End of an era

So last Friday I came to the realisation that my current camera gear (Olympus e420) really has no future. Even though I knew this I didn't really think about it. Olympus is no longer making DSLRs. The only way forward for me would be to get the E-5 but it would stop there as they are/have moved to mirrorless/third gen technology with the OMD E-M5 of which I hadn't read much about yet.

I'm shooting a wedding soon with my e420 (kit lenses) it made me start looking at what I can do with the money from it. At first I was going to get a new lens that I've wanted for years the 70-300mm Zuiko so I can get some better shots of wildlife in particular birds, my 40-150mm f/4-5.6 doesn't quite have the reach.

Zuiko 70-300mm f4-5.6

In Australia this lens has always been around the $600 price point until recently it's around $500. 

My first camera purchase for $999 i think it was back in 2004 was the Olympus C-770 Ultrazoom 4mp beast. This was my starting point in photography, always liked it but never had a camera of my own. For me this was a great starting point, it has the ability to go off auto and preset modes and the macro was really good. I still have it and it's still working but really doesn't get used.

C-770 Ultrazoom

Some shots from the C-770

Around 2008/9 I was ready for an upgrade, get into the DSRL area so at  the time I narrowed my choices to the Canon 350/400D or the Olympus e420. In the end I went for the Olympus e420 (Twin Lens Kit 14-42 and 40-150mm)

I really like this camera and was a great stepping stone. I also have the 35mm macro lens now so I've got that macro side back that I had with the C-770. Since this time I've read up on and taught myself new things like HDR, aperture/shutter priority and full manual modes, long exposures include star trails etc a lot of which are on my flickr account. 

HDR, 3 exposures (limit of the e420) and done in Photomatix

So it was last week when I started to look for alternatives to the Olympus DSLR line. I've always wanted a Canon so I started looking at whats around then Nikon came into the picture and I started comparing the two over multiple models from Canon 600d/60d/7d and the Nikon D7000 and I thought i'd narrowed it down to the Nikon D7000 or 60d then I read something that Trey Ratcliff wrote "DSLRS are a dying breed - 3rd gen cameras are the future" and it got me thinking about the Olympus OMD E-M5 that I'd seen on posters at camera shops and liked but never looked into.

I've now read lots of reviews, compared it to the D7000/600D/60D/7D and gone in to JB HIFI and had a play with one and right now this is my next camera, I'll be watching it closely over the next few months to see if the price comes down a bit. Also with an adapter I can use my existing lenses. From what I've read/watched so far I'm really looking forward to owning the new Olympus OMD E-M5 maybe with the optional hand grip and battery. I also love how the camera is weather sealed.

Olympus OMD E-M5

So when I do get the E-M5 it will be my third investment with Olympus and I'm really looking forward to it and to how the who photography technology evolves over the next few years.