Olympus Evolt E-500 (Double Lens Kit) Digital Camera

Until I turned digital a few years ago, I've always been an Olympus man. Their OM range was just the best package around for years with small, compact cameras and great lens and accessories.

When I turned digitsl, I elected for the Canon EOS and have built up an extensite range of lenses and accessories.

But since Olympus introduced their 4/3 series I always wanted to switch back to them and the 'Olympus Evolt E-500 (Double Lens Kit) Digital Camera' gave me the ideal opportunity.

I've not been disappointed. The body is so small and light compared to my EOS and the lenses perform really well with fast responsive and accurate focussing. The operating system takes some getting used to maily because it's different to what I've become used to plus there are so many options for you to adjust. But stick with it and you'll soon realise how much of a joy it is to work with.

If I had to find faults, there would only be two. The first is a lack of an fp socket to drive studio lights and the other is that the body feels a bit fragile (compared to the Canon).

The two standard lenses give you plenty of scope for most photographs and the growing list of independent lenses looks promising for the future of this standard.

So although the Canon will remain my first choice camera for demanding assignments and studio work, it's the Olympus that will accompany me on freeform assignments and when I travel. After only a few weeks, it's already won over my heart.

This was the first digital SLR camera that I bought, and if you want to go into the world of semi pro photography without much financial outlay, you cant get better than this smart piece of kit.

so if you want to enter the world of semi pro photography get yourself one of these! Even better with the dual lens kit!

Good equipment for beginners and professionals. Easy to learn and in use. High quality pictures, good battery.

I live in a remote part of Scotland and do not have a large market on my doorstep . I purchased the new Olympus Evolt E-500 at a fixed price on E-bay because it was the cheapest and most convenient way to buy it .
I had read up about the camera and knew it would meet my requrements . I received it within a week and it is exactly what I ordered . I am fully satisfied .

Purchased for Olympus quality. Ease of operation. dust guard system when changing lenses. built in programs for ease of taking photographs. I have found this camara has surpased all other camaras that I have owned

This camera is fantastic. I researched a lot as to what kind of digital slr might be best, but didn't want to spend the kind of money that the top of the range requires as I'm just an amateur wanting better results! I've always been impressed with the quality pictures that you can take with olympus cameras and this one is no exception. I took it on a recent holiday to China and had not had time to experiment much beforehand, but the pictures I have are just amazing. They are vibrant as well as being very clear and crisp. The functions are easy to understand and you can adjust how the colours look if they come out too blue. The extra zoom lens means that you can really get close up and you don't lose picture quality when you zoom in, unlike some of the smaller cameras. There is a large screen where you can review your pictures which is really useful when out and about. The other thing that is great is that I can get great shots at night-there are different modes you can select one being night scenes. I couldn't get non-blurry night pictures on my old camera, but the results with this one are great. I can also recommend the seller (emilyandlily) who shipped it promptly, and packaged it well to avoid damage. I'd definitely recommend this camera.

Great camera. So far I have found nothing I do not like about it. Thoroughly recommended. A comprehensive handbook as I would expect from Olympus. Camera feels good in the hand and looks just as good. I have tried all of the various operating methods and have had no problems at all. In the fully manual and the two priority modes it is just like having a good film camera in your hands. A welcome change to an erstwhile photographer after some yewars of idiot proof digital cameras. That said the fully automatic digital mode is brilliant and will ger used.

I have been an Olympus fan for 30 years with the OM 1 & 2 cameras. However with 35mm, for every film of 36 frames I suppose about 5 I will like. The the added developing cost and the enlargement of the required pictures.

I needed to go digital purely for economy. I have been very impressed with the Olympus Zuiko lenses. The E-500 came with two lense. 14-45mm (28-90mm 35mm equiverlent) and 40-150mm (80-300mm equiv'). With a converter I can use all my OM series lenses as well.

The Autofocus is extremely quick and very effective when you get used to it.

The shutter speed setup is relatively easy as is the 'quality' settings.

On 'Super High Quality', generates a 5mb photo and with the facility of two different flashcard types at 4 gig each allows over 1000 photos to be stored.

In Use:-

My discard rate has now dropped 5% and the 'exhibition' quality has increased to 50% on action photographs.

I am extremely pleased with the two E-500's I have bought over the last two months.

Regards

Jerry

I have owned several Olympus conventional SLR cameras and they have always given me good service. As the trend is towards digital cameras I looked to purchase a digital SLR, once again I have owned conventional digital cameras but as is obvious they lack the versatility of an exchangeable lens sytem camera.
I was tempted to by a Nikon but on reading the technical specification of the Oylumpus camera I decided that what was on offer suited my photographic requirements admirably not to mention being more moderately priced. I havent had the opportunity as yet to explore all of the photographic avenues open to me but my experience to date gives me no cause for concern that the camera will fulfill all of the requirements asked of it.

Prior to buying my camera I had been using a friends E-500 for a couple of months. I haven't really used any other digital SLR so felt comfortable choosing one I knew. I know for a fact the E-500 has over halved in price over the last year making it a really affordable bit of kit.

Pros
* Two lenses, great value for money.
* Easy PC image upload.
* Loads of features but not too complicated.
* Mine came with a 2gb Compact Flash card, saving me a couple of £.
* Good build quality.

Cons
* Expensive lenses if you want to add to the standard two it comes with.
* Make sure it has a UK plug supplied - mine was a US import, so didn't.

Overall, truly happy with my purchase.

I bought this camera primarily for taking pictures when I'm birdwatching.I was originally using a hdd camcorder for taking stills,but found the image quality somewhat lacking.Using this camera with the longer focal lens has dramatically improved the picture quality of my stills,and I am well pleased with it.It is quite simple to use and you can just point and shoot,letting the camera do all the settings as regards shutter speed etc.I would have no hesitation in recommending this camera outfit to anyone wanting to take quality photos.

The E500 is an ecellant Dslr camera its easy to use gives exellant pictures
and is fun to use great piece of kit

Looking for a professional type camera I came across the Olympic E500 and this kit in particular. I was ready to pay much more for something of this quality and did some research on the camera. Everything I'd read was positive. So apprehensively I bought the kit which consisted of camera and 2 lenses at a price I though extremely inexpensive. Just to illustrate I came across the High St price and it was about twice as much for almost the same kit. Apart from having to figure out what memory stick to purchase (being a digital photography virgin)I couldn't have been more delighted with the purchase. At first I was slightly intimidated with the camera, but the quick start and manual soon got me taking the most spectacular pictures. Even using the camera makes one feel professional. Highly recommended.

This camera is exceptional. For someone thinking of taking their digital photography to a higher level, this is the camera for them as it turned out to be the camera for me. After deciding to buy a DSLR, I spent a good few months researching what I thought was the best buy for me and for my budget. Only on ebay can you get a bargain like this, to buy from high street stores this camera would have cost almost double the price and be way out of my range. The camera itself is a fantastic piece of equipment and well worth the excellent rating that I give it. Because of the 3/4 format it fits snugly in the hand and all buttons and controls are easily accessed by thumb and fingers. With my last camera some of the buttons could be pressed accidentally because of bad positioning. Not so with this camera, it has been well designed with the user in mind. As for operation, it seemed quite daunting at first but as you work your way through the manual you realise that it is quite easy to operate. I felt the manual itself was well laid out and easy to follow and in no time at all I was out taking photographs and trying out the various modes of operation. The results were much better than I expected and the photographs extremely clear and crisp. The only negative comment I can make relates to all SLR cameras and that is, for someone with a limited budget the cost of additional lenses, flashguns etc. can be really expensive but this camera with the two zoom lenses is an excellent way to get started and I am loving every minute of it.

i was new to digital slr photography so i did not want to spend a fortune on a camera that was to be used as a learning tool.I have now used the camera many times and it is very easy to use,well built,and it takes excellent photos.Olympus dont get as good a review as other cameras but the next camera i get i will buy another olympus.

I have always been an Olympus fan and own quite a large amount of Om Kit, I wanted a couple of Digital Camera's to have a go at Stereo Photography and the creation of Depth Maps. The E-500 fitted the bill quite well, after owning a couple for a while, the cameras viewfinder has to be the worst ever althought the camera has a decent specification, the polycarbonate body just dosn't cut the mustard. Most people comment on how light the camera is, I believe a little more substance would not go amiss. It's nice to have a decent lens hood that is really a good snug fit, however unless you have fingers like needles the lens caps are a pain to put on and off (I have an E-500 with a 52mm filter thread as well, funnily enough this isn't supplied with a lens hood but the lens cap has a very neat recessed action that would be ideal across the board)Wake up Olympus. I truly am a big Olympus fan and have been since the seventies, It is a good spec camera at a good price, but I think Olympus just fell short on this one. I bought a 4/3rds adaptor and have been using the odd Om lens on occasion (They are a 'tad' soft but they make up for that on Kudos)
Before I forget, the flash units are really expensive, and what is the point of a multi function flash that fits in the hot shoe?, I bought a load of Slave flash triggers and use the onboard flash (Thats actually really good) to trigger external flashes, Hey it works for me.
The camera is really worth a look, so make sure you do before you buy?
Anthony

I was looking for a Digital SLR Camera, with versatility amongst other things, as I missed all the functions that my old Film SLR used to have..such as interchangeable lenses and filters and the choice as to whether to have aperture priority or shutter priority..giving the usesr some control over depth of field in a picture etc.

My newer small digital camera is excellent in its quality of image and ease of use, but I did find myself wanting a wide angle lense at times and it wouldn't take interchangeable lense attachments.

I bought the Olympus Evolt E-500 as it came with 2 lenses and many features and seemed really good value for money when its sister model, the 410 was so much more expensive for just the convenience of essentially being a little more compact.
However, so far I havent managed to 'make friends' with my new Olympus DSLR E-500 camera. It is very heavy and I have found the lenses hard to focus on maual settings.
On automatic it seems to give a very near picture quality to my older small little digital camera, despite having many more pixels.

So far I am not very pleased with the new DSLR I have purchased..but like a new friend, it takes time to really feel at ease with them!
Time will tell!

I bought this camera as my first foray into the world of photography and getting more from my pictures. I also have a compact digital camera for those times when a DSLR is just too big.

There are more expensive, and better DSLR cameras available, but the Olympus suited me best. It came as a complete kit with 2 lenses giving me a zoom up to 300mm (35mm equivalent). 8 megapixel is more than enough for me. There is an extensive range of additional lenses should I need any, as well as other accessories such as flash guns etc.

The E-500 has enough shooting modes and manual adjustments to keep me happy for a long time. The pictures it takes are fantastic, and dare I say it professional looking (To me anyway!). The auto focus is very quick so pictures to capture the moment are possible where they aren't using a compact. The usual delay from pressing the button to taking the picture just isn't there. You can take a series of pictures to capture moving objects and the camera still manages to focus for each shot.

I can't praise this camera enough. It sits comfortably in both my shovel sized, and my wifes regular dainty sized hands. It feels well built and has enough features and benefits to allow me to grow in ability at taking better and better pictures.

Go on treat yourself, you wont regret it.

After doing some homework about what I exactly wanted in a new camera for a forthcoming holiday and having had a long association of using Olympus cameras I decided to plump for the Evolt E-500 twin lens kit. I found what I wanted in the relevant sections and watched the prices over several days. Next I compared these prices to several other sites including the "A"word site. It soon became apparent that the second lens in other site kits was not an official Zuiko lens but the prices being quoted were over £200 dearer for a potentially lesser quality kit.
Communications were first class all-round with my purchase delivered a few days later. Being new to e-bay I can honestly say I was amazed at the level of service,particularly as this was the dearest item I had purchased to date.
The camera kit itself was well packaged with even a U.S charging lead as well as a U.K one. Once I got my e-bay purchased memory cards through (more fast, efficient service)I started to play. It's early days yet but to say I'm impressed with the kit is an understatement.Crisp, clear pictures with the minimum of effort is any photographers dream and with such a massive menu of differing settings it's going to take me a while to get through them all.
Whilst the kit isn't the newest on the market and we are already moving from 8M pixels as the standard for mid-range digital SLR's this kit delivers in just about every way for an enthusiast. The two lenses with the kit will ensure that I shouldn't need another lens for a long time (unless there's a too good to miss bargain!!!)

The camera is everything I expected, the picture quality is excellent. I am still getting used to the various programmes as it seems to do everything but left on auto it is simple to use and the results are great.

I have had ample opportunity to try out this camera package as I've just got back from a holiday in China.
The camera was new to me and I was still finding my way through its control (still am) but I have found it easy to use from scratch and have got some terific results .
The camera is light to handle even with the larger lens attached,and is not overlarge, many of the other makes I looked at did not fit comfortably in my hand.
I bought this one because it ticked all the box's thatI had in mind, and I felt that the price I got it for on EBAY was way below any equivalent package of any brand that I had found on the highstreet. The Olympus name convinced me.
Overall an exellent camera for me, i'd like to know what a proffessional photographer would think of it.

This is a full spec camera body that belies the budget price. The 2 kit lenses are surprisingly good, however, the next step up lenses in the range are pricey.If you require the shoe flash, it is quite expensive.I also found the system bits and pieces expensive.Having used the camera hands on, I can only fault the small view finder and the fact everything is plastic.Having said that the camera is easy to haul around all day.I would have no problems recommending this camera, especially since I paid £330 from a supplier on eBay, that is the price you could pay for a compact snappy...JM

I purchased this camera for my husband as he is a keen photographer. He is delighted to have a high quality professional camera which I was able to purchase at a very resonable price. The camera has many functions not all of which he has explored yet. Pictures taken so far are of a very good standard. Overall this is an excellent camera for an experienced photographer, or someone with the time to spare to learn how to use the different lenses and functions.

this camera takes excellent photographs a little on the heavy side for me other than that i can't fault the camera i bought the camera because i wanted something other than just a point and shoot camera and it defently doe's that i would recomend this camera as a little gem

I was attracted to this camera and lens kit initially by the price that it was being offered at, and after some research (suggest dpreview.com), I decided that this was the camera for me. I had handled the Canon 400D, and liked this, having had Canon film SLRs over the years, but the price was just out of reach. I am delighted that I did not go for the Canon, since after using the Olympus, I consider this to be the business! The quality of the lenses and general handling of the camera is superb, and the results are stunning. I also found a website (wrotniak.net) which is very informative with the use and technicalities of this and other Olympus cameras, and in particular, finding a solution to the "problem" of the white balance button being accidentally bumped.(on reading Mr Wrotniak's list of solutions, I re-assigned the button to another function)
I would consider myself to be a camera collector/enthusiast, and I just love this camera to bits.