Olympus Evolt E-500

[Kelly Grannell]

Anewman,

I don't know much about the XT (other than my initial tests before buying it -- and opted not to --, but if dRebel shutter is any indication, so far I've taken 12,400+ shots and it still works. Also as far as flash sync goes, I think Canon in general sucks (they are all approx 1/200 max).

As far as startup speed, I don't think it can go any faster. Focusing speed, of course it depends mostly on the lens (if you use USM lens it'll be much faster).

Yes, I forgot to add. XT's viewfinder is too small and dim.

 

[blackjackdelta]

So Anewman, what do you shoot? What would you recommend for an oldman.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Kelly Grannell]

What would you recommend for an oldman.

Thanks,

Jack

A Hassel with 22MP digital back. Nothing beats that!

 

[Anewman]

Anewman,

I don't know much about the XT (other than my initial tests before buying it -- and opted not to --, but if dRebel shutter is any indication, so far I've taken 12,400+ shots and it still works. Also as far as flash sync goes, I think Canon in general sucks (they are all approx 1/200 max).

As far as startup speed, I don't think it can go any faster. Focusing speed, of course it depends mostly on the lens (if you use USM lens it'll be much faster).

Yes, I forgot to add. XT's viewfinder is too small and dim.

Shutter have been known to fail on the 300D anywhere from 10k-35k snaps, xt should expect about the same(IMO). And I have a friend that has over 60k snaps on his, but there is a camera with features I need and has a shutter rated for 100k snaps...
thread at dpreview

Speed to me equals. FPS/FOCUS/WRITE. Agian decent but I was looking for a 20D backup and could not downgrade to for it. I compared with my sons XT and chose to buy another 20D.

 

[Anewman]

So Anewman, what do you shoot? What would you recommend for an oldman.

Thanks,

Jack

I Shoot the Canon 20D but IF I had to buy TODAY it would be the Nikon d200 or wait till Canon announces the 20D replacement.

For the kind of shooting you describe above I would consider the XT and the $70 50mm 1.8 lens.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I like the Hass with the dgi back, but alas I do not have the back. Just picked this up on Phil's site, just for fun. I stopped reading this stuff long ago because of the ads.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=17199163

Jack

 

[ndelaware]

From the conclusion of the reviewof the E-500 @ dpreview:

"Image quality is on the whole very good, resolution essentially as good as the EOS 350D (Digital Rebel XT), although perhaps not as per-pixel crisp, and an Olympus-like contrasty tone / vivid color look to images. My only disappointments are with the way the cameras image pipeline deals with highlights which can look 'hard clipped', the over-processed looking sharpening and noise at ISO 1600. The E-500 still has (essentially) the same sensor as the E-300 and despite improved noise reduction it's still no match for Canon's excellent CMOS sensor at higher sensitivities (above ISO 400). Hence if you find yourself shooting a lot of ISO 800 and 1600 images you may wish to think harder about the Canon offerings. Other negatives include the small viewfinder which can make it difficult to visualize focus distance, and the not-so-instant-startup (1.7 sec power on)."

Review is here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse500/

 

[blackjackdelta]

Ok guys and gals you have convinced me to get the 350D, now for a couple more questions.

What speed (xnumber) cf card should I get to have a reasonable write speed? Manufacture?

Also would like to get ~70-300mm lens with AF(does not need to be fancy, but would like Canon or eq). Filters, lens hood spare bat and case.

Thanks again for your help. I am going to wait until PMA is over just to see what shakes out.

Jack

 

[Kelly Grannell]

My personal suggestion:

1 Sandisk Ultra II should suffice. Anything faster than that is moot on that camera. I've used Lexar, PQI, Kingston and SanDisk. Based on my personal experience, SanDisk is the most reliable with PQI being the worst (Kingston is as good but to get the same speed, you'll need to pay more... and I'm cheap)

2. I highly recommend Canon 70-300 f/5.6 IS. A Hoya HMC filter should be enough, no need to go to HMC Pro

Again, the above are based on my personal experience (especially number 2)

But wait for PMA, supposedly there will be either:

18-55 f/2.8 IS (but will be costly as hell)
or
18-200 f/5.6 IS (around $800, well worth the price, IMHO considering the IS feature)

 

[blackjackdelta]

Kelly:
Next question is where to buy. I am also inexpensive minded and the place needs to be able to ship international. I was looking on ebay and there is a place called Cameta that has better prices than most(Compared to B and H or Buydig) Any suggestions there?

Thanks again,

Jack

 

[Kelly Grannell]

For camera body, I go to my B&M store. For the lens, depending on the price, I go to B+H. Only for accessories I go to eBay. Sorry, can't help further.

 

[blackjackdelta]

There are no B and M's over here. So I need that international shipping. Thanks again for patience.

Jack

 

[Kelly Grannell]

The only place I can wholeheartedly suggest is, then, http://www.bhphotovideo.com

 

[dogriverrat]

My husband bought me this camera for Christmas. I don't know alot about it yet, but so far so good. I have had fun with it. Can't wait until June to go back to Disney and try to get some good pictures. I have got some great tips off this board.

 

[Callalily6]

THIS CAMERA ROCKS! Its our backup camera and it is really great - plus you can't beat the price - lenses are freakin expensive! We are going to WDW soooo soon - this will be the 1st trip with camera. I'll post some pics when we get back. In the mean time we have a bunch of photos up online: Belle's Photography

2 BIG for this DSLR

------

Okay, obviously my wife loves this camera! With good reason, too. But, I've just gotta chime in. Unless you have a pretty good understanding of photography a dSLR isn't going to make much difference to you. But, if you're starting out - this is a great camera for you. The price is incredible, and it will be a long time before your abilty is limited by the camera's limitations. The E-500 is a fine camera at a great price. Be sure to read the review at dpreview.com. Heck, even if you've been shooting for a long time, this is a great camera.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I have been shooting film since the late 50's and now everyone I know has gone to mostly digital. When I get back I want to start doing some digital work(already has a small PS camera), before I invest in a H2D I want to learn the craft well including CS2.
I lurk on a number of boards and try to glean info and hate to spend hard earned $$$ on a camera and lenses that will not work to get me started and work my way up.
Kelly G has been very helpful along with others. Thanks for all the input.

Jack

 

[ColoradoDis]

I just started look in at the E-500 yesterday. It looks like a good deal with the 2-lense kit.

Anyone use it for high school sports inside a gym? My daughter plays folleyball and I'm anxious to get some good shots.

 

[jk120]

I would go with the E-500 over either the canon or nikon offerings simply because of the overall picture quality, you need to do very little post processing of the pictures.

I personally shoot with the Olympus E-1. I owned the E-1 first sold it moved to the nikon D100 then onto the Canon 20D to sell both and go back to the E-1. I found that after photographing a wedding with nikon or canon I had a good 20-30 hours of post processing the pics for them to meet my standards, whereas with the Olympus cameras, both the E-1 and E-500 that my assistant shoots I generally spend 2-3 hours.

As for the lens selection the E-500 kit comes with the following lenses
14-45 equal to a 28-90mm
40-150 equal to a 80-300mm

They also offer the better grade of lenses
14-54 equal to a 28-108mm
50-200 equal to a 100-400mm

The only stumbling point of the olympus cameras is low light photography, but can be easily be handled by noise ninja.

You would be sorry by purchasing the olympus cameras.


Jeff

 

[pyrxtc]

Wonderful camera! Can get a great picture and easy to use.!

 

[ColoradoDis]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to order it tonight.