Olympus DSLR's

[V8Wagon]

I've had 8 years sterling service from my trusty Olympus E500 and decided to 'upgrade' to an Olympus E620.

I love the feel and functions of the camera but feel slightly let down by the image quality. I'm really not sure it's any better than the 8mp E500. The images seem to have a lot of shadow in them and it really seems to render skin tones poorly. The images appear marginally better in RAW but I'm not convinced.

Any opinions on whether a used Nikon D7000 would be a decent purchase. I'd have to sell my Oly kit (inc. 4 lenses) to do it though.

[Elderly]

I wouldn't do down the E-620 'upgrade' route,
the D7000 is a much better body in so many ways;
much nicer viewfinder and a more modern superior sensor,
to name but two.

BUT if you have 4 good Olympus lenses already, have you
considered something like the Olympus EM-1?

[toppstuff]

Maybe worth looking at a Olympus EM5 or EM10 and a four thirds / micro four thirds lens adaptor.

No idea how good the auto focus is with that set up but the image quality will be fine.

[Simpo Two]

V8Wagon said:

I love the feel and functions of the camera but feel slightly let down by the image quality. I'm really not sure it's any better than the 8mp E500. The images seem to have a lot of shadow in them and it really seems to render skin tones poorly. The images appear marginally better in RAW but I'm not convinced.

It sounds like what I thought when I tried a D300 (CMOS) after a D200 (CCD) - I wonder if sensor type is the difference? Or the way they process JPGs?

[marctwo]

toppstuff said:

Maybe worth looking at a Olympus EM5 or EM10 and a four thirds / micro four thirds lens adaptor.

No idea how good the auto focus is with that set up but the image quality will be fine.

The upgrade path from the old Four Thirds kit is the E-M1 which has phase detection to give decent AF speed with the older 4/3 lenses. E-M5/10 are great cameras but the AF will be VERY slow with the non-micro 4/3 lenses.

If you have lots of nice 4/3 lenses then I would go for an E-M1. If you don't then you might as well just sell up and start from scratch and then choose any system you like.

[LongQ]

If you haven't already done so I would read the review at DPReview, especially the conclusion page, and see how that compares with your experiences.

However bear in mind that it seems to be dated July 2009 and things will have moved on since then in the wider market.

It may also be worth trying to do a direct comparison with another E620 body to see if it gives the same results (and has the same settings in place).

Are you reviewing the output on screen or using prints?

[MysteryLemon]

V8Wagon said:

I've had 8 years sterling service from my trusty Olympus E500 and decided to 'upgrade' to an Olympus E620.

I love the feel and functions of the camera but feel slightly let down by the image quality. I'm really not sure it's any better than the 8mp E500. The images seem to have a lot of shadow in them and it really seems to render skin tones poorly. The images appear marginally better in RAW but I'm not convinced.

Any opinions on whether a used Nikon D7000 would be a decent purchase. I'd have to sell my Oly kit (inc. 4 lenses) to do it though.

The E-500 is a bit of a peach in the E system line up. It has a higher resolution version of the Kodak sensor found in the E-1 which has always been credited with producing stunning photos (mainly for the colours it produces). It's a great camera but getting on for 8-9 years old now so really showing its age.

The sensor in the E620 is better in every way. Higher resolution, much better high iso performance (although poor by todays standards), better dynamic range etc. You're not the only one to be underwhelmed with the results from the "newer" 4/3 sensored DSLRs though. Many still favour the low ISO results from the older cameras. You would be better shooting in raw as at least you can then process the files to your liking rather than relying on the camera to process them to how Olympus liked them.

As for switching to Nikon. I guess it depends how attached you are to the 4/3 system. What lenses do you have? Switching to an M4/3 body is one alternative but only some of the 4/3 lenses will actually operate well. Most will work to some extend but some of the older lenses (pre E510) were never optimised for contrast detect AF and perform very poorly on m4/3 bodies. Generally, lenses with a blue ring on them will be fine (although operate quite slow). Best way to test them is to use them on your E620 in live view mode. This is the speed and accuracy they will operate on an m4/3 body. You'll also only be able to use them in s-af mode and likely only using the centre focusing point.

In all honesty, I would probably either stick with the E620 or ditch the system altogether. You wont get the most out of m4/3 using 4/3 lenses. The better lenses still fetch very good money and you could put that towards buying a decent Nikon body and some nice lenses.

Edited by MysteryLemon on Wednesday 9th July 10:25

[V8Wagon]

My mind is made up guys. Thanks for posting your thoughts.

I'm gonna go down the Nikon route as the Olympus constantly irritates me.

The images are too noisy in low light, and it's slow to focus. I've not got a great array of lenses just the 14-42, 40-150, 70-300 and a 35mm Macro. I've also got a decent flash for it so I reckon all in I could raise around £600 if sold.

I really fancy another DSLR rather than one of the Micro 4/3 affairs.