Olympus Evolt Series

[JoeDif]

It's bluebonnet time in Texas!! DD17 (she'll be 18 on Sunday!) and DD14:

This will be the last year that I'll be able to do the bluebonnet pictures of them together. DDnearly18 leaves for college in September. In New York.

Excellent portraits!!

 

[JoeDif]

After lenghty negotiations with my Director of Finances (AKA The DW) I've been given the go ahead to order the E-30

I'll be ordering it this evening as long as Adorama, B & H, Amazon has them in stock at the reduced prices.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yay!

Mine came yesterday. DS happened to be home sick from school so of course he was intrigued with it. I was nice and let him fire off the first shots. Then I told him to get his grubby hands off, it's mine.

It's not really too much bigger than the 510. I still have to set all the menus and stuff. The dials are a little different. My new bag hasn't arrived yet (I changed my mind at the last minute from the 300 to the 320 so the 300's here but I'm not going to open it) so as it was I had the two bags on the table and a boatload of stuff trying to figure out what goes where. I love it already, though. I like the built in level a lot (I always had trouble with crooked pics, lol.)

Congrats, Joe!

Eliz K, beautiful shots! Are those the flowers that Lady Bird Johnson had planted all over Texas? I've read about them but never seen them. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JoeDif]

Don't forget that if you order it from B&H you can get Bing cashback also! Not trying to talk you into it, though.

Thanks for the Bing reminder It saved me an additional $15 which will go into my 50mm F/2 fund

 

[JoeDif]

For those who currently use Olympus Master or Studio software for image editing, Olympus will be replacing those with Viewer 2, a free software download starting sometime during May.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

How excited are you to get your camera, Joe?

My 302 pack came yesterday. You should have seen all the stuff all over my table. (I should have gotten a pic of it but I was making dinner at the same time, lol.) But finally everything's sorted out. The 302 weighs a TON.

I still haven't gotten out to officially use my camera yet. Maybe I'll get some shots in tonight.

 

[JoeDif]

How excited are you to get your camera, Joe?

My 302 pack came yesterday. You should have seen all the stuff all over my table. (I should have gotten a pic of it but I was making dinner at the same time, lol.) But finally everything's sorted out. The 302 weighs a TON.

I still haven't gotten out to officially use my camera yet. Maybe I'll get some shots in tonight.

Being delivered today!!!

Do you know how much bigger the 302 is over the 200? Thats what I have now. I'm not sure if I need to go bigger to allow room for expansion

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I looked at pics and comparisons on Amazon. What sold me is that I can keep my 50-200 on the body and still have plenty of room. It also has a slot for a tri or monopod on the side (as opposed to the 300). It's the size of a full backpack.

 

[Pugrpooh]

Being delivered today!!!

Do you know how much bigger the 302 is over the 200? Thats what I have now. I'm not sure if I need to go bigger to allow room for expansion

Congratulations! Which camera are you upgrading from Joe? I'm anxious to learn yours and Linda's impressions of the E30.

 

[JoeDif]

Congratulations! Which camera are you upgrading from Joe? I'm anxious to learn yours and Linda's impressions of the E30.

Thanks!!

I originally had the E-510, gave that to my nephew when I received the E-520 as a gift from my company.

The E-30 is bigger and heavier than the 510 or 520 but not overly so. I played around with it a bit today. I like the dual mode dials, the OVF is a little bigger and brighter. The 11 point focusing system focuses much faster. The display in the OVF is on the bottom as opposed to the right side so it is easier for me to read.

I'm going to go over the Wrotniak's site later to get a general idea on how to set it up then I'll tweak it to my preferences.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Joe, how's it going w/ the new E30?

 

[JoeDif]

Joe, how's it going w/ the new E30?

Other than the first day that I got it I really haven't had much time to use it I'm hoping to get out this weekend and really test it out as long as the weather cooperates. Based on my limited use though, I'd say I really made a wise decision.

How do you like it so far?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I like it, but like you, I didn't do much with it for a week or so. I took it out for the first time the other day but because I had three 12 yr olds with me, I didn't even set any Menu settings, just started shooting, lol. I realized when I got home I hadn't even set it to RAW. I posted a few pics on the Assignment and POD threads. (Pardon me I'm currently packing for a weekend trip or I'd post them here now.) I looked over the Wrotniak and dpreveiw articles again because I thought I'd seen some recommendations for settings, but I couldn't find them. Did you? Would you mind sharing? I like the new bag. It's heavy, but roomy. I'll be using it a lot this weekend so maybe in the car I'll have time to look over the manual.

 

[JoeDif]

I can't get to the Wrotniak site from work but I'll post it here when I get home. He has his write up explaining the settings and also included a cheat sheet with the settings for fast review.

 

[Pugrpooh]

I've been checking eBay and it's hard to resist the E600's from Cameta. They've been going for around $350 refurbished with a one-year warranty and the 14-42mm lens. They have a few more to sell over the next couple of days.

Adorama has revamped their website and, it appears, their prices. Their price for the E30 is now $899 whereas last week it was the same as B & H's.

I just might end up with an E600 though.

 

[JoeDif]

Linda,

Here are the Wrotniak E-30 set up site

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/e30-sett.html

E-30 Cheat sheet

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/e30-sett-sheet.html

 

[JoeDif]

I've been checking eBay and it's hard to resist the E600's from Cameta. They've been going for around $350 refurbished with a one-year warranty and the 14-42mm lens. They have a few more to sell over the next couple of days.

Adorama has revamped their website and, it appears, their prices. Their price for the E30 is now $899 whereas last week it was the same as B & H's.

I just might end up with an E600 though.

$350 is a great price for the E-600!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Joe, thank you! I printed up the cheat sheet and it's coming away with me tomorrow. I saved the other to my Favorites and will review it later.

Pug, good luck if you decide to go for it! I don't know much about the 600. What do you like about it?

 

[Pugrpooh]

Joe, thank you! I printed up the cheat sheet and it's coming away with me tomorrow. I saved the other to my Favorites and will review it later.

Pug, good luck if you decide to go for it! I don't know much about the 600. What do you like about it?

The 600 is the 620 with a few less features. There are only 3 art filters instead of 6, the buttons aren't backlit, and I don't think there is the multi-exposure option on the 600. The sensor is the same as the 620 and 30, the AF is improved over the 520, the screen tilts, better high ISO performance.

When DPreview reviewed the 620, they said it was the best 4/3 camera yet - better than the 30.

I figure I could sell it next year for close to what they're going for on ebay now if I decide I want a Pen and an E30, which is what I was thinking I wanted. Hmmm, have I talked myself into it yet? I think I need to go sleep on it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

When DPreview reviewed the 620, they said it was the best 4/3 camera yet - better than the 30.

That's contrary to what I'd read, so I looked it up. Here's what they said about the E30, at least in the E30 review:

Price aside, there's a lot to recommend the E-30. I really enjoyed the two months I spent with it, and was constantly impressed by the output under ISO 800. It's a fantastic upgrade for E-420/E-520 users, and it's the best Four Thirds camera we've seen to date (though the E-620 is looking like a close contender).

I think some of the argument against the E30 when it first came out was that it was in the $1200 range. But now it's come down. I was pretty shocked to find it as low as I did. There were a lot of threads on the Oly forums about the 620 vs the 30. Some people go for the 620 to keep the small size, but most people said if size wasn't a concern, to go for the 30.

It's always a good idea to sleep on it. I was mulling it all over for quite a while. When Joe posted his thread about the m4/3 rumors I really considered all my options, even switching brands. But I love Olympus and couldn't see myself using anything else at this point. The E30 felt right.

Good luck with your decision. I noticed on dpreview today there's a new review of the Pen2.