Olympus E-620 or Canon XSi and Lense Questions?

[B-Lynn]

Hello, I am looking to get more into the photography and am looking for a new camera. I currently have a Canon S3IS and want something more advanced. It has to be something that will last me for a while, and that has the more advanced options.

I've narrowed it down to the Olympus Evolt E-620 and the Canon Rebel XSI (EOS 450D). Originally I was looking at the Olympus because I wanted an in-body stabilizer so I didn't have to get lenses with stabilizers in them (I heard that they would cost a lot more), however when looking at the stores around here, most of them recommended the Nikons and Canons rather than Olympus and said that the Olympus lenses can be hard to find.

So which camera would you recommend?
Do both the Canon and Olympus have a wide-variety of available lenses?
Do lenses from either brand tend to be more expensive?
What do you think about the Sigma lenses?

This will be my first real SLR, and I really don't know what to look for in lenses and haven't had much luck doing research of my own... So any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[Don Kondra]

I can't help you with which brand but I can tell you the Olympus/Zuiko lens ARE NOT HARD To Find

Both systems have standard and high grade lenses, you need to decide how much you want to spend for speed and image quality. And which camera features are more useful to you.

Google Vistek, McBain Camera, Don's Photo and Henry's, they are all Canadian. For some items it's actually less expensive to order from B&H in the states. UPS Expedited is only slightly more than Canada Post and the Canadian dollar is almost at par with the US dollar.

Cheers, Don

 

[KmH]

......So which camera would you recommend?
Do both the Canon and Olympus have a wide-variety of available lenses?
Do lenses from either brand tend to be more expensive?
What do you think about the Sigma lenses?

This will be my first real SLR, and I really don't know what to look for in lenses and haven't had much luck doing research of my own... So any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Canon probably has a wider vaiety of both Canon and 3rd party lenses available compared to Olympus.

Camera makers have 3 catagories of camera lenses. The el cheapo's, the consumer level, and the pro stuff.



You can pay

• $285 for the low quality canon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM lens, or
• $1590 for the 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6L USM lens (Notice the red L.It's an indicator of a higher quality lens, hence the higher price.)

as an example.

Sigma being a 3rd party lens maker has to reverse engineer their offerings. That can cause problems as the main camera makers change their specifications. Like the major camera makers Sigma offers a few levels of lens quality. Tamron and Tokina are 2 other generally respected 3rd party lens makers.

Good luck with your choice. I will mention that Nikon's D3000 has equal or better RAW image quality (IQ) than either of the cameras you are considering. I haven't seen any empirical test results of the E-620's IQ. I have seen results that show the D60, which the D3000 is based on, surpasses the RAW IQ of the 450D. You can see those results at www.dxomark.com .

 

[altitude604]

I'd also put in my vote for the XSi.

Lots of good lens options for the Canon, new and used.

I own one myself and it's been serving me quite well as a relative n00b to DSLR work.

 

[Garbz]

One thing to note is that Olympus's top of the line lenses are far more expensive than L series lenses from Canon. However the cost is often somewhat justified. As any pro Olympus user will tell you they are amongst the nicest lenses made. Truly awesome glass, but at a very high cost.

This is why I don't recommend an Olympus to an amateur who is looking for more than an entry level camera. Olympus's cheap cameras and cheap lenses are good, quite on par with other manufacturers, but it is my opinion that there is a smoother upgrade part with Canon for people on a tighter budget.

 

[bahandi]

I've been trying to jump on the Olympus bandwagon for years, but when it came down to dollars and cents, I went with Canon.

It's not that Olympus lenses are hard to find, it's just that so many people have bought into Canon, that you will have an easier time finding reasonably priced, used lenses in your area.

 

[Don Kondra]

Which brings up a good point...

The Oly kit lenses regularly sell for ~$100 used.

The High Grade lenses usually go for about 3/4 of new price.

Cheers, Don

 

[B-Lynn]

Thanks for all of the replies everyone. I think I might go with the Canon

 

[KmH]

In that case, perhaps consider the Nikon D3000, because Nikon's tend to have a bit better RAW image quality than Canon, even though Canon tend to have more mega pixels. (see www.dxomark.com to compare).