Hello nice people

Can I ask if anyone's used the Olympus E520 digital SLR camera and if so how user friendly is it? I'm interested primarily in portraiture, but speed and enhanced dynamic range is also important.

I guess I'm also looking for a digital camera which has the feel of a sturdy traditional SLR (I'm really just an old fashioned girl at heart!) For years I worked with a lovely old Mamiya DSX1000B, wonderful big old bus of a camera, plus for a while before children and mortgages came along I had a 'blad for my studio work (ah those halcyon days when I could actually afford to buy film!) I have no idea whether these modern digital jobbies have that sort of feel, what do other people think?

If not the Olympus E520, please can you recommend any other models?

Thanks

Ambs x

PS. Sorry that this is photography not music related!

I'm not sure about olmypus, but if it's the perfect typed photo then I certainley reccomend the Nikon ranges - their dSLRs are fantastic! and they really helped my start into photography!

I would advise you talk to someone at jessops, explain your spec of photo and they'll advise you better from there

Good luck!

I use a Canon 400D SLR with Canon lenses and am very happy with it for what I do. It's not the most expensive on the market but good quality entry-level - I bought it two years ago and I think there is a newer model now.

If I had had lots of money at the time I would have gone for the Canon 40D or it's equivelant.


However I really couldn't decide between Canon or Nikon and have read great reviews and many recommendations about the Nikon since I bought the Canon .. I will be tempted to try Nikon if I upgrade because it does seem to edge out in front of Canon in a lot of the features.

As you were seriously into photography in the past, no-one knows better than you how you want a camera to feel and what you want to do with it. I have tried the Olympus E_520. It is a very nice camera. It is light, it does the business. It is nice that the anti-shake technology is built into the body (not the leses - as with Nikon and Canon). I don't think you'd be disappointed with it. I wouldn't buy it myself, because it is a bit too small for my hands.

It seems to me that there are not many bad digital cameras on the market. At least I haven't come across one yet. Even the tiny little things that slip into a vest pocket take good enough pictures - even if they are horrible to use! It is just confusing that there are so many different models on the market, and that the technology changes so fast. But they all capture excellent pictures.

The makers keep pushing the latest technology because they want to make everyone dissatisfied and get them to "trade-up", but digitals have been good enough for most photography for nearly ten years now. Once you have 6Mp or more on a reasonably sized sensor, that is easily enough for A4 prints, and if you want bigger you can interpolate extra pixels in Photoshop.

My personal choice is a second-hand Nikon D200. (I rarely buy photographic stuff new - the initial depreciation is ridiculous). It is quite old now - but second-hand it is a bargain. It is a lot heavier than the Olympus you are looking at, but I really like the controls - it handles a lot better than equivalents from Canon. It is hard to explain until you go out and use it. It just never gets in the way. Nikon got it spot on with the old F100 film camera, and the D200 handles almost identically. The D80 (based on the F80) was alos produced alongside the D200 and is another that they got right first time. It is not as tough or solid feeling, but it does most of what the D200 does and is quite a bit lighter.

My sister has been doing loads of research into the same thing re. a digital SLR. She found this review site http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/digital_...s_reviews.shtml which she said seemed to be very unbiased and knowledgeable.

Jessops are good too, as has already been suggested.

Amber! I thought we were going to be considering Greek Gods here!

Thank you all very much for your helpful replies and suggestions. I'm glad to say I'm not in a huge hurry to make a purchase, I'd rather research and wait until I'm sure I've got the right one for me. It's really useful to hear what you all have to say about this. Thanks too for the link Crotchetymum.



This is really interesting Tom. Reminds me of my big old Mamiya. I've not seen the Olympus in real life yet, nor picked it up to test the weight. But I do like a heavy camera that sits well in the hand. And I understand what you mean by it never getting in the way. Think I might investigate the D200. I guess I've been discounting the Nikons and Canons because I've heard that the lenses are more expensive due to the stabilisation being in-lens rather than in-body, but I haven't actually looked to check the price differences between the lenses. (It's frustrating that I won't be able to use my existing lenses.)

Thank you again everyone for your help. Much appreciated.

Ambs xx

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I've got a Canon 450D. I used to have a Nikon D50 until it had a little accident and one of the lenses got broken. I had some great results form the Nikon to be honest. I went back to Canon out of brand loyalty after owning an A1 for years.

The good thing about Canon is that the lenses are fully interchangable. I sometimes do slides so it was important for me to have lenses that worked with both cameras. The Nikon digital lenses won't work on film cameras though they are fine the other way round.

I think that Nikon produce images that seem to be slightly warmer. That is something that can be changed in photoshop to suit your preferance.

I would recommend that you go to a Camera shop and have a hold of various cameras with an open mind and see which one you like.

If you decide to shop with Jessops have a look on the internet to see if there are any discount vouchers and when you go to buy bargain hard. Happy camera shopping .