E410 or E510 for D-SLR Newbie

[chi_noy2000]

hi,

i'm in a dilemma right now whether to buy E410 or wait for E510 so i decided to come here and seek advice esp from those experienced D-SLR users.

coming from a pro-sumer(Pana FZ20/FujiFilm S6500) background, i feel that it is time for me to jump into D-SLR esp nowadays it has Anti-Dust system feature and what a time to go into. thanks to Olympus innovativeness.

how much price difference would you consider E510 to be worth buying over E410 just to have the image-stabilisation?. personally, image-quality could be more or less the same as they share same sensor and processor. true?.

thanks...

[drakon09]

I suspect the E-510 will be about 200 to 300 bucks more than the E-410.

IS has both proponents and opponents; it helps for lower shutter speeds, but at the same time degrades ultimate image quality and is useless for moving subjects.

The sensor for both cams will be the same.

[chi_noy2000]

Originally Posted by drakon09 I suspect the E-510 will be about 200 to 300 bucks more than the E-410. IS has both proponents and opponents; it helps for lower shutter speeds, but at the same time degrades ultimate image quality and is useless for moving subjects. The sensor for both cams will be the same.

So, i take it as E410 more worth it and more recommended as far as you are concerned.

that's good to hear. how about from microcosm?. you two seems to be the guru in here.

[drakon09]

He ah, he anti-IS also...

[chi_noy2000]

i went to EXPO and saw and handled the E410 personally, it was really nice.

very very tempting. don't think it will take long for me before i buy it finally.

by the way, harvey norman is giving aways 2 2GB CF and 1 xd card but can't remember the capacity and also a tripod.

Drakon9, what freebies did u get?.

[drakon09]

Just one 2GB CF card, but a slight discount off the RRP.

The HN offer is pretty decent if you don't have CF/xD cards already. They're selling it at SGD 1299?

[chi_noy2000]

Originally Posted by drakon09 Just one 2GB CF card, but a slight discount off the RRP. The HN offer is pretty decent if you don't have CF/xD cards already. They're selling it at SGD 1299?

yes, it's 1299.

maybe i will be more patient. maybe control myself for one more month and the price might drop a bit, *wishful thinking*

how come they don't come with 2 kit lens but only 1?. E500/E400 came with 1 or 2 kit lens, wasn't it?.

[drakon09]

Originally Posted by chi_noy2000 yes, it's 1299. maybe i will be more patient. maybe control myself for one more month and the price might drop a bit, *wishful thinking* how come they don't come with 2 kit lens but only 1?. E500/E400 came with 1 or 2 kit lens, wasn't it?.

I don't think the 2-lens kit for the E-410 is stocked yet.

If you want it you may need to wait a month or so; expect the price of the two-lens kit to be about 200 bucks more.

[vendeta]

hey drakon can you elaborate a little more on image quality degradation? I'm curious of how come the IS will affect the quality of the image? Is it due to the moving of the sensor to compensate for the hand shake? I'm not that much aware of how oly IS work.

[drakon09]

Originally Posted by vendeta hey drakon can you elaborate a little more on image quality degradation? I'm curious of how come the IS will affect the quality of the image? Is it due to the moving of the sensor to compensate for the hand shake? I'm not that much aware of how oly IS work.

Yup that's right. I'm not saying that IS doesn't work; in most cases it does, but it doesn't replace a tripod, and doesn't work on moving subjects at all.

I don't think IS works if you're panning as well, so IS applications would be limited to still objects.

The Oly IS is a sensor-shift system similar to the ones on the Pentax K10D and the Sony Alpha.

[vendeta]

Originally Posted by drakon09 Yup that's right. I'm not saying that IS doesn't work; in most cases it does, but it doesn't replace a tripod, and doesn't work on moving subjects at all. I don't think IS works if you're panning as well, so IS applications would be limited to still objects. The Oly IS is a sensor-shift system similar to the ones on the Pentax K10D and the Sony Alpha.

Thanks guru! I agree tripod is still the best, just want a couple of 1 or 2 step from my shutter . Any idea if the new p1 will have is?

[OlyFlyer]

There is just one thing, the Oly IS is made by Oly while the Pentax is a Pentax and a Sony is a Sony. What I mean is that there is just a slight possibility that Oly beats them all and my have a bright solution to solve the moving object problem. My DV camera has it too and it works fine for all "normal" moving subjects but fails completely on air shows. Makes tracking of aircraft impossible.

Remember, so far no CS:er has tried the E-510 in action, so actually nobody knows how good/bad the Oly IS will be. Best advise I think is just to wait until 1 month after E-510 release. You will definitely hear how it is by then. Anyway, if I had to make a choise today, I would go for the E-510. The E-410 is not only smaller but as far as I know a simpler camera also, and I don't mean the IS but there are other stuff also. IMO the IS is worth the extra money, even if it can not replace a tripod in all situations. I just assume it can be switched off just like NR or even quicker, so in situations when it is no good, just switch it off, just like in my video camera.

[drakon09]

Yup, the IS can be switched off.

In a year of two, FourThirds will have comprehensive in-body or in-lens IS systems.

Or Oly comes up with some funky technology that mates both IS systems together.

[chi_noy2000]

Thank you guys for your inputs.

i will wait further till the E510 comes out and see what is the price. if the price difference is (hopfully) only 200, then i will consider it but more than that, probably E410.

[drakon09]

It will be a slow two to three weeks for ya...

[Mikefellh]

You think that's bad...I won't be able to actually see the E-410/510 until the end of the week (at a photography show), and it will be another MONTH until we can actually buy the E-410 in this part of the world, and at least ANOTHER MONTH OR TWO until we can buy the E-510.

[avo]

To drakon09,

How does the E-410 ocompared to your E-1 in terms of colour, focusing speed, and auto WB accuracy?

[drakon09]

Originally Posted by Mikefellh You think that's bad...I won't be able to actually see the E-410/510 until the end of the week (at a photography show), and it will be another MONTH until we can actually buy the E-410 in this part of the world, and at least ANOTHER MONTH OR TWO until we can buy the E-510.

Ouch, that sucks big time mike...

The stocks in Singapore were probably fresh out of the factories in China... the language settings were in Simplified Chinese...

[drakon09]

Originally Posted by avo To drakon09, How does the E-410 ocompared to your E-1 in terms of colour, focusing speed, and auto WB accuracy?

Hi avo,

I haven't really gotten down to testing colour fidelity yet, but the general camera performance of the E-410 tells me that it is a generation ahead of the E-1.

Focusing is quicker, low-light capability much improved (C-AF tracks at night, under street lighting conditions), auto WB very accurate, especially compared to the E-500, and totally blows away the E-3XX. It is particularly accurate in LiveView mode.

Didn't get to test much of the 410 in terms of colour reproduction over the weekend, but I'll go shoot some flowers soon enough.

[avo]

Originally Posted by drakon09 Hi avo, I haven't really gotten down to testing colour fidelity yet, but the general camera performance of the E-410 tells me that it is a generation ahead of the E-1. Focusing is quicker, low-light capability much improved (C-AF tracks at night, under street lighting conditions), auto WB very accurate, especially compared to the E-500, and totally blows away the E-3XX. It is particularly accurate in LiveView mode. Didn't get to test much of the 410 in terms of colour reproduction over the weekend, but I'll go shoot some flowers soon enough.

Thank you for your comments.