Olympus E-410 or Canon XS as first SLR?

[SunnyHours]

Alright!
Since I joined here I've been gathering some information about price, performance and functions...
I have a low budget but I really want to start off on the right foot...
I've got 2 deals right now and I need your help because both of them are quite interesting...

The Olympus Evolt 410 10MP DSLR Camera With 14-42mm & 40-150mm Lens Kit (Price and lenses seems good)
380$+tx

Or

The Canon XS 10.1MP DSLR With 18-55mm IS Lens, Case & 6" Tripod.
450$+tx (Stabilized lens and case is good)

I don't really need a tripod...my mom has an old one that she wouldn't mind me taking

I do have an important question though...if you forget about the camera themselves. The lens that comes with the canon is stabilized if I'm right and I am guessing the lenses that come with the Olympus are not.
Does it make that much difference?

I like the price on the Olympus and, with my unexperienced eye, think the features are pretty much similar. I also like the 40mm-150mm zoom lens since I will be taking lots of landscape pictures.

What would you choose considering that price is really an issue here, I wanna buy new and I'll be taking Macro and Tele photos the most.
I'm also new to photography and I usually upgrade my hardware quite frequently (I don't like having "old" stuff hehe)...

Thanks a lot for quick replies! Especially if you have experience with the cameras mentioned above.:thumbup: :mrgreen:

 

[reg]

I'd pick a used E-510 over an E-410, it has built in Image Stabilization for ALL lenses. I use it about, oh, all the time. I can shoot with my relatively heavy (compared to either of the kit lenses, just under 1kg) 50-200mm at 200mm, 1/10 second with the IS on. That helps tremendously.

 

[lightsyrup]

I have a new Canon Rebel xsi and my mom has an Olympus E510. I know these aren't exactly what you are looking at, but I think the comparison might be similar. In the few days since Christmas I have learned more about my Canon than I have about my mom's Olympus in the past year or so since she purchased it.

The menus are a lot easier to navigate on the Canon. The features of both cameras are similar. If both of the cameras you are looking at have image stabilization, you might think about whether its better to have that in the lense or in the body - I don't know. I'm glad to have it in the canon (lens) - I'm a simple girl and I hate to have to use a tripod, so anything that further enables hand-holding is okay by me.

I am biased toward the canon, too. I have a film-based Rebel and it has treated me very well, over the years.

 

[Dubious Drewski]

I would definitely see about getting a 510 over a 410 if it was possible. Where I work, it's a $40 difference in price. Not only that, but an XS would be a far better choice than a 410 anyway, if we're talking bang-for-the-buck.

 

[SunnyHours]

I just went to the store and tried the Nikon D40...I like it and it's cheaper than both the Canon EOS XS and the Olmpus EVOLT E-410...

What are your thoughts on the Nikon D40?
Thanks for the replies so far !

 

[Holy Ghosted]

I always type something like this response so I will type it yet again.
The first thing you need to do is do not even look at the name on the camera body. two see which camera feels the best in your hand and is the easiest to navigate IE change all the settings and quickly. every manufacture is different and one will work for you better then all the rest but you will have to find it. Two see which systems has the lenses that fit your shooting style options and budget. If you want IS on a wide angle lens well you will not be buying a canon or nikon. Keep in mind camera body's will ware out and upgrade every few years or sooner but lenses can stick around for many years to come. Choose wisely we can give advice but you really need to know what you are going to use. try as much as you can for as long as you can.

 

[JustAnEngineer]

If you want IS on a wide angle lens well you will not be buying a canon or nikon.

I have this one:
EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM

 

[Holy Ghosted]

OK 17mm on 1.6 crop equals what. something closer to 28mm now lets find something in the 14mm wide angle range. Olympus 7-14 canon 10-22 nikon 14-24 which one can have IS and lets face it you can find better lenses then the 17-55 however you lose the IS. like I said a decision like this requires home work.
kind regards

 

[epp_b]

What are your thoughts on the Nikon D40?

It's fantastic. I like the well-laid out buttons and menus and how comfortable it feels in my hands. And, yes, nearly all the photos on my site were made with the D40.

Really, DSLRs are all pretty much the same. I'll make an exception for Olympus from this statement because they use a considerably smaller sensor than other crop frame cameras. Smaller sensors mean poorer noise performance and yet another crop factor to calculate effective focal lengths for. I also find their equally-smaller viewfinders to be useless.

If you want IS on a wide angle lens well you will not be buying a canon or nikon.

Who needs IS/VR for superwide?

 

[SunnyHours]

Right now I've set my choices on the Canon Eos XS, The Sony Alpha a200k or the Nikon D40.

They all feel good and I am quite used with their menus...The only thing now is functions and price.
I'm still wondering what I should go for?
I might do large prints and I will mostly do Landscape and Macro Photography...at extremes I know Haha.
I'll be using them for my websites and I need high quality. I also want fast AF and fast saving (when the camera saves the Photo from the buffer to the memory stick).
For now I like the lens on the Sony and I already have 1x4gb and 1x1gb Memory Stick Pro that would fit it. Would it be worth it to go with the Canon though? Is it faster than the Sony?
I like the price of the Nikon but 6.1mp seems low to me...would I be able to make lare prints with it?
Thank You again,
If I get the job I was aiming for I'll be buying my first DSLR tomorrow :mrgreen:

After my purchase I'll go and shoot a couple...I'll make sure to post them on TPF
I'll be saving for a telephoto lens too 200mm or 300mm...

 

[SunnyHours]

I am now the new owner of a Nikon D40 with AF-S DX 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G II and a Nikkor AF-S DX 55-200mm 4-5.6G ED.
I bought a 8Gb SDHC memory card with it.
I love it...the only thing I was worried about was the resolution of the camera...But after I saw the A4 enlargements of some pictures his friend took with a D40 I was SOLD :mrgreen:.

I'm still trying it out...after work tomorrow I'll try it out :thumbup: