Hi everybody!
I've been reading the heck out of these forums all day and have really enjoyed them.
I got my E-PL1 a couple months ago and haven't played with it too much. I've got numerous cameras to work with and I got the Oly to act as a step up from point and shoot cameras (I've got an old Panasonic P&S that is only okay) but a step down in size from our SLRs and DSLRs (Minolta Maxxum 7 and 7Ds). I was really impressed with the video quality in comparison to a couple Canon prosumer level digicamcorders (Vixia HG10s) and I've found the image quality to be pretty good (not as good as the Minolta 7D with large, fast glass, but WAY above any P&S I've ever used!)
So, on a whim/impulse buy, I was in the Sony Style store on Dec. 24th and decided to buy a Sony Alpha A33. My primary logic was to buy a DSLR for 1080/24P video and I already have a bag full of Minolta glass, so I thought it was a win-win. When I do video work, I record between 90-120 minute single take videos (live classical concerts in multi-angle HD video). However, even though the guys in the store assured me that there was NO limit to the length of video on the Sony cam (other than the battery or memory card), I found that the actual limit, due to heat, was between 9 and 30 minutes.
Ironically, my wife also had bought me a new lens for the Oly for Christmas (which I didn't know when I bought the Sony). So, I decided to look into the problems with DSLRs and video recording length limitations. I was pleased to see that the new Panasonic m4/3 system records 1080P at unlimited lengths (again, memory/battery limitations only). So now, I've got a camera that takes good pics and the lenses can be interchanged with my new (not yet purchased) Panasonic m4/3 camera.
My biggest gripe with the Oly camera to date had been the low-light or even moderate-light performance. It's not up to par with full-frame or APS-C frame DSLRs. However, I've been playing around with a lot of settings and pictures since Christmas and have come up with some great pics.
I've uploaded a pic that I took earlier this evening in my kitchen. My attempt was to focus on getting a clear depiction of differing types of blacks in lamp-lit, indoor setting while hand-holding. The pic was handheld at 1/6th of a second at ISO 400, f-stop 3.9 with the lens wide open at 18mm. I under-exposed by 1 stop as well. The original image was captured in RAW and converted using lightroom. The only editing was altering the color temp to a slightly cooler color.
I'm actually really impressed by this photo (though the composition is not great...)
As it is, I'm now starting to shop for new lenses and am REALLY excited about what I can do with this camera!
Cheers!
Jeremy
I've been reading the heck out of these forums all day and have really enjoyed them.
I got my E-PL1 a couple months ago and haven't played with it too much. I've got numerous cameras to work with and I got the Oly to act as a step up from point and shoot cameras (I've got an old Panasonic P&S that is only okay) but a step down in size from our SLRs and DSLRs (Minolta Maxxum 7 and 7Ds). I was really impressed with the video quality in comparison to a couple Canon prosumer level digicamcorders (Vixia HG10s) and I've found the image quality to be pretty good (not as good as the Minolta 7D with large, fast glass, but WAY above any P&S I've ever used!)
So, on a whim/impulse buy, I was in the Sony Style store on Dec. 24th and decided to buy a Sony Alpha A33. My primary logic was to buy a DSLR for 1080/24P video and I already have a bag full of Minolta glass, so I thought it was a win-win. When I do video work, I record between 90-120 minute single take videos (live classical concerts in multi-angle HD video). However, even though the guys in the store assured me that there was NO limit to the length of video on the Sony cam (other than the battery or memory card), I found that the actual limit, due to heat, was between 9 and 30 minutes.
Ironically, my wife also had bought me a new lens for the Oly for Christmas (which I didn't know when I bought the Sony). So, I decided to look into the problems with DSLRs and video recording length limitations. I was pleased to see that the new Panasonic m4/3 system records 1080P at unlimited lengths (again, memory/battery limitations only). So now, I've got a camera that takes good pics and the lenses can be interchanged with my new (not yet purchased) Panasonic m4/3 camera.
My biggest gripe with the Oly camera to date had been the low-light or even moderate-light performance. It's not up to par with full-frame or APS-C frame DSLRs. However, I've been playing around with a lot of settings and pictures since Christmas and have come up with some great pics.
I've uploaded a pic that I took earlier this evening in my kitchen. My attempt was to focus on getting a clear depiction of differing types of blacks in lamp-lit, indoor setting while hand-holding. The pic was handheld at 1/6th of a second at ISO 400, f-stop 3.9 with the lens wide open at 18mm. I under-exposed by 1 stop as well. The original image was captured in RAW and converted using lightroom. The only editing was altering the color temp to a slightly cooler color.
I'm actually really impressed by this photo (though the composition is not great...)
As it is, I'm now starting to shop for new lenses and am REALLY excited about what I can do with this camera!
Cheers!
Jeremy