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I need help with my E500

M

Moydoy22

Hello everyone. Let me frist start off by telling you that I pretty new at digital SLR photography and already I'm frustrated . I am looking to buy a wide angle lens and/or telephoto lens for my E500 however I am not willing to spend a lot of money on them either. I do not intend to go professional, but still want the ability to produce different effects. I'll even buy thru ebay however I just don't know what fits my camera or what I need to get so that certain lenses can fit onto my camera. I saw on B&H there was a wide angle lens for $99 (Sigma Zoom Super Wide Angle 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6 DC G Autofocus Lens for Olympus Digital Cameras (Four Thirds System)...is this something I should look into or should I not waste my time on it? I just don't want to get duped into buying something expensive and don't need. And for the telephoto lens, I saw this at B&H - Sigma Zoom Normal-Telephoto 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC Autofocus Lens for Olympus Digital Cameras (Four Thirds System).

I look forward to getting your advice.
 
The Sigmas are not quite up to the standard of the native Olympus Zuiko lenses and they are less robust, hence the lower prices. But they are it seems pretty good value for money for someone who does not intend going professional. Just do not drop them down a mountain!
If you have a good camera like the Olympus 500, I would not spoil your enjoyment by getting anythin cheaper. There are cheaper lenses on the market but I would not bother. If you are used to Olympus or other manual focus lenses, a cheaper alternative compromise is to buy OM2 lenses from ebay sellers and an adapter ring from China on Ebay. Look for Adapter lenses Olympus OM on E-1/300/500. It is half the cost of Olympus' own model. It will cut your operating options such as auto focus but is a worthy solution.
 
Did you buy the E-500 body only or did you get the kit lenses with it? If you got it as a body only you could do worse than to buy the 14-45mm and 40-150mm lenses. They don't cost much (plenty of them on eBay) and , for the money, I believe they are pretty good performers (though not as good as the 14-54mm and 50-200mm lenses).I personally wouldn't bother with the Sigma 55-200mm, nor would I bother with any of the "add on" wide angle /telephoto converters (like you see loads of on eBay) In my opinion, a waste of money!
Just do a search for Zuiko digital lenses and you'll get an idea of what is around.

Regards,

Andy.
 
Hi Andy. Thanks for you response. I got the E500 body with the kit lenses. The thing is, I know that the zuiko digital lenses are definitely better however i can't get myself to spend the money only because this is not going to be my profession. It's just a hobby, but at the same time, I do want quality. So I have to meet somewhere in the middle. I have money constraints therefore I can't see myself spending more than $350 on any lens. Do you know of any sites that I can find Olympus lenses? I seem to have trouble with that too. I dont' know what fits my camera and what doesn't, or what I need in order for certain lenses to fit onto my camera. Are there lenses out there other than Zuiko that I can buy for less?

Thanks again for your advice.
 
Anne:

Try visiting B & H.

To me the lens is the most important component. Cameras are like trucks and some cars it's what's up front that counts.

If you hurry into buying a lens that you will not be satisfied with, you will either quit, or like most buy the one you should have in the first place. So, it is usually best to wait until you can afford what you need.

I believe that most of the forum members are amateurs.

Regards:

Gilbert
 
Okay I am not trying to be difficult =), but is there anything you could suggest for only a temporary solution to get wide angle effects for cheap? If you HAD TO (which of course you don't) suggest something, would it be an extension tube? something to use with an adaptor?
 
> heard that Sigma may be introducing lenses for the 4/3rds system, but > I don't know when that will be. Also, by using the Olympus MF-1 > adapter, you can use lenses from the Olympus OM system on your Olympus E digital body (in full manual of course).
 
Hi Anne,

Do you really need wider coverage than the 14-45mm can give you at the wide end? Legacy lenses (ie. OM system lenses)with the adaptor won't help you there because on the small 4/3rds sensor a 21mm lens will only give you the same coverage as a 42mm lens would on 35mm.
The only choices are either the 11-22mm (which maybe you could find within your budget) or the 7-14mm , which will cost you a lot more.
Another suggestion if you only need very wideangle coverage occasionally is to take two or more images at, say, 25mm and stitch them to make a wider composite covering the view you need.
I find that PTGUI software does an amazingly good job of this and doesn't cost an arm and a leg either.
The only wideangle adaptor that would be worth considering (in my opinion) is the WCON Aadaptor designed for use on the Olympus IS3000.How well it would work with the very short focal length DZ lenses is another matter however and ideally you would need to try it out. You also would need an adaptor to mount it on the DZ 14-45mm (to convert from 55mm thread on the WCON to whatever the filter thread size is on the 14-45mm - 62mm?)

In my view I would bite the bullet and find an 11-22mm - a superb lens and much sharper than the 14-45mm too. Adding any of these "front of lens" adaptors is only going to make it worse .

Hope all this is some help,

Andy.
 
Anne: Don't take any temporary or "half way" measures. "Creeping up" on something is always more expensive in the long run. What happens is you get something cheap, it disappoints, and you end up either giving up (wasting your investment, your time and any money you spend on crappy prints), or buying what you really should have purchased in the first place, once again wasting your original investment.

BTW, extension tubes are for achieving closer focus, i.e. macro work, not wide angle.

The problem with what you want is that there are few wide angles for 4/3s mount. This is because most amateurs are not that interested in wide angle, they want telephoto and zoom. (Telephoto because they're often too timid to get close, zoom because they're often lazy.) Pros, who need WA much more often, demand top quality, which is harder to achieve with a small sensor such as the 4/3s CCD.

If you really need wide angle (as opposed to just want), I'd sell off the kit lens, save for the 11-22 and go that way.

Finally, just because you are not a professional doesn't meanyou should seek the best. Amateur, in its literal definition, means one who loves an activity. Don't sell yourself short.
 
> HI Earl and thanks for your advice.. I am slowly coming to realize that I should really consider spending the money on good quality lenses rather than going halfway and not getting the results that would impress me and keep me going. I just love the effect that the wide angle lenses produce. I also love close up shots too. So i guess one thing at a time. I should first master master my camera a bit more and then see what it is that my heart desires afterwards. I'll have to admit, I am inpatient and want to see results immediately but don't worry, I know that it would swing that way with photography. It takes practice and hopefully I can show improvement in the near future.

Thanks you everyone for taking the time out to help me and give me solid advice.
 
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