld shutter speed SP550 UZ with 2.2x teleconverter has an actual focal length of about 185mm only. Moreover, with an image stabiliser, you can handhold shots at even slower than 1/185 at the long end. E300 with Bigma : At 500mm, you would require faster than 1/500 for handheld. So a tripod is often necessary at the long end. 5) Noise and picture quality Wait for the SP550UZ review. Given the specs, the E300 will likely win hands down. Moreover, a teleconverter degrades picture quality and sharpness quite a lot especially with a high converter ratio like 2.2 even on very good quality lenses. It may suffer so much that the picture quality is not acceptable. Last edited by Clockunder; 8th February 2007 at 12:09 PM.

8th February 2007	#5
raycsk Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: NE Singapore Posts: 405	Re: SP550uz w/ raynox 2.2xtc OR Bigma w/ my E300 ??? Just to add on... - Effects of technology - Obsoletion of the SP550 but not the BigMa. - OPTICS - the sheer number of lens elements compared to a compact P&S/Prosumer - Resale value - ties in with #1 - Limits of control - should you get creative next time... can the SP550 offer as much manual control? - BigMa can be used with TC and more importantly EX-25 which means accessible macro without intrusion. Can SP series do that?

8th February 2007	#6
nightwolf75 Moderator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: in bet MORE diaper changes... Posts: 14,579	Re: SP550uz w/ raynox 2.2xtc OR Bigma w/ my E300 ??? EY - i just played with the SP550 today at TK cos i was looking for a compact camera. pretty decent camera, with super-boosted ISO to 5000 (IIRC)... i just played with it a ISO1600. overall, a decent camera. the ISO1600 images were a little noisy in the shadows. however (viewing on the cam's LCD), the details were significantly degraded once i zoom in. i suspect its becos of the aggressive NR feature. thus, as long as one doesn't overly enlarge ur pics during print, it can give decent 4R prints (all things being equaled). BUT, for ur case, i suggest u get a bigma lens. the focusing for the SP550 at its max focal length is darn slow. unless u are shooting rock steady things, i suggest u invest in the lens.

6th February 2007	#1
Expiredyoghurt Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Yishun Posts: 1,385	SP550uz w/ raynox 2.2xtc OR Bigma w/ my E300 ??? ok, here's my delima ... i've been saving for a little over a year now (in NS) for a bigma (which will give me 100-1000mm) on my e300, mainly for birding purposes .. the bigma will cost me $1930 (ex gst .. i think) ... which puts it at 2030 w/ gst .. and will give me 100mm-1000mm ... a very good focal length for birding right? .. only issue would be the weight ... but i got a tripod for that .. alternatively, since the sp550uz just came out, i've wondered, would it be more worth for me to get the sp550uz and a raynox 2.2tc? .. it'll give me 28mm-1109mm and killer frame rates (al though at lower resolutions .. and probably weigh less than the bigma itself .. i'd expect the sp550uz and raynox 2.2x tc to be set me back around 1.3k ... what do u guys think i should do? .. (obviously i won't be buying either yet ... but i wanna hear your opinions .. )

10th February 2007	#8
Clockunder Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,767	Re: SP550uz w/ raynox 2.2xtc OR Bigma w/ my E300 ??? Just to add : 6) Weight The E-300 with Bigma is very much heavier and longer physical length than the SP-550 UZ with a 2.2x teleconverter and therefore much more difficult to handle and a tripod/monopod is necessary. 7) Depth of field and Bokeh in pictures The Bigma has a much longer actual focal length and will therefore have a shallower Depth of Field for the same composition shot from the same distance at same aperture F number using the same 35mm format equivalent focal length. Moreover, the Bigma also has the advantage of possibly using a bigger aperture to achieve a shallower DOF than the SP-550 UZ with 2.2x converter. A shallower DOF will make the bird stands out more against the background. I think the Bokeh for the Bigma will also looks much better since the background is pulled much closer with a much longer actual focal length. Although the angle of field is similar for both at the same 35mm format equivalent focal length, the compression of the distance differences between foreground and background is different because of the different actual focal length used. The SP-550 with 2.2x converter is using a higher crop factor to get a longer 35mm format equivalent and only has a max. actual focal length of 185mm compared to 500mm for the bigma.