Photography report

[danc]

You may have read in the "boxing day deal" thread on the general discussion page, that I picked up a new camera yesterday. If you would have asked me three days ago if I'd be owning a new DSLR today, I'd have emphatically said "no way". But the boxing day sale e mail that I got from Future Shop had a deal in it that had me a little interested. It took me until mid afternoon yesterday to decide to take the drive to Future Shop, fight the crowds, and spend money that I don't have. Today I'm glad that I did. I picked up an Olympus E-410 DSLR, complete with two lenses for an incredible $379.99. I fooled around with it in the house last night for a while, just to learn where the buttons are and what they did. Today I took it for a test drive. I've never owned or used an SLR before and there is a steep learning curve. This camera can do so much. Anyways, here's my initial thoughts.

 

What really impressed me most was the speed. It focuses in a blink of an eye. And shutter lag is non existent. Find your target, half press and then shoot all in less than a second it seemed. If it took longer it was because I didn't shoot fast enough. The camera was ready and waiting. The two lenses that came with it are very adequate for most situations, although I'll most likely buy a longer tele lens at some point in time for when I see a moose or an eagle off in the distance. Or for when I go to Kansas Speedway for the Nascar race. This camera doesn't have a image stabilizer, or anti shake feature, so I'll be looking for tele lens that works with a fast shutter speed. Speaking of shutter speeds, it shoots 60 seconds on the long end and 1/4000 of a second of the fast end.

 

One thing that I didn't like was the way the bracketing feature works. You must hold the shutter release down for all 3 shots to take place. If you use the timer it will only take one of your bracketed shots at a time. Not good for HDR shooting. I'm hoping to solve this problem with a cable release or a remote control that are options for this camera.

 

A lot of my shots came out underexposed today, but overall I'm very happy with it. I used aperture and shutter priority modes today. I guess that I went a little too extreme with the settings. I did shoot a lot in the high F stop range today, simply because I've never had such settings to play with before. My previous highest F stop has been F-8, but I played with stops up to F-14 today.

 

Here's a few samples of what I got today. It was rather gloomy out, but an incredible +5C when I left the house. It could have easily been -25 today.

 

I brought Abby with me today. I made her pose for a few shots.

 

 

Lots of fog out over Superior today with the warm weather.

 

 

A commercial fishing boat resting for the winter.

 

 

Some rock cliffs that had frosted up because of the warm temps.

 

 

 

And a couple of HDR's.

 

 

[Twocoda]

congradulations on th purchase...i have yet to own a DSLR ( it will happen im sure) but now that you have a new hobby youll find combining the camera with the fishing you'll be producing some pretty incredible shots.. for the time being ...you may want to purchase a tele converter to double the power of the lenses you already own ...saving you money on the expense of the tele lens...

 

there are some nice shots ...looking forward to seeing the world through your lens....beautiful area up there

[evster]

Congrats Dan! That will be fun to play with! I'm going through the same debate right now as there are some good deals out there.

 

Looking forward to seeing more from this camera!

[fishing n autograph]

Nice photos....

 

Evester if you're looking for a good deal, Henry's Camera Shop has a Canon Rebel XT on for $369....great camera and imagine 3 years ago is went for around $1500....

[brandon]

The shots you've produced in the past without an SLR camera have been incredible......I'm really looking forward to seeing what you can do with the added features of a DSLR

[Raf]

very nice Dan.

 

i too am thinking of stepping up to a DSLR. they were priced out of my league considering i've lot to learn and p&s have been just fine. they sure have become more affordable these days.

[Guidofisherman]

Congrats on jumping to DSLR. I thought you would enjoy the flexibility and lack of shutter lag. What two lenses did you get? Here is one review that sure sounds positive. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusE410/

We will all look forward to more photos.

Alan

[danc]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't been out with the camera since Saturday. But I pretty much have the user manual memorized. I've also done lots of on line research to find out more about this camera. The more I read about it, the better I like it. Apparently this is one on the smallest DSLR's made. I like that.

 

Al. The camera came packaged with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm lens. Those will cover most situations for now. But I've already been pricing a 70-300mm lens. If the tax man is good to me this spring (and he will be), I'll be buying it then.

 

Those of you that are thinking about moving up to a DSLR, just do it. The prices are right. You'll not regret it. I paid 1/3 for this camara of what I paid for my first 2.4 mp Fuji point and shoot.

[fishindevil]

Great pics dan !!! that cliff face pic is very nice

[pameladallaire]

Can't wait to see what you do with your new camera.

 

I always love Abby's shots.

 

Pam