New camera time...Need help!

[kstrong]

So I'm getting a new camera and not sure what to get. I've been approved at work though our financing and approved at another place. So price isnt too big of a deal because I can have up to a year to pay it off.

At work we are limited to what we have for DSLR cameras, my choices though work are:
Olympus E-520 and the E-620
Canon Rebel XS and the XSI

At this other place my choices are any Pentax, Fuji or Sony.

I have no idea what camera to pick, I've been using my Olympus E-410 for a little over a year, it works great. But I'm having some problems with it on manual setting not holding the settings that I want to use. Everything else works great on it, it just wont hold a constant shutter speed and will move it after every shot. This is why I'm getting the new camera :D

So far I've played with a Pentxx K-m and the 520 at work and the Fuji S100. I'm not too stoked to go with Olympus again, one year warranty and mine is messing up just after a year. But on the other hand I do have a 40-150 lens already. I wasn't a huge fan of the display setup for the K-m and how it shows your settings. And also not too huge on the feel of the Fuji S100, I've used Fuji before and not huge on their menus either.

But I am also looking at the Pentax K-7 and the K20D, I have never used either of the two, but from what I hear the K-7 is suppose to be quite the camera. And there is also the Fuji S5 and all the Sony cameras.

So what are your guys thoughts? So far I'm leaning towards the Pentax K-7 or K20D

[kat]

Only ever used my one Nikon. Good luck! Congrats!

[kurtdriver]

it works great. But I'm having some problems with it on manual setting not holding the settings that I want to use. Everything else works great on it, it just wont hold a constant shutter speed and will move it after every shot. This is why I'm getting the new camera




Can it not be repaired? It may be a lot cheaper.

[kstrong]

It could probably be repaired...But then I'm a few weeks without a camera, and people are telling me its around 100-200 dollars. So I'm using it as an excuse to upgrade.

It's not that its really broken, its just annoying to use the manual settings.

[kurtdriver]

Got it, want to donate it to my cause?:)

[Greg_Nuspel]

The advantage of staying with the Olympus is you will have a spare body. With Canon you will most likely have more access to rentable accessories like lenses etc. Pick the one you like the 'feel' of most.

[kstrong]

I do like the feel of the Pentax Km.

I was doing a little bit of research on the K-7 last night and it looks like I might be going with it.......Once I find out how much it will cost :confused:

Another reason that is turning me off of Olympus is the lenses are expensive compared to the others, and I would like to have a few more lenses.

[F8&Bthere]

The K-7 appears to be a sweet camera, and has the hotly-contested-amongst-photographers video feature. But I think it will be quite a bit more expensive than the others you mentioned. And as Greg points out if you stay with Olympus you'll have a backup. I remember when I used to think amateurs talking about backups was silly and pretentious but I learned how valuable it is not just when on a longer trip away from home in case of failure, but also when you want to have two different lenses available for more complex shooting environments, but want to avoid constant changing back and forth on one body. There are many places where changing lenses often is quite inconvenient.
For me the only Olympus I've ever wanted was the E-3, and it has come down somewhat in price since it's intro, but that's still their flagship as far as I'm aware and that means big bucks.
Good luck with your decision!

[kstrong]

Actually the price of the K-7 wasnt as bad as I was thinking, I can get the body for $1449.

I think I'm going with the Pentax K20D, which I'm getting for $990 and I'm going to pick up 2 extra lenses for it, getting a 10-17mm fisheye and a 50-200mm.

[Lovin]

I have an Olympus E 620 and is AMAZING !
Big plus on Olympus is the cheap lens. With $500 you can have an f 2.8 sharp edge to edge, no vignette.
I don't have time to tell you all the pro's.
My advice go for E 620.

Cheers !

[Barefoot]

You don’t mention what you’re most likely to be doing with the new camera which should be one of the considerations in making your choice. For instance, if you find yourself shooting fast action in low light or maybe low light conditions (weddings ect.) without the use of a tripod then the Nikon D90 or any of their models above that one is the way to go. Canon is the only other make offering entry/serious amateur models that can produce usable images at ISO’s of 1600 and higher. The Oly E3 does very well at ISO 1600 and above, but that’s what should be expected from their flagship model.

Don’t underestimate the usefulness of being able to shoot at high ISO’s and travel over to dpreview to judge for yourself which models perform best when pushed to the limits.

A D90 with the standard kit lens can be had for under $1300 and they can be found with 18-200mm VR lens for a shade over $1600.

[kstrong]

Here is the list of everything I just ordered:

Pentax K20D body
smc P-DA 10mm-17mm F3.5-4.5 ED fisheye
smc P-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR
smc P-DA 50-200mm F4-5.6 ED WR

Gotta love being approved for financing! Otherwise I would have gone with the K-M or the Olympus E-520 and wouldn't have been able to get any lenses with it.

Now I just have to find a bag for all this stuff....I've been looking into the Dakine Sequence bag..But its 200 bucks :eek:

[F8&Bthere]

Actually the price of the K-7 wasnt as bad as I was thinking, I can get the body for $1449.

I think I'm going with the Pentax K20D, which I'm getting for $990 and I'm going to pick up 2 extra lenses for it, getting a 10-17mm fisheye and a 50-200mm.

The K20D is a lot of camera for the money: built-in shake reduction (meaning it could apply to every compatible lens ever made for it, and there are tons!), high mp CMOS sensor with decent ISO performance, weather/dust sealed, and much more.

EDIT - ooops! I think I posted a reply not noticing there was a page 2 of this thread with some very recent posts that made mine mostly irrelevant. So I am deleting most of my contribution except for the small part that still maybe makes sense given the OP's already placed an order.

[kstrong]

Haha the best part about getting the Pentax is after I ordered it I found out they have a summer rebate going..Getting $150 back :D

I'll make sure to post up some pictures when I get the camera.

[vinuva]

I like to photos. All my photos are my favorite. I like to take natural photos.
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