might buy into four thirds standard...

[srf4real]

I came across an incredible deal today, a brand new Panasonic L1K Lumix 7.5Mp dslr... kit lens included. I have read DPRview and hit several other info sites today considering this purchase (can't beat the price!) I want to go dSLR soon and I had chosen the Pentax K10D, weatherseals are nice. But for $500! The leica lens is worth more than that. Will I be sorry I am stuck with a 4/3 sensor in the long run, although there are many good lenses available? I appreciate any feedback and opinions... I'm not going to wait long to jump on this good deal, tho.

 

[miloblithe]

$500? Seems like if you don't like it you could resell it at a profit. It's a $1300 camera. Is this deal for real?

There definitely aren't as many lens options as with the Canon or Nikon systems, or legacy lenses like with Pentax, but you only really need the lenses that you use. Saving that much on the base lens and camera body, how could you lose?

 

[jlcharles]

you could lose because you probably found it on a site from brooklyn. check the site on resellerratings.com

 

[Lovesong]

That does sound like a scam. If you're getting it from an online store, check out resellerratings, as jlcharles suggested.

 

[eji]

Yep, that price sounds too good to be true. Do you have a link?

If that deal falls through, go with the Pentax K10D or K110D. The kit rebates they're offering at the moment are fantastic, and the firmware 1.3 has solved any caveats reviewers had at the beginning, like soft JPEG quality (though that, in my opinion, came down to the default settings than firmware).

Anti-shake, weather seals, etc... the feature list for the K10D is like a wishlist with other cameras, and the thing itself is phenomenal. I picked up mine in Feb and I love it. It's a great D-SLR that you can grow into.

 

[zap2]

If it seems too good to be true, it is.



Thats my stance on the internet....of course, I'd look into it, but I'll risk passing a deal up, over risking getting a good deal, but possible losing lots of cash

 

[Abstract]

Do you know what makes this camera expensive? When you pay for the camera and don't actually receive it. This may be the most expensive purchase you have ever made.

 

[srf4real]

Heh heh. Yes I had nightmares last night about scam artists. This is a local transaction, tho. I am driving an hour away with the cash this afternoon and putting my hands on either the camera or the dude who's trying to scam me. I have a valid local address and valid local phone number.

Story goes it was a gift, way too sophisticated for his tastes. He was asking more for it but reduced his price yesterday.

So I haven't heard any negative feedback on the smaller 4/3" sensor as compared to the larger ones in Nikon, Canon, Pentax. If I get a good 200mm lens (400mm equiv in film) how does that compare to 400mm equiv on say a Nikon d40 with good lens? Will the image quality be as fine only smaller images than a 10Mp sensor? The sample pics on DPR look excellent. I will still want that k10d down the road, but now it will be longer to save money again. My wife is going to think I'm nuts!

 

[miloblithe]

The main disadvantages, as far as I know, are physical: smaller viewfinder image, and less ability to get shallow depth of field.

 

[blackstone]

Heh heh. Yes I had nightmares last night about scam artists. This is a local transaction, tho. I am driving an hour away with the cash this afternoon and putting my hands on either the camera or the dude who's trying to scam me. I have a valid local address and valid local phone number.

Story goes it was a gift, way too sophisticated for his tastes. He was asking more for it but reduced his price yesterday.

Sounds to me like it might be a stolen camera. Nobody in his right mind would be willing to sell a brand new camera for less than half its value unless it wasn't really his camera to begin with.

 

[srf4real]

Sounds to me like it might be a stolen camera. Nobody in his right mind would be willing to sell a brand new camera for less than half its value unless it wasn't really his camera to begin with.

how would I know? As a gift, he has excuse not to have a reciept, but I do expect to find the Panasonic warranty card inbox, what if I buy a stolen camera without knowledge? Is warranty still good? Do I need a reciept of purchase to validate the warranty?

I have seen people sell gifts for money before, he probably would rather pay his insurance bill!! (Hurricane alley down here)

 

[baby duck monge]

Well I won't speak as to the possibility of this thing being a scam, because that's pretty well covered, but I will talk about 4/3 for a minute.


I recently entered the dSLR market and picked up an Olympus E-500 (before the 400 and 510 came out) with a 14-45mm lens for a hair under $500. I have since picked up a 40-150mm and a 35mm macro. Both lenses were fairly inexpensive, and I have been very pleased with their clarity.

I love my camera, and can take great shots with it. I feel that the lenses I have picked up are more than sufficient to hold me for a while, which is definitely a good thing because there's aren't a whole lot of truly inexpensive lenses available for 4/3 (I consider "truly inexpensive to be $300 or less; I know some people consider $600 to be inexpensive, but I'm not one of them).

I will also agree that the viewfinder is relatively small. I haven't had a whole lot of trouble with that, though, because I only use manual focus to tweak the auto-focusing, and I get very good feedback re: the shots I have taken on my LCD. I also don't think the size is significantly smaller than what you get on other cameras, and you can always pick up an eyepiece with magnification (assuming your camera has replaceable eyepieces - mine does).

I do, however, disagree with milo's comment about DOF. I have had no noticeable problems getting a DOF that was either as large or as small as I wanted it to be. Granted, I had some difficulties in the beginning, but that was more my own misunderstanding about how open or closed my aperture needed to be for certain things.

Finally, I will suggest to you what I suggest to anyone considering switching to 4/3: check out the website. Four-Thirds

Look at the bodies and lenses available for the standard. Then check out the prices of the lenses. If you can get what you want from what's offered now (I suspect there will be more choice in the relatively near future, but you can only bank on what's out there now), I say go for it.

 

[srf4real]

I just got back from Daytona Beach with the L1 in my hand! The stuff has never even been unwrapped... the guy was very cool and was with his family, I feel good about the deal being legit. So anybody want a Panasonic Lumix L1K for $1000.00?

j/k. I am going to love this camera for long, long time. I'll post some pics in the threads after I read the manual... Thanks for responding everybody, it helped me feel more confident about what I need, and no one said, "four thirds, OH NO!!!"

 

[OreoCookie]

Four Thirds' lenses usually have excellent image quality which surpasses that of FF lenses (this has to do with the physics involved, it's easier to construct good lenses for smaller sensors). There are three major caveats:

(i) Lack of a (semi-)professional body: Olympus makes nice bodies, but the technology of the E-1 is not really up to par with today's cameras anymore. Its built quality is extraordinary but that isn't enough (I've owned an E-20 which is really a deadly weapon if you need one).
(ii) The viewfinder is too small. This is a direct consequence of the small sensor and you can still see this with pretty much all dslrs (excluding the D80 and newer): just take a film slr and compare the view finders. Since the Four Thirds sensor size is smaller than that of other dslrs, this is even more significant here.
(iii) Larger DOF: If you are a creative photographer, you're going to miss this. As the depth of field scales with focal length, you'll find that the DOF on Four Thirds cameras is a lot larger than on crop sensors or even film.

Now the advantages:
(i) Lenses are lighter, cheaper and have exceptional image quality. (Again, this is due to the smaller sensor.)
(ii) Bodies can be smaller (which can be negative, too).
(iii) Soon, there'll be a professional body again.
(iv) Some interesting lenses.


Now, these three might not be significant for you. As a matter of fact, had Olympus presented the E-1's replacement at last year's Photokina, I might have stayed with Olympus (instead of going back to Nikon). I liked the user interface a lot, no space is wasted with pointless programs (portrait, night, etc.) which populate my rotary dial on my D80.

 

[netdog]

There are three major caveats:

(i) Lack of a (semi-)professional body

Leica and Lumix wish to disagree. The interface on the Digilux 3 (manual dials akin to those we photographers are used to) is beyond compare, and the build quality is extraordinary.

Couple that with the Leica 14-55 2.8 that this guy just got and he has a camera capable of producing amazing images. This lens is contrasty and gorgeous.

 

[OreoCookie]

Leica and Lumix wish to disagree. The interface on the Digilux 3 (manual dials akin to those we photographers are used to) is beyond compare, and the build quality is extraordinary.

As much as I like this camera and its controls, I really do, the viewfinder is terribly small. For someone with glasses (such as me), this is really an indispensable feature. As I said, if there was something akin to the D80 (price- and performancewise), I'd have a serious look at the Four Thirds system. I've owned Olympus cameras before and I grew fond of them. The other thing the Digilux 3 is `missing' (it's really a different type of camera) is an ultra-fast AF system for sports and action photography.

The Digilux 3 has always been beyond my financial capabilities.

 

[absolut_mac]

Excellent deal, enjoy your new camera.

Post some pics when you get a chance.

 

[srf4real]

Ok, here is the cherry popper! From my 'dark room', looking into a cloudy fish tank and out the dirty window. No editing, the first is a resized jpeg and the second is 100% crop...

L1: ISO 800, 1/160 sec., f/3.5 @ 50mm (100mm equiv.)

I've taken a hundred pics already, and I can't contain my excitement! What a step up from my fz50. Thanks again, knowledge is power.

 

[Abstract]

A fish tank? You disappointed me. I was expecting waves.

 

[sjl]

A fish tank? You disappointed me. I was expecting waves.

Now then, Abstract, be nice - not everybody likes to make waves ...

*dives for cover*

 

[j/k/Andy]

interesting 4/3 and Minolta MD lens link:

http://www.rokkorfiles.com/olympus.htm

 

[srf4real]

A fish tank? You disappointed me. I was expecting waves.

Yeh, I'm bummed about that, too. Summertime flat spell has me selling off surfboards and buying crazy camera stuff.

-It's ok tho, hurricane season is only getting warmed up, and after I get a 50-200mm lens for this baby, you'll beg me to stop posting waves!