Help - olympus evolt E-500

wheresdavid

I am currently in south america and i had my brand new canon rebel XTI stolen. I want to replace the camera and I have a few options. I can have somebody bring one down to me from the states because in South america cameras are expensive. i just ran accross what appears to be a bargain but i dont want to be ripped off twice. there is a olympus evolt e-500 for sale by a private seller. it doesnt appear to have been stolen, he has a receipt form the US and said a friend bought it for him in the states. it comes with two zuiko lenses. a 14-45 and a 45-150. the price is a steal for south america - $785.

Where i need help is i never bought a used camera and i dont know what to look for to make sure i am not getting a bad camera. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

dave

ziggy53

wheresdavid wrote:

I am currently in south america and i had my brand new canon rebel XTI stolen. I want to replace the camera and I have a few options. I can have somebody bring one down to me from the states because in South america cameras are expensive. i just ran accross what appears to be a bargain but i dont want to be ripped off twice. there is a olympus evolt e-500 for sale by a private seller. it doesnt appear to have been stolen, he has a receipt form the US and said a friend bought it for him in the states. it comes with two zuiko lenses. a 14-45 and a 45-150. the price is a steal for south america - $785.

Where i need help is i never bought a used camera and i dont know what to look for to make sure i am not getting a bad camera. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

dave

Dave,

I was really hoping one of our Olympus shooters would respond, because I don't have one and there may be specific issues to look for.

Generally, when buying from an unknown source, never spend more than you can afford to loose. You have an unknown risk, and you'll have no guarantee.

Check the fit and trim:

Both lenses should attach easily and securely, latching properly and with little play. Check the filter threads and back elements of the lenses to make sure the lenses haven't been dropped.

Look for any body cracks or scuffs which could indicate rough handling.

Shake the camera to make sure there is no rattle. Rattle could mean an internal problem or possible drop damage.

Try both Compact Flash and xD cards for proper storage and play operation.

Some Accessories should be standard and all should be included.

The battery should fit and latch properly and the battery status of the camera should properly represent the level of power in the battery. Put the battery in the charger to see if it appears to be functioning correctly.

Review test images on a computer monitor, not just the LCD display of the camera.

Check each function of the camera:

Meter system
Digital ESP
Center-Weighted Average
Spot
Highlight based spot
Shadow based spot

ISO, check at least ISO 100 and ISO 1600 for proper interpretation, more testing is better.

Focus Systems
S-AF
C-AF
MF
S-AF & MF
C-AF & MF

Continuous Mode, make sure you get around 2.5 fps.

AWB, make sure to test a white target in several different lighting conditions and check results on a computer monitor.

MWB, at least check daylight and tungsten WB.

Flash operation, check the flash at highest sync (1/180th) and test the FP mode to 1/4000th. In both cases the image should be completely illuminated, top to bottom.

etc.

In other words, go through every system of the camera looking for anything unusual.

Again, I stress, don't spend more than you can afford to loose.

Best,

ziggy53

Bob&Glennie

Well I'm an Oly guy and I'll respond. I can't expand on the advice that Ziggy offered. He knows what he's talking about BUT I certainly can vouch for the E500. If you buy it you'll love it. Zuiko glass is excellent and takes a back seat to no-one. The camera is tough and well made and the 4/3 aspect ratio makes so much sense. For example, the aspect ratio exactly fits 8.5 x11 inch enlargements. The advantage is if you make 8x10 or 11x14 or 16x20 prints you get to use ALL 8 million pixels without having to crop and throw some away. The APS sensor, on the other hand, looses a significant chunk of resolution off the ends when you enlarge to a standard print size. Even the outdated E1 at 5.5mp gives more useable resolution than 6.1mp APS cameras.

We have an E1 and an E500. Both are used, abused, rained on and NOT babied!!! Three years on the E1 and almost two years on the E500 ... no problems. They even do pixel mapping in camera and NEVER and dust spot on the sensor. Not great high ISO performers. Canon is the clear winner there but good up to ISO-800 and acceptable with a little software help at ISO 1600.

Don't be afraid to buy Olympus. They're excellent.

Good luck
Bob

wheresdavid

thanks
Thank you very much for the detailed camera ánalysis´. I will make sure to do a thorugh exam of the camera. you are 110% correct, dont spend more than i can afford to loose.

cheers
Dave

ziggy53 wrote:

Dave,

I was really hoping one of our Olympus shooters would respond, because I don't have one and there may be specific issues to look for.

Generally, when buying from an unknown source, never spend more than you can afford to loose. You have an unknown risk, and you'll have no guarantee.

Check the fit and trim:

Both lenses should attach easily and securely, latching properly and with little play. Check the filter threads and back elements of the lenses to make sure the lenses haven't been dropped.

Look for any body cracks or scuffs which could indicate rough handling.

Shake the camera to make sure there is no rattle. Rattle could mean an internal problem or possible drop damage.

Try both Compact Flash and xD cards for proper storage and play operation.

Some Accessories should be standard and all should be included.

The battery should fit and latch properly and the battery status of the camera should properly represent the level of power in the battery. Put the battery in the charger to see if it appears to be functioning correctly.

Review test images on a computer monitor, not just the LCD display of the camera.

Check each function of the camera:

Meter system
Digital ESP
Center-Weighted Average
Spot
Highlight based spot
Shadow based spot

ISO, check at least ISO 100 and ISO 1600 for proper interpretation, more testing is better.

Focus Systems
S-AF
C-AF
MF
S-AF & MF
C-AF & MF

Continuous Mode, make sure you get around 2.5 fps.

AWB, make sure to test a white target in several different lighting conditions and check results on a computer monitor.

MWB, at least check daylight and tungsten WB.

Flash operation, check the flash at highest sync (1/180th) and test the FP mode to 1/4000th. In both cases the image should be completely illuminated, top to bottom.

etc.

In other words, go through every system of the camera looking for anything unusual.

Again, I stress, don't spend more than you can afford to loose.

Best,

ziggy53

anwmn1

I am an Olympus shooter and like Bob cannot elaborate on any technical data Ziggy didn't already mention, since he is one of the technical encyclopedias you can find here on dgrin.
I have had my E-500 for almost a year and shot close to 8k worth of photos in 2006 without any problems. Simply put I love it! It is not the best for high ISO and doesn't provide as many frames per second as other cameras but when I was looking I liked the way it felt, the easy to use menus, and of course the price.
The lenses are great but not plentifull, so when you start building your equipment you end up paying more for lenses than you did for the camera itself.
Unless you are in need of a high ISO or multiple frames per second than I think you will be happy with the camera.

sirsloop

I am a canon shooter and am glad I didnt end up with an olympus. My buddy shoots w/ an evolt 500 and I hate the camera. I hate the feel of the body, the menu structure, 4:3 format, the images it produces, their image stabilization, the price of the lenses, and the available aftermarket for the bodies. Sorry... not a big fan of their stuff

I think the 3:2 format is nicer to work with, the images are more natural looking w/ canon cameras, their built in body IS does not work as well as canon's lens IS system, you can find tons of great reasonably priced lenses for canon stuff where as olympus lenses seem to be very pricey, and as a system EOS has WWAAAAAAYYYY more support in the aftermarket from lenses, to flashes, adapters, flash wires, software.... just a more well rounded kit.

Thats just one guys opinion.... my buddy loves his E-500 but thats the only SLR he's ever used.

anwmn1

sirsloop wrote:

I am a canon shooter and am glad I didnt end up with an olympus. My buddy shoots w/ an evolt 500 and I hate the camera. I hate the feel of the body, the menu structure, 4:3 format, the images it produces, their image stabilization, the price of the lenses, and the available aftermarket for the bodies. Sorry... not a big fan of their stuff

I think the 3:2 format is nicer to work with, the images are more natural looking w/ canon cameras, their built in body IS does not work as well as canon's lens IS system, you can find tons of great reasonably priced lenses for canon stuff where as olympus lenses seem to be very pricey, and as a system EOS has WWAAAAAAYYYY more support in the aftermarket from lenses, to flashes, adapters, flash wires, software.... just a more well rounded kit.

Thats just one guys opinion.... my buddy loves his E-500 but thats the only SLR he's ever used.

Typical Canon shooter- "Mine's best end of story!" :argue

Dave here is the deal. All of the camera's have their pro's and con's. It depends on what you are useing the camera for, your shooting style, and your level of expertise. A good photographer can take a great picture with just about anything.

My suggestion- if you are still looking- try and find a shop where you can hold all of the cameras you are interested in, scroll through the menus, and ask questions. It is your money after all!!

Oh here is one more point for the Olympus. When showing the camera and allowing pros to test it, Olympus dumped a bucket of water on the 500 and E-1 then gave the cameras out for them to test. Care to do that with a Nikon or Canon? My camera shop (Tempe Camera) rents Nikon and Canon but the techs I talked to are impressed with the Olympus because of the water test, the 4/3, as well as the dust removal feature (check the threads for all the dust removal questions from Canon and Nikon users).

Once again. Do your research, hold the cameras, function through the menus, than decide based on your wants and wallet.

Good luck-

marlof

sirsloop wrote:

I think the 3:2 format is nicer to work with, the images are more natural looking w/ canon cameras, their built in body IS does not work as well as canon's lens IS system, you can find tons of great reasonably priced lenses for canon stuff where as olympus lenses seem to be very pricey, and as a system EOS has WWAAAAAAYYYY more support in the aftermarket from lenses, to flashes, adapters, flash wires, software.... just a more well rounded kit.

On the other hand: I like the 4:3 format, I love the colors coming straight out of the Olympus cameras, I know the in body IS of Olympus doesn't work that good, because they don't even have in body IS (duh....), and their lenses (even the basic kit ones that come at a good price) are of high optical quality, and for instance their medium range is very well built (including weather proofing), fast and when compared to other systems: also affordable. In short: like you, I'm used to the system I'm using, and I like it.

As for the Four Thirds system: sure, it doesn't cover everything Canon covers. But I could get anything I wanted from Olympus, so why worry if Canon would have to offer more? There's a few things where I'd hope Olympus would improve, mainly high ISO image quality, AF speed, full IS solutions (which is coming, as in the Leica 14-50 for Four Thirds) and a better flash system. But I sure hope they don't do that at the expense of the current qualities.

For Dave: after almost two years of using my Olympus, I'm still glad I use that one. And yes, I am well aware of what the other systems offer, it's just that I'm happy with my choice. But I'm 100% certain that I'd be perfectly happy with a Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Sony, Pentax, Fuji, Panasonic, Leica or whatever. After all I still believe that it's mostly about making what you have work. If you don't have very specific wishes (like 8fps, clean 3200 ISO, fast low light AF) any system could work for most of us.

So go out there, and compare the different cameras and lens systems, and see what option suits your shooting wishes for now and in the foreseeable future best. Have fun making your choice! One thing though: beware on the bucket of water over the e-500 story though: other than the E-1, the E-500 is not weather proofed, so please don't try this at home.

gus

anwmn1 wrote:

Typical Canon shooter- "Mine's best end of story!" :argue

Im going to pull this post up right here. Sirsloop gave his opinion which gives all indication to be honest & what he has experienced which is what the OP asked for. Lets not decend into a place where we flame for honest answers.

A stupid reply such as your first line is not called for in the forum.

sirsloop

anwmn1 wrote:

Typical Canon shooter- "Mine's best end of story!" :argue

Good luck-

Lol... I thought I gave pretty fair reason's on why *I dont like olympus*. I just happen to shoot canon so thats what I benchmark against. If I find something better I like, then yeah i'll start potty mouthing canon gear. No need to get all busted up over one opinion - I'm just trying to help.

anwmn1

sirsloop wrote:

Lol... I thought I gave pretty fair reason's on why *I dont like olympus*. I just happen to shoot canon so thats what I benchmark against. If I find something better I like, then yeah i'll start potty mouthing canon gear. No need to get all busted up over one opinion - I'm just trying to help.

Sirsloop-
I am glad you got a laugh out of it. That was the intent.

Gus- it was a joke! Hence the argueing faces!!

The opinion that sirsloop gave was his own honest opinion but it could have been read as one that is only happy with "his" brand. It could be viewed as him bashing Oly because of its 4:3 and how acoording to him is doesn't make any sense compared to the "others" 3:2. Like I said- all cameras have there strong points and areas in which they are lacking. It up to each of us to figure out what are intentions are and to find the camera that fits it best. If there was a perfect camera for every style of photography I am sure we would all be useing it. I am hopeing you read the rest of my reply and found some merit in the rest of it- before bashing me?

Sorry if anyone else felt the same- No harm was meant by the "Canon shooter comment"
Will you forgive me?

Harryb

anwmn1 wrote:

Sorry if anyone else felt the same- No harm was meant by the "Canon shooter comment"
Will you forgive me?

No problem here Aaron.

ziggy53

anwmn1 wrote:

Sirsloop-
I am glad you got a laugh out of it. That was the intent.

Gus- it was a joke! Hence the argueing faces!!

The opinion that sirsloop gave was his own honest opinion but it could have been read as one that is only happy with "his" brand. It could be viewed as him bashing Oly because of its 4:3 and how acoording to him is doesn't make any sense compared to the "others" 3:2. Like I said- all cameras have there strong points and areas in which they are lacking. It up to each of us to figure out what are intentions are and to find the camera that fits it best. If there was a perfect camera for every style of photography I am sure we would all be useing it. I am hopeing you read the rest of my reply and found some merit in the rest of it- before bashing me?

Sorry if anyone else felt the same- No harm was meant by the "Canon shooter comment"
Will you forgive me?

Perhaps you were also influenced by the two mentions of the word "hate" by sirsloop in describing the Olympus E-500, along with the inaccurate assessment of the fictitious stabilization on the E-500.

(Can't we all just get along? Group hug and Kumbaya (or Kum ba ya))

By the way, the only "ideal" cameras are the ones I am using, and the ones I will ultimately purchase for myself. (... and yes, I am very much joking about that last statement, just so there's no misunderstanding. Yeesh!)

ziggy53

Bob&Glennie

Oddly, non of you seem to have picked up on the fact that the 4/3 aspect ratio allows us to use more of our available resolution when printing on standard paper sizes. Even if your printer is no bigger than 8.5 x 11" you loose absolutely nothing from the 4/3 system if you can print edge to edge, whereas an APS camera looses a significant chunk of the available resolution off the ends if you are printing any aspect ratio other than 4x6". For me this is important as I do a lot of BIG prints for my clients. But it's like somebody else said ... it all depends on your intended end use.

Bob

sirsloop

The only standard small size thats needs to be cropped excessively w/ 3:2 is 8x10. I think a wider aspect print is more flattering a looks more professional. 4:3 prints look almost square... and you get into those funky 4x5.6 and 5x6.7 print sizes. Who's got an album that holds a 5x6.7 print?????

ziggy53

Bob&Glennie wrote:

Oddly, non of you seem to have picked up on the fact that the 4/3 aspect ratio allows us to use more of our available resolution when printing on standard paper sizes. Even if your printer is no bigger than 8.5 x 11" you loose absolutely nothing from the 4/3 system if you can print edge to edge, whereas an APS camera looses a significant chunk of the available resolution off the ends if you are printing any aspect ratio other than 4x6". For me this is important as I do a lot of BIG prints for my clients. But it's like somebody else said ... it all depends on your intended end use.

Bob

Bob,

Yep, that's a perfectly legitimate point. I exploit that aspect ratio with my Minolta A2 digicam as well.

One of the camera platforms I used in the past was medium format, square aspect ratio. The great thing about that format was that you didn't worry about landscape or portrait, something I found quite freeing. In fact, I began to appreciate that other aspect ratios were perfectly viable as well, including very odd ratios when the subject matter called for it. Why should any of us expect to conform every subject into an arbitrary aspect ratio that "someone else" decided?

Some of the worlds greatest images, painted and photographed, are in the oddest aspect ratios imaginable.

ziggy53

anwmn1

sirsloop wrote:

The only standard small size thats needs to be cropped excessively w/ 3:2 is 8x10. I think a wider aspect print is more flattering a looks more professional. 4:3 prints look almost square... and you get into those funky 4x5.6 and 5x6.7 print sizes. Who's got an album that holds a 5x6.7 print?????

Okay- so you have the advantage on 4x6 and 5x7 - How many people are really worried about how a 4x6 turns out compared to a 16x20??

How much cropping are you having to do for 8x10 & 16x20 or paying to get custom framing and matting for 8x12, 10x14, 16x24, etc.???

I am not selling to high end customers so this factors in- they can purchase 8x10 and 16x20 frames anywhere!

sirsloop

IDK where you go, but I get custom matting done at ac moore for the price of board ($5, for a 24x36 board cut however I want!) done on the spot while I wait. I go there often and tell my customers to go there when they need matting for a print they bought. I have some "oddball" sizes in my apartment 8x12's matted nicely in a 16x20 frame, two 22x28 frames with 18x24 and 20x24" prints, and a 20x30 ina 24x36" frame (yeah its freaking huge)

anwmn1

That is a pretty dang good deal on getting a board cut. I am guessing pretty basic matte board though. I recently ordered my first large prints of my digital work (five 8x12, two 11x14, one 12x18, two 16x20, and a 24x36) so I am anxious to see how they turn out and where I am going to put them.

I already have two 16x20 and about twelve 11x14 film prints on the walls.

Do you have any pics of your photos matted and framed? I would be interested to see the matte borders since they are "odd ball" sizes.

sirsloop

I'll take some photos of them tonight... time to break out the 35/2 and CPL! WOOT


The 20x30 is at my finance's place so no go on that... but I can show you the 8x12 and both x24" prints.

sirsloop

a couple my apartment


5.5x8" in an 11x14 frame


8x12 in a 16x20 frame


standard 5x7 5 frame series... ikea prematted frame


20x30 guinness print in one of those make-your-own metal frames


20x24 print in a 22x28" frame


18x22 in a 22x28 frame

anwmn1

The mats look nice. I will have to search out an ac moore or someone comparable here in Phoenix. Everywhere I have gone charges extra for "custom" cutting.

I like the water shot and the series of lights- very "artsy"

What ever happened to Dave and the E-500??

Dave did you purchase or where are you at with this?