What to do with my olympus gear?

[Justintoxicated]

I'm thinking about jumping ship. I have taken some good pictures over the years, but I always get to lazy for large prints and have never learned photoshop enough to get more serious about the hobby.

I read that 4/3 is dead or dying. Will I still be able to get any money for my lenses? I mean what good will they be?

I have the following for my e-520

• 50-200 Non SWD
• 8mm fisheye
• 14-54mm
• 50mm f2 marco.
• I also bought a flash for it that was a couple hundred bucks.

I probably won't be as invested as some people here, but it was a good chunk of change for my use (non professional). I will miss many things if I switch to another brand, like the fisheye and macro lens, they were good values, as well as the easy to use menu and camera in general. I still think olympus makes some of the best glass, so i am very sad about the way things turned out. If the platform is dead, though good glass won't matter so much. I'd like to get something for my lenses before its too late, even if I can't get much for the camera. Then maybe invest that money I get into a new camera and start collecting lenses again?

What is the best way to go about selling lenses?

Advice?

[Don Kondra]

Who says its dead ?

I just purchased my second E-5

You would probably be hard pressed to get $150 for the camera but the lenses are worth slightly less than 3/4's of new.

Post them for sale here or pay $10/month to list them on Fourthirdsphoto Forum

Cheers, Don

[Greg McCary]

Well as Don stated the E5 is a great camera. I am not sure what Olympus is going to do with its 4/3rd line now that Sony has gotten together with them.
I have been using the Sony a99 and can tell you the biggest adjustment for me was losing the crop factor. Wildlife pictures are harder to do as full frame zooms are costly.
The other thing I miss is the Olympus lenses. For the money they are the best lenses out there.
But to me Sony is the innovator right now. They are setting a blinding pace. The a77 is a really good camera. It's not the best at high ISO, above 3200 but its packed with features and I am addicted to the EVF and focus peaking, good luck and let us know what you do.
I am also playing around with the RX-1 its a niche item but the image quality is some of the highest measured by DXO and has a Carl Zeiss 2.0 lens. It's also very small.
If you can do it full frame is the way to go. The color depth, bokeh, high ISO and dynamic range of full frame cameras are heavenly.

[Erik_Olympus]

I was going to post a separate thread about Olympus but might as well jump into this one.

I've been happily clicking along with my E-520 as well and haven't spent much time keeping up with the latest equipment and trends. I've had the camera for a few years and am pretty happy with it but recently started thinking about upgrading or augmenting my lenses. I was very surprised to see that Olympus now only offers one 4/3 camera and seems to only be concentrating on the micro 4/3 line.

I'm not quite sure what to do myself at this point. Does anyone think they will ever release a more modest priced body, something along the lines of the E-620? I'm not unhappy with my gear but the E-520 does have some shortcomings under low light conditions (noisy above ISO 400, slow auto focus). I've certainly learned to deal with these issues, but it's somewhat disheartening to know that the only upgrade is a $1600 body. I've had my eye on on a couple of lenses, but I'd hate to think that they'll be obsolete in a couple of years or that if something happens to my body I'll have to upgrade to a more expensive one than can afford.

Should I be looking at the micro 4/3 line? My understanding is that you can adapt the 4/3 lenses to the micro body but there are some drawbacks, especially with auto focus. Would any of the micro 4/3 cameras out now be considered an upgrade to the E-520?

[Justintoxicated]

I was going to post a separate thread about Olympus but might as well jump into this one.

I've been happily clicking along with my E-520 as well and haven't spent much time keeping up with the latest equipment and trends. I've had the camera for a few years and am pretty happy with it but recently started thinking about upgrading or augmenting my lenses. I was very surprised to see that Olympus now only offers one 4/3 camera and seems to only be concentrating on the micro 4/3 line.

I'm not quite sure what to do myself at this point. Does anyone think they will ever release a more modest priced body, something along the lines of the E-620? I'm not unhappy with my gear but the E-520 does have some shortcomings under low light conditions (noisy above ISO 400, slow auto focus). I've certainly learned to deal with these issues, but it's somewhat disheartening to know that the only upgrade is a $1600 body. I've had my eye on on a couple of lenses, but I'd hate to think that they'll be obsolete in a couple of years or that if something happens to my body I'll have to upgrade to a more expensive one than can afford.

Should I be looking at the micro 4/3 line? My understanding is that you can adapt the 4/3 lenses to the micro body but there are some drawbacks, especially with auto focus. Would any of the micro 4/3 cameras out now be considered an upgrade to the E-520?

Thanks for posting here since your questions are a lot like my own. Looking forward to hearing any more responses. I love Olympus glass so its very hard for me to give it up. Although I don't use my camera much anymore (still take it on outings a few times a year though), if I had to I would buy the $1600 body for an upgrade. in fact I'm pretty sure this would do everything I really need. Then again, I don't want to pay $1600 for a system that is going away...but at the same time I'm hesitant to get rid of the glass I have come to love so much (Yes I'm going in a loop here!).

I wonder if there's some other lens for full frame cameras that works as well as the olympus fisheye. The fisheye is my favorite lens for landscapes. Although it's tricky to use I have several favorite shots that have resulted from it.


Green Sand Beach by Glamisduner, on Flickr


_5072510 by Glamisduner, on Flickr

These shots would have been tricky with any standard lens due to the surroundings.

Maybe I could get more motivated if I actually printed something I took a picture of lol.

[Greg McCary]

For one thing I think we might not see anymore 4/3rd consumer based SLR cameras. I have heard rumors of an E7 for a long time but I have just about given up on seeing one.
I appears Olympus is putting all of their eggs in the m4/3rd line. The OMD E-M5 is still the best performer of the mirrorless cameras. Olympus has done so many things right. The IBIS, focus speed, battery grip and a huge selection of lenses.
They are a bit behind the eight ball with high ISO image quality but if you can live at 1600 ISO or lower then The E-M5 is the way to go.

I was going to post a separate thread about Olympus but might as well jump into this one.

I've been happily clicking along with my E-520 as well and haven't spent much time keeping up with the latest equipment and trends. I've had the camera for a few years and am pretty happy with it but recently started thinking about upgrading or augmenting my lenses. I was very surprised to see that Olympus now only offers one 4/3 camera and seems to only be concentrating on the micro 4/3 line.

I'm not quite sure what to do myself at this point. Does anyone think they will ever release a more modest priced body, something along the lines of the E-620? I'm not unhappy with my gear but the E-520 does have some shortcomings under low light conditions (noisy above ISO 400, slow auto focus). I've certainly learned to deal with these issues, but it's somewhat disheartening to know that the only upgrade is a $1600 body. I've had my eye on on a couple of lenses, but I'd hate to think that they'll be obsolete in a couple of years or that if something happens to my body I'll have to upgrade to a more expensive one than can afford.

Should I be looking at the micro 4/3 line? My understanding is that you can adapt the 4/3 lenses to the micro body but there are some drawbacks, especially with auto focus. Would any of the micro 4/3 cameras out now be considered an upgrade to the E-520?

[simplisticwheatcrops]

I used to have an Olympus OM-10 and I've used their Mirrorless cameras. Since then I've gone to using Nikon. I've also thought of using Olympus mirrorless, so reading this helped me. Thank you!

[Justintoxicated]

I still haven't figured out what to do. I really haven't been using the SLR much unless I am on vacation. Should I just buy a used E5? Is it worth investing in an E5 or am I throwing too much money into an obsolete package?

I spent a lot of money on olympus glass so switching to another camera won't be easy.

[Erik_Olympus]

My E-520 recently died on me. I thought about getting another DSLR, like an E-620 or E-3, but saw a good deal on an E-PM2 body and decided to go for that.

My original thinking was get the cheapest camera with the most advanced sensor and processing and get the MMF adaptor so I can still use my old lenses. It half worked out. I'm still new to the camera but I do like a lot of things about it. I like the build quality and the simplicity. After customizing the settings, it's pretty much how I would like it. It is a bit on the small side so handling is not always ideal, but the size has other advantages. I would say I have average hands. People with big hands would probably have trouble with this camera. The image quality seems to be better than my E-520. It also has much better high ISO capabilities.

On the negative side, I wouldn't say 4/3 lenses are the greatest fit on MFT cameras. Auto focus is very slow and the camera lags in low light conditions. As far as a replacement for the E-520 that will allow me to fully enjoy my existing 4/3, I think it falls a little short. Certainly the lenses are usable, they just aren't as versatile as they were on the DSLR. I also have a MFT 14-42 lens, so I can attest to the fact that the camera is very responsive with a native lens.

I will say that the camera has sparked my interest in older manual lenses. It seems well suited to manual focus and so far I have tried out a couple of different lenses. I just ordered a new adapter so I can mount an old Konica Hexanon AR 50mm/1.7.

[Will_in_Tejas]

I have my E-30 with 12-60, FL-50 flash and many accessories apparently sold on ebay. I held on for a long time. So long that I recently gave away my 35-100 which I should have sold 2 years ago. I very much liked my Oly equipment and learned to manage high ISO. I have absolutely no interest at all in the micro stuff. This is my last Olympus equipment to sell and I now own a Canon 60D. I doubt we will see any dslrs from Olympus again. If possible I'll contribute here.

[Justintoxicated]

I have my E-30 with 12-60, FL-50 flash and many accessories apparently sold on ebay. I held on for a long time. So long that I recently gave away my 35-100 which I should have sold 2 years ago. I very much liked my Oly equipment and learned to manage high ISO. I have absolutely no interest at all in the micro stuff. This is my last Olympus equipment to sell and I now own a Canon 60D. I doubt we will see any dslrs from Olympus again. If possible I'll contribute here.

I think I'm still trying to hold on. Considering picking up an E5. it may not be the best SLR but I'm not a professional anyways.

I managed to pull this shot last night with the ancient e520.
https://flic.kr/p/n8vXr6
Which has me thinking maybe an E5 would do the trick. I really don't pull out my SLR too often, just a handful of times a year. But it sure is nice to have when I want it.

[Will_in_Tejas]

That is one of the better shots I have seen through a lens. Congrats on that capture.

Good luck to you with the Oly equipment. I believe the IQ from them is second to none. I had an E520 also that I sold about 6 weeks ago prior to selling what I listed here. I'm happy though with the Canon and have a total of three lenses now.

[iammak]

To know more,go to camerastore.com

[Adhori Yaadin]

I think it falls a little short. Certainly the lenses are usable, they just aren't as versatile as they were on the DSLR. I also have a MFT 14-42 lens, so I can attest to the fact that the camera is very responsive with a native lens.

[Leontine]

Good luck to you with the Oly equipment. I believe the IQ from them is second to none. I had an E520 also that I sold about 6 weeks ago prior to selling what I listed here. I'm happy though with the Canon and have a total of three lenses now.

[minion89]

I really like the kind of article written in plain text so people can understand it and people can understand which message the author wants to convey. Your style is very unique but it's easy to understand what you want to say in this discussion.
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