Help Needed with camera choice

[btafly]

Hi All,

I am trying to get into child photography and studio photography, currently I have an Olympus E520 digital slr with kit lenses. I wont to get a wide angle lense for it but i am having difficulty in tracking one down. What i am asking is is the Olympus E520 enough to compete proffessionally or should i look at getting say a nikon or cannon camera. if you suggest getting a nikon or cannon camera what wide angle lense should i get with it. I am doing a wedding in January so will definately need a wide angle i am also doing a new born shoot in december as well as a maternity shoot so need a versitile camera will the E520 be able to cope with such a wide scope of work?

[OsmosisStudios]

Your gear has very little to do with how well you shoot. WHat is it that the 520 isnt giving you?

[btafly]

I guess the main problem i am having is the fact i cannot find a wide angle lense for the olympus camera.

[OsmosisStudios]

How old are you looking to go?

[btafly]

Preferably a new one

[inkista]

Actually, I think the problem is how high are you willing to go. I'd think the Olympus 14-35 f/2 would be a great wedding lens, but it is $1900 at B&H. And you can certainly go wide with the Oly 7-14 f/4 (which is $1500) or the Oly 11-22 f/2.8-3.5 ($630).

I think, simply because of the crop factor (1.5x/1.6x vs. 2x) and popularity of Nikon and Canon, you might be able to find some lower cost alternatives for fast wide angle glass, but there's nothing really stopping you from achieving it with your Olympus gear if you're willing to pay for the glass. All three of the lenses I mentioned are listed as available at B&H.

Going with old manual-focus OM lenses probably isn't the way, since all of those were designed for 35mm film, and you're not going to be finding anything wider than 18mm, and that 18mm lens goes for about $1000 these days, given how popular it is with Canon 5D shooters as an adapted lens.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

How old are you looking to go?

How did I get "old" out of "wide"....?

O_O

[btafly]

I was woundering what you were meaning, not really to sure I have my standard 14-55mm kit lens with the camera, but when i was doing a wedding it was not wide enough to take the group shots. i had to stand quite away back and you loose alot of detail in the photographs when you do that

[Raigoki]

there's also sigma 10-20mm for olympus. (and it's quite cheap.)
if you would really want wide angle, zuiko 7-14mm is the right choice... (but i think you can't put a screw-on filter on this lens...)

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by btafly

I was woundering what you were meaning, not really to sure I have my standard 14-55mm kit lens with the camera, but when i was doing a wedding it was not wide enough to take the group shots. i had to stand quite away back and you loose alot of detail in the photographs when you do that

Keep in mind that a wider lens may not help you in this instance. wide and ultra-wide lenses are designed to exaggerate the depth of a scene, not just to get everything in. You may be better off doing smaller groups.