Saturday 30 October 2010

So long... and so annoyed

Almost two years since I last posted here. Some things have changed. I got a proper job. I slid into deep depression because of the financial crisis that ensued from not having one. However, I somehow managed to stay in work. I got a better paid job. I got a pay-out from a legal claim for a fall in early 2008 in which I broke my (camera holding) wrist (no handrail on some stairs, poor lighting and signage and a health & safety violation by the cafe concerned). I got an E30. Unfortunately, I now have little time for photography...

I am also increasingly disillusioned with Olympus. As many of us predicted, micro four-thirds has clearly spelt the doom of four-thirds proper. With the half-baked E5 we are back in the days of the OM4 being upgraded to the OM4ti, and thousands of committed existing owners then being stuffed by Olympus's suits. Of course, as an ordinary consumer, there's sod-all any of us can do about it, other than to tell anyone who'll listen DON'T BUY OLYMPUS - THEY'LL SCREW YOU OVER. Seriously bitter, yes you bet. With about £6k invested in Olympus bodies and glass which will slowly become redundant, I am bound to be. Although what I am most bitter about is my own stupidity. If I had the money, I would go Nikon tomorrow as a brand that has enough professional backing to have longevity. Maybe Sony may also be around for the foreseeable, but I can really only think that Canon & Nikon have the legs to stay with enthusiast photography long-term. Olympus make me sick.
Perhaps it really was an inferior product. Shame about the glass.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hugh, I can understand your frustrations with Olympus. I too felt disappointed with the initial specs of the E5 as an upgrade from my E30. But, given some time, seeing many of the sample shots from the E5 and seeing a You Tube video of a guy dunking the E5 in a hot water pool in Iceland, I must say the E5 doesn't look as disappointing as initial rumours had made it out to be.

Tobias W. said...

Hi Hugh,

I was one of those who have bashed the E-5 prior to its release on popular forum sites discussing Olympus products. Now I own one.

I don't feel sorry about this decision. Image quality up to ISO 800 is on par if not better than any other camera. The viewfinder is great. Build quality is much much better than anything I ever touched. Usability is great.

I also own an E-PL1 and the Panasonic 20mm. Also a great tool when an SLR is too much camera in someone's face.

The good thing about the people running away from Olympus is the availability of used lenses at cheap prices. I recently got the 50-200mm with another year of limited merchant liability for half the original price.

Compared to Nikon's and Canon's full frame cameras (of which not many have the same build quality like the E-5 and Zuiko lenses), Olympus Four Thirds is still an extremely affordable system to invest in. I'm not a professional, I don't need to take high ISO images in pitch black. I own the 12-60mm, the Panasonic Leica 25mm, the 50-200mm along with the two kit lenses that came with my initial E-520 and the 35mm Macro. Just the two Pro Zuiko lenses cover more focal length in excellent quality than any other system available can at the moment. The only lens I still crave for is the 50mm Macro and maybe the 2x teleconverter. You want to get rid of your old stuff? Make me a good price! ;)