E-500 Should I invest on a Flash (FL-36) or a lens (14-54 - F2.8 to F3.5)?

Question

I have an Olympus E-500. Im having some problems (blurry pics) when taking pictures at night time in some places such as bars and clubs. Some people has told me I should change the lense because the lens that comes with the camera is F3.5 to F5.0, I should change to F2.8 to F3.5. Some other people has told me I should change the flash cuz the one that comes with the camera doesn't have a red light that focus when the shutter is pressed half way (focusing) and the results with an external flash are very noticeable. So here is the question.. should I invest on the flash (FL-36 by Olympus) or a lens (14-54 - F2.8 to F3.5)

Answer 1

You might be able to get by without either.

Depending on the cause of the blur, you might be able to make some adjustments to the camera settings to get by with your existing equipment.

If you are using the built in flash, but the pictures are blurry, it might be the camera is having trouble focusing. This camera features a flash assist focus mode, but from a bit of searching, it may not work unless you pop the flash up first. Check your manual for information on flash assist focusing.

You'll know the flash assist focus is working, because the camera will quickly strobe the flash when you press the shutter half-way. Be sure to give it time to focus before pressing the shutter the full way down for the picture

You might also try manually focusing the lens. This might be hard if the lights are dim.

Is the blur caused by low light and long shutter speed? This is the case if the flash is not going. You might notice trails around lights if this is the case. If you are trying to take pictures without the flash, try manually setting the ISO speed on your camera. The E-500 will go up to ISO 1600 manually which is pretty good for low light conditions (auto setting only goes up to ISO 400).

Your pictures will be a bit more grainy at that speed, but the motion blur will be reduced and lighting more natural.

So, before rushing out for new hardware, check the setting on the camera. You might find the solution there.
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I agree with heart ponies below. If you can shoot without the flash, by all means do so. I just recently got a Canon image stabalized lens and I am getting excellent results with slower shutter speeds than I would normally be able to use hand held.

Answer 2

Cobaldnbeard has some excellent points. But if these suggestions don't do the trick, buy your next bit of gear based on the effect you're after.

In short, use fast glass for artsy portraits and to capture the moment. Use an external flash for snapshots of brightly lit people.

I do a lot of low light photography myself and I personally prefer to use a fast lens. With a fast lens, you capture the atmosphere of the moment - the shadows on peoples faces, whisps of cigarette smoke in the air, glaring light bulbs, etc. You capture what you see and these pictures have an intimate, night-time feel to them. As an added bonus, since the flash doesn't have to recharge, I can keep shooting at several frames per second. I can also keep shooting (candids) all night without annoying the crap out of people.
I set the ISO to between 800 and 1600 and use a 50mm f/1.4 lens*. I'll focus and spot meter on my subject's face and perhaps recompose the shot before snapping the shutter.

With a flash, you DO change what you see. Whether you directly blast your subject with the flash or bounce your flash off of the ceiling, the atmosphere is lost. Even so, flash photography can be a better solution for events. There's no need to muck about with the settings, no need to worry about the shallow depth of field... just point & shoot. You'll also have less grain and vibrant colors.
Of course, people that are too close to the flash will be too bright in the picture, and the back of the room will seem like a black void, so there are still a few things to look out for.

* The difference between your current lens and a 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 isn't big enough. My main lens is a 17-55 f/2.8 (Nikon) - I've used it for night time street photography, but it's not good enough for bars/ clubs.
Besides, going from f/3.5 to f/2.8 would only yield half a stop. It would shave just 25% off of your shutter time.
Going from f/3.5 to an f/1.4 lens yields a whopping 2.5 stops. This will reduce your shutter time by over 80%. From f/5 to f/1.4 reduces the shutter time by over 90%. These are the kinds of results you need.

Answer 3

Silly human! Buy them both!