im trying to buy a camera, they both have 7.1 megapixel etc? Olympus is relatively new on the camera scene, they started in the seventies long after Canon and Nikon had estabilshed outstanding reputations for serving professional photographers. Olympus never successfully competed, they just didn't have the range of lenses and options that sophisticated photographers demanded. So they catered mostly to the consumer and nothing more. In today's digital world it's not really any different, they still can't compete with Canon or Nikon on overall quality and reliability or on the range of lenses and accessories available for solving the different photographic challenges.
Olympus has a tendency, like Sony too, to create proprietary things. They have their own memory card so you'll pay a premium for their card since you have no choice but to buy it. That doesn't mean it's better, it isn't, it's simply more expensive. Worse, the industry is slowly standardizing on secure digital and compact flash so there will come a day when you won't even be able to get an Olympus card.
You will find their reliability is also not good. Sometimes someone gets lucky and gets a camera that works perfectly forever, more often than not though, your camera could spend as much time in the shop as it does in the field. That doesn't impress me since Canon and Nikon cameras rarely ever need any kind of repair at all. On the positive side though, Olympus service is very good.
When it comes to adding other things like lenses, you have no choice but to buy Olympus lenses. Other manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron, both of which make excellent lenses, do not make them for Olympus, there isn't enough of a market to justify the expense. They do make lenses for Canon and Nikon however so with those brands you have a lot of choices as to what you can buy to meet your needs.
The only positive thing I can say about Olympus is that they're less expensive than Canon and Nikon as a rule but then I guess you get what you pay for. However I'd never own one and if one was given to me free, I'd decline the offer.
In terms of Canon, I used a Canon professional film SLR for thirty years and accumulated quite a number of lenses and other things for it to meet my needs. The equipment was always top quality and has never failed me ever. When I went digital however I went with Nikon instead.
At the time I wanted to make the switch I was stunned to discover that Canon did not support anything I owned. That entire investment was made obsolete when their digital cameras came along. I then also learned that the Nikon digitals could actually be used with all the older Nikon lenses. Clearly Nikon has a greater interest in protecting the investments made by their customers. Since I was planning to have several lenses and other accessories for my digital world, I went with Nikon because I can count on them to not suddenly obsolete what I have acquired or will acquire in the years ahead. Camera wise I think they're equal to or even better than Canon anyway. Certainly their cameras feel better in the hand and their controls seem to fit my hands perfectly. However this latter point is a personal subjective judgement, you may not agree after having held a camera of each brand. It depends on your hands and what controls you tend to use most.
Anyway, I vote for Canon since that's your only other choice though I would suggest you look at the Nikons too. Canon.
Olympus are battery-eating piles of rubbish. canon...most definantly. My olympus is in the service center as we speak. They break easily thank goodness it's under warranty. They have good customer service they cater to you. If you do get an olympus they have a trade in upgrade program which some other companies do not have. My friend has a sony and she says it's great no problems yet. Both are equally good, but olympus cameras are not as expensive as cannon. That's like asking Ford or Chevy; Toyota or Nissan; McDonald's or Burger King?
I used to be a photojournalist and I only used Canons. I found the older Olympus cameras to be difficult to handle because they tended to be smaller and the controls were too close together. On the other hand, size does matter. Especially if you want something to fit into your shirt pocket.
There is a S770SW that Olympus advertises as being waterproof (down to 10m), freeze proof (down to 14-degrees F), shock proof (when dropped from a distance no greater than 5 feet) and crush proof (up to 220 lbs). Those are the pluses. The minuses are it's slower than most; it cost more than most ($379); the zoom is only 3x optical.
No one else currently offers those features.
My advice is that you make a list of features that you absolutely have to have. Then go to a store that carries a wide variety and choose the one that meets your features list and is within your budget.
Good luck! Canon has the better features, the better photo quality... Canon, without a doubt.
Better reputation among professional photographers and generally has better specs.
Never had a problem with a lens, more capabilities, keep on top of upcoming technology, while maintaining current models and compatibilities.
And, better customer service if and when you do have a problem.
If an Olympus breaks it is often a write off, but when a good Canon breaks you get it fixed. Canon, Pay the extra... honestly you WONT regret it! i have the olympus c-700. bought in 2002 and it has been wonderful. no problems. takes stills and short vids. battery last a lot longer if you leave the view window closed and use the eye view instead. and now printers and pc have the card slots built in so you do not have to use plug ins. 10x optical zoom, only 2.1 megpixel but could not ask for better pictures. canon is rated number one
my suggestion
go to yahoo shopping
digital cameras
digital camera GUIDE
be sure to check titles on the left side
the guide should answer your questions Since Olympus has chosen to use Xd-Picture memory cards which can become expensive as your selection increases into 1 gb and 2 gb, I'd stick with the Canon line since they use Compact and SD memory cards which are more affordable. The same scenario can be said of Fuji digital cameras which also uses Xd memory cards.
Good luck! | 