Good Decision? Olympus E500 w/ 2 lenses $500

[gkarris]

Well I took the plunge finally. I saw this Olympus E-500 with 2 lens kit was at a local Wolf that was a demo - but seemed never used. $499 complete in box.

I was going to get the Nikon D40 for $460 but this seemed a better deal with 2 lenses.

I can use my CF from my old Olympus I bought years back!

Will post some pics.

Thanks.

 

[yaroldb]

Congrats man... I've had one for 2 years and it is a great camera. The kit lens is also a very decent kit. The 40-150 is sharp as a tack. The one that came with the E-500 tends to be a bit better than the smaller new one. I just purchase the 50-200mm from Olympus and that should be in next week. You won't be disappointing, it is a great camera.

Happy shooting...

Yarold

 

[gkarris]

Congrats man... I've had one for 2 years and it is a great camera. The kit lens is also a very decent kit. The 40-150 is sharp as a tack. The one that came with the E-500 tends to be a bit better than the smaller new one. I just purchase the 50-200mm from Olympus and that should be in next week. You won't be disappointing, it is a great camera.

Happy shooting...

Yarold

Here are some pics I took at an R/C field my friend and I went to. He's the one flying the red Pulse. Photos resized for the web.

I took them with the 40-150, WOW, I found out how much I miss an SLR (I sold my old film equipment a while back and just got a like-DSLR).

I will be hard to go back to the like-DSLR or even a point-and-shoot.

Great deal! Can you recommend any more Olympus lenses?

 

[srf4real]

I'll bet you will be very happy with your new dslr kit. Olympus lenses are remarkably high quality, even at standard grade. A lens you must have if you plan to do any super telephoto or macro work is the ZD 70-300mm/4-5.6

This is probably the best value lens ounce for ounce anywhere in the entire dslr market. With an equivalent fov of 140-600mm, you will have the entire range met with this addition to your kit, and it is going very cheap these days... very good image quality even wide open aperture at the long end and also 1:1 macro with a minimum focus distance of 1m.

When you are ready to step up to some higher grade glass, Olympus is the company that does digital optics best, with a good range of prime lenses and zooms for your specific need.

 

[TheReef]

Nice pics, sure looks like fun

Congrats on the purchase, if zooms are your thing then the 2x crop factor is really going to work to your advantage.

 

[yaroldb]

It really depends on what you want to do. My first lens (other than the kit lens) was the 35mm 3.5 Macro. It was less than $200 and is an very, very sharp. Full 1:1 and a fun little lens.

I also have an 18-50 Sigma 2.8. This is my everyday lens. Super sharp at both ends wide open. I looked at the 14-54 2.8-3.5 Zuiko, but from what I read the Sigma was just as sharp and 2.8 throughout. I hear there are bad copies out there that are not sharp but I lucked out with a good copy.

My newest lens is a 50mm-200mm 2.8-3.5 Zuiko. It is huge and the sharpest lens I own. If you like the 40-150 you have, you'll love this lens. I skipped the 70m-300m for a few reasons. It is a 4.0-5.6 and I hear it hunts a lot when trying to focus. The E-500 does not have IS so hand holding the 300 is hard unless it is a very bright day. Don't get me wrong, people love that lens and for the price it is a very good buy. It just did not fit my needs.

If you are looking to wide lens, the 11mm-20mm is a great buy. 2.8-3.5 and is super sharp. They sells for about $600 and is the next lens on my list. I do not shoot wide to often so it was not on the top of my list.

Play around with the E-500, it can do a lot. The ISO is not the greatest but if you are coming from film it is a vast improvement. Colors are on point as is the contrast. Metering is not the best but if you learn to play with it, you can get some incredible shots. I have pictures from a recent trip to San Fran on my site. www.yarold.com. All shoots taken with my E-500 and either the 40mm-150mm or the Sigma 18mm-50mm.

Hope that helps.

Yarold B

 

[gkarris]

If you are looking to wide lens, the 11mm-20mm is a great buy. 2.8-3.5 and is super sharp. They sells for about $600 and is the next lens on my list. I do not shoot wide to often so it was not on the top of my list.

I do a lot of Architecture, Cityscapes, and Landscapes and was wondering. Looks like I'll be out another $600...

Play around with the E-500, it can do a lot. The ISO is not the greatest but if you are coming from film it is a vast improvement. Colors are on point as is the contrast. Metering is not the best but if you learn to play with it, you can get some incredible shots. I have pictures from a recent trip to San Fran on my site. www.yarold.com. All shoots taken with my E-500 and either the 40mm-150mm or the Sigma 18mm-50mm.

Hope that helps.

Yarold B

I'm happy with it - been taking some other pics and if anything, a really vast improvement over a like-DSLR or point-and-shoot.

The pics on your site are cool. Thanks!