Thoughts on camera outfit please

Stephen Raff · #1 (**permalink**) 06-12-2010, 08:10 PM

Okay I have been trying to figure out on my own what to do for the best in regards to a camera outfit but now I must call in the external views before I drive myself and all others close to me mad.

So lets start with a little history, up until about four years ago I was fortunate have top of the range Canon kit. 1D mk2, 600mm L, 100-400mm L etc etc.
Due to personal happenings I had to sell everything. Now I have a much different budget, if I take into account of what my current kit is worth I have about £700 to play with.

I mainly shoot seascapes, landscapes and wildlife (from butterflies, birds to deer).

Currently I have an Olympus E620 with the twin lens kit 14-42 and 40-150 and am borrowing the Oly 70-300mm.

At the time of purchase my main reasons were more towards the sea/landscapes and the rotating screen won me over and fitted into my budget with the twin lens kit. I have since started to get back into photographing wildlife, maybe more so than the scenics. Since day one I have never really been fully happy with the output from this camera, dont get me wrong its a very nicely featured camera but for me the images it produces just dont cut it. The 70-300mm (140-600mm) is supposed to be a great budget lens and after a bit of use I can see its potential but and there always seems to be a but with me, unless I use it very good light the AF struggles like crazy and plus I have to up the iso of the E620 and past 200 I just not digging the results, even at iso 100 the lack of detail bothers me.

I know I shouldn't be comparing my between my now kit and my old kit but its hard not to. There is no chance of me owning kit like I used to in the near future so I have to some how make myself content within my budget.

So what I need.. sorry, would like.. is good enough AF performance for moving subjects, good noise control up to 800 iso, as long reach as possible and all within budget.

Does this exist?
Have I bored you yet?
Any thoughts?

Stephen

Stephen Raff · #2 (**permalink**) 08-12-2010, 08:38 PM

Okay so I will update my own thoughts.

Yesterday I managed to get out and shoot for a while on the Taw Estuary, Curlew, Godwit, Spoonbill, Egret, Dunlin, Robin to name a few. The weather conditions were great a light was readily available so I was able to keep the iso to between 100-200. After a little bit of playing around I come to realize that the 70-300 Oly at 300mm wide open at f5.6 is a touch soft, stopped down to F8 or F11 and there is a clear difference (on this particular lens). A robin obliged for a while and I was able to capture a few shots like the one shown below.

I was also able to get close enough to be able to track some wigeons and curlew in flight. The AF was struggling with the slowish frame rate. This also demonstrated the limited buffer rate of the camera and plus needing to keep the iso down I was unable to have an appropriate shutter speed. So the combination of all three issues led to no keepers.

So as it stands today, yes I have been able to capture a lovely detailed shot of the robin but that was easy and didn't challenge the camera. I still don't feel convinced that the E620 and 70-300mm is up to the job for me but I am not sure that within my budget anything would be.

I have stated to wonder about the Canon 550D and the Canon 70-300 IS as I could probably manage these used. I would lose 120mm but gain 6MPs and room to crop in and make that difference up perhaps.

Anyone using/used this combination or have experience with the 550D AF system.

Thank you
Stephen

david156 · #3 (**permalink**) 08-12-2010, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen Raff

I have stated to wonder about the Canon 550D and the Canon 70-300 IS as I could probably manage these used. I would lose 120mm but gain 6MPs and room to crop in and make that difference up perhaps.

Anyone using/used this combination or have experience with the 550D AF system.

Thank you
Stephen

Can't help personally as I have 50D and 1000D but a friend just bought the 550D because it was a bit lighter to carry. She's only had it a little while but she is finding it to be a very good camera and she has found herself using it more than her other two which is a good recommendation as her other two cameras are the 40D and 5D

david

Stephen Raff · #4 (**permalink**) 08-12-2010, 09:05 PM

Thank you for that David.

Definitely a compliment to be used more than both those other models (40D and 5D)

Stephen

Jim Ford · #5 (**permalink**) 09-12-2010, 12:50 PM

Whilst the 70-300mm Zuiko is an excellent and highly regarded lens, it's still only cheap 'standard' grade lens (BTW, it'll do macro'ish as well) and you can't expect any cheap lens to perform well wide open. Whilst I've seen some outstanding images taken with the 70-300mm Zuiko, the 'pro grade' 50-200mm Zuiko is far better, but of course much more expensive (it's also weather sealed)

Here's 'my' robin with the 50-200mm @f4:

Here's another image with the same lens:

This was taken with the 50-200mm + 1.4 converter:

View at full size and check the exif.

Your E620 should do at least as well with the same lens.

Jim

Jim Ford · #6 (**permalink**) 09-12-2010, 01:41 PM

I should have mentioned:

If you want to see what an E620 with 70-300mm Zuiko is capable of, have a look here:

Olympus UK E-System User Group

Jim

Endrick · #7 (**permalink**) 09-12-2010, 02:30 PM

I didn't get into digital photography until quite late. A pro photographer friend of mine advised me on my first set up then and I bought a Nikon d40 with an 18-200 mm lens.

I am fortunate to have what should be much better lenses and cameras now. However if I was to choose just one lens it would be the 18-200. Indeed it is still my most heavily used lens by some margin. The reason is I do a lot of hillwalking and wandering about the North west of Scotland. It gets you shots that you wouldn't otherwise get - you'd be changing lenses. Further it is light so you will actually take your camera out with you all the time.

The 18-200 takes very good macro shots, landscapes and if you are careful you can get some excellent wildlife shots. It teaches you stalking too!

I'm not going to pretend that if you blow your photos up to 4 feet wide that they will be as pin sharp but at normal sizes - say up to the size of a computer screen I for one can't tell the difference.

Canon do an equivalent lens and it seems to be just as good although it focuses externally which can be a pain.

Geoff F · #8 (**permalink**) 09-12-2010, 08:46 PM

If you are thinking about a different camera body, Stephen, then I suppose a second hand Canon 40D would be the obvious choice for a decent low price option.

And the Canon 70-300 IS would probably still just fit within your budget.

But whether you decide to get something like this or better equipment for your current camera will be a difficult choice.

Stephen Raff · #9 (**permalink**) 09-12-2010, 10:25 PM

Thank you for the sample shots Jim. I see you use the E3. I wonder how the IQ and AF performance compare with the E620. Thanks for the link also, a handy place to know of.

Thank you Endrick, I've never really been a fan of super zooms (18-200mm just) but I do see their attraction.

Geff you raise a good point regards being able to replace my current system with a better within my budget. What I do know though is that I have images from various Canon Cameras, 20D, 30D, 400D, 1Dmk2 and with a various Canon glass from kit to L grade and all demonstrate a better performing system than my current.

I do think the four thirds sensor does have a large part to play, so as much as for us wildlife photogs reap the benefit of the 2x crop the IQ doesn't match that of an APS-C sensor (in my experience).

As for the AF performance thats a bit tougher and I can only from the experience of my older Canon days and all four of the above mentioned with good glass were up to the job. But there it is 'good glass' and that doesn't come cheap. There does seem to be a handful of good reviews about the Canon 70-300mm IS and closeness to the L grade lenses though.

So for now now I'm still thinking about changing camp and the 550D and the 40D are both on as possibles. The 70-300mm IS would jump in for now and then I would save (not a word I am very good with 'save') to get another 100-400mm IS L, a beauty of a lens or possibaly keep it and go for another 400mm L F5.6, another gem I miss.

Well we'll see what tomorrow brings

Stephen

Jim Ford · #10 (**permalink**) 10-12-2010, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen Raff

Thank you for the sample shots Jim. I see you use the E3. I wonder how the IQ and AF performance compare with the E620. Thanks for the link also, a handy place to know of.

The E620 has a _better_ IQ than the E3, because it has a later sensor. The E3 is mechanically better. I think you'll need to do considerably better than a Canon 40D to make a marked improvement over the E620. Have a look at the dpreview of the E620 (bear in mind that dpreview has a reputation of bias against Olympus).

Olympus E-620 Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

Here's part of the conclusion:

"The Four Thirds range has tended to lag a fraction behind the best contemporary APS-C sensor-size DSLRs in terms of absolute performance but make up some of the difference with excellent lenses, feature-packed specifications, and lower sticker prices. This isn't the case with the E-620 - however you look at it, it's up there with the best of them. It doesn't offer the video recording capabilities of some of its contemporaries, but as a dedicated stills camera, it's a pretty compelling package. Built-in Image Stabilization gives it an edge over its rivals if you're buying additional lenses."

I think part of your problem is expecting a consumer grade lens to perform well wide open, but as I said earlier, I've seen some wonderful images from the 70-300 Zuiko where it's used within its limitations.

Jim