I Need Help deciding On Which To Buy

tkaat · May 29, 2008

I am really new to taking photo's but wanna start off with a good camera so that I won't have to buy another one in a year or two. I was thinking of purchasing either the Olympus E-410 or Nikon D40x. They both are in my price range but the Olympus is a better buy for me for I can Get it with two lenses (14-42 & 40-150) for $509. But i still can't choose

. Which one is a better investment?

passerby · May 29, 2008

tkaat said:
I am really new to taking photo's but wanna start off with a good camera so that I won't have to buy another one in a year or two. I was thinking of purchasing either the Olympus E-410 or Nikon D40x. They both are in my price range but the Olympus is a better buy for me for I can Get it with two lenses (14-42 & 40-150) for $509. But i still can't choose . Which one is a better investment?

Instead of D40x it is better off to D60, otherwise just stick with cheaper D40 (without X without it) like mine, trust worthy little midget. Olympus is really nice camera, but let others explain it first to you about their format, I think it called 2/3 or 3/4 or something.

Anyone knows about olympus format?

JimmyO · May 29, 2008

Your talking about the four thirds system, im unfamiliar with it.

I say get a D40, much more bang for your buck then then d40x. Then get the 18-55mm lens, and the 55-200mm one.

Alfred D. · May 29, 2008

Yeah, the 'Four/Thirds' system, enables the design of much smaller and lighter cameras than the 'regular' dSLRs. Crop factor is 2x. Olympus developed it, I believe, and Panasonic and one other major brand, but I forget now..., have adopted it too. There are pros and cons. 4/3s enables smaller, lighter, and optically remarkably capable optics. Olympus' trademark since its inception a century ago, I think.
14-42 & 40-150 translate into 28-84mm and 80-300mm, respectively. In the 35mm film equivalents. Very useful zoom range. But what's the trade-off? What about the max apertures on those lenses, lisa?
Because of that crop factor good wide angle lenses are still a weak spot in the available lense ranges, I believe.

tkaat · May 30, 2008

I think i'll take you advice and get either the D40 or D60. And i knew about the 4/3's lense system they were using just didin't understand what was so wrong with it

Socrates · May 30, 2008

tkaat said:
I think i'll take you advice and get either the D40 or D60. And i knew about the 4/3's lense system they were using just didin't understand what was so wrong with it

Quite simply, your photos will have a lengthXwidth ration of 4X3. Since there is no paper in existence with that ratio, you will ALWAYS crop (remove a portion of the photo) when you print.

The 2X3 ratio (or 3X2, whichever you prefer) is the same as with 35mm film. It;s a perfect fit for 4X6 paper and almost a perfect fit for 5X7 paper. Of course, it stinks for 8X10, which is why I usually pay for custom 8X12 printing.

The "2X crop factor" has nothing to do with the lengthXwidth ratio. Instead, it's related to the ratio of the sensor AREA to 864 square centimeters, the area of a 35mm 24X36 film frame, which has become somewhat of a standard. Smaller sensors mean smaller pixels and higher electrical noise. They also drastically increase the Depth of Field (DoF), which is frequently undesireable.

Socrates · May 30, 2008

tkaat said:
I think i'll take you advice and get either the D40 or D60. And i knew about the 4/3's lense system they were using just didin't understand what was so wrong with it

Get the D40. The D60 doesn't give you much more.