Is this a good deal?

[NicoleScraps]

Friend of mine is thinking about getting this camera. I know nothing of the Olympus brand. Any opinions on this particular camera and the price? She basically does mommy photography, snapshots of her kiddos.

Olympus E-450 Digital SLR Camera w/ ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Lens Kit | Staples®

[kuvahmagh]

I'd like to help but unfortunately Staples requires a Zip Code which I don't have and the Canadian Site doesn't list it.

Disregarding price since I don't know what they are charging it really comes down to what she wants to do in the future. I made the mistake of going Olympus when I went Digital since I shot Olympus Film. Its a decision I wish I could do over or wish I had of looked at things a little more objectively when I made it.

If she never intends to go Pro and just wants it for vacation and family photos in the park it will probably be more than enough but if she ever does want to expand I would look elsewhere since I no longer feel Olympus takes its DSLR line seriously at all. I can get into quite a rant as to the failures I perceive from Olympus in this regard over the past couple of years however this isn't really the place.

Edit:

If she really wants an Olympus then I would look online for a used E-420 (or even a 410) since the 450 (to the 420) is basically identical with a new shiny label and a higher model number, other than that the 'improvements' are pretty weak.

[NicoleScraps]

Oh, sorry about the price thing. It is $399 right now. This weekend they are having a one day only sale of $349.

[kuvahmagh]

That's a pretty good deal. Its not that their cameras are no good, though I would argue they aren't worth the money at the high end of the scale, and the 450 is a decent camera and if like you say she just wants it to capture photos with her family it will no doubt fill the role. That's AFAIK a good price for the body and standard zoom lens.

[xinman]

To some degree I agree with kuvahmagh. I don't feel like Olympus is taking their DSLR market serious as they are sinking a lot of development time and money into the m4/3 models. I love my e-620 but I'm also worried that Olympus will entirely abandon the e system and I will be stuck with a camera and lens system that is no longer supported. I also agree that you could probably find a used camera for around the same price or cheaper that is better or at least as good as the 450. For what you said she will use it for it would be great but I've found that as someone who enjoys taking pictures stepping up to a DSLR almost a year ago. Like I said I love my DSLR but the lack of lenses and development scares me. It would be really nice for Olympus to development new lenses and work on getting the exposure that they deserve. The cameras are great and the lenses are great but they're still considered an underdog.

[jerome.oneil]

I love my E-520 Amazon has the E-520 at 499.00. I don't believe the E-450 has Image Stabilization and I don't know the other differences but at 349.00 I think it's a good deal. If she's looking at getting good quality photographs on a budget she could look at the Olympus SP800 at 259.00 that's a good deal. It lens is 30x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom (F2.8-F5.6, 28-840mm Equivalent) and it takes HD video.I'm thinking about adding this camera to bag.She could also look at similar cameras from other manufactures.

Good Luck!

[RAWcop]

Originally Posted by jerome.oneil

I love my E-520 Amazon has the E-520 at 499.00. I don't believe the E-450 has Image Stabilization and I don't know the other differences but at 349.00 I think it's a good deal. If she's looking at getting good quality photographs on a budget she could look at the Olympus SP800 at 259.00 that's a good deal. It lens is 30x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom (F2.8-F5.6, 28-840mm Equivalent) and it takes HD video.I'm thinking about adding this camera to bag.She could also look at similar cameras from other manufactures.

Good Luck!

I have the e-620. I love it! easy to use. but keep looking around (like amazon) I paid $599 for my setup (body + 2 lenses).