Newbie considering buying the Olympus evolt E-500

Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 15 Location: Memphis, TN

*smacks head* NOW I see where we are supposed to go to look up that info. Sorry folks.

Hello, I was hoping I could get some advice about purchasing a camera. As said, in my subject, I have been eyeing the Olympus E-500. I haven't looked deeply here, but it seems that the slant is toward Nikon and Cannon. I have got to say that I know NOTHING about cameras or photography! However, I do love photography, and I really want to learn to take good photos. I have pet rats that I love to photograph, and so it would be important to be able to get good detail, and take quick shots. My camera that I have now is about dead, it was just a HP point and shoot. So, my budget...thanks to tax season and a sweet hubby is 800.00 to no more than 1000.00USD, which the Olympus E-500 fits perfectly. Anyway, I would appreciate any advice you folks could give me, I am sure you all have done this a thousand times, so I really appreciate it. BTW, the website I had planned on ordering from is www.expresscameras.com, they had the best priced packaged deals. Oh, and the Olympus I was going to get with the two lenses. Either the 18-50mm and the 55-200mm or the original two 14-45mm and 40-150mm. (Boy do I have a lot of learning to do! I have no idea what the significance of those numbers is...I know I can look that up myself though.

Thank you!

Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:03 am

catsgurleygirl wrote:

*...I was going to get with the two lenses. Either the 18-50mm and the 55-200mm or the original two 14-45mm and 40-150mm. (Boy do I have a lot of learning to do! I have no idea what the significance of those numbers is...I know I can look that up myself though.

Thank you!

Look into the new E-330 as well. The E-500 is great but the 330 is similar and can save you some cash.

As for the lenses.... what you are quoting is the focal length of the lenses. On the Olympus cameras a 25mm lens will give you a similar perspective as your naked eye. In other words, the percieved distance is the same as when you view with the naked eye. If you double that focal length, ie. 50mm it will be render as half the distance. ie. an object 100 feet away will photograph as if it is 50 feet away in the print. If you have a 100mm lens it will look like it is 25 feet away......etc.

Also check out the articles section. You'll see some articles describing the SLR, its advantages, features and options. I hear the author is a pretty cool guy...... lol

Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 15 Location: Memphis, TN

Thank you luisv.

Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 5 Location: Switzerland

Hi,

Just a word of warning about websites such as the one mentioned in your post. To find out more about expresscameras please look at this:
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1805-p1-s2-d1.html#reviews

You might consider instead buying from a much more reputable and reliable vendor such as B&H or Adorama or many others.

Good luck and hope you have an absolutely wonderful time with whatever dSLR you purchase.

Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 2

Hello catsgurleygirl,

Did you buy E500.I am also in the same boat.Planning to buy E500.Please share your experiance ...if you get one.Thanks

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:57 pm

Just to throw another element in here, I too was considering the E500 and, because the price seemed reasonable, considered the 2 lens option

Things that attracted me (in no particular order)

1 the brand
2 the price
3 dust removal system
4 4/3rds system meant smaller lenses = less weight to carry
5 8 mega pixel

Overall the reviews were good but there were some things that put me off. The first was that (apparantly) noise seems to be apparent in higher ISO, although this isn't necessarily uncommon, it was a consideration, 2nd there were questions over the longgevity of the format, although with the E330, it would appear to be less of a concern now and finally a number of my local dealers had their fingers burnt with poor reviews / sales of the e300, so weren't stocking the E500, which meant I couldn't get hold of one (literally) to assess the feel of the camera.

I also read that some retailers were selling different double lens kits without charger / battery to get the cost down but that just seemed daft, as of course I would need one

I read reviews of the D50 and early reviews were cautious but later ones sang the praises of it, particularly the handling.

It compared well with the Canon Rebel XT (350d over here) and was £150 less with std lens. I compared the handling in a shop and preferred the feel (size weight / grip etc) of the camera. Found the best deal i could on-line and now I have it.

I still stand by the Nikon purchase but at the end of the day a huge part was down (not to the reviews...although I considered them) but to my personal feeling of the camera.

As I've read elsewhere, if it feels right, you're more likely to use it

Hope this helps, though this thread on the Pentax ist has more of the same thinking (if you see what I mean)

http://www.phototakers.com/forum/ftopic14104.html

Whatever you get, enjoy it

PRB:)

Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 2

I just purchased the evolt-500 dual lens package, So I can't really recommend it just yet. However I did have an Olympus 3000z prior to this purchase and was very pleased with it (lost it on a cruise ship :( ), and that greatly influnced my decision in this purchase.
This is my very first SLR camera of any kind so this is all new to me too.
I've read about 1/3 of the manual so far and it is very helpful. However I did take the camera to a hockey game and took some great pics, The only thing I've noticed is while using the auto positon on the control dial, the pics were slightly darker than I would like, Adobe Photoshop corrected this problem but I would like to know more about settings on the camera and how to use them.
I hope whichever camera you purchase you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine. BTW I purchased mine on Butterfly foto online and with the $100.00 rebate I'll end up paying $672.00 not bad for a DSLR camera. Good Luck
and enjoy.

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:40 pm

Thought I would answer some of Peters questions seeing as he put a lot of time into it and it might help others.

PeterRoweBlackman wrote:

Overall the reviews were good but there were some things that put me off. The first was that (apparantly) noise seems to be apparent in higher ISO

True. It does have noise reduction on it, but for the 4 months I have owned it I have yet to use such a high ISO that it caused visible noise. Plan on applying for photo editor for the paper, so I might notice it then with more indoor shots. Keep ya posted.

Quote:

2nd there were questions over the longgevity of the format, although with the E330, it would appear to be less of a concern now

With the E330 they bring in all the high end P&S people because they can see the shot before them. Everyone I hand my camera to doesnt know whats going on and they arent aware of the view finder. It should boost the popularity of the E-series line. Also, Sigma has released 5 new lenses bringing their total up to 8. Nothing like Canon or Nikon, but the market is starting to pave the way for this new 4/3 system.

Quote:

and finally a number of my local dealers had their fingers burnt with poor reviews / sales of the e300, so weren't stocking the E500, which meant I couldn't get hold of one (literally) to assess the feel of the camera.

The 300 did flop. Although experts would say it was a great camera, it flopped in the market. As for availability, any OfficeMax should carry it and the Rebel so you can try them both out.

Quote:

I also read that some retailers were selling different double lens kits without charger / battery to get the cost down but that just seemed daft, as of course I would need one

This is true, there are 2 different kits. The only lenses that change are between the 14-45 (good) and the 17.5-(I forget)(which is not good). If I remember correctly, the 17.5 version was only sold Internationally.

PBR had valid points. Just answering them :)

Joined: 09 Apr 2006 Posts: 199 Location: Worcester, England

Ive recently done some tests comparing the quality of the E-1, E-300 & E-500.
The general concencus is that the E-500 is best, the E-1 next and the E-300 worst. But not by much

There are three standards of E-series lens the 14-45mm & 40-150mm are in che consumenr bracket. The 14-54mm & 50-200mm are in the Pro-sumer bracket and ther there are another set in the Pro bracket byt you need to be a lottery willer to think about those.

For anyone who is interested I have done a set of comparison pictures for the mid-range lenses showing the coverage from 11mm to 283mm.
It can be found on my Flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncmoody/sets/1001677/

Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 684 Location: Minnesota

I bought the 2-lens kit from B&H a few months ago. I love the camera. The downside is that so far, the number of aftermarket items are limited so far, at least compared to a camera like the Rebel. I feel that this will change. Like the previous post, aftermarket lenses are on the increase.
I think it is a great camera for the money.

Doug

Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 38 Location: Pensacola, Florida

You may also want to consider the E-1. This is the pro version of the E series and it is being discontinued as Olympus plans on coming out with a more updated E-pro camera. Anyways while supplies last the E-1 is incredibly priced for a pro camera. Check out cameta camera on e-bay. They will have great prices on the e-500, too.

I recently bought a E-1 with the 14-54 lens (a much better lens than the 14-45) and the 40-150 lens (consumer level lens - but it does very well and is a good starter lens) and the shld-2 battery pack for just over $1,000. This is quite a bit of stuff for the price. I liked the E-1 'cause the viewfinder is a lot larger, it is more rugged (titanium body) although it is bigger and heavier, and it is weather resistant (not water proof) - a big consideration because I live in a very humid part of the south and I take a lot of images around the water. BTW - I bought from Cameta and had a great purchasing experience from them.

Don't get me wrong - I really like the E-500 also and I will likely own one eventually as a second body - that is unless I can afford the new E-pro body - if I can the E-1 will become my backup.... But that probably won't happen. This hobby really drains the cash....

Joined: 19 May 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Ohio

I just bought the E-500 with the 2 lenses. I bought it from an ebay store out of New York. There prices were by far the best I have seen yet. I got the camera, 2 lens, 1 GB 133x card, bag, and other goodies for $755 after rebate.

I am very happy with it so far, although I am new to digital SLR's.

Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 684 Location: Minnesota

Good deal! I bought the E-500 about 5 months ago. I paid $900 for the camera and two lenses! That was about the best deal out there that I could find. This was before the rebate. Just goes to show you what happens when you wait for just a bit. Have fun with the camera. I like mine and am very happy with it!

Doug

Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Belgium

Halo! I found this site
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/e500-using.html
very, very useful and informative. Strongly recommend!
Vladimir

Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:09 am

Just stumbled on this thread,....I got an E-500 a while back and am still learning it......its certainly got potential for when you can get your head around all the necessary menu options to make things go the way you want.........I intend for mine to be the same type of tool I used in my film days.......