E-500 Review

[velvet4269]

You can go with either the xD card, or the Compact Flash card - that was one of the biggest draws for me: the camera uses media I already own I already own a 1GB CF card (purchased for something like $10 on Newegg), and am looking to pick up a 4GB card, so I can just use the 1GB for backup. A 2GB card, at SHQ will hold roughly 300+ pictures.

That said, memory's pretty cheap these days, regardless which way you go.

[eydryan]

well just find the official olympus dealership in your country / town and ask them for a price listing. the 35mm macro runs at about 350€ but you can find it as cheap as 150$ at some stores (there's one in NY). however, for true macro you would need the 95mm (i think, or 105, can't remember) macro which offers 1:1 magnification.

canon and nikon spend much money in advertising. it's been a while since i've seen a oly ad meaning that you don't have to pay 200$ more just because canon needs to pay its advertisers. also, the downside to this is that those cameras are popular and therefore sell for more than they're worth. and honestly i have seen the 350d and the 400d and i am really not impressed. washed out colours, doubtable exposure and no ergonomy are its weak spots. plus the fact it's a camera meant to stay on full auto. it's designed to be used by complete morons. of course in the right hands it's ok but mainly it's aimed at rich american kids with no knowledge of anything. so while oly requires a learning curve the results are much more impressive (entry level cameras only). as for nikon it has nice colours (except skintones where oly is king) but its price is just too high for what little it can do. limited functions and such really make the two lens oly the best entry level choice.

as for the memory i enjoy the dual slot for two reasons: a is that you can always hold an xd in there and forget it and when al else fails you still have 1gb worth of storage and b is that if someone wants to take your card you just give them your cf and say look there's no photos of the high-security building on my card.

[Todd]

I have an E-500 and love it as said before thereisnt realy anything negative to say about it. I am still learning to use it but think it great. Seems the lenses are more expensive than other brands but I am learning to make the kit lenses do all I need. All in all great for the $$$.

[madhatas]

I have to agree with the reviews above. I am new to Digital SLR photography and the E500 is my first dslr camera. (I had an OM10 35mm a few years back) I am already getting some great shots from th E500. I have been very impressed. The menus and settings are easy to get used to and I am already experimenting with various settings.

Cheers

Tim

[Val1064]

I found one that I am going to buy soon with all this:
Olympus E-500 Digital SLR

14-45mm OLYMPUS LENS

40-150mm OLYMPUS LENS

4 GB CF card

Wide Angle lens

Filter Kit

60" Inches Tripod

Tabletop Tripod

Deluxe Camera Bag

Camera Hard Case

Complete cleaning kit

Card Reader
for $650.00 I just wanted to say thank you for letting me know this is a good camera, it will be my first DSLR.

[cderaaf]

I've had my E-500 for 1.5 years. Excellent camera. The best thing I did recently was to purchase the Sigma 30mm F1.4. There is also the Sigma 24 F1.8 for a little wider angle. I use the 30mm 90% of the time due to fact that I take a lot of indoor pictures. It's a sick lens for taking protrait shots and normal everyday activity of people. The 30 mm length forces you to fill the frame, while not being right in people's faces all the time. There are 2 things that this camera is missing, and that is the Image Stabilization now available on the E-510 and a larger view-finder. The view finder isn't a huge issue, but after holding my friend's Canon 30d, I was a little envious of the massive view finder. Albeit all of these quams are fixed on the excellent E-3.