E420 Club

[weekh]

Just got hold of the e420 and the pancake lens.
Tried some test shots and realise that the auto white balance is very poor under florescent lighting. Appeared very yellowish.

Another observation is that the cam render purple as blue!!!

All these are observed from the camera LCD screen. Have yet to open up the RAW to check.

[miel]

is it a fun camera?

[gohaj]

post some photos for us to see!

[eow]

heng.... Was abt to buy it... Forgoing the wb and colour accuracy how u find the e420? Among the masters.. Yr opinions matter the most to me as u are the only one I known of had a vast experience and hand-on with different brands

[Mikefellh]

Originally Posted by miel is it a fun camera?

It's no more or less fun than any other E-dSLR.

What's important is how a dSLR feels in your hand; before I tried an E-4xx (been an E-300 user for several years) I swore that was the camera I was going to buy next as it was most like the SLR I had used for 20 years, at least in terms of size...but when I tried the E-4xx I found it actually too small for me, I had grown used to the larger camera so I will buy an E-5xx next instead.

[weekh]

Too early to draw an overall conclusion as I just had the cam and doing test shots at home.

With regard to rendering purple as blue, this is common. I had a Canon cam's lcd that behaved the same but the colour looked right after the raw file is opened on the computer. BTW, if u're not aware, purple is somehow a difficult colour to be rendered correctly.

But the auto WB is certainly poor under florescent lighting. Not the colour isn't very present looking even though I selected the several florescent WB.

Shot all in RAW and later find that there's no DNG converter available. Lightroom not able to read the raw files yet.....


But the kit is really small and light, even if I carry them together with the other 2 kit lenses 14-42 and 40-150.

[zcf]

if only it do video and with anti shake sensor, I may get it as a spare small and light weight DSLR.

[bchyeo]

I have my E420 for about 2 weeks. I'm new to DSLR/photography and i'm not sure if those pictures that i took are decent or not. but i would still like to post and share a few pictures that i took.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3087/...c95f1e68_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/...54a44aeb_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/...eeb6cb23_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/...41dee2cb_b.jpg

I'm also not sure if the purple looks blue-ish or the auto white balance looks yellowish.
The 2 pictures of birds have not been enhanced or sharpen.

[Mikefellh]

Originally Posted by zcf if only it do video and with anti shake sensor,

Video is for P&S and bridge cameras (and camcorders)...you DON'T want video on a dSLR because the longer the mechanical shutter is engaged and the large sensor is in use the more potential there is for damage to the camera (the reason why I don't like live view on anything but the E-330 since it uses a second sensor for it). Cameras that do video don't use focal plane shutters, something we get dSLRs specifically for. Video is a compromise on still cameras, and as well still modes are compromised because of the extra capability. Not even the E-10/20 had video (can't think of one proper dSLR that does video)!

As for mechanical IS, since the E-4xx is smaller there's no room for it, not to mention the E-4xx has a lower capacity battery.

[drakon09]

I've yet to see any cam having accurate AWB under fluorescent lighting - even cameras with external white balance sensors.

But live view allows you to preview and set the white balance to your liking, so I guess that helps.

[kimbo]

Originally Posted by weekh Just got hold of the e420 and the pancake lens. Tried some test shots and realise that the auto white balance is very poor under florescent lighting. Appeared very yellowish. Another observation is that the cam render purple as blue!!! All these are observed from the camera LCD screen. Have yet to open up the RAW to check.

Purple as blue.... that's very real. My buddy and I, were studying about this issue, it happens to the E-3 too!

My conclusion is, purple is a very sensitive colour, totally dependent on the white balance. Blue with more yellow tint will give you purple. Try it for yourself in lightroom/photoshop and you know what i mean.

That means that if you do this purple thingy in shadow (when auto white balance gievs a more cool temperture), purple will appear blue.

[uglymale]

upgrading from p&s cameras, i have an e420 and i love its size!

if you use larger cameras, it might probably feel awkward because of the grip.

i'm no professional but i enjoy street/travel photography... the pancake lens is on my wishlist, and i will acquire it once i return to the states.

[Mikefellh]

And that's why it's important to TRY the camera BEFORE buying. For me the E-4xx is too small and the E-x cameras are too large.

If a camera doesn't feel good you won't like using it, not to mention have trouble holding it and getting good shots.

[cater]

Originally Posted by kimbo Purple as blue.... that's very real. My buddy and I, were studying about this issue, it happens to the E-3 too! My conclusion is, purple is a very sensitive colour, totally dependent on the white balance. Blue with more yellow tint will give you purple. Try it for yourself in lightroom/photoshop and you know what i mean. That means that if you do this purple thingy in shadow (when auto white balance gievs a more cool temperture), purple will appear blue.

Does the filters that is using affect such outcome? I've heard that the B+W UV is slightly warm. Not sure how true it is.

[weekh]

Some images from the cam:

[gohaj]

Originally Posted by weekh

This one looks good!

[Mikefellh]

Originally Posted by cater Does the filters that is using affect such outcome? I've heard that the B+W UV is slightly warm. Not sure how true it is.

Any colour in the filter is neutralized by the camera when using the auto or one-touch white balance modes.

If you want to use a warming filter you have to use a manual white balance setting, or set the one-touch white balance BEFORE putting on the filter.

[weekh]

Any idea how soon will Adobe offer updates of its programme to read E420 RAW files?

Need to do some minor adjustments in Lightroom.....

[weekh]

Drove out of town with the e420 and the 3 kit lenses:

[weekh]

14-42mm very useful. Seldom get to use the pancake as the focal length isn't really interesting and the lens isn't fast enough...