Noob... and oh so very lost...

[Village Idiot]

4:3 is the ratio of the Sensor that Olympus uses. It is a format that Olympus came up with ( along with i believe Panasonic Kodak, Fuji...) How does that affect yoou?

1)The output files (photographs) come in a ratio of 4:3 ( i.e. for every 4 inches of width you'll get 3 inches of height) which is much closer to standard International photo formats than the 3:2 ratio that other manufactureres use which means less cropping of your photos when it comes time to print.



2)This size of the sensor gives you a 2x crop factor compared to the 1.6x crop factor of other manufactureres. This has benefits and disadvantages:

a) All lenses end up being much smaller than other manufaturers for the same 35mm equivalent focal length (i.e the 40-150mm olympus kit lens is equivalent to a 80-300mm and much much smaller in physical size. That is a benefit to you because your gear won't weigh as much especially if you have some zooms to carry around.​

b)Disadvantage is , because of the small sensor size and the bigger crop factor than other manufacturers. noise is something that introduces itself at higher ISOs (i.e. low light situations) but those problems are definately being overcome with newer models. The E-510 for me did not have anymore noise problems with the cameras it competes with.​

Hope that helps

I believe the 510 still uses noise reduction but doesn't allow you to turn it off in RAW mode. That leaves images plasticy. Correct me if I'm wrong here.

Olympus also has a dust reduction system that actually works. Not very good, but it works. A couple sites have done test of the different models available and all but Olympus had no more than 10% success rate with the Olympus cameras having around 40%-50% success rate.

They also have some nice glass....but some of it's really expensive in comparison with similar sized lenses. There's some one on another forum that would argue that in body IS was better because it doesn't hike up the cost of the lenses and it's available all the time...Even with out paying extra for IS in lens, they still have some pretty expensive stuff.

 

[Sirashley]

I think with Olympus that I would end up spending the money I saved initially buying the camera on good lenses. I've upped the budget from the 410, and am now looking between the Sony A300 and the Nikon D80. I think those cameras are closer in performance, with the edge going to the D80, especially at high iso. So I think its a matter of whether or not I can justify the extra 300$...

 

[Village Idiot]

I think with Olympus that I would end up spending the money I saved initially buying the camera on good lenses. I've upped the budget from the 410, and am now looking between the Sony A300 and the Nikon D80. I think those cameras are closer in performance, with the edge going to the D80, especially at high iso. So I think its a matter of whether or not I can justify the extra 300$...

Used D200 or Canon 30D? They're about $600ish iirc

 

[Mav]

D200s go for about $900-1100 used. You can get D80s used around $600 though. They'll get even cheaper and more numerous after the D90 comes out this fall.

 

[Village Idiot]

I was looking at cameras at Ritz while getting a print made today and they're all pretty small They didn't have any Canons or anything above the D80.

Even the D80 seemed a bit smaller than my 30D the Olympus 410, Pentax k100 and k10 were tiny.

 

[Joves]

Well you can get the D80 at B&H for $890 with the kit lense 18-55 VR. That leaves money for an extra battery and, a 50mm f/1.8 for just over $1k total. It depends on what you plan on shooting mostly as to what you want. I have the D80 and, still love it despite having a D300 now. I have relegated the D80 to my general abuse camera. But I would go to a Best Buy or whoever carries them and, hold them and, see how you like the way they are laid out. The one you like best is the one you will use more.

 

[ThePup]

10MP and price a factor, definatly take a look at the K10D, I love mine.

My big question is 'why 10MP?' All it does is allow more room for cropping, and introduce more potential for noise than a 6MP camera. MP is one of the last things to consider.

 

[Dao]

Used D200 or Canon 30D? They're about $600ish iirc

Also check out Circuit City in your area and see if they still have the Canon 30D Kit in stock. The clearance price is $3xx. (Just the lens alone cost more than that)

Yesterday I went to one of the store in St. Louis and the lady at the Circuit City checked her computer and found none in stock in my area. (But she saw the clearance price on the screen and said that is a very good price)

But of course, since this items had been on clearance price for awhile, so the stores in your area may not have it in stock. But I think it worth a trip to check it out.