issue with my E500!!

Joined: 16 Mar 2007 Posts: 18 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

user malfunction or camera?

On a few occasions I have been taking photos using my 40-150mm I cannot get the camera to focus even using AF. Another issue Im having is that when I do get it focused, it wont take the picture. I hear it trying to work (i.e. the sounds it normally makes before recording the photo) but nothing happens. It just repeats the sound over and over no matter how long I hold down the button.

No settings have been changed. I am usually shooting in auto, portrait, or landscape mode at this point as well. Pefect example from last night. A good friend had her baby yesterday and had asked me to do photos of the birth and what not afterwards. I felt honored to be asked. Then humiliated when trying to take the photos and either the thing wouldnt focus or when it did, wouldnt actually take the picture.

I tried using different lenses (40-50mm and 14-45mm) and the same thing happened. I tried moving toward and away from the baby with no avail. I even tried standing accross the room and attempted to focus on the wall to take a photo. No luck. I have only had this camera for about 4 months. This is my second go around though. The first body I had for 3 days before the entire LCD screen went green. Olympus said it must have gotten jostled during delivery. I got a new one. Now, I am having problems again and I dont know if I can take it back this time.

Everyone of my friends told me that I should have gotten a Canon... I have held my ground with the quality of Olympus and their products, but after yesterday even my faith is wavering. Help!!!!!

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:47 pm

What I would try in this case is removing and reinstalling the lens. Possibly a connection there of lens not quite set.

This last weekend I had my camera do the no AF Focus thing, checked the lens and found it to not be quite clicked on. Possibly hit the disconnect button inadvertently or ??

Joined: 01 Apr 2006 Posts: 194 Location: Pittsburgh

Thats frustrating. It might have something to do with whatever you were trying to photograph. i noticed that if i try to focus on something close-up when not in Macro mode the camera will not take the picture and struggle to focus, or if there is nothing really to focus on like a blank sky. This is when i'm just messing around, sounds like your problem is a malfunction of some sort. Hopefully you have a warranty??

Joined: 19 Nov 2006 Posts: 6

If you are new to this camera, spend a little time with the manual or better yet go to Wrotniak.net, and work through his material on the E500. Sounds like you're using the camera like a point and shoot, which it will do, but you didn't spend all that money for pure automation, which doesn't guarantee perfect results anyway, did you?
The E 500 isn't that great in low light so it might have had trouble focusing. Was that the situation? Were you closer than the minimum working distance of the lense?
But really, relax, learn the camera, I'll bet even the pros have performance anxiety.