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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SteveClifton" data-source="post: 1280306" data-attributes="member: 48420">I completely agree with your point here about the prices of third party lenses whichever system you use, though the more I read and learn about DSLR photography, the more I feel that different systems are known for certain strengths over the others, and these advantages should influence your choice in relation to your needs for your camera system. For example, doubt has been cast over the size of the 4/3 sensor, and whether in the future it can be upgraded and improved enough in terms of its resolution and low light (high ISO) performance (very important for bird photography) to compete with the other brands. Canon and Nikon already appear to have an advantage in these areas, though I'm not sure exactly how much better they really are in practice and how much of it is bad press from some reviewers who are biased against Olympus in favour of Canikon (afterall, popularity really does seem to breed popularity in this field). Incidentally, you notice this bias towards specific brands very acutely in the photography world, and often users of each brand fiercely defend their chosen system whilst dissing most others.I personally have no experience of any other brands, other than what I've read, but simply felt that I wanted to get a camera as soon as possible and start learning. There's no doubt that we are going through a photography revolution or 'golden age' at the moment, and each manufacturer is trying to outdo each other in the race for more pixels and more feature-packed cameras. No-one really knows for sure how Olympus (or any other brand for that matter) will fit into the big picture in 5 years time. It's all just speculation, and that shouldn't necessarily sway you away from buying what looks good for your needs now. There seems to be so much emphasis on latching onto a system that will grow with your needs for the future (not least because of the investment in lenses that makes it prohibitively expensive to switch for most of us), but one thing's for sure; predicting the guaranteed future-proof option for your needs is getting harder and harder each year.A bit long winded but hopefully some of this was helpful. By the way, my initial disappointment was probably as much to do with my unrealistically high expectations of what I could achieve with a DSLR, as it was to do with poor technique and learning to use the gear. Certainly nothing to do with the AF system which is actually quite good.Steve</blockquote>

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