E-P1/2 or 40D

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Archive 2009 · E-P1/2 or 40D

TylerCP
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p.1 #1 · E-P1/2 or 40D

Hey everybody, I am going on a trip in January and I am having a tough time deciding between bring a 40D 16-35 and 70-200 or getting a E-P1 or 2.The thing is I want to bring a hasselblad kit for fun and I don't want to carry a lot. E-P1/2 makes sense, but does anybody have a recommendation for the m43 system?

Nov 10, 2009 at 08:48 PM

carstenw
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p.1 #2 · E-P1/2 or 40D

Wow, huge difference there. <1kg versus >3kg. I think on the basis of size alone you could decide this, nevermind cost or IQ.

Nov 10, 2009 at 08:50 PM

Zara
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p.1 #3 · E-P1/2 or 40D

It depends on how serious you want to get with your photography. Considering a 40d/16-35/70-200 on top of a 'blad kit seems pretty serious indeed, that will be a lot to carry.

My m4/3 system is really for those times when photography is not the primary goal of my trip/outing but I still want to take along a kit that comes considerably close in quality to my 5D an lenses in decent light without breaking my back.

In your case, if you are seriously concerned about bringing the 'blad and 40D combo (it will be rather a lot to tote around), maybe you need to decide on what to take as your primary system to get the photos you expect to get and then decide if you have room left for extras.

If the primary will be the 'blad then I think the EP-1/2 will make a good companion. Arguably, bringing just the 40D and 2 EF lenses you mentioned will provide the most versatility.

Nov 10, 2009 at 09:08 PM

dasrocket
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p.1 #4 · E-P1/2 or 40D

In terms of IQ, my G1 held at least as well as my ex 40D; in terms of size, well

You can take the same quality pics with the 40D that you can with the E-P1. IMO, your decision will not rest on the inherent IQ between the two as much as it will between the handling, size and weight difference.

Nov 10, 2009 at 10:07 PM

Yakim Peled
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p.1 #5 · E-P1/2 or 40D

dasrocket wrote:
In terms of IQ, my G1 held at least as well as my ex 40D

I'm impressed. Even WRT high ISO?

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Nov 10, 2009 at 10:16 PM

Sr.Cordeiro
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p.1 #6 · E-P1/2 or 40D

I started my photography journey on four-thirds with a Olympus E500, sold it to get a Canon 40D, then sold it to get a 5D MkII and recently I returned to four-thirds (micro in this case) with a E-P1 to more casual work (I mantain the 5D MkII for serious work).

Based on this I can only recommend you the E-P1 over the 40D if you want to carry your camera every time to street photography, being unobtrusive is a must or if you want video (but for this last one I think the Panasonic GH1 would be better).

The 40D is a fantastic photographic tool, it has a better image quality at lower ISOs (usable at ISO 1600, the EP-1 at ISO 800 is usable but barely), it's very fast (in terms of operation, AF and FPS), it's a lot more versatile and has much better built quality.

Making it short (and a bit exagerated): the 40D is a more like a professional tool and the E-P1 it's.. well it's a tool too, but more on a gadget side (but a very high quality and fun gadget to use

With all this said, bear in mind that either camera can give excellent photos in the right hands. It's a matter of personal approach to photography, some photographers can make outstanding photos with a smaller system that they could not do with a larger one because it's the most appropriate tool for their style and vice-versa.

Nov 11, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Zara
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p.1 #7 · E-P1/2 or 40D

Yakim Peled wrote:
dasrocket wrote:
In terms of IQ, my G1 held at least as well as my ex 40D

I'm impressed. Even WRT high ISO?

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Can't speak for dasrocket, but from my experience the G series is quite competitive up to ISO 800. Any higher and the 40D clearly pulls ahead. Of course if you are a DoF junkie the 40D has additional advantages. But having the GF1 for a month now I continue to be impressed. It's not as good as APS-C or FF IQ wise, but for casual shooting it certainly delivers, while being substantially more compact.

Nov 11, 2009 at 03:05 AM

TylerCP
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p.1 #8 · E-P1/2 or 40D

Zara have you tried any large prints from the GF1?

Nov 11, 2009 at 04:31 AM

Zara
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p.1 #9 · E-P1/2 or 40D

TylerCP wrote:
Zara have you tried any large prints from the GF1?

Well, depends what you consider large. I've printed the below - Singapore Skyline - at 24" wide. It's a 3 image stitch, roughly 18Mp cut to the below crop. (Blown highlights courtesy of me, clearly beyond the DR of the sensor)

This image is copyrighted by the owner

I've printed the following portrait as 8x12. It was shot as ISO 400 and I did not apply any noise reduction beyond the Lightroom default for chroma noise. The result is sharp and you would be hard pressed to separate any noise from the paper structure.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Note that both "prints" were done at Costco on a Noritsu 3411 with Fuji matte paper. Cheap stuff, but good enough to know they would look great on good paper with good ink.

Nov 11, 2009 at 04:51 AM

Yakim Peled
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p.1 #10 · E-P1/2 or 40D

Zara wrote:
Yakim Peled wrote:
dasrocket wrote:
In terms of IQ, my G1 held at least as well as my ex 40D

I'm impressed. Even WRT high ISO?

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Can't speak for dasrocket, but from my experience the G series is quite competitive up to ISO 800. Any higher and the 40D clearly pulls ahead. Of course if you are a DoF junkie the 40D has additional advantages. But having the GF1 for a month now I continue to be impressed. It's not as good as APS-C or FF IQ wise, but for casual shooting it certainly delivers, while being substantially more compact.

Well, as I don't really like ISO 1600 on my 40D I think I'll just hate it in the G1.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Nov 11, 2009 at 07:25 AM

dasrocket
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p.1 #11 · E-P1/2 or 40D

Yakim Peled wrote:
dasrocket wrote:
In terms of IQ, my G1 held at least as well as my ex 40D

I'm impressed. Even WRT high ISO?

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Not at high ISO, at very low light, on a low contrast dark subject with a very fast lens.

But with what I have shot, up to ISO 640, printed up to 13X19, yes indeed. My point being the difference in IQ between the 40D and the G1 (in
all but the extreme situations) should not be the determining factor in the OP's decision.

Nov 11, 2009 at 03:27 PM

dasrocket
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p.1 #12 · E-P1/2 or 40D

Yakim Peled wrote:
Zara wrote:
Yakim Peled wrote:
dasrocket wrote:
In terms of IQ, my G1 held at least as well as my ex 40D

I'm impressed. Even WRT high ISO?

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Can't speak for dasrocket, but from my experience the G series is quite competitive up to ISO 800. Any higher and the 40D clearly pulls ahead. Of course if you are a DoF junkie the 40D has additional advantages. But having the GF1 for a month now I continue to be impressed. It's not as good as APS-C or FF IQ wise, but for casual shooting it certainly delivers, while being substantially more compact.

Well, as I don't really like ISO 1600 on my 40D I think I'll just hate it in the G1.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

YMMV

Nov 11, 2009 at 03:29 PM

kevinsullivan
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p.1 #13 · E-P1/2 or 40D

It's not as good as APS-C or FF IQ wise, but for casual shooting it certainly delivers, while being substantially more compact.

+1 ... I like the GF1. It's weaknesses are at high ISO and high dynamic range. That said, it's significantly better than the Canon Gxx, which I always wanted to like but couldn't like due to high noise even at low ISO's. The m4/3 GF1 occupies a useful point in the design space: much better IQ than Gxx, albeit not at the level of 40D, but in a much lighter, smaller, and less intrusive package. People hardly notice it. Most important, I hardly notice it in my bag.

Nov 12, 2009 at 01:40 PM

kevinsullivan
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p.1 #14 · E-P1/2 or 40D

Well, as I don't really like ISO 1600 on my 40D I think I'll just hate it in the G1.

Correct. I generally treat my GF1 as an "ISO 100-400 machine." It's almost like shooting with 35mm film!

Nov 12, 2009 at 01:45 PM


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