Introduction

[Kendrab]

Hello,

This is my first post. I recently returned to photography, and have bought what I feel is a pretty decent camera setup. My interests are nature, landscape, and portrait photography. I live in the Okanagan Valley in BC, Canada. I will probably be asking quite a few questions as I am still getting to know what my camera can do.

I was a bit surprised at how many salespersons tried to convince me to avoid Olympus products. For my needs, this camera seemed like a great match. Fortunately, I had a few good photography friends who helped me to determine what I needed versus what would have been "nice" to have.

If I had listened to the advice of some salepersons, I would have ended up with a full frame camera. They seem to think full frame is the only way to go. Never mind I didn't want that much weight, and I couldn't afford to spend the kind of money to build up a good full frame camera system.

One salesperson did recommend a Pentax K-30, which I thought was a pretty good option, but a friend of mine had to go with a full frame camera setup to please his main client, so I got a great deal on some of his Olympus stuff.

I was able to acquire all of the equipment in my signature for $1300. The camera was new, but the rest was used. I am really happy with how everything works, and believe the 12-60mm lens is a really good general lens. I bought a few filters and a decent camera bag for another $200, and still had a few dollars left over.

My next purchase is going to be a good tripod and tripod head. I am going with a Gitzo Basalt Tripod and Ball Head. I am getting that as a Christmas present to myself.

My future plans are to get a good wide-angle lens (the Olympus Zuiko 9-18mm f4.0-5,6), a macro lens (the Olympus Zuiko ED 50mm f2.0), a 1" extension tube (the Olympus TX-25), and a better telephoto zoom lens (Olympus Zuiko 50-200mm f3.5-5.6 SWD). There is no hurry on the 50-200mm lens, but I will have the other items before spring hits.

My camera system will fit inside my Kata 3-in-1-25 backpack, and is light enough for day hiking. It isn't the best setup for low light photography, but I rarely do that anyway.

There were newer options, but I doubt I could have gotten anything better than what I have for the total $1480 I spent so far. What do you think?

[SIMON40]

A nice bit of kit,I think- with two very decent lenses and flash etc- which would have cost a pretty penny to purchase separately.