Olympus Evolt E520 . I use the oly 350 right now. Please let me hear what you think about the 520. thanks, Scott

Scott,
My initial thoughts are I like the camera. The housing is nice and has optical connections for connecting fiber optic strobes. This works perfectly in tandem with Inon strobes. The battery lasts through an entire 8G card of RAW+Jpeg shots which will definitely get me through a day of diving without opening the housing. The ergonomics of the housing are nice with the buttons clearly labeled. I don't do any deep wreck diving and haven't had the housing below 100ft. I've owned the Olympus SP350, the Olympus E410, the Olympus E500, the Olympus E510 and now the E520. So far, this is my favorite of them all. I'm not sure why but the out of camera jpegs just seem to pop with color. The 14-42mm kit lens is one of the finest kit lenses on the market with crispness throughout the zoom range. If you have any specific questions, just PM me.

thanks you got mail... I also forgot to ask you where to get the 8 gig card and ask about the battery, is it recharable? thanks, Scott

so confused , don't know what to buy, will listen to all suggestions, thanks , scott

The E520/PT-E05 is a very nice system for someone moving up from a P & S.

Yes, most all DSLR batteries are rechargeable and last a long time. The E520 uses either XD media or Compact Flash which comes in larger sizes. In reality a 4GB is plenty big enough for a day's shooting.

Here's a link to a review of the E520 which should answer some of your questions: dpReview.

Jack

thanks guys, any photos I can see from this camera? scott

Hey, Scott! I see you have been bitten by the u/w photo bug...big time. I have to warn you, it's a hole in the water into which we throw money.

I'm a big fan of Olympus cameras. I know you have been shooting the SP-350 with great results. You will find the E-520 to be easy to learn and use. A couple of caveats about dslrs: you will use the view finder instead of live view, and you won't be able to change from WA to macro during a dive. Oh, yes, get ready to pay additional luggage fees... Other than that, welcome to the pond.

Jim Lyle

Jim, are you shooting the oly? which lens do you use. This is such a tough dicision and what a money pit! I know I want to improve my photos and I think a better system would help, but... $$$$ which set up would you suggest for money. thanks, Scott

I cut my teeth on the Oly c5050 before moving up to the Oly E-330. I've got lots of lenses: Zuiko: 50mm, 7-14mm, 14-54mm, 50-200mm, and Sigma 105mm. I'm very happy with the E-330, especially the live-view that hasn't been equaled on any of the other dslrs to date. There's a lot to be said for the improved auto-focus on the newer Oly cameras. Don't chase mega-pixels, they are highly overrated. I don't think you can go wrong with the E-520, but I would opt for an Ike housing and Ike strobes (just my two-cents).

thanks jim, I'll look at the ike housing. I have two inon D2000 strobes so I will stick with them. appreciate the info and will take all advice given. Thanks... ps. going back to coz in feb. scott

Hi Scott,
Here is a link to my albums on scubaboard. http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/useralbums.php The Philippines folder is with the E410. So far I've only got pool shots with the E520. There's also a bunch of housing photos for the E520 in there. Just one item of note, the Olympus housing has fiber ports built in to connect your Inons. If you go with Ikelite, you'll need to purchase a converter because the housing will not allow the internal strobe to pop up.

ce4jesus is right. If you are going to keep the Inon strobes then the Oly housing is better.

thanks guys, CE4jesus, when I went to your link i got this message, Sorry, Personal Albums are not enabled.

Anyway, would appreciate seeing any and all pics that some of you have from the 520. I realize that it's the shooter but still would like to see them. Jim, a freind recommended that I use a 100mm for macro and I don't see this lens, do you have any trouble and which to you use for super macro, say a pigmy seahorse. My pic with my 350 kind of sucked but I think that was my fault. Sorry to ask so many questions. Appreciate your answers. Scott

Zuiko doesn't make a 100mm lens yet. I have a Sigma 105mm. As you know, you can't compare apples to apples anymore; a 100mm lens on a full-frame dslr isn't the equivalent to a 100mm lens on a cropped sensor dlsr. We compare our lenses to antique film cameras with their 35mm film. On the Olys, the sensor is 17mm, so it is said to have a crop factor of 2; this makes a 50mm lens on an Oly equivalent to a 100mm lens on a film camera. Some $$$ dlsrs are full frame and a 50mm = 50mm.

I use my 50mm for nearly all macro shots. I also carry a "Woody's" dioptre - a macro lens adapter that goes over the flat lens port for added magnification when I need it. You've seen my recent images from Indo/Mexico for examples of what this lens will do. The Sigma 105mm (film equivalent of 210mm) is good, but very difficult to use; the DOF is very narrow and the lens has a hard time with auto-focus u/w. I think of my Sigma-105mm as a specialty lens for special situations, whereas the 50mm is a workhorse.

With the 50mm + a Woody's

PS - I've stopped shooting pygmy seahorses. At one time, any image of a PSH would win any photo contest it was entered in. We thought they were rare and hard to find; we were wrong, they are common and so are great pictures. Yes, it's nice to have a picture or two to show your friends, but don't stress the animals anymore than you have to. I think a wider shot, showing how tiny the little guys are, makes for a better image. Just my dos centavos.

thanks Jim, I'm truly stressed over all this and some days I just say give up. I talked with another friend and they metioned the rebel. I really am just looking for something I can use my dual inon strobes with that's not a fortune but takes good quality pics.

I've always looked up to you as a photographer and have tried to learn from you since the get go so I truly appreciate your advise. I have an old d100 but I think it's probably to out of date to house. I have a few cannon lens and one nikon lens.

So, in your honest opinion, you can pm me. Is the oly520 the way to go for me? thanks Scott

LOL. I, too, tend to over-research. You should see the spread-sheets I prepared before I bought my most recent bicycle! At some point, you need to just go for it.

I think you will be happy with an Oly-520, especially since you are already familiar with Olympus cameras.

The Rebel is also a great camera for u/w phtography. I've seen some great images taken with the D-200...and the SP-350!!!! Have you seen the new D-90????

If you want to start an infinite conversation, ask people about Canon vs Nikon vs Olympus. They all make great dslr cameras and you will be pleased at the lack of shutter lag and speed of auto-focus. You probably won't be as sanguine about the lack of a useable live-view or inability to change lenses u/w!

Any camera you buy will be out of date in a year. Lenses and strobes are longer lived. I like the Zuiko lenses a lot...

You have my email address, don't you?

Scott...sorry I'm unsure how to fix the problem with the link. I've went into scubaboard and there's nothing there to enable my album.

Jim...can you access the link I put up?

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=3166

try this link...if not here are a couple just like Jim's .... 50mm with woody's wet diopter.







BTW...this guy was just larger than a grain of rice!



On your camera decision...don't get too worked up over it. You should actually be enjoying the "hunt" for a new camera and don't let impatience get the best of you. Here's my thoughts. For starters there are several good cameras, Nikon, Canon, Olympus in the starter catagory and there isn't a single one you're going to be disappointed with coming from the SP350. I chose Olympus because I was coming from the SP350 and my wife already owned an E500 with some oly glass at the time. So if she had not owned that camera, I would've felt a little more inclined to study the Canon's and Nikons out there. So don't feel locked into a brand. Once you make a decision on a brand and start buying lenses...you will essentially be locked into it for a long time...unless you have tons of extra money laying around.
Here's some things I noticed.....high end lenses for the Canon's and Nikons seem to be a little cheaper than the Olympus. You can use your Inon's with any of the 3 cameras but only the Olympus supports the fiber optic solution. The rest have to have a hardwired cable, or adapter off the ttl housing connection, going to the Inons. So no reason to sweat that. Jim and I both felt that the learning curve would be a little easier with the Olympus. If I had it to do all over again...I'd still go Olympus but I might have given Ikelite a closer look because their dome ports are cheaper.
Olympus has some advantages - the bodies are extremely cheap compared to others and that means you would be able to afford a backup body down the road. The kit lenses are very nice, possibly the best of all the low end cameras. The OEM housing is very affordable (although fantasea and ikelite aren't that much more expensive)... anyway my feeling is you'll be thrilled no matter what direction you choose because there's no real difference in image quality at lower ISOs and the speed of the focus and shooting is intoxicating.

This is what happens when you got your macro lens on and a beautiful big turtle swims by...

ok, thanks guys. Jim you have been so helpful along with Gary. I tend to agree that the oly would be an easier change over for me. I also like the price.

Gary I was able to open your gallery now and I really like your pics. Talk to me when you get back from DEMA. Scott

I know it's been a lot of questions but it's just such a big jump. I want something that will last me a while and that will also be better than my oly350. It's been a good camera for me. Thanks to you both. Scott

thanks for all the pics, link worked fine now. I so looking forward to learning this camera. thanks again, Scott