Olympus Evolt E-500

[garris3404]

Any opinions on this camera? Camera is 8 MP and lens factor is 2.0. Kit comes with Zuiko digital lenses (14-45 and 40-150).

 

[pyrxtc]

I ahve an opinion! It is my next camera, as soon as I get the money, it's mine! Everything I've read or seen so far makes me see that this is one of the better cameras out there. Olympus makes the best digital camera on the market. I ahve mostly Olympus cameras and have never been disappointed with them. It is definately worth the money. the cheapest i have seen it yet is at I REMOVED THIS LINK. iT IS A SCAM SHOP. dON nOT bUY fROM hERE! i am thinking of getting mine from best buy though since I've never bought from best price befoe and I find their shipping a little high. Plus, I can pick up the camera from the store maybe?

if you think it's for you, visit the Olympus website and play with it, you'll know it's for you after that.

www.Olympus.com

 

[garris3404]

Any body else have an opinion?

 

[pyrxtc]

I think this camera is too new for a lot of opinions. you can doa web search on feedbcak or reviews for this camera. They are all good.

 

[YEKCIM]

You may want to read reviews posted at one or both of these sites:

www.dpreview.com
www.steves-digicams.com

www.pricegrabber.com is a good place to start in comparing online retailers' prices, and to be sure you are dealing with someone reputable, go to www.resellerratings.com.

~YEKCIM

 

[Mickee]

I too am interested in this camera, anyone have a recent review?

Thank You !

 

[ndelaware]

I too am interested in this camera, anyone have a recent review?

Thank You !

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse500/

 

[Mickee]

Thx Ndelaware, How are things at the Deer Park, Klondikes?
I too am a fellow Delawarean, Down in Middletown!

I was searching for any personal reviews, this week I think I read every online review there was but was looking for any onhand personal reports.


Thank you !

 

[Charade]

I was searching for any personal reviews, this week I think I read every online review there was but was looking for any onhand personal reports.


Thank you !

Try here

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1022

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Things I don't like from this camera:

1. 4:3 aspect ratio instead of the de-facto standard 3:2 for dSLR
2. lack of choice in lenses
3. no walkaround superzoom available (that I know of). Nikon has 18-200 zoom with Vibration Reduction, Canon/Pentax/Samsung has 18-200 zoom (made by Sigma and Tamron)
4. poor/hunting low-light auto-focus performance (this is from personal experience comparing Canon Rebel, Canon Rebel XT, Nikon D50, Nikon D70, Olympus E300, Olympus E500, Pentax ist*DL)
5. Unuseable ISO beyond 400 (in fact ISO 400 on the E500 is worse than ISO 1600 on the 2 year-old Rebel, also ISO1600 on Rebel XT is actually rated at ISO2000 !!!)

 

[ndelaware]

Thx Ndelaware, How are things at the Deer Park, Klondikes?
I too am a fellow Delawarean, Down in Middletown!

I was searching for any personal reviews, this week I think I read every online review there was but was looking for any onhand personal reports.


Thank you !

Sorry Mickee, I haven't seen this camera in person. Have you tried going to Cameras Etc. in Newark? If they have it, it at least you can get a chance to check it out and takes some shots.

I am in Glascow, but we are moving to Middletown in eary fall this year.

 

[donaldduck1967]

Things I don't like from this camera:

3. no walkaround superzoom available (that I know of). Nikon has 18-200 zoom with Vibration Reduction, Canon/Pentax/Samsung has 18-200 zoom (made by Sigma and Tamron)

They already have a 50-200mm lens out and are coming out with 18-200mm very soon.

I got the camera for christmas and so far I am very happy with it. I havent had any poor auto focus issues in low light. I have never tried any other dslr's so I can't compare them but on my camera I think the low light focus is fast.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Congrats, donaldduck 1967.

Bottom line is, for every input, treat them no more than just an input. Try testing the cameras yourself and decide for yourself what you like (or don't like).

The way I buy a camera is as follows:

1. Read reviews
2. Ask for inputs
3. Try the cameras
4. If there is any doubt, buy the CHEAPEST one and learn what I need / don't need from that camera
5. If need be, buy another camera from my own personal experience.

 

[Mickee]

Thank You For your Info.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I just picked up this thread, I also have been looking at either the Canon XT or the Oly evolt 500. I also am on a budget, not that I can not spend the xtra bucks for the Canon if I could find a reason to do so. I have read every review known to mankind and still can not pull the trigger.
Many times the opinion comes down to that Canon has more lenses!!
I do not use high ISO a lot but would like to have the capability when needed. The build needs to be reliable because I usually work in a harsh enviroment but it also needs to be light weight. 300mm plus lens is important along with keeping the dust off the sensor. The XT is an older platform..what will come next from Canon??

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions, and have a great day.

Jack

 

[Kelly Grannell]

1. For harsh environment, neither will solve your problem.
2. You may say you don't use lots of high ISO until you find the convenience and beauty of high ISO. Just like meth, once you use it, you're hooked for life. I started with ISO800 (during film era), and then to ISO1000, then ISO1200, with digital I moved to ISO1600, and now I'm hooked with ISO3200.
3. Wait until the end of February to see what's next from Canon.
4. You go see a sporting event, and count how many white zoom lenses there. Those are all Canon.
5. Evolt, by using non-standard 4:3 framing, there are hardly any lens that suits my need.
6. Dust problem? what dust problem? Any dSLR I own, I've only cleaned the dust twice a year, and that's just because I'm too analytical.

 

[Anewman]

IMO

THE GOOD
Price
2x crop factor, for sports or other areas where reach is important.
good name, Oly is great.
Easy to cover a big focal range with two lenses.
Huge improvement over the E-300

THE BAD
High ISO noise levels, expected with a small sensor.
2x crop factor, for landscapes and other areas where WIDE is important. I mean even the kit lens listed as 14-45mm becomes 28-90mm, try taking an indoor group picture with that.
Lack of lens choices, especially wide and fast.


Bottom Line
Good value if the camera fits your shooting style, which is great reach in well lit areas. For primarily indoor use the other 3(pentax, Nikon and Canon) are all better choices, but for outdoor value I would rank it near the top Potential wise. Indoor/Nighttime sports are almost impossible with this do to the lack of fast lenses and terrible high ISO noise. Outdoor DAY sports are very doable in the right hands. I think the DustShaker thing is over rated. If you are not planning on getting any additional lenses the two in the kit you mention will be fine and this is great.

 

[blackjackdelta]

What I want is an all around good camera that will let me take pic's, ie inside POTC and that type of light level with out all of the noise. I have been shooting since the early 60's and normally use a medium format camera. I have a PS pocket cam for the little family things. When we return to DLR in June I wanted to have a decent DSLR for some reasonable digital pics without sucking my wallet dry.

What don't you like about the XT..thanks for your honest input.

Jack

 

[Kelly Grannell]

What don't you like about the XT..thanks for your honest input.

This is from a Canon lover and all my answers are SUBJECTIVE

1. Size: far too small. I have no option but to always use the battery/vertical grip if I want to use this camera

2. The textured finish. Easy to trap dust but not as easy to clean (something that's easy to do on a non/less-textured finish on an Olympus E-Volt, Canon 20D, Nikon D50)

3. Uses even MORE proprietary battery than other Canon dSLR (300D, 10D, 20D, 5D, 1D, 1Ds etc all use BP-511 battery, 350D/XT uses something completely different. Quite a PITA for users like me who own several other Canon dSLR)

 

[Anewman]

What don't you like about the XT..thanks for your honest input.

1. unrated(plastic?) shutter.
2. Feel
3. speed and buffer size(decent but I need more).
4. viewfinder
5. flash sync speed is worst in class.


But I still chose it for my 13 year old, he saved up for it.