aleedy
New member
Hi everyone,
I currently own an Olympus e-420 which I've had for ~3 years. I love this camera for its small size and portability.
However, lately I feel like I've been limited by its poor low light performance. The max ISO is 1600 but honestly performance at 800 is just barely acceptable and 1600 is too grainy. I've solved some of my problems with a tripod (using slower shutter speeds and lower ISO) but I would like to get better low light shots when I'm just carrying the camera (for example, on photo walks at dusk/dawn).
For this reason I've been looking at switching systems (Olympus really doesn't have much of an upgrade path). I first considered a brighter lens for the Oly but an f/2.8 lens is right at thousand dollars and I don't feel like I want to invest in a dying system.
I've played with Nikons and Canons and honestly, I prefer the way the Nikons feel in hand (comparing d7000 to 60D). I've found a great deal on a nearly new (<1500 shutter actuations) d90 and I think I'm going to jump on it.
According to DXOMark the D90 should give me a full stop of better ISO performance (better results from 800 and acceptable results from 1600?). I'm also thinking that a VR lens should give me another stop or two (Nikon claims 4 I think but that seems a bit aggressive).
At the same time I would purchase a brighter lens (something like the sigma 12-70 f/2.8-4) giving me an even brighter setup.
It seems like these three things combined could solve a lot of my problems and I can get the d90 and sigma lens for about the same price as a d7000 body alone. I've looked at the d5100 also but i prefer the two dial setup of the d90/d7000 and the ergonomics of the camera in general.
Basically, I wanted to see if there are any flaws in my rational before I push the shutter on this. Do you guys think this is a logical and intelligent move to make?
Thanks!
I currently own an Olympus e-420 which I've had for ~3 years. I love this camera for its small size and portability.
However, lately I feel like I've been limited by its poor low light performance. The max ISO is 1600 but honestly performance at 800 is just barely acceptable and 1600 is too grainy. I've solved some of my problems with a tripod (using slower shutter speeds and lower ISO) but I would like to get better low light shots when I'm just carrying the camera (for example, on photo walks at dusk/dawn).
For this reason I've been looking at switching systems (Olympus really doesn't have much of an upgrade path). I first considered a brighter lens for the Oly but an f/2.8 lens is right at thousand dollars and I don't feel like I want to invest in a dying system.
I've played with Nikons and Canons and honestly, I prefer the way the Nikons feel in hand (comparing d7000 to 60D). I've found a great deal on a nearly new (<1500 shutter actuations) d90 and I think I'm going to jump on it.
According to DXOMark the D90 should give me a full stop of better ISO performance (better results from 800 and acceptable results from 1600?). I'm also thinking that a VR lens should give me another stop or two (Nikon claims 4 I think but that seems a bit aggressive).
At the same time I would purchase a brighter lens (something like the sigma 12-70 f/2.8-4) giving me an even brighter setup.
It seems like these three things combined could solve a lot of my problems and I can get the d90 and sigma lens for about the same price as a d7000 body alone. I've looked at the d5100 also but i prefer the two dial setup of the d90/d7000 and the ergonomics of the camera in general.
Basically, I wanted to see if there are any flaws in my rational before I push the shutter on this. Do you guys think this is a logical and intelligent move to make?
Thanks!