Just bought an Olympus E-PL1

[digiMom]

Hi, everyone. First time on the photography board.

A little introduction: I'm a mom and work part time. I work in web and multimedia design, although I have a wide range of graphic experience ranging from PowerPoint presentations to post-production effects on Hollywood films.

I really enjoyed my film SLR camera a while ago as a hobby. But as the kids came and lugging around a suitcase (at least for camera and lenses) was no longer an option, I switched over to point and shoots. Granted, there's some nice ones out there now. It has always felt like a compromise, though.

So, now with my kids older and some money to spend, I've been trying to figure out my next step. I have a Canon s95, which I really enjoy. Great little camera for what it is. But I found myself missing zoom capabilities. So I started looking at the Hx9v, Hx100v, Fz150, and SX40 IS to compliment it. I kept researching but came across phrases like "still point and shoot quality"...

...And my search turns up an Olympus E-PL1 with 2 kit lenses for $500. (14mm - 150mm = 28mm-300mm) It was at the top of my budget range, but was only ~ $100 more than the cameras I was looking at. I looked at it and thought for a few days, and then took the plunge.

My initial thoughts is the camera feels good. I like the size vs my old slr (Nikon N65). The weather here's been kind of blah, so haven't been able to shoot a lot. The autofocus seems slow. I'm just kind of (not really but a little bit) second guessing my purchase.

I would appreciate any thoughts from the experts on this thread. Any tips from those who own this or similar cameras? Are there any teleconverters or (???) that could extend my zoom range? Thanks in advance...

 

[Pugrpooh]

Congratulations on your purchase! I have the E-PL2 and really do like it. I have heard that the E-PL1 is slower focusing but that has improved with the next two generations of the Pens.

Costco has the E-PL1 with the two lenses, bag and SD card for $399.99 including shipping and handling. That's a great deal! The 40-150mm lens retails for $300 although I bought mine for $150 on sale and with a rebate.

I have a DSLR which I love, but the E-PL2 fits in my purse and takes great pictures!

Looking forward to seeing some of your photos!

 

[boBQuincy]

I also just decided to try out a micro 4/3 camera (Panasonic G3) as an alternative to a larger dSLR. So far I really like it, image quality is way better than any P&S I know of (including my Canon G11). Even ISO 3200 looks clean!

Lens selection is good and quickly getting better. Perhaps you might be interested in Panasonic's 100-300, it works on the Olympus cameras, is still fairly small, and not too expensive (especially compared to an equivalent Canon or Nikon lens).

 

[digiMom]

Went outside...

 

[digiMom]

Tried to get my pouch, but couldn't get the focus right quickly. This shot (the best one I got) is focused on her back; her face is out of focus. She probably moved... Also looks like something (the trunk) is coming out of her chest...

 

[digiMom]

Costco has the E-PL1 with the two lenses, bag and SD card for $399.99 including shipping and handling. That's a great deal!

That is a great deal. Do you need a membership (like Sam's club)?

Perhaps you might be interested in Panasonic's 100-300, it works on the Olympus cameras, is still fairly small, and not too expensive (especially compared to an equivalent Canon or Nikon lens).

I did see that lens. It will be a while before I budget "add-ons" to my new kit, but I am going to keep my eye on this option

I took some more images with different art filters and some auto pics comparing my E-PL1 and s95. What would be the best way online? Crops? I don't have time to go through them tonight, but will try to post them soon...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Tried to get my pouch, but couldn't get the focus right quickly. This shot (the best one I got) is focused on her back; her face is out of focus. She probably moved... Also looks like something (the trunk) is coming out of her chest...

Please share your settings/EXIF data and maybe we can help you more.

Congrats on your purchase. I will be getting a PEN also.

We have an Olympus thread around here somewhere.

There will be a bit of a learning curve with your new camera.

 

[boBQuincy]

Tried to get my pouch, but couldn't get the focus right quickly. This shot (the best one I got) is focused on her back; her face is out of focus. She probably moved...

My G3 had a similar issue at first, too many auto focus points and not much rhyme or reason as to which one (or more than one) it would choose. I set it to use only the center focus point so if the focus is off now it is probably my fault.

My two favorite subjects, Andie and Noel:

 

[digiMom]

Please share your settings/EXIF data and maybe we can help you more.

I was going through settings, scenes, art filters, etc and of course didn't really keep track at this point. I know that shot was on kid mode; I wanted to try it. I probably should manually set a quick shutter speed if memory serves ??? She's supposed to be lab/border/aussie, but I think there's some whippet in there. She was just having a blast and running around like crazy. And yes, it is going to take some work to get the hang of this. So excited....

 

[digiMom]

My G3 had a similar issue at first, too many auto focus points and not much rhyme or reason as to which one (or more than one) it would choose. I set it to use only the center focus point so if the focus is off now it is probably my fault.

That is definitely a possibility. I think there's like 9 boxes right now. I found a webpage that describes how to make the box itself smaller as well. I'll look into that if I still have problems.

By the way, you're kitties are adorable. I love cats, but DH is very allergic. We're lucky we can have Lucy.

 

[Pugrpooh]

I was going through settings, scenes, art filters, etc and of course didn't really keep track at this point. I know that shot was on kid mode; I wanted to try it. I probably should manually set a quick shutter speed if memory serves ??? She's supposed to be lab/border/aussie, but I think there's some whippet in there. She was just having a blast and running around like crazy. And yes, it is going to take some work to get the hang of this. So excited....

What software and photo hosting site are you using? The great thing about digital is that all of the Exif info is embedded in your images and you can go back and see what shutter speed, ISO, aperture, etc. was used in that shot. It's an easy way of seeing what effect the different settings have on your photos. Your dog looks like she might have been moving her head at the same time too.

I don't know if the Olympus software can show what the focus point was in the photo? I use Lightroom and as far as I know it can tell me every kind of setting that was used, but not the focus point. But my guess is that in "kid mode" all the focus points are enabled and the camera randomly chooses which one it thinks is best. I also set my cameras on center focus point and focus and recompose if I have to.

As far as the Costco deal, it is like Sam's in that you need a membership. Sam's has the E-PL1 with just the one lens on their website for $390.

One tip -- if you like to use the filters, you can shoot RAW + jpeg and the filter will be applied only to the jpeg. You can still do whatever you want to with the RAW file, including using other filters on it if you process them in Olympus Viewer.

 

[digiMom]

Pugrpooh, thanks for the thoughts. I have Photoshop, I uploaded the photos to Flickr. I used the software that came with the camera for the panorama.

Quick note, today as I was walking back to my car, my 40-150mm lens fell out of my bag onto the asphalt walkway . So, after I swallowed my stomach back down, I looked at it and tried it and I think other than a small scratch on the front and back lens caps it's OK. Eeek.

 

[digiMom]

OK, found it using windows. Puppy picture:

F-stop: f/5
Exposure: 1/60 sec
ISO: 200
Exp bias: 0 step
Focal Length: 33mm
Max aperture: 3.6...
Metering mode: pattern
No flash

Probably not important, but...
Contrast: normal
Exposure program: Creative program biased toward depth of field
Saturation: high saturation
Sharpness: hard
White balance: auto

 

[digiMom]

I admit I'm still worried about the lens. I'm going to do some test shots later to make sure all is OK. I got the extended warranty, so it's covered if something is wrong. I can't believe I dropped it. I think working on computers so long has affected my grip/carpal tunnel?

On that note, any suggestions on storage out there. Case/lens covers, etc. Also, I found these on Amazon (Polaroid accessories on Amazon). Has anyone tried them? Would they work? They seem like a good deal if they do.

 

[Pugrpooh]

I admit I'm still worried about the lens. I'm going to do some test shots later to make sure all is OK. I got the extended warranty, so it's covered if something is wrong. I can't believe I dropped it. I think working on computers so long has affected my grip/carpal tunnel?

On that note, any suggestions on storage out there. Case/lens covers, etc. Also, I found these on Amazon (Polaroid accessories on Amazon). Has anyone tried them? Would they work? They seem like a good deal if they do.

I bought my 70-300mm lens specifically for our trip to Alaska in 2009. Just one week before leaving, I dropped it on the deck while I was changing lenses! It has worked fine since then though.

The Polaroid accessories won't work on the Pens. They're made for the Oly 4/3 DSLR's. Olympus has made two versions of the 14-42mm lens for the Pens. The first one came with the E-P1 and E-PL1. I think with the E-PL2 they introduced the next generation of the lens. I think I've read that some people now were receiving the 2nd generation lens with the E-PL1's. Do you know which one you have? The 2nd generation is threaded and can accept the accessories that were introduced with the E-PL2. There's a macro, fish eye, and telephoto attachment I think.

As far as storage and bags, I have a few. I think a lot of us amateur photographers are looking for the perfect bag. I've taken the Pen with me to London and Disneyland/San Diego and just carried it in my backpack purse. I have 3 lenses for it and used a couple of lens pouches and just stuck them in my purse. We leave on Dec. 14 for Disneyworld and I'll take my camera backpack because I'm taking my DSLR and external flash in addition to my Pen.

At home, I have a Jill-E bag that I take with me and store my other stuff at home in a bag.

 

[digiMom]

None

Diarama

Pop Art

Soft Focus

Grainy B+W

Pin Hole

Sepia

 

[digiMom]

s95 vs e-pl1:

I wanted to compare some pics with my two cameras. They're both on auto, so the comparison may not be exactly fair. I put the image info above.


s95: ISO 200 f/4 1/250 sec 9mm_______________________ e-pl1 ISO 200 f/5.6 1/320 sec 17mm

s95 ISO 80 f/4 1/125 sec 15mm________________________ e-pl1 ISO 200 f/5.6 1/200 sec 40mm

s95 ISO 80 f/4 1/125 sec 15mm_________________________ e-pl1 ISO 200 f/5.6 1/200 sec 40mm

 

[digiMom]

I bought my 70-300mm lens specifically for our trip to Alaska in 2009. Just one week before leaving, I dropped it on the deck while I was changing lenses! It has worked fine since then though.

Mine appears to be fine, too. Drop was from waist height. I think that's pretty impressive, actually. Maybe something to be said for plastic

I think the 70-300mm lens will be my next purchase. It won't be for a while, though. That's really why I'm looking for a cheaper alternative to tide me over: to get more zoom range. I'm going to Disney World with mom, DD and DS in January (shh, it's a secret 'til Christmas ) DH is staying here to ice fish (I'll go to Disney, thank you!) So I'm contemplating if I need anything more for the trip or if I'm OK as is. I'm not really up on my filters anymore. I had a UV one with my film SLR...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I waited two years to find a really nice used 50-200 for $600. It was a fiasco buying it as it was a great distance away so I had a friend buy it for me. When I finally got it home, my DH looked at it and placed it on the countertop, where it suddenly rolled and fell onto the ceramic tile floor. You can see a crack but it doesn't affect the pictures, thankfully, because it is my favorite lens (for my Olympus dSLR).

Now, how are we going to get you off Auto? Try moving into Aperture Priority and let's see what you get. Try shooting really early or really late in the day.

F-stop: f/5
Exposure: 1/60 sec
ISO: 200
Metering mode: pattern
No flash

I'm not the best at explaining this, but your settings were not enough to freeze the action when the dog moved. You could change them in a variety of ways (but not on Auto). There is a book called Understanding Exposure to help you understand more about the Exposure Triangle, and if you search this page there was a thread a few days ago by MarkBarbieri called Test that will help as well. Read up on metering modes in your manual, too.

 

[digiMom]

The learning continues...

I did not have time to shoot this evening. I will try to get out soon, though. I'm trying to recall concepts from my two photography classes that I took about 7-8 years ago. I remember basics about shutter (fast stops motion, slow blurs it) and aperture (small - like f16 - for wide depth of field, large - f4 - for shallow). Changing ISO with a click of a button is something I'm not used to. At least at first, I'll probably stick with 200. I have some idea about white balance. The basics on old school metering. So I have a bit of a learning curve, but at least an idea. And working in visual communications, I've had the opportunity to see some pretty impressive photography.

With that said, I found a bit of interesting information about how the camera focuses. I found this here: http://www.drmartinwilliams.com/photography/using-olympus-pen-e-pl1.html. Look under "Autofocus Not Always Selecting Correct Subject." Any comments/thoughts/experience on this?