Olympus E300 OR Canon Rebel XT (350) ?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <336a2$4253ee18$3e3b2a30$7524@news.versatel.net>,
"Fr@nk" <nospam@antispam.com> wrote:

> I saw an kit with 14-45 and 40-150 plus body from olympus, which has an 8MP
> full size sensor.
>
> Or better take the Canon 350 D ? (also 8MP) (bit more expensive)
>
> Or can't I compare them, any experiences with the Oly ?

You can compare them, they are direct competitors in specifications and
price. Both have specific stronger and weaker points; both will be very
capable of making good images. Try them out side by side if possible,
things like handling are important and very personal. Some will find the
350D too small, others will find E300 too big, etc.
A German magazine tested all "cheap" kitlenses in a recent edition and
the Olympus 14-45 was best of the bunch. The extra 40-150 lens is nice
because using other lenses is the whole point of owning a DSLR... Thanks
to the Olympus dust-solution you can also actually change lenses out in
the field.

For experiences see http://www.myfourthirds.com for many E1 and E300
images. usually the lens used is mentioned with an image. There is a
sister-site for Canon too, see "pixelcritic" link on the page.

Lourens

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <336a2$4253ee18$3e3b2a30$7524@news.versatel.net>, Fr@nk
says...
> I saw an kit with 14-45 and 40-150 plus body from olympus, which has an 8MP
> full size sensor.
>
> Or better take the Canon 350 D ? (also 8MP) (bit more expensive)
>
> Or can't I compare them, any experiences with the Oly ?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MyOlympus/
http://myolympus.org/E300/
http://myolympus.org/
--

Alfred Molon
------------------------------
Olympus 4040, 5050, 5060, 7070, 8080, E300 forum at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MyOlympus/
Olympus 8080 resource - http://myolympus.org/8080/

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Holy cow, a typo on my part and sorry for that and confusion (first
time I ever did that :-) ) I was referring not to noise, but DUST
filter on Oly's. Maybe technically not a 'filter' but a bit of high
speed shaking which removes most dust from the sensor. This said, I
also find that for indoor shots which require available light the dslr
has lower noise at ISO 400 and above than P&S's, though I have
generally been able to take care of that in post-processing. Thanks for
pointing out my mistake.

Dirty Harry wrote:
> "Ron" <rgood@netzero.com> wrote in message
news:LYU4e.3$gy6.1@fe05.lga...
> Because I shoot around construction sites the noise
> filter is a very attractive feature and, in fact, should be a
> determining one all things considered (having scratched an SLR mirror
> once I learned my lesson the hard way).
>
> can u elaborate? I don't get what you mean.
> --
> www.harryphotots.com - small construction gallery here...

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 16:11:22 +0200, "Fr@nk" <nospam@antispam.com>
wrote:
>I saw an kit with 14-45 and 40-150 plus body from olympus, which has an 8MP
>full size sensor.
>Or better take the Canon 350 D ? (also 8MP) (bit more expensive)
>Or can't I compare them, any experiences with the Oly ?

Here's a review of the Rebel XT--it contains a direct comparison with
the E300. Pay close attention to page 19. The Oly has LOTS more
noise at ISOs above 400.

It's too bad--I had high hopes for the E-series Olys, as they handled
so nicely. However, they seem to make the same mistakes over and
over--noisy sensors, slow autofocus (slow operation in general), and
overpriced accessories.


Steve Green

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 09:26:19 -0700, Steve Green
<sgreen200@hotmail.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 16:11:22 +0200, "Fr@nk" <nospam@antispam.com>
>wrote:
>>I saw an kit with 14-45 and 40-150 plus body from olympus, which has an 8MP
>>full size sensor.
>>Or better take the Canon 350 D ? (also 8MP) (bit more expensive)
>>Or can't I compare them, any experiences with the Oly ?
>
>Here's a review of the Rebel XT--it contains a direct comparison with
>the E300. Pay close attention to page 19. The Oly has LOTS more
>noise at ISOs above 400.
>
>It's too bad--I had high hopes for the E-series Olys, as they handled
>so nicely. However, they seem to make the same mistakes over and
>over--noisy sensors, slow autofocus (slow operation in general), and
>overpriced accessories.
>
>
>Steve Green

Your statement about the 'slow autofocus' put the whole of your
argument in doubt - what are you talking about - autofocus on the E300
is unbelieveable fast and focus in total darkness assisted by the
flash is instantaneous.

Borge, Perth
Pentium P4 2.4Ghz, 1 Gb memory, 600 GB space
Olympus 2100UZ, Pentax Optio S, Canon S1+ Olympus E300.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

SamSez wrote:

>
> Based on those $$$ down the drain [not to mention the two E20's I had
> overhauled for pixels that had died and couldn't be mapped,

SO you'd rather send your canon in for mapping rather than click a menu
item?

> or both a
> P-400 and a P-440 printer that each developed a single bad spot on the
> thermal element

WOwn I never considered the problems I had with a canon scanner when I
bought my camera..


>
> even as nice
> as the ultrasonic dust cleaner looks.

Yea dust looks MUCH better! ;-)

--

Stacey

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <qtk6e.9674$Xm3.7012@trndny01>, SamSez says...

> Or maybe it was that very special 'go to lunch' wait while the 10 or 20 wrote to
> the memory card?

By the way, the E300 can write to the memory card at 9MB/s sustained,
making the fastest among all DSLRs. No other DSLR comes close.
--

Alfred Molon
------------------------------
Olympus 4040, 5050, 5060, 7070, 8080, E300 forum at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MyOlympus/
Olympus E300 resource - http://myolympus.org/E300/

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 00:04:51 -0400, Stacey <fotocord@yahoo.com> wrote:

>SamSez wrote:
>
>>
>> Based on those $$$ down the drain [not to mention the two E20's I had
>> overhauled for pixels that had died and couldn't be mapped,
>
>SO you'd rather send your canon in for mapping rather than click a menu
>item?
>
>> or both a
>> P-400 and a P-440 printer that each developed a single bad spot on the
>> thermal element
>
>WOwn I never considered the problems I had with a canon scanner when I
>bought my camera..
>
>
>>
>> even as nice
>> as the ultrasonic dust cleaner looks.
>
>Yea dust looks MUCH better! ;-)

Just to say something nice about Olympus, I bought the first 700 that
came out - there was no IS as I could not afford the 2100 then. There
was some trouble which I reported. They were interested in my coments
and send me another 700 for test and yet another.
In my frustration, I mentioned that I would rather like to pay the
difference and get the 2100 UZ IS.
It was sent to me with no demand for the extra money - I am still
entralled with Olympus and that plus the dust remover settled the
purchase choice for me.

Borge - Australia

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

I wrote:
>>
>> Here's a review of the Rebel XT--it contains a direct comparison with
>> the E300. Pay close attention to page 19. The Oly has LOTS more
>> noise at ISOs above 400.
>>
>> It's too bad--I had high hopes for the E-series Olys, as they handled
>> so nicely. However, they seem to make the same mistakes over and
>> over--noisy sensors, slow autofocus (slow operation in general), and
>> overpriced accessories.

Keith replied:
>
(snip)
>I am very happy with what it can do, high ISO
>perfomance is not an issue for me, I hardly ever go above ISO 100, it
>might be for you of course!

>Autofocus is fine with the latest firmware fix, though I never had a
>problem before. Not sure about the overpriceed accessories though, the
>ones I have purchased seem very high quality and provide good VFM.
>
>You do seem to have a lot of knowledge about a camera you don't care
>much about - how many photos have to taken with it? I must confess I
>know nothing about the other makes, never really read the reviews, etc.
>Too busy taking photos and other things!! Life is too short to worry
>about these things...
>
Yes, high ISO performance is an issue for me, as it is for many on
this forum.

I was speaking about Oly DSLRs in general. I never claimed to know
specifics about the Evolt, other than the reviews I've seen. My AF
speed comment was based upon my trying out the E-1 at a trade show--I
felt that the AF was very sluggish, although somewhat more accurate
than the pathetic E-10.

I do own one of those, and although the ergonomics are great, the slow
and inaccurate AF, along with the _glacially_ slow write and read
speeds, made it pretty much unusable in the field. (I'm keeping it
because it's good for shooting for eBay, with its deep DOF.) Anyway,
if the Evolt AF is improved from the E-1, that's a step in the right
direction.

Nesredep said:
>Your statement about the 'slow autofocus' put the whole of your
>argument in doubt - what are you talking about - autofocus on the E300
>is unbelieveable fast and focus in total darkness assisted by the
>flash is instantaneous.

See above.

As for the accessories, I'm not sure how the pricing goes with the
Evolt, but $500 for the E-1 battery grip seems a bit high, don't you
think?

Again, the Evolt may be great, but I gave up on Oly after their very
long delays in launching the E-1; then after I saw the crummy AF and
the ridiculous initiial prices, well, I haven't picked one up since.
YMMV.



Steve Green

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Steve Green wrote:


>
> As for the accessories, I'm not sure how the pricing goes with the
> Evolt, but $500 for the E-1 battery grip seems a bit high, don't you
> think?
>


I can easily fill up a couple of gig cards on a single charge, can't see any
reason for most people to even need an extra battery!

--

Stacey

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Steve:

Don't worry about E-300 noise. I just did some shooting at an in-dome
baseball game at 800 and 1600 and what little noise showed up, mainly
in crops, was removed very easily by my noise removal program. I
realize it's all 'relative' but in practical situations I think you
would be ok. Otherwise, the camera has its quirks, but it is fast,
rugged, and has a pretty good kit lens. Oh, and it works very well with
my old Pentax lenses and a K to 4/3 adapter. A good deal I think.


Steve Green wrote:
> I wrote:
> >>
> >> Here's a review of the Rebel XT--it contains a direct comparison
with
> >> the E300. Pay close attention to page 19. The Oly has LOTS more
> >> noise at ISOs above 400.
> >>
> >> It's too bad--I had high hopes for the E-series Olys, as they
handled
> >> so nicely. However, they seem to make the same mistakes over and
> >> over--noisy sensors, slow autofocus (slow operation in general),
and
> >> overpriced accessories.
>
> Keith replied:
> >
> (snip)
> >I am very happy with what it can do, high ISO
> >perfomance is not an issue for me, I hardly ever go above ISO 100,
it
> >might be for you of course!
>
> >Autofocus is fine with the latest firmware fix, though I never had a
> >problem before. Not sure about the overpriceed accessories though,
the
> >ones I have purchased seem very high quality and provide good VFM.
> >
> >You do seem to have a lot of knowledge about a camera you don't care
> >much about - how many photos have to taken with it? I must confess I
> >know nothing about the other makes, never really read the reviews,
etc.
> >Too busy taking photos and other things!! Life is too short to worry
> >about these things...
> >
> Yes, high ISO performance is an issue for me, as it is for many on
> this forum.
>
> I was speaking about Oly DSLRs in general. I never claimed to know
> specifics about the Evolt, other than the reviews I've seen. My AF
> speed comment was based upon my trying out the E-1 at a trade show--I
> felt that the AF was very sluggish, although somewhat more accurate
> than the pathetic E-10.
>
> I do own one of those, and although the ergonomics are great, the
slow
> and inaccurate AF, along with the _glacially_ slow write and read
> speeds, made it pretty much unusable in the field. (I'm keeping it
> because it's good for shooting for eBay, with its deep DOF.) Anyway,
> if the Evolt AF is improved from the E-1, that's a step in the right
> direction.
>
> Nesredep said:
> >Your statement about the 'slow autofocus' put the whole of your
> >argument in doubt - what are you talking about - autofocus on the
E300
> >is unbelieveable fast and focus in total darkness assisted by the
> >flash is instantaneous.
>
> See above.
>
> As for the accessories, I'm not sure how the pricing goes with the
> Evolt, but $500 for the E-1 battery grip seems a bit high, don't you
> think?
>
> Again, the Evolt may be great, but I gave up on Oly after their very
> long delays in launching the E-1; then after I saw the crummy AF and
> the ridiculous initiial prices, well, I haven't picked one up since.
> YMMV.
>
>
>
> Steve Green

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"Stacey" <fotocord@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3cb91oF6kda6rU2@individual.net...
> Siddhartha Jain wrote:
>
>
>> Second is that Oly offers a very small choice of lens compared to
>> Canon, Nikon, Pentax or Minolta.
>>
>
> If you compare it to lenses that work really well on a digital body at all
> settings, they have as many as anyone.
>
> --
>
> Stacey

If you compare them to companies who have lenses designed for their digital
sensor, they have more...

--
Skip Middleton
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com