I am seriously considering the Olympus E500 (double zoom kit). I was quoted $1230 (CAN).

Does anyone have any info with regards to this camera? Would I be getting ripped off? Here is a link to some specs, but I wanted to hear first-hand accounts, if possible.

Thanks.


http://www.dpreview.com/news/0509/05092604olympuse500.asp

Looks like a good camera. However, how about a Nikon D50 or D70s? The D50 produces a very clean image. The D70s has a clean image and a lot of features, including a 1/500s flash sync which can be very nice.

Nikon has a larger selection of lenses too, I would think.

I agree. I was also looking at the D70. The Olympus is an 8 megapixel cam, while the D70 and D50 are 6.1. Price has alot to do with it also. Although the Nikon (and even the Canon Rebel) and the Olympus are pretty comparible in price, the double zoom kit comes with two lenses for that price. I have heard that the lens that comes with the Rebel is not great, and most people change it as soon as they can (extra $400). The E500 uses lenses designed for digital applications (zuiko digital).

http://www.olympus-esystem.com/dea/products/lens/

Again, I can read all the spec sheets on this camera, all of which sound good, but I wanted to know if anyone owns one and what they think about it.

I need to buy a good camera for product photography (therefore the 8 megapixels), first and foremost, and one that can be easily used by someone like my wife–just aim and click the button.

Sage, I've used a number of 8 and 6 megapix cameras - it would be hard to take bad product shots with any of them. I got my photo business started with a Canon G2 at only 4 Megapixels, and we were cranking out good looking 8.5 x 11 inch brochures and whatnot.

I've looked at the Olympus E series (though didn't buy as I'm on the Canon Train now for a while) and the specs is great. The sensor size is a bit small, so you might need to watch ISO's over 200, but even then there are some great noise removal plug-ins out there (Noise Ninja being one of them).

For 12 Big Bills, you will be hard pressed to get that much optical power AND pixel power from any of the competitors.

COMMENT NOT BASED ON MONEY: the Canon Rebel XT takes and amazing picture, even with the crappy lense that comes with it. I used that same stock lens for a while when I got my 20D (Which just came down in price to under $1700) and again (through smarts and photoshopping) came up with great results that people paid me for. The nice thing about Canon (or Nikon for that matter) is that you can really expand into the system as you go. The Olympus E-series is new and may not be supported in the long run. BUT, if the stock lenses that come with it cover what you need - whatTHEheck!

Oh, and you'll want to cut your hair off as it will get in the way of the lens and mess up your nice girly shots!

-------------end of transmission-------------.

Thanks, Rein!

I've got two friends in Montreal. One owns the Rebel, the other the D70. Both swear by their cameras.

I guess I need new friends.

As for cutting my hair, if I do, I'll take shots of the process with my new camera. (Kind of as an hommage to HK's "Review of the Fruits!" thread.)

What happened to that fruit?

I'm sure he's still around!

username last seen
HKlevjer January 23, 2006

Just kidding, HK!!!!

Exactly. Sensor size. I would really go with the Nikons / Canons. Megapixel count is NOT the only measure of picture quality. You want the cleanest out-of-camera images y ou can get. Who wants to spend all that time getting rid of noise? I sure don't.

I really think the D70s is a great buy. I like it just for its feature set and also its 1/500 flash sync that is very useful for using fill flash in higher light (and somewhat of a must with a minimum ISO of 200). Research it (dpreview has good indepth reviews) and also the Rebel that Reinman mentioned.



--Kris

Perhaps,
One of THESE will do you for a while until you can afford a REAL camera!?

Here is anything and everything you would want to know about that camera including pricing. The price you have stated seems rather steep even if it is quoted in Canadian Dollars. ;P
You can find out about anyother camera from this site as well and make comparisons.

Jerry

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

Thanks, Jerry.

What has me confused about the price is that on the first link I supplied, which, I believe comes from the same site as yours, they mention the starndard kit as having a street value of $800 US ($920 CAN), and the double kit as having a street value of 650£ ($1333 CAN). I believe the second lens goes for about $400 CAN.

I just checked out one place, but will check out others for pricing info.

cheers!

If you have the opportunity and time, you should check out that review and comparisons. That is a great web site and it offers very fair reviews on all digital cameras. Anytime I am in the market for a new camera that is the first place I look for info.

Cheers
Jerry

You're absolutely right, Jerry.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_d70%2Coly_e500%2Ccanon_eos350d&show=all

Thanks again.

E-500 was rated as a great buy in a few mags this week, the one down was the small buffer size which limits the burst mode to 2 photos then a 15 second delay . Other than that they say it's a steal.

If you but this let us know how you like it.I am looking to buy same.