Olympus EVOLT E-500 8.0 Megapixel

My first digital camera was an Olympus D-450 1.3MP, which probably cost me over $500 at the time. I then moved up to the C-5060 (see my review of this camera)
This year I decided I was ready to move into the Digital SLR market. I seriously considered the Nikon and Canon versions, but ended up sticking with Olympus.
So far I am very happy with my choice of the E-500, Olympus's newest.
I am a black & white photographer, and this camera is perfect for my style. It allows me to shoot in direct monochrome mode, with the option of digital color filters. I use the camera in full manual mode, using the cameras exposure meter as a guide, and I typically use the camera's auto-focus, which is very fast and accurate. I have found the manual focus to be a bit tricky with the lenses that came with the camera.
I have been extremely happy with the photo output from this camera.
In my opinion, Olympus continues to improve their digital line-up year after year.

Great camera. I've been a photography buff for over 30 years and in that time have had several cameras ranging from 35mm SLRs to 35mm point and shoot in addition to various digital models but this by far blows them all away. It is the perfect marriage of 35MM SLR and the latest Digital Technology. Whether you're comparing value, picture quality or features, the E-500 is second to none. The features are too numerous to mention and the ease of use is unbelievable. This is the simplest camera I've ever operated. Browsing through the manual for about 20 minutes is all that is required to start shooting like a pro and to learn how to access any setting you wish to change. I highly recommend the dual lens kit which gives you zoom options from 28mm to 300mm. What more could you ask for?

My photographic hobby has lasted 35 years and it has been a incredible journey. I have owned over 50 cameras and have done my own BW and color processing. I still have a 125 sq foot darkroom. Film had been the only thing I knew until I bought my first digital camera 6 years ago. It was a terrible piece of crap. Boy has that changed in the last few years. Since my first experience with digital I have owned 6 point and shots and I could see the progress camera manufactures were making. About 6 months ago I purchased the Olympus Evolt E-500 with the 2 lens kit. Hundreds and hundreds of captures later I have to say, film for me is a fond memory. My darkroom is now filled with 2 computers 2 printers and my favorite buddy Photoshop CS2. I love the Olympus, it is without a doubt the best value for your hard earned cash. Olympus built this camera from the ground up with digital in mind and it shows. Even the 2 kit lens are sharp as a tack and very fast focusing. I could go on and on about this camera but let me say it has converted a very long time film guy who thought he would never go digital. Go get one.

If you want a lot of bang for your buck then this is the camera for you. It is very comfortable to use, has tons of features found in professional SLR digital cameras, but can be used in fully automatic mode for simple point and shoot photography.

If you purchase the camera kit which includes the E-500 body, 14-45mm (28-90mm) 1:3.5-5.6 lens, 40-150mm (80-300mm) 1:3.5-4.5 lens, and the BLM-1 rechargeable battery pack with BCM-2 charger, you've got the best entry level digital SLR kit on the market in my opinion.

The camera features not only the standard P/A/S/M modes, but also has 21 pre-defined scene modes, ranging from landscape to sunset to portrait, meaning it can be picked up and used right out of the box!

The camera also has a Supersonic Wave Filter to eliminate problems with dust when changing lenses. This is unique to Olympus cameras.

With an 8.0 megapixel full frame transfer CCD you will not be disappointed in the quality of you photos. Another versatile feature of this camera is the ability to take both Compact Flash and xD media cards (neither of which is included in the kit).

I've owned this camera for about three months now and have taken literally thousands of photos! I, so far, have been thrilled with every aspect of this camera and plan to keep it until it simply wears out or I do...whichever comes first. :)

This one, ladies and gentleman, is a "GOTTA HAVE IT"!

Initially I should be writing a positive review of an excellent camera. I studied for at least 5 months before deciding on buying the Olympus EVolt 500. However, when I received the camera from USADepot in LA, the battery was missing, and I was treated like I was stupid for not finding it in the box. After two weeks I received the battery from them, and after only two more weeks the camera began taking nothing but out of focus photos. After talking to tech support, and resetting to factory defaults, nothing changed. I've got to send it back for repair. After contacting USADepot I was informed that it wasn't a "new" camera and that I got what I paid for, according to them. So, here I am with a great camera that doesn't work properly. But, when it does come back from service, and if it is fixed properly, I know that it will be an excellent camera. I just wish I didn't have to deal with all this disappointment on the front end. My advice is to buy "new" not "factory A Refurbished," no matter how good the deal might seem - it's just not worth it.

After owning 4 pocket sized point and shoot digitals, I decided I wanted more detailed pictures...like the professionals. I read many reviews and decided to give it a try. Mind you I still love my small digital camera for the quick pic and videos, but wow the difference is amazing. I needed something for fast moving objects (bicycle racing)and this fit the bill. I am learning (slowly) how to take pictures (the auto function is ok)but getting indepth is where this camera really comes into focus (ha). The how-to booklet that comes with the camera is just plain poorly written and not user friendly at all, unless you speak the lingo. It should come with a professional photographer to translate. But hang in there the frustration is worth it. Other reviewers stated to stay away from downloading pictures using the software that comes with the camera - so I have never used that. Spend a day taking pictures (with manual in hand) of moving objects, fireworks, portraits and play around with apeture, etc. I still don't know the photography lingo and have to constantly use the manual for reference. I give this camera a thumbs up. Remember you will have to tote a camera bag with you which becomes cumbersome, but those pics in the end are worth it. I got a great deal with multiple lens, 6 hr and 1 hr battery with charger, two tripods and 2 cases. Seek and ye shall find! Enjoy!

This digital camera is performing better than I could have hoped for. The challenge is learning all of the features that the camera has to offer. Picture quality is absolutely outstanding!!!!! I chose this package because it had everything I wanted for picture taking. I have had SLR film cameras in the past by Cannon and Olympus. The quality and ease of operation for this Digital SLR is even better than the old 35mm types. Operation is similar, but the features are enhanced greatly by technology. The only complaint that I have is that with so many feature buttons on the camera, it is easy to accidently hit one of the buttons and change your settings without realizing it right away. All of that will be learned and corrected with experience. Changing lenses is quick and easy also. You can choose the automatic settings or if you like, you can manually set the exposures and lens speed.

This is my first DSLR after owning and using many different models of digital Olympus point and shoot cameras. From the first I saw Olympus had the best digital products. I had always used Canon 35mm SLR cameras and lenses but I knew Olympus always had a super reputation for very advanced optics in micro photography. As I suspected, they put this advanced knowledge of optics to use in their digital cameras.

My first Olympus digital let me get results I had been looking for, pictures that looked like they were taken with real film and not computer generated, tv screen scans. With each upgrade I got more megapixels and this let me print larger images that maintained the realistic high quality that made my Sony/ Nikon/ Canon digital using friends envious. Two of them are now Olympus users.

I wanted to get a DSLR but was hesitant because they're so recently on the market I thought they still needed to get the bugs worked out but I realize now Olympus already did that.

Since I had a lot of expensive Canon lenses I thought I'd go with Canon but every DSLR they came out with was disappointing in too many ways to justify the expense.

None of the camera shops around here were selling Olympus DSLRs so I had no idea what the camera was like when I decided to buy the E-500. The only thing I had to go on was the imaging I'd seen in the point and shoots versions. Nothing Canon or Nikon or the others had put out impressed me enough to try them.

Images

I worked 4 years in a camera shop and 12 years in photofinishing. Nothing I've seen from the others has matched real film images like the Olympus, nothing. Everything else has that computer generated look, no matter how much they try to tweak it. Olympus gets it right the first time. The Olympus Master software they include has some really cool tools as well.

Some people like the computer generated look. If that's what you want go Nikon and the rest.

Camera

When I first held the camera I was amazed. It's the first DSLR I've held that felt like a real camera and not something made by Fisher Price. With the well balanced substantial weight, fit and finish I knew right away this is going to be my camera for a long time.

Because I used Olympus point and shoot cameras it has a familiar layout of the buttons and dial/controls. The buttons and dials are easy to manipulate even while wearing gloves. I like outdoor photography in the winter so this is a most helpful feature.

The view screen is also very large, bright and clear. Even in the direct sun I've never run into any issues seeing the screen.

With many reviews and erasures plus flash and autofocusing, one battery charge let me fill up a 2 gig card with lots of power to spare. I get the best writing speed with the San Disk Extreme III compact flash.

The Olympus dust reduction system is excellent. Even with multiple lens changes, NO DUST.

If you want to see what this camera can do look up myolympus.org and myfourthirds.com as well as fourthirds-user.com.

The kit zoom lenses are great, even better than some single focal length lenses. If you want fast a lens for low light photography you can use an OM lens adapter as well as Nikon & Pentax adapters and use the fastest lenses they have. My Olympus OM 50mm f1.2 is an imaging dream come true.

The only thing I miss on this camera is a vertical grip I'm so use to on my Canon A2. No camera rates a 100 but this one is a 99.

Why do certain people still use this system to review their buying experience?

I'm late with this review, I'll grant you that. But after a solid years use of this model my review is not one of those "Intstant Evaluations". Many technical reviews put the quality just slightly below it's competition. That doesn't bother me because if I see any patern with the technical reviews today I see one biased towards having Canon models always just seem to sneak out just ahead of about everything. From a photographers standpoint, meaning you don't set everything to Auto, Auto, Auto..... I find the E-500 a superior DSLR in it's class. The creative control here is just awsome, I find the best settings to use are the Program or Aperture Priority modes. I use SHQ and 1/4 compression levels for a lot of nature and other outdoor photography. I choose to plus 1 sharpness and plus 1 saturation, depending on using natural or vivid settings... The metering choices are in-line and not quite like the competition, but I like this because I mostly frame shots before I take them and don't rely on the camera to capture things and suprise me with them anyway...Actually with the shaded metering settings and system, this camera exceeds the competition. If you go out to take snap shots and get lucky maybe there is something equal in this class. If you plan your shots, theorize settings, and know what you are looking for in advance...I don't see one in this class. When I can grab shots equal to people using superior equipment costing thousands more, who planned what they wanted in advance just like I did...? I am more then satisfied and completely satisfied. I know I can acheive more with this camera then I can with another brand in this class, hands down because the control allows for me to do this. I can put in a XD and a CF card and shoot pictures in different modes and this allows me to organize the diffrences on top of everything else. I am more then satisfied with my experience but if you read this, how involved are you willing to be? That matters. If you want the tool to do the work for you I think you'd do just as good with any in this class, if you want tools to expand your abilities and you want to control then I know you won't do better in this class...Who's the master? You or the camera? If the answer is you, here's the best in class and then let's go to Olympus and present the details of some of these so-called findings in image quality that certain reviews have published...because I guarantee you through proper use and settings that the findings are in no way true or accurate...don't be misled.

I would also like to note that the firmware upgrade system that Olympus uses is one fine system, so using Olympus Master 1 or 2 is extremely worth it. I'm using firmware upgrade 1.3 now which improved focusing ...what I don't like are systems that change processing formats because if I like what I'm getting then I want to rely on that and not have to master the camera all-over again. I'm happy getting control and results without spending an arm and a leg and even more happy not spending the amount I did while having less like I would with other cameras in this class.

fantastic camera this is my second one purchased as a backup to my first E500 fantastic popping color, awesome pictures from this camera.

This is a GREAT camera - it is pretty easy to use for a SLR high end camera. I like it becasue it takes great photographs in all sorts of conditions and it also has a scene mode where for example there are 10+ settings already configured for set situations - for example taking pictures of documents.

I am a Realtor and need to photograph interior rooms and that's always been a challenge with point and click cameras. Either the room won't fit into the shot because the lens isn't wide angle, or the light meter would guess totally wrong. No worries with this camera. For a digital SLR with a len's kit that functions as well as this one it is a great value. A great camera that has done everything I have asked it too and a great price point. Other reviews on the internet seem to agree but I would check into it by doing a google on the model name.

Good starting digital SLR, comes with two zoom lens, with the savings you can buy another high speed 1GB memory card and UV filters. Lens selection is not as great as Canon or Nikon, and independent lens makers are not as quick to pick up on the 4/3 lens mount, but the two zooms that are included give you a good range from wide angle to medium telephoto. A newer E-510 is out with a 10 Megapixel resolution, but unless your planning on making 16x20 enlargements, you may not notice the difference between the 8 MP and the 10 MP.

This is the third digital camera I have purchased. The last two being Olympus brands. My motivation each time was to upgrade. This particular camera is quite sophisticated and I am still learning how to operate. But so far i am well pleased. It goes well beyond 'point and shoot'. I am not a professional photographer but this camera would serve well anyone in that category. The instructions are well written and easy to follow. I did purchase a instructional DVD from Olympus that has been most helpful. I have only had the camera for a little over two weeks but so far I am very satisfied with my choice.

I had done some much research before buying this camera and boy did it meet its claims. It is great. I wanted to make sure that the camera was not too heavy, of course, easy to use, and had extra lens with it. The Olympus EVOLT E-500 has all of this and so much more. I love this camera. One of the best decisions I have made.

This is my 2nd Olympus Camera. I have been watching these cameras and others on ebay for some time now along with the reviews and this one turned out to be the best bang for the buck and I got a great deal. I purchased this one because of the interchangable lenses and the 8 MP. The picture quality is awesome. The camera is easy to use in the auto modes, but I love the ability to set it up just like a 35 MM camera. I also like the ability to be able to take one picture after another without the wait of other digital cameras I have used. I like the ease of turning on/off the built in flash ad the ability of adding an external flash. I have tried out other cameras in this MP range and did not find them to be as good as easy to use and have all the manual functions as easy to adjust as this one. I feel I could not have purchased a better camera for the price that I got this one.

This is our second E-500, the first being about 2 years old now. My first camera was a Brownie Hawkeye. Since then, I have worked my way through a series of Canon and Yashica film cameras, and point and shoot digitals. The E-500 was our first step back into the SLR format. The first thing right out of the box was that it felt like a brass body SLR film camera. You could hold it to your eye, twist the lense, and feel the mirror flip up. Home again!
The next thing that impressed was the image quality. Every manufacturer makes excellent lenses and rugged bodies, but it is the software inside the camera that takes the light gathered by the CCD and turns it into an image. This is where Olympus wins hands down. In our business we use photographs sent to us by "professional" photographers using the most expensive equipment. None exceeds the quality we can achieve with the E-500, and much of it falls short.
A word of warning: the E-500 can be used in the fully automatic mode and take very good snapshots. It is also a very sophisticated system that can take you almost anywhere you want to go with photography. If you want to get the best from this instrument, you should have an understanding of the workings of an SLR camera and at least the basics of photography. If this is your first venture into professional quality equipment, then you might consider a photography course as your next purchase.
The worst downside to this camera is that the English translation of the manual is poor to below average, and you may want to look for some aftermarket material. The Olympus training video is quite good.

I have always wanted to by an slr camera. I did some research and decided if I was going to buy one, might as well be digital. I love this camera. I use it frequently. I'm still learning how to use the settings. It takes great pictures. It feels very comfortable in my hands. I bought a few extra accessories that make it even better. Two extra lens, tripod, cleaning kit and a backpack carrying case. It will come in handy when I hit the trails this summer. Can't wait for that.

This is an easy to use high tech camera that really delivers quality pictures. Although the myriad of buttons and gadgets can be overwhelming the users manual explains each function well and provides the user with the opportunity to grow their expertise quickly. I looked at the Nikon and Canon models and some of the other Olympus models but the E-500 was the best buy for me personally.

So far I have nothing but positive remarks for the Olympus EVOLT E-500 I purchased through eBay. I plan to have a lot more experiences with this camera and so far it has performed wonderfully. I recently made a short 500 mile motorcycle trip to northern Arizona and the Grand Canyon. I am just a beginner at photography but this camera makes me feel almost professional. I have already decided to mount the camera on my motorcycle and with the remote accessory I purchased I will be shooting shots onboard the bike also. I purchased this Olympus because of all the reviews I had read about its functionality and ease of handling. For a novice like me it sounded like the perfect way to begin a hobby at a level much higher than I could gradually achieve. I have many ideas on what and where I want to shoot so the best is yet to come. I would recommend this camera to anyone who wants to become a serious photographer in the armature world.

Takes outstanding pictures and will far exceed any need for photography I will have now or in the future.

This is my second Olympus, had Canon, Nikon etc, but I love my E-500.
It has all the bells and whistles I need and want at a fraction of the price.
Great high quality pictures, easy to use, almost too many features for a sturdy, dependable digital camera. I love it!

What I love the most about this camera is its ease of use and the ease of downloading the pics. It also has the easiest functions of any camera I have ever had. I decided to buy this camera because of my experience with Olymopus cameras in the past I have always Loved the ease of functions and their dependability.