My new "Accesory" for 580 EX

[Lotto]

After long search, finally found a pocket P/S that has a hot shoe. The Olympus SP350: manual exposure and focus, 8 MB RAW, 2.5" LCD and uses rechargable AA batteries, for grand total of $199. The 580 slide right on to the hot shoe, and operates in manual mode only. Finally I could do bounce flash with a P/S:lol:, the on camera 580 could even wirelessly control my slave 430 too.

Anyway, don't want to bore you with details, here's few product type shots I took.

http://home.pacbell.net/coolbit/SP350a.jpg

http://home.pacbell.net/coolbit/SP350c.jpg

http://home.pacbell.net/coolbit/SP350d.jpg

[cdifoto]

Nice looking cam. How's the image quality? You should be able to find an Olympus dedicated flash unit (Sigma Super?) to have full functionality.


EDIT: Guilty of not reading. :oops:

[MegaTron]

That is pretty bad-ass. You are making me want to get a new point and shoot.

[cdifoto]

That is pretty bad-ass. You are making me want to get a new point and shoot.

You too eh? I was thinking A series but that Olympus looks pretty slick. I want a P&S more for compactness and decent looking-ness than ultimate IQ - but IQ has to not totally suck.

I have a very inconvenient dSLR and great glass for when image quality is the top concern.

[Lotto]

MegaTron, Costco is down the street from you :D

CDI, the image quality is typicle P/S type, that camera is very slow to operate comparing to Canon DSLR. A sample shot...

http://home.pacbell.net/coolbit/SP350e.jpg

[MegaTron]

You too eh? I was thinking A series but that Olympus looks pretty slick. I want a P&S more for compactness and decent looking-ness than ultimate IQ - but IQ has to not totally suck.

I have a very inconvenient dSLR and great glass for when image quality is the top concern.

Those are pretty much my requirements as well. I probably dont NEED one, but I sure do WANT one. This forum is a very bad influence on me.

[cdifoto]

I'll have to check it out on my desktop a bit later. This laptop screen is the last thing anyone would want to look at to judge IQ. Only good thing about it is it gets me away from my desk. ;)

Based on what you're saying though is it's fine at low enough ISOs or small enough sizes...? If so, that's pretty much all you can ask of a P&S.

Funny thing though...it looks about the size of an XT. lol.

[MegaTron]

Damn, that looks better than most of my shots with my 20D. I should just sell everything except my flash and buy that camera.

[cdifoto]

Those are pretty much my requirements as well. I probably dont NEED one, but I sure do WANT one. This forum is a very bad influence on me.

Yeah I'd get one of those slender cameras that can double as keychains but I'm put off by photos that are absolute crap. Don't have to be stunning but go look at the average myspace photo. 'Nuff said. :lol:

[Lotto]

cdi, freaky that it's exactly how I felt on the grip, like a XT, which is pretty good on a p/s. I only have the Olympus for couple days, most of my tests were making sure it would work with speedlites. But the image performance is pretty good at iso 50 and 100. It weights 8.6 oz, so I am tempted to hold the 580 as support when shoot with the combo :)

Mega, when you see it takes 2 sec to auto focus in low light, you might want to smash it against the wall like me. However, in manual focus mode, it gives focus distance in ft, which is quite accurate, considering p/s always has huge DOF.

[cdifoto]

I'm back on my desktop and that image looks quite good. I'm curious about putting that Olympus up to an A540/A630 head-to-head. IQ is one thing but if the A series are faster with AF I'd go that way. I do like that black though. It's classier than the Canon offerings. The huge screen is beautiful too.

[KCMO Al]

Well, the Canon PRO-1 has a hot shoe and E-TTL II. If you can find one used it's ideal. 8.0 MP and an "L" lens.

[MegaTron]

Well, the Canon PRO-1 has a hot shoe and E-TTL II. If you can find one used it's ideal. 8.0 MP and an "L" lens.

Damn, I just checked out the price for a brand new one. Im not up to date with these point and shoot type cameras. Brand new its pretty much the same price as a 30D. I think the $200 Olympus looks cooler.

[cdifoto]

Damn, I just checked out the price for a brand new one. Im not up to date with these point and shoot type cameras. Brand new its pretty much the same price as a 30D. I think the $200 Olympus looks cooler.

No doubt. I want a P&S BECAUSE it's cheap. If I want image quality and functionality bad enough to get a Pro-1, I'll bust out the $10,000 of real gear I already own.

[Jim G]

Hey, that's not half bad... I'm looking at getting a point and shoot sometime next year for convenience and having one with manual functions would be handy.. hadn't thought about using an external flash on it... definitely food for thought. Nice product shots too, btw!

[woffles]

A G6 is another option if you can find one. Will let you use all the functions of your flash and has a very good lens and full manual controls.

http://static.flickr.com/25/54670299_ec7fefd05d.jpg

[CyberDyneSystems]

Hey, nice cover for that Hot shoe! :)

[Lotto]

Hey, nice cover for that Hot shoe! :)

No kidding :) That thing feels like a toy with the heavy 580.

OK, Got a chance tonight to use it with my mix "studio" lights, and took a few shots of my daugher. The Olympus was set to used iso 50, largest JPEG format. I think it's worth of the $199 spent.

http://home.pacbell.net/coolbit/PB210139.jpg

[canonphotog]

Olympus lost me as a customer when they killed their film line instead of developing a digital slr to enhance it.

Good luck to you as Olympus moves..., forward???

[Curtis N]

I bought that camera for my stepson when he became a father.

I bet it would work great with one of these. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=242847)

[SuzyView]

Isn't it a little big top heavy? :) Just kidding. A P&S with external flash. Now that's nice.