Camera Choices

[Barb, Murphy, Emmet, & Hudson]

Hi everyone, I narrowed down my choice of cameras to the following two:

 

Olympus Evolt E520 10-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera or

Nikon - 10.2-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera

 

Just wondering if anyone has one of these cameras and if they have any suggestions that would help me with my decision on which one to buy.  Are there any pros or cons with either camera that anyone could share with me? 

 

Thanks in advance.

[Barb, Murphy, Emmet, & Hudson]

yes the olympus:) can you use the memory cards at the same time? i mean keep one of each in the camera so if one was to fill up it would automatically switch to the other memory card. the reason i wasn't to excited about the xd card was i could only find them with a maximum of 2gb of storage. i didn't think that was a whole lot, whereas the compact flash i could get an 8gb card at a relatively a good price. is the xd card specific only to the olympus cameras? do they come in storage sizes greater than 2 gb? thanks again.

[Diane Margetts]

Yrs, you keep them in at the same time but the camera does not automatically switch for you, you must select thee card you want to use. My xd is a 3 gb but I would be surprised if it didn't come with more storage . . .Xd is specific to indidual brands . . .

[Diane Margetts]

Yes but I suspect the general function of the Olympus is very close to the comparable Nikon and Canon models. I have a soft spot in my heart for Nikon--I still have my point-and-shoot D8800 that I truly loved. When I brought the e-510 home, I felt lost and kept defaulting back to my Nikon. But, after spending time with the users manual and online user guides-- well, now it's as simple as can be! In fact I;m wanting more capability which is why I'm looking at the e-30. I think all cameras at the level we're talking have a learning curve, but nothing that you won't get over in no time!! The reason I suggest the e-620 is a pro photographer on the Olypmus forum told me that Olympus worked out some of the e-510/520 bugs in the e-620 and he highly recommended it. The e-30 is just a step above it but less than the pro e-3 that I was considering but he talked me out of!! And to be honest, he said the e-520 was developed to improve on some of the e-510 problems. It still comes down to what type of photography you want to do--I am really thrilled with the smaller, lighter lenses (but still equal or better than any other brand). That is almost a deal breaker for me because I like telephoto-type photography of birds and wildlife. If shooting in dimmer light is a concern, I think Canon has broken through thr glass ceiling on clear, sharp slow-speed ISO numbers (above ISO 800). Nikon and probably Canon do better with shallow depth of field photography (easier to blur backgrounds) if that's what's important to you. So sorry, this is probably more confusing than anything! If you and your daughter (I think you said she was involved too) can think about your photography aspirations and goals down the road, we could probably help you target the right camera. If it's just general photography. I have been told by several photo store managers, that Olympus is the best value because they are trying to gain market share from Nikon and Canon. Here's a link to what a pro can do with e-510!
http://www.nwpphotoforum.com/ubbthreads/information/php/2007_Review...