How my dog almost ate my Olympus E-PL1 [budget]

[batterytypehah!]

So, Raid's ongoing thread about the $150 deal from Cameta for a new E-PL1 body (he ended up with an even better deal, $200 with the 14-42 zoom, refurbished but apparently new and with warranty) has me, a long-time film holdout, at the point of getting my first serious digital.

SWMBO approves a ~$200 budget last night. This morning, our dog gets a little to rambunctious running down the stairs and hurts her paw. Off to the vet. If you have a pet, you know how quickly one can blow through $200 just on tests.

We got lucky, though. The vet was sure it wasn't a fracture, didn't even find an X-ray necessary, and the dog should be fine on a couple of pain pills a day and reduced activity. $79 please.

Still, I'll probably have to limit myself to the E-PL1 body and one cheap lens adapter for the moment. That $200 deal seems to have dried up, anyway. I have some K mount and some Konica AR mount lenses, nothing wider than 28, though. Any strong reason to favor one system over the other? I'm leaning towards Konica because I currently have 28-40-50 for it, versus 28-50-135 in PK. I know, neither is ideal at the 2x crop, but I don't mind bringing a film body along for wide angle situations.

 

[colyn]

Still, I'll probably have to limit myself to the E-PL1 body and one cheap lens adapter for the moment. That $200 deal seems to have dried up, anyway. I have some K mount and some Konica AR mount lenses, nothing wider than 28, though. Any strong reason to favor one system over the other? I'm leaning towards Konica because I currently have 28-40-50 for it, versus 28-50-135 in PK. I know, neither is ideal at the 2x crop, but I don't mind bringing a film body along for wide angle situations.

You'll enjoy the E-PL1 with any lens. I use my Minolta Rokkor-X lens along with the 14-42mm. My favorites are the 35, 50, and 200mm lens..

The below image was taken with the 50mm f/1.4 MC Rokkor-X lens on the E-PL1 body..


harley_5 by Colyn's fotografs, on Flickr

 

[rparmar]

I'd go for the 28-50-135 configuration because then you have an effective FOV of 270mm in your longest lens. No reason other than pragmatics to go with either adapter.

I should point out that if you spend a bit more on eBay you can get a tilt adapter than will open up additional photographic possibilities.

 

[raid]

I used this morning the EPL-1 with the Vivitar 90-180 macro zoom.
Get the cameta.

I hope that your dog is OK.

 

[swoop]

Every visit to the vet is $110 for me.

 

[Rob-F]

I can sympathize with the cost of vet bills. Every time I take Ginger in, it's at least $150.00. And $400 or more is not unusual. Teeth cleaning, Heartguard, Frontline; vaccinations; Fortiflora; it all adds up. And there's kennel costs . . .

 

[batterytypehah!]

Thanks, guys. Yes, the dog is doing fine.

I think I'll go with the Konica option for now, because I really like the 40/1.8 Hexanon.

Also, it may be academic, but all other things being equal, AR is inherently 5mm shorter than PK due to flange distance.

 

[Keith]

Every visit to the vet is $110 for me.

That's not surprising ... they usually treat animals!

 

[ampguy]

good choice

good choice

That's the next MF lens (along with other AR lenses) that I plan to use on the epl1. Nikon F mount is next after that for me.

Thanks, guys. Yes, the dog is doing fine.

I think I'll go with the Konica option for now, because I really like the 40/1.8 Hexanon.

Also, it may be academic, but all other things being equal, AR is inherently 5mm shorter than PK due to flange distance.