EPl-1... talk me out of or reassure...

[jlyle]

Olympus' customer service sucks spectacularly, IMO.

My experiences with Oly's customer service have been excellent. Repairs have been fast, inexpensive, and quick. Just my dos centavos - YMMV.

 

[Doubler]

Forget the Olympus and go with the Canon T2i, More lens choices, bigger processor, shoots 1080i vs 720p, more housing choices. I did a lot of comparison between the two and the Canon won hands down. The advantage goes to the Olympus on size and weight.

 

[Jax]

Forget the Olympus and go with the Canon T2i, More lens choices, bigger processor, shoots 1080i vs 720p, more housing choices. I did a lot of comparison between the two and the Canon won hands down. The advantage goes to the Olympus on size and weight.

+1 on that! My G10 rocks!

Two cameras, mine and my daughters. Three occasions. No give at all from Oly. I went Canon for P&S and haven't looked back.

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

The Canon 550/T2i is around $900.00 with a 18-55 kit lens and is at its best using the optical viewfinder. The Olympus E-PL1 with the 14-42 kit lens and Olympus housing with port is around $1000.00 and uses live view. While I agree that the Canon is a great camera you are looking at two different price points and types of systems. Most housings for the Canon camera will cost more than the entire Olympus system.

Regarding the G-10/11/12 also great cameras in their class but they all have a sensor size about seven times smaller than the E-PL1, you can ask any Canon guy and they will all tell you that bigger is better.

http://blog.tylerginter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/sensor-size-11.gif

Pany GF-1, Sony NEX-5 and Oly E-PL1 would be a more reasonable comparison.

Phil Rudin

 

[KelnKelp]

Thanks guys! Yeah i've looked at the Canon T2i, and it really all boils down to cost. I don't have $1000+ for just the camera alone which is close to what the canon costs. The olympus is in my price range, and seems to have the best options for quality (sensor size) lens availability, with what they are releasing later this spring... etc.

I'm a canon person at heart so this is a hard step for me, as well as tossing down hundreds of dollars since I don't make much $$ overall. I haven't looked much into the Panasonic or the Sony...they fall after olympus in my "idea of quality" though honestly that doesn't count for much in reality I'm sure.

Thanks for the help. I think I need to go into a store and really spend some time playing with one, I've only really held it once.

 

[Doubler]

Kelli The Olympus is a great camera. I was/am an Olympus guy and have been for years. You asked for someone to talk you out of the ELP-1 and was giving you another option. I waffled for a year between the OLy and the Canon finally deciding on the T2i. You are correct there is a price difference that is substantial when you add in the housing and ports. Part of my decision was I already had Ikelite strobes and they won't work with the Oly housing. Either way you are making a good choice.

 

[slowhands]

The original topic was the EPL-1, to buy or not to buy. I don't think it's reasonable to compare a full on DSLR with the EPL-1. Certainly they are better, but you will spend $4000 on a system, versus say $1600 for an OLY EPL-1 based system.

For me as a long time user of Olympus UW cameras, the EPL-1 made good sense. Picture quality is better than any Point and Shoot Camera, and despite some quibbles, overall it works well. The original Oly Port works with the kit lens only, so for other lenses such as the 50 macro or 9-18 you need other ports. For under $1200, you can buy the basic system: camera, Oly housing, and tray. You'll probably want at least one strobe, another $600-1000. I'm not sure when the IKE housing for it will be available, might even miss this generation so don't hold your breath. You may be able to re-use your AF35 flash and tray if you really want to save money, but a better strobe is probably worthwhile.

This is complicated by the upcoming EPL-1S -- smaller, with improved lens. Personally I don't see any great benefit to the newer camera for underwater use. The good news is the original version will be discounted as it is being discontinued.

As for customer service, I have had nothing but good experiences with Olympus. I need a lot of repairs. I use Canon USA, Nikon USA, and Olympus America as well as third parties for repairs. Canon and Nikon are better, but OLYMPUS gets the job done for me. They are a little slower than Canon for routine repairs, say 14 days versus 7 days in the shop, plus shipping time. All service shops can run short of parts for repairs and that can delay things another month or so. When Olympus cams pass end of service life (4 years after discontinuance), they won't repair them at all and there are few other options (Precision is one). When they can't repair it, Olympus does offer a refurb of some current models at inflated prices, but these seldom are desirable for underwater use. All in all, they do a good job of support.

 

[chs8084]

I just ordered the E-PL1 yesterday, and although I could not swing getting the 9-18 mm lens right now, my understanding is that it will indeed fit in the oly case.

 

[Michael Folise]

Olympus' customer service sucks spectacularly, IMO.

This has not been my experience. My daughter borrowed my e-pl1. When she brought it back, the rear lens element (kit lens) was badly scuffed. This may have been my fault as I know I put the lens in the photo back pack without the rear cap on more than one occasion. Nevertheless, sent it off to Olympus for warrantee repair. Came back one week later, new rear element, no questions asked. Much better that my experience with Nikon warrantee repair.

 

[under water]

I just ordered the E-PL1 yesterday, and although I could not swing getting the 9-18 mm lens right now, my understanding is that it will indeed fit in the oly case.

Yes, the 9-18mm lens fits into the Oly case and standard port just fine. You do need a different zoom ring than the 14-42mm. Both lenses work fine in the Zen dome as well.