Trying to surprise my wife with a new camera, but I'm out of my element...

[shoturtle]

by the way, I wear glasses as well, and the evf for the epl-1 works well for glasses wearer, it is large and easy to adjust get things in the evf in focus.

Here is a snap of me indoor low light, no flash, 1600iso, with the kit lens, unedited.

[Mercury71]

Okay, here are some pictures. I tried to pick a few to give you an overview. Though 80% are of our kids.

Here is the first set, and I will post 1 more set

[shoturtle]

Your wife has a really good eye for photography. Skip the fz, go with a epl-1 or a dslr. She will get some great photos with those system. Especially indoors.

[Mercury71]

2nd set. I had to compress and resize so they would fit if that makes a difference, otherwise they haven't been edited. They might also be taken from different cameras.

[shoturtle]

well with these travel shot, the epl-1 will have no issues with taking similar shot. The zoo shot, there is really nothing else to do but flash as the kids are in silhouette. So it will happen with all cameras.

[shoturtle]

I see that your wife likes macro, you can get a good macro lens for that interest. For the pentax it will be about 350, with the epl1 it will run you about 260. 120 for the 4/3 adapter and 140 for the 35mm 3.5 macro.

[Mercury71]

I told her to try flash. She said she'd rather have the siloutte and be able to see the polar bears than use the flash and get the glare on the glass.

I will have to convince her that she needs to step up from the bridge camera. Oh, and decide on the epl-1 or the pentax. She liked both, other than the tilt screen, but I don't think it was a deal breaker.

[shoturtle]

This is an example of the epl-1 with the macro setup I mention.

http://forums.steves-digicams.com/ol...my-garden.html

[shoturtle]

Originally Posted by Mercury71

I told her to try flash. She said she'd rather have the siloutte and be able to see the polar bears than use the flash and get the glare on the glass.

I will have to convince her that she needs to step up from the bridge camera. Oh, and decide on the epl-1 or the pentax. She liked both, other than the tilt screen, but I don't think it was a deal breaker.

Both are very good camera. Now I see you do travel with the kids and one young one, and a dslr can be a bit cumbersome at times for packing. The epl-1 with the kit lens, and the panasonic 45-200mm lens is what my wife uses all the time for travel. It fit nicely into her purse. Just something to consider.

But she is right with the flash and glare. A direct flash would have cause her to most likely lose the polar bear. Bounce flash would have help there.

[mtclimber]

Mercury-

What you may find out over time is that the Olympus EPL-1 might create less of a sense: hey can I handle that when looking at DSLR cameras. Therefore, the DSLR will be less foreboding to her, and perhaps easier for to adapt to and learn.

Believe it or not how we respond to a particular camera does affect our learning curve with that camera, and even our sense of feeling comfortable with that camera when shooting.

The excellent .jpeg engine in the EPL-1 will also put less photo editing pressure on her as well. Keep in mind that based on my own experience with the EPL-1, you will need that Olympus VF-2 viewfinder.

After putting it off for over 6 weeks, I broke down today (08/22) and ordered the VF-2, because I came to the determination that without the VF-2, I was holding myself back.By adding the VF-2 that will make the EPl-1 purchase more expensive than the Pentax KX.

Mercury, based on your posts, I have come to the conclusion that your wife would have an easier time transitioning to the EPL-1 instead of the Pentax Kx.

Sarah Joyce