Rand E,
I have the E-500 with 14-45mm, 45-150mm, 50-200mm, 50mm Macro, EC-14 1.4X
TeleConverter, EX-25 Extension Tube and FL-50 flash. I have used the outfit for
several months and I am quite pleased with the camera and the photo results. I
am a long time Olympus SLR user starting with the Pen FT in 1969, and on to the
OM-1, OM-2, OM-10 and the Om-4. Still have all but the Pen FT. Love those OM
viewfinders, but I find the E-500 viewfinder to be quite adequate. (And that's
coming from a 73 year old who wears glasses to see anything up close.) Macro
shots are no problem with the E-500 and the 50mm Macro. Complaints about the
E-500 viewfinder seem like nit-picking to me. OM users are just spoiled. ;o)
The crucial question is: Can you see clearly enough through the viewfinder to
make the shot? If so, the viewfinder must be adequate IMHO. I hate to see a
good camera disparaged for such a minor complaint. I'm more bothered by the
Olympus auto focus having to "hunt for focus" in dim lighting. I find myself
using manual focus more often than not in such cases.
Bottom line: I suspect that if you didn't have a zillion other cameras (and
opinions about them) to compare it with, you would be ecstatic with an E-500.
Comparing price to features, the E-500 is an outstanding buy. Sure, you can buy
a C*non or a N*kon for a mere few thousand dollars more and then pay thousands
more for lenses to fit, but the question is: Will your kind of photography make
that cost effective? Can you amortize your photo equipment and take it off your
taxes, like some on the List who make a living at photography, or do you have
to absorb all the costs yourself? Are you sufficiently financially well off
that cost is a minor consideration? If so, buy the tool that suits your
requirements or your fancy
In spite of the way it sounds on the List at times, it is the photographer who
makes the photo, not the camera. The camera is a mere tool in the
photographer's hands. Many years ago, I worked part-time in a photo department
in a retail store. We made retail sales of photo gear and offered photo
finishing. Some of the nicest landscape photos to come through our photo
finishing were made by an elderly woman with an old Kodak box camera with a
rubber band replacing the shutter lever return spring. She was quite a
photographer, in spite of the fact that the viewfinder wasn't much to brag
about. I've never forgotten that lesson.
You will probably be happy with an E-500, or an E-330, or an E-1 for that
matter, if you merely want a camera that will take photos as well as you can
see and compose them. On the other hand, you may not be happy with either one,
if you are continually comparing it to newer, more costly and more feature
laden cameras to hit the market.
YMMV,
Robert B.
----- Original Message -----
From: Rand E <rtomcala@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wednesday, June 7, 2006 18:56
Subject: [OM] I'm looking hard at the Evolt E-500, what's the general concenus ?
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
> I'm about ready to jump from plaything
> digital camera to serious
> type digital camera. The Evolt seems to look good and will
> give me the
> added advantage (with the adapter) of being able to use my
> stable of
> macro & micro lens of the OM line.
> Pro's and con's ?
> Rand E
>
>
>
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