Olympus Evolt E500 Review (5 stars)
I bought this camera a few months ago, having decided to step into the world of digital SLR's. After a bit of research I settled on the Olympus Evolt E500 for a couple of reasons. First, I've always had either Olympus or Minolta equipment and never had major issue with either of them, so I'm partial to those products. The E500 however, is an entry level camera and at the time the other model Olympus offered was the E1, their professional model. I'm no professional photographer, I wouldn't even consider myself an amateur, but I wanted a nice setup and my point and shoots just weren't doing it for me, but I didn't want to spend a small fortune for something I might not be able to use. I bought the popular kit that comes with the E500 and two lenses, a 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens and a 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko lens. It offers an 8 megapixel resolution, 2.5" HyperCrystal LCD, Sonic Wave Filter, TruePic Turbo Image Processor, Pop-up flash, fifteen scene modes and full exposure control. Plus it's compatible with both an xD-Picture Card and CompactFlash card.
For an entry level DSLR and for a novice like me this has been a really nice camera. It has all the controls you would expect to find on a traditional SLR, from full automatic to full manual control. The only caveat I've noticed with this camera is the kit lenses seem to be rather slow when focusing and the camera itself introduces a lot of noise to most pictures, especially night shots. Having said that, the issue of noise seems to be one all DSLR's face and I've come to learn that the ability to post process a photo is a necessity no matter what model you buy and a little time and study can overcome most of these issues.
There are literally tons of accessories for the E500. I've already moved away from the kit lenses for faster ones and an external flash but for the few months I used the kit it performed great. I took hundreds of pictures with it in various circumstances and for the most part, was very pleased. I bought the kit from Amazon because they had the best price and for the $850 I paid at the time it was well worth it. Professional DSLR's can range upwards of several thousand dollars and if you don't understand how to properly use one it's could be a big waste of money. The E500 is a great introduction and as your experience increases a step up to the E1 or more professional models is made that much easier.
If your looking for a camera that provides ease of use and outstanding image quality this is it. It's a popular combination and is available at virtually any camera retailer or online from Amazon.com.
Buy the Olympus Evolt E500 8MP Digital SLR two lens kit from Amazon.com
If your new to the world of Digital Photography I found this book very helpful as well:
Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies
Buy it from Amazon.com
