Dig Rebel Vs Olympus E-300

[Geeeyejo]

I am looking to upgrade to a DSLR from my Canon S1 IS in the near future. It appeared that Canon had the entry level "prosumer" market locked both in price and functionality with the Dig Rebel. I just stumbled upon reviews for the Olympus E-300 and it appears to be quite the camera and deal. 8MP, big CCD, smaller form factor, interchangeable lenses, etc. All at a comparable if not lower price than the Rebel kit.
I love my Canon but also had an Olympus point and shoot for many years that served me well. I do not have any Canon lenses yet, so compatability is not an issue.
Has anyone heard much about the E-300 and do you think that it is a fair match to the Rebel? Please no flaming - I know there are strong loyalities here - just looking to get the best camera for the price.

[HKFEVER]

No idea, but a new Rebel is comming very soon.

[CyberDyneSystems]

The Olymous is a fine camera,. BUT it has one MAJOR draw back.. really really MAJOR.

Look at the lens list! :shock:

Very few and very very expensive!

Buying into this system at this point in time would be so limiting ,. it would almost defeat the purpose of getting a removable lens SLR IMHO.

If you can wait,. in a matter of weeks the new Rebel should be announced with an 8MP sensro for most likely less than the E300

[kb244]

Um Big CCD, the CCD is smaller than the rebel's and it's 8 megapixels, (E-300 : 17.3 x 13.0 mm active area , Rebels : 22.7 x 15.1 mm CMOS sensor ), and it's unusable at sentivities higher than ISO, much nosier than the D70. Its slower than the rebel in some cases, still USB 1.1, twice the crop factor, the only thing it got going for it is smaller height, and the way it cleans it's sensor.

It can only goto 800,1600 via a boost. And is quite noisy at those resolutions.

Heres the Cons from dpreview for example:



Conclusion - Cons

* Recommended sensitivity ISO 100 - 400, images at ISO 800 usable, ISO 1600 not really
* Demosaic artifacts on JPEG and Olympus Master processed RAW
* Images not per-pixel as 'crisp' as from other D-SLR's (image processing / low pass?)
* Moire artifacts can be detected in fine repeating detail
* Noise tends have the appearance of color mottle not 'film like' grain
* Metering bug sometimes left under-exposed images (isolated issue?)
* Auto focus provides just three focus points, although AF performance good
* Viewfinder slightly darker than E-1, seems smaller than EOS 300D / 20D
* Over-saturated Adobe RGB images
* Poor continuous shooting capability, small buffer
* No focus distance indicator on kit lens
* Flash must be raised for AF assist
* Potential to lose images if CF door is opened during write
* Only USB 1.1 (no USB 2.0 Hi-Speed?)


Their review here : http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse300/

I'm sure for people who dont know better seeing 8 Megapixels @ 999$ versus the rebel @ 6 megapixels will get those who don't do their research.

Also I am not crazy about the 4/3rds lens mount, proprietory, and not even sure if 4/3 gona be strong enough in the market, where as canon, nikon, etc already have a wide variety of lenses you can use.

[mbze430]

I have known a few people that love Olympus. For me it's all about how comfortable you are. For me since I was orginally taught with a Canon system, I have always used Canon.

If you have not invested in the EF system, go where your heart leads you. Olympus makes VERY high quality optics. If you go back in to their history, they originally started as an Optic company, like Nikon.

Finally remember your camera is only a tool, it is the artist that makes the art.

[ron chappel]

Interesting list there Karl

Honestly i never did like the e-volt right from the start.I even resent it slightly because olympus are talking people into a system that will take years to give value for money (if ever)

[Olegis]

How about the possibility to get very shallow DOF with x2-crop sensor ? I upgraded to DSLR mostly because of the shallow DOF I couldn't reproduce with my old Minolta 7i / Olympus E20 with their tiny sensors.

[MrChad]

As someone has said before Olympus has what for lenses?
if you don't have a system I'd look at them all.
If I didn't have Canon film gear in the past I might have looked in this order....

Nikon D70 system
Digital Rebel system
Pentax *istDS system
Oplympus E300 system

The other systems below are much more pricey...
Minolta 7D system
Sigma system, why bother? Just get their lenses for any system listed above.

And if you are shoping a Minolta 7D, might as well look into the 20D canon or D100 Nikon.

Unless you are a die hard to a prior system look into the Canon - Nikon gear. You'll will have the greatest choice of lenses and flash systems. You could even build an entire 3rd party lens system around the Canon or Nikon DSLR for several hundred dollars less.

[Geeeyejo]

Since the cons were posted - here are the pros from the review of the E-300:

Good resolution, almost as good as the more expensive Canon EOS 20D
Good color, contrasty images with consumer-appeal 'punch' (can be adjusted)
Noise free images at ISO 100
Wide range of image parameter adjustment (color, tone, sharpness)
Good automatic white balance, indoors better under fluorescent light than incandescent
Kelvin white balance option, all white balance presets fine tunable
Selectable color space (sRGB / Adobe RGB), although with a caveat (see cons)
Effective long exposure noise reduction
RAW mode provides the 'digital negative'
Good kit lens, provides wide angle zoom (although some vignetting at telephoto)
Indication of setting adjustments on viewfinder display (ISO etc.)
Supersonic Wave Filter ensures no dust on sensor
Excellent Compact Flash write performance (3 - 4 MB/sec with fast card)
Customizable exposure steps (1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV)
Good bright and detailed LCD monitor (although only 1.8")
Fast startup time, although still not instant (Nikon D70 has set a benchmark)
Supplied Olympus Master software is well designed, same-as-camera RAW conversion
Customizable 'OK' button
Powerful, lightweight Lithium-Ion battery
Playback magnification up to 10x
Orientation sensor
Value for money
Agreed though, if the Dig Rebel 2 comes in at near or at the price of the E-300 at 8mp then it should be a no brainer to stick with Canon!

[Jetmech1]

I considered the E300 before buying my DRebel. The cost of and lack of lenses were the deciding factor for me. Also I have previous experience with Canon SLR camera's. I do own an Olympus c-750 which is a great camera, taken several thousand pics with it. You may want to see if the New Drebel comes out. Canon was offering some very good deals on the current DRebel.

[MrChad]

Olympus has some very good variable aperture zooms at good prices sub ~$300, but the support of 3rd party and Olympus constant aperture zooms is quite low.

The small sensor limits the camera to 4/3 frame (4/3 "system"), which is great if you only ever used digital in the past. But coming from 35mm I don't like this ratio. The camera is also only limited to ISO 800 at most I believe. Plus it's a 2x crop factor, pretty large if you intend to use a Sigma or Tamron DG, DC, Di lenses down the road. Makes 18mm not quite wide enough for me.

But the viewfinder does look bigger then Drebels but I may be wrong.

If you had never used a true 35mm system I'd seriously look at the E300, but I started with film ratios so......

[jcost]

I have the Rebel. I love it, I started out with canon rebel with film. Long time ago seems like. I love the canon rebel. You can keep the lenses and upgrade later. The rebel is going down in cost and if you pick the canon you can use your old lenses with upgrade. I know nothing about olympus. I am straight canon here.

I have the battery grip, about 3 lenses. Look at the long term investment of it all. I have spent several dollars over the last 3-4 months in just odds and ins. IE lense, newer bigger bag, etc.

By the way I love all the post you have started, It is hard to believe it is with a point and shoot. Love the candidness (if that is a word) of all your shots. Keep up the good work. I just wish I had the balls to go out and shoot in public, I am afraid of peoples reactions.

John
Kentucky

[Jon]

Noise free images at ISO 100

That's a "pro"? Sounds like someone was groping for pluses. I'd consider that a minimum requirement. If they can't get noise-free images at ISO 100, they might as well pack it in.

[S230]

I just wish I had the balls to go out and shoot in public, I am

Just be careful when shooting in public because as my photography instructor said, every since 911, people are more likely to react than before. Also be really careful when taking photos of children.. you never know what will happen...

as for Canon Gear., I had invested quite a bit since and love it because I am able to build custom equipment (Lens, Sensors, Triggers, etc)., whereas other brands seems to be more picky on what you put in.