Olympus ep-2 or Nikon D90

Hi to all,
I recently purchased an Olympus pen EP-2 "Good for you I hear you say" Well truth be told I’m not sure any more this little camera was not my first choice of camera I was originally planning to get the Nikon D90 but I went with my heart and got the Olympus pen.
All tho a good camera, the Olympus is starting to become very costly first thing add the flash £150 then lenses well if you wanted to add a none micro four lens then you first would have to add an adapter which will cost you anything from £99 to £150 and then you add the lens on top of that.
I am starting to wish that I had brought the D90 for £750 by adding the flash and adapter and lens for the Olympus pen I could of brought a super duper lens for the Nikon so I guess I’m here asking if the pen is worth it or should I of gone with the D90.
Many Thanks Luke

Not really familiar with the pen camera but I would first ask what issues are you having with the camera besides cost of accessories. Secondly, unless you can unload the camera I would suggest making the most of its functionality. It has features (pinhole) that cannot be found in a DSLR and if you utilize some its features you might find that you like it.

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Originally Posted by batman2010

Hi to all,
I recently purchased an Olympus pen EP-2 "Good for you I hear you say" Well truth be told I’m not sure any more this little camera was not my first choice of camera I was originally planning to get the Nikon D90 but I went with my heart and got the Olympus pen.
All tho a good camera, the Olympus is starting to become very costly first thing add the flash £150 then lenses well if you wanted to add a none micro four lens then you first would have to add an adapter which will cost you anything from £99 to £150 and then you add the lens on top of that.
I am starting to wish that I had brought the D90 for £750 by adding the flash and adapter and lens for the Olympus pen I could of brought a super duper lens for the Nikon so I guess I’m here asking if the pen is worth it or should I of gone with the D90.
Many Thanks Luke

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Reading your post makes me feel like I’m just moaning I guess what I am asking for is as I am new to photography and my last camera was a Sony cyber shot. Would, Could, Is the Olympus pen as good as a SLR I never used one so I don't know or have I just brought something that’s costly because its compact and costly because it a boys toy or is the Nikon D90 a better choice because it a more professional camera. Originally the features of the pen is what I brought It for but now using it I found that I usually take pictures in just the normal manual setting and then add the effects at the end in the Olympus software that came with the camera on my computer. So this got me thinking that yes as use full as it is to have such features on the camera are they worth the extra money or can everone do this with some other camera and with some other software.

Hi Luke,

Firstly welcome to the CiC forums.

I think whatever you got, you would find that photography is an expensive hobby - or can be if you let your desires run away with you :(

When I was considering my options to move from (Fuji) bridge camera to DSLR last April, I priced up for camera body, lens(es) to cover a greater zoom range than my bridge camera, spare battery and decent flash gun. Then I looked at what adding a 'next' lens (or two) would add to the cost, bearing in mind that by then, I figured I was unlikely to be satisfied with the image quality of "third party" or budget manufacturer's lenses. Ouch!

That forecasting did persuade me against going with a 4/3 or micro 4/3 system, mainly on the lenses, because the spare batteries and flash were all pretty similar and added about £270 regardless whether I was looking at Panasonic, Olympus, Sony, Pentax, Nikon or Canon. So the decision was based mainly on features and price after that.

However, nearly a year later and I haven't yet been able to afford a decent long enough longer lens :(
Although I haven't spent on the flashgun :)
Spare battery is essential :o

All that said, you are where you are; so there is an element of make the most of it.

Unless that is, you see photography developing (groan ;) ) into a "life's love" of a hobby or possibly (but realistically), a career looming, in which case, if you haven't yet spent on accessories, now is the time to swap.

It is a shame you have only just found us, as we might have predicted that anything applied IN camera can be done better, and with more thought, subsequentely in PP (as you have found). Thus variations in scene modes, effects filters, et al are not a good yardstick to choose a camera with. What matters is the lens, the ergonomics and the sensor (pixels and noise).

I think I have rambled on for long enough and I'm not sure if that helps,

hi,

i just purchased an olympus ep-2 but i am contemplating exchanging it for a Canon EOS Rebel XSi 12.2MP. the cost of the ep-2 has me a little sick in the stomach but i can swallow that if i'm assured that this is, indeed, a good camera that will ultimately serve all my needs. until now i've only really used a point and shoot and the primary reason in getting a new camera was for travelling purposes. at the moment i'm not totally proficient in photography but i hope this will change with more practice.

i was initially drawn to it for its durable body and its compact size. my question is whether this will be a suitable camera in the long-run if i intend to continue with this hobby? will i eventually realize the limitations of this? also, what distinguishes this from typical DSLRs?

thank you in advance!

Hi batman2010, chquin,

I always did a little research before buying photographic hardware, camera, lens, flash gun etc.

I would sit down with a piece of paper and write down the following,-
1) What type of photography i am interested in.
2) What type of gear, camera, lens, flash gun etc & accessories. do i need for my type of photography.
3) My financial budget.
4) My schedule of priority of purchase, short time purchase, long term purchase and longer long term purchase.

Let's take an example.
1) My type of photography include (i) Landscape, (ii) Travel, (iii) Potrate & (iv) Tabletop.
2) I would need to enlarge big, print or projection, the end results. So i need larger sensor chips. APS-C is the compromise in terms of money. Hence a SLR. I went for Nikon D5000. For potrait i would need close to 80mm lens. Hence a 50mm 1.4 prime lens. For normal use, kit lens that came with D5000, 18-55mm is an excellent lens. For landscape i opted for Sigma 10-20mm, 3.5 instead of 10-24mm, 3.5-4.5G to save money. For Travel photography i chose Nikon 55-200mm lens. For flash photography i settled for Nikon SB600, again to save money. I would need a macro lens in future. All APS-C sensors increase the focal length of lenses by 1.5 times.
4) Short time purchase was,-
D5000 body + kit lens, 18-55mm
55-200mm zoom lens.
a few filters
Long term purchase was,-
SB600
50mm. 1.4 prime lens
Off camera flash cord with sensor
Longer long term purchase,-
85mm OR 105mm micro lens
SB900
I had my Stitz tripod from my previous photography gear.

All these year i have learnt that people can only guide you, but CANNOT tell you what to buy. That you have to decide.
4/3 is smaller than APS-C type sensors.

so decide your priorities, or discuss your priorities with others before deciding to buy a camera.

Best wishes.
mbose

hi mbose,

thanks for your reply--it was really helpful. i suppose what i'm really asking is what am i getting for its $1199 price tag when i could easily get a dslr for less? how does olympus justify the cost?


thanks,
chquin

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will i eventually realize the limitations of this?

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This is a given, in this field, regardless what you buy. :D

The answers above are good for what you have at this time. Only you can decide if this activity (photography) is going to lead your budget further astray. I started in 1947 with a Brownie Hawkeye. I'm now running with a number of Nikon and Canon digital and film cameras, many lenses and still want more/different.

I went out this morning to take pictures of my "porchlight tenants." I want to get some film shots with my best lens, but I used the digital D40, because I wanted a spread and film is just not practical for that. I shot over 60 pictures and got 7 to make the spread. I will return to the subjact with Fujichrome 100 when I have the time to sit for a couple of hours and get just the ones I want for display of the subject, rather than telling a story with a spread.

Figure out what you want to do with the camera(s) and research, ask questions, research, watch others, research and make a decision.

I'm sure that is a lot of help [/joke] :D

Pops

For me it was cost and quality that made me decide in favor of a Nikon D90 over micro 43. Due to the smaller sensor quality of 43 is not up to par with DSLR yet. pricewise the Nikon presented a better deal.
The downside of course is the size and the weight, but I am ok with that.

Hi chquin,

To be short & precise, D90 has all the advantage you would ever need to photograph any subject, even video clipping. More over Mirror less inter changeable cameras are new in the market, and the family from the other stable is growing. Panasonic, Sony are already in the market & Panasonic is the b est till now.

You may wait and see what happens next or grab a D90.

Happy 'shooting'.

Best wishes.
mbose