Olympus Evolt Series

[Meskamooska]

Hi All!

I am thrilled to have found two of my favorite things in one place - Disney and Photography with Olympus 4/3 cameras!

I have an e520 and a variety of lenses for it (35mm, 14-42mm, 40-150mm, 50 200 non SWD and soon the 50mm) I tend to like to take pictures of flowers, kids (my nephews, friends kids and my grand daughter are all favorite subjects) and am also particularly partial to macro photography.

My hubby has an e500 and an e520 and the 11-22mm and 70-300mm lenses in addition to the kit lenses. He also has the FL-36 with the Fong Lightsphere.

We both love our cameras (he likes to shoot infrared and even has a Nikon 5400 converted for infrared only in addition to filters for his Oly's).

I am looking forward to my upcoming DCL cruise to Alaska in July, 2011. I would love to be able to post pics here but haven't the foggiest notion how to do that.

I am still fairly new to all of this but have read and re-read everything Bryan Peterson has written and shoot every chance I get. I did consider getting the 620, mainly for the multi-exposure and the tilt screen but discovered that Apple does not offer RAW support for that camera and I shoot almost exclusively in RAW.

I am thinking of getting the iPad as a tool to use when I am shooting to review pics and to be able to show them to others while I am still at the location (especially helpful when you are not always sure if your focus was as crisp as it seems to be on a 3 inch display).

I am looking forward to getting to know folks here and to learning even more about my wonderful camera and how to use it better!

Take care all, help lots of people and have a great day!

 

[Pugrpooh]

Hi All!

I am thrilled to have found two of my favorite things in one place - Disney and Photography with Olympus 4/3 cameras!

I have an e520 and a variety of lenses for it (35mm, 14-42mm, 40-150mm, 50 200 non SWD and soon the 50mm) I tend to like to take pictures of flowers, kids (my nephews, friends kids and my grand daughter are all favorite subjects) and am also particularly partial to macro photography.

My hubby has an e500 and an e520 and the 11-22mm and 70-300mm lenses in addition to the kit lenses. He also has the FL-36 with the Fong Lightsphere.

We both love our cameras (he likes to shoot infrared and even has a Nikon 5400 converted for infrared only in addition to filters for his Oly's).

I am looking forward to my upcoming DCL cruise to Alaska in July, 2011. I would love to be able to post pics here but haven't the foggiest notion how to do that.

I am still fairly new to all of this but have read and re-read everything Bryan Peterson has written and shoot every chance I get. I did consider getting the 620, mainly for the multi-exposure and the tilt screen but discovered that Apple does not offer RAW support for that camera and I shoot almost exclusively in RAW.

I am thinking of getting the iPad as a tool to use when I am shooting to review pics and to be able to show them to others while I am still at the location (especially helpful when you are not always sure if your focus was as crisp as it seems to be on a 3 inch display).

I am looking forward to getting to know folks here and to learning even more about my wonderful camera and how to use it better!

Take care all, help lots of people and have a great day!

Welcome to the board! I have a 520 too and just got a 600 last week. We went to Alaska last summer and I took around 3000 pictures with the 520. I used the 70-300 a lot. Not just for wildlife, but for glaciers and mountains too. You'll love Alaska! That trip was the primary reason I upgraded to a DSLR.

As far as posting pics, I have a smugmug account and it lets you copy a link to the photo or gallery. Then you can come here and click on the postcard icon above (the one with the mountains) and a box will pop up and you can paste the link there. Then when you submit the post, the picture will be embedded. I used to use photobucket for this; it also lets you copy a link and there are other members here who use flickr. I'm not sure how to do it without a hosting site.

Looking forward to seeing some of your pics!

 

[Pugrpooh]

I agree, it sounds like a WB issue. Welcome, soonermel.

Lynn, tell us about the 600!

So far so good! I've mostly been taking shots around my backyard on different white balance settings during different conditions (sunny, cloudy, shade). Last night I took the same shots with the 520 and discovered that with white balance set to auto the pictures also were cooler than they should be. I've never noticed that before.

I also took some shots at gymnastics last night under those big fluorescent lights and auto WB looked fine. Where I really noticed the WB issue was when I was taking pictures of the lavender iris and pinkish purple clematis. I don't know if I would've noticed it if they weren't there.

How's your E30? Have you noticed the same thing with WB on your cameras? I did find a post on another forum where, as an aside, the poster mentioned that his 620 shot some purples bluer than they should be. Maybe it's that way to get the "Olympus blue"?

Haven't heard anything from Joe lately about his new E30 either.

Here's one from last night that I like. It's at ISO 800 because I forgot to change it after I got home from gymnastics.

 

[JoeDif]

Meskamooska - welcome to the DIS Oly family. You will find friendly people both here and in the photography board in general. Feel free to ask any questions. I'm sure someone will be more than happy to assist.

Lynn - I am loving the E-30!!! I went down to the Philly Blue Cross 10 mile run on Sunday with the Philly SmugMug group so I'll post some photos when I get home.

As an FYI, I've decided to keep the E-520 as a second body. It would have really come in handy this past Sunday.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

As an FYI, I've decided to keep the E-520 as a second body. It would have really come in handy this past Sunday.

Meskamooska! We love having fellow enthusiastic Oly users around here with us! Lynn should be a great resource for you with those Alaska questions! That sounds awesome. It must be nice having your DH as a resource right nearby!

Yes, Lynn, I've noticed some WB "differences". It's taking me a little while to figure them out. I have to sit down with Joe's cheat sheet and re-do some of the settings that Wrotniak suggested. I suspect that his shooting style and mine are very different. I wonder if Olympus engineers put in the default settings with "hobby" users in mind? For instance, I set the focus points as he suggested. (A cross, I believe.) Then I went to use the Quick settings (on the back of the camera) and I couldn't get it to change to left sided focus. I don't know if it was because I'd changed the default settings. Things like that never happened on the 510. I'll figure them out eventually. But basically I love the camera and I've taken it out with me almost every day. (My bag weighs a ton, though. Good news is I really like the bag, plenty of room.)

 

[JoeDif]

A couple of E-30 shots from Sunday's 10 mile Philly race

 

[Pugrpooh]

A couple of E-30 shots from Sunday's 10 mile Philly race

Great shots Joe! I hope this was at the end of the race -- they all look beat!

 

[JoeDif]

Yes...I got them as they crossed the finish line.

 

[JoeDif]

Figured I'd bump this with a photo from Sunday

 

[JoeDif]

Another bump

 

[JoeDif]

Has anyone gotten the m4/3 bug and purchased one of the PEN camera's? When they first came out I had no interest in that format, but now after reading reviews and seeing images it has really got my attention!!

I can probably see one of those in my future purchases.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Joe, I haven't yet, but I would like to. I just need more money.

How are things going with your new camera? Your pictures are looking awesome! You too, Lynn.

I'm enjoying mine but have been shooting primarily baseball since I got it. Am a little backed up with pp too.

 

[JoeDif]

Joe, I haven't yet, but I would like to. I just need more money.


Tell me about it. My list of things I need keeps growing daily



How are things going with your new camera? Your pictures are looking awesome! You too, Lynn.

Loving it!! I want to start messing around with the multiple exposure feature. One of the Oly pros on their Facebook page has been posting multiple exposure shots and they look incredible.

I'm enjoying mine but have been shooting primarily baseball since I got it. Am a little backed up with pp too.

I had the opportunity via my Philly Smugmug contacts to shoot some of the Philly high school baseball championships (and get paid ) but had to turn it down because of work committments

 

[Pugrpooh]

Has anyone gotten the m4/3 bug and purchased one of the PEN camera's? When they first came out I had no interest in that format, but now after reading reviews and seeing images it has really got my attention!!

I can probably see one of those in my future purchases.

It's in my future, probably before next summer. I'm interested in getting the 14-150mm lens for the versatility but not liking the $700 price tag. I'm thinking that they may have an EPL-2 out by then. I wasn't interested in them at first either.

 

[Pugrpooh]

Joe, I haven't yet, but I would like to. I just need more money.

How are things going with your new camera? Your pictures are looking awesome! You too, Lynn.

I'm enjoying mine but have been shooting primarily baseball since I got it. Am a little backed up with pp too.

Thanks! I'm finding I'm noticing more noise in the 600 than I did in the 520, but it may be all the posts I've read about there being more noise. Topaz Denoise takes care of it though.

Speaking of baseball, if you ever get down to Louisville, you need to go here:

It's the Louisville Slugger Museum and factory. They also make golf clubs there.

 

[JoeDif]

Thanks! I'm finding I'm noticing more noise in the 600 than I did in the 520, but it may be all the posts I've read about there being more noise. Topaz Denoise takes care of it though.

Speaking of baseball, if you ever get down to Louisville, you need to go here:

It's the Louisville Slugger Museum and factory. They also make golf clubs there.

Does the 600 have auto gradation? I was having a terrible time with shadow noise with the 520 until I switched from auto gradation to normal gradation.

 

[Pugrpooh]

Does the 600 have auto gradation? I was having a terrible time with shadow noise with the 520 until I switched from auto gradation to normal gradation.

I checked and it was set to normal gradation. I took some pictures using both auto and normal gradation and didn't see much difference. Next up is changing the noise reduction setting. I had it set to off, maybe it'll make a difference if I turn it on.

 

[MinnieForMe]

Hello:
I haven't finished reading past page 12 but I do have a question. Would anyone recommend the E-600 and is there a reasonable lens equivalent to an 18-200mm? What brand?

I ordered a Pentax K-X over the weekend and the store cancelled my order. I took it as a sign to keep looking at cameras. I went in to buy the Nikon D5000 at Ritz today and the manager handed me the Olympus. I loved the small size. I am very nervous about image quality and the availability of reasonable lenses.

I am in the middle of a photography class so my ability level is beginner with enough knowledge to be dangerous. LOL!

Thanks for any advice.

Michelle

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am very nervous about image quality and the availability of reasonable lenses.

IMO you need to really know about what you're getting into when you buy an Olympus dSLR. They're not for the faint of heart. Obviously, we love them, as each of us who responded today just bought our second round. But there's a lot of "pressure" out there to buy either Canon or Nikon, especially in photography classes, from what I understand. Pentax and Sony do have their followers, too, but like Oly are kind of on the fringe (though still above us ).

It sounds to me like you probably need to take a step back and figure out what's most important to you in a dSLR and lean toward the brand and model that best fits your needs. If you do decide to go with Olympus, come back and see us. Zuiko/Olympus lenses are among the best out there. You need to get 4/3 mount. I don't know much about the E600, but Lynn (Pugrpooh) just bought one, I"m sure she'll chime in. Good luck with your choice. It took me months to decide what I wanted, but I really liked the Olympus the first time I held it in my hands, too, and ultimately went with it. If given the chance to do over, I can't say I'd do anything different.

Make sure you read here, too http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1022

 

[MinnieForMe]

IMO you need to really know about what you're getting into when you buy an Olympus dSLR. They're not for the faint of heart. Obviously, we love them, as each of us who responded today just bought our second round. But there's a lot of "pressure" out there to buy either Canon or Nikon, especially in photography classes, from what I understand. Pentax and Sony do have their followers, too, but like Oly are kind of on the fringe (though still above us ).

It sounds to me like you probably need to take a step back and figure out what's most important to you in a dSLR and lean toward the brand and model that best fits your needs. If you do decide to go with Olympus, come back and see us. Zuiko/Olympus lenses are among the best out there. You need to get 4/3 mount. I don't know much about the E600, but Lynn (Pugrpooh) just bought one, I"m sure she'll chime in. Good luck with your choice. It took me months to decide what I wanted, but I really liked the Olympus the first time I held it in my hands, too, and ultimately went with it. If given the chance to do over, I can't say I'd do anything different.

Make sure you read here, too http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1022

You are so correct! Everyone in my class has a Canon or Nikon! I've handled every one and have yet to find one that "fits" me.

I've been researching for a full year and I'm at the point that I just want a camera in my hands! I guess I'm lucky that my Ritz Camera only had the E-600 floor model or I would have walked out with it today. Now, I'm back to reading review after review!