Help Me Decide

[InsertWittyNameHere]

I recently purchased the Olympus E510 DSLR which came with the 14 - 45MM F/3.5 - 5.6 kit lens.

I'm heading to WDW during the end of August so I want to equip myself with an additional lense. Of these 3, which would I get the most use of on the trip:

1) Olympus Zuiko 70 - 300mm F/4 - 5.6 lens

2) Olympus Zuiko 50mm F/2 lens

3) Sigma 30mm F/1.4 lens


Or would there be a better choice with a budget of about $400?

Thanks

 

[MarkBarbieri]

1) Olympus Zuiko 70 - 300mm F/4 - 5.6 lens
This would be good for taking pictures of things far away with good light. It would be useful on the safari ride, taking closeup pictures of the animals on the walking tours, taking closeup pictures of friends that are on rides (while you are not on the ride). It magnifies distant objects well, but it requires relatively good light to work. It would not work well for indoor shots.

2) Olympus Zuiko 50mm F/2 lens
On your camera, it will also magnify things somewhat. Basically, if you zoom in as far as possible with your current lens, that is about how this lens will look. The big difference is that this lens lets in much more light. You can can better pictures inside or at night with this lens. Also, it can take pictures with the subject in focus but the background very blurry so that it doesn't distract you from the subject. This lens on your camera is a pretty good match for what is considered an ideal portrait lens on a film camera - somewhat zoomed in, but not too zoomed in.

Also, with this lens, you can't zoom in or out but it will take better looking pictures than a lens that does zoom. It's a tradeoff - the more a lens lets you zoom in and out, the more compromises to picture quality the lens maker has to make. Lenses that don't zoom at all generally have the best picture quality.

3) Sigma 30mm F/1.4 lens
This lens is similar to the 50mm lens. It's less zoomed in (somewhere between the middle and fully zoomed in on your kit lens). It also has a lower f-number, so it can take pictures in even less light. This would be a great lens for taking pictures of dark things like the light parade or on dark rides.

Which is the best for you? That depends on what you want to shoot.

 

[InsertWittyNameHere]

Thanks for the in depth explanations.....really appreciated!!

My main focus in considering the lens is things I couldn't do very well with my P&S camera.....low light situations mainly at EPCOT and MK. So I'm thinking the Sigma or 50mm Zuiko would do the trick.

 

[Code]

I've used the 70-300 quite a bit... it is a fantastically long telephoto for its size due to the 2x crop factor on Olympus DSLRs (300mm on Olympus is equivalent to 400mm for most APS-C sensors and 600mm for film or full frame sensors) but for WDW having a huge reach isn't too important, except in AK.

The 50mm is extremely sharp, and also a 1:1 macro lens. As Mark pointed out, it is GREAT for portraits, but for WDW, not so great as it is probably a bit long for walkaround purposes.

For your money and your purpose, I would recommend the Sigma 30mm f/1.4. Definitely the best focal length of those options you listed, and you really need all the light gathering ability you can get for night shots in the parks w/o tripod. If you want to check out loads of photos I took with my E-510 and Sigma 30mm, check out my trip report (I am woefully, painfully behind in updating it but a slew of updates is coming really soon)

 

[InsertWittyNameHere]

Thanks.

After doing some additional research and from the recommendations here, I'm going with the 30mm. I've checked the local stores around here( Best Buy, Circuit City, Ritz Camera and none of them carry that lens. I did see it on Amazon but I'll check around some more.

I'll definately check out your trip report later. I can't see pics when I view this site at work

 

[oogieboogieman]

I have 2 of the 3 listed lenses. I would love to find a Sigma 30mm lens where my camera doesn't have a focusing issue with it. As of today I have tried 4 different copies all with back-focusing problems. I read on a different board that there are different firmware additions for that lens.
I bought the 70-300 just for AK.
The 50mm is fast and very sharp. I will admit I am worried about it might to narrow to use as a walk-around lens.
Check around as authorized retailers are offering instant rebates on the Zuikos.