In many ways, the Olympus Evolt E-500 is very similar to the slightly older E-300 model. Both cameras use a 8-megapixel CCD, and offer many of the same features and options. One such feature is the supersonic wave filter dust-reduction system, which literally shakes dust off the image sensor (35,000 times per second) when the camera is activated.

The E-500, however, has a noticeably different appearance. The camera has a more traditional form largely due to the reemergence of a hump where the hotshoe and flash are located. The E-300, by contrast, has a flat-top design, considered less attractive by most users. The hump on the E-500 has a functional advantage as well, allowing the flash to sit higher and disperse a greater range of light.

For a digital SLR camera, the E-500 is relatively compact. At 5 inches wide and weighing about 15 ounces, the camera has a fairly light, but sturdy feel to it. Like the E-300, the E-500 is composed of a sturdy plastic, which gives it a more professional feel than the Canon Digital Rebel XTi.

The placement of the camera's various buttons and dials are also very similar to that of the E-300. On the top right side of the camera you will find a mode and command dial, allowing you to easily select from a variety of preset modes with your thumb or index finger. In this area there is also an exposure compensation button and shutter release towards the front.

The 2.5-inch LCD on the back of the camera is flanked by a classic four-way controller on the right side and commonly used buttons, such as menu, delete, info, on the left. The four-way controller allows you to navigate the menu and quickly change WB, AF, and ISO settings.

The LCD display itself is quite a marvel, especially if you are accustomed to a smaller screen, such as the 1.8-inch display on the E300. The bright, crisp 2.5-inch LCD really makes a difference - you can actually look through the pictures you have just taken and see each one clearly. The ability to look back on your photos quickly and clearly adds substantially to the usability of the camera. You will find essentially the same display on the new Nikon D80.

On the top of the E-500, you'll find a standard hotshoe and the pop-up flash, which is activated either automatically or by pressing the small round button just to the top left of the display screen.

One feature you will not find on the E-500 is an extra top-mounted display screen. If you aren't use to having one in the first place, this will not be an issue, but for those of us accustomed to having pertinent information continuously displayed on a secondary screen, this omission is a bit of a letdown. Looking at the top of the camera, however, you can see there is no room for a top display, and any plan to include one must have been sacrificed for a smaller, lighter body design.

The E-500's menu is fairly easy to navigate, and though not as intuitive as some, it gives you access to all the options you might expect. One thing we really liked is the camera's playback mode, which allowed us to review the images with color histograms. Before even downloading our photos, we were able to see the range of dark and light areas in our photos, and identify potentially unwanted camera highlighting effects.

The camera's viewfinder, unfortunately, seems a bit too small. Although the viewfinder shows 95% of the frame (pretty standard for a camera in this class), the way it is constructed makes it seem like you looking down a long, dark hallway. For many people this may be a non-issue, but if you are near-sighted, you may have to wear your glasses in order to see the shooting info. displayed on the right side.

The Olympus E-500 is compatible with a wide variety of Olympus Zuiko Digital lenses using the Three Fourths system standard. The standard kit includes the 14mm-to-45mm (28mm to 90mm, 35mm-film-camera equivalent) wide-angle lens. You can also get a two-lens kit for about $100, and this includes the 40mm-to-150mm (80mm to 300mm equivalent) telephoto lens. The standard wide-angle lens is a great lens to get started with, and is highly recommended.

The E-500 is relatively slow to power-up, taking about 2.5 seconds. This, however, is due to the activation of the supersonic wave filter dust-reduction system, which needs about 2 seconds to shake dust off the image sensor. Despite the relatively lengthy delay, it rarely resulted in a missed shot. It takes about 1-2 seconds just to get the camera in position to take that first picture.

Under optimal conditions, without flash, we were able to take a photo about every 1 second in JPEG and every 2 seconds in RAW format. The autofocus also performed well, with an autofocus shutter delay of less than 0.5 seconds under most normal lighting conditions.

In continuous shooting mode, the camera was able to capture 2.5 fps is JPEG mode, and about 2.7 fps in TIFF and RAW mode. Using JPEGs, the continuous shooting mode can last as long as you have room on your flash card. In TIFF and RAW mode, the bursts come in 5 second intervals. Even so, the speed in all image formats in impressive for a SLR camera in this low price class.

The Evolt E-500 has an ISO range of 100 to 1600 and shutter speeds ranging from 60 seconds to 1/4,000 second. We found the camera's performance at low-light levels to be noticeably better than the E-300's. Noise was almost undetectable through ISO 400. Even at ISO 800, noise is not all that noticeable, indicating that the camera's noise-reduction system is working as it should.

In low-light conditions, we found the pop-up flash to work about as well as one can expect. The flash stands at least two inches above the lens, allowing the light to pass over the camera unobstructed. The flash was able to illuminate most indoor rooms evenly and completely. If you find that the flash is actually too bright (which it sometimes is), you can always reduce the flash power.

In standard lighting conditions, we found the E-500's overall image quality to be quite good. Sharpness, contrast, and color were all within an acceptable range. Even at just 8-megapixels, the camera's image quality and resolution holds up well against 10-megapixel models like the Nikon D80. We did notice, however, that the E-500 images tended to have an overly-sharp look at times, typical of other Olympus cameras, including the E-300.

Overall, the E-500 represents a fairly substantial step forward from the slightly older E-300. The Evolt E-500 has a new attractive look, and plenty of additional features you won't find on the E-300. There are, however, a few things still missing: USB 2.0 High Speed standard (why is this camera still using USB 1.0?), additional focus points, and a top LCD display. Despite these omissions, the E-500 is a solid contender in the entry-level SLR market. At just $450 for the camera body at the writing of this review, the E-500 is a great deal for any beginner or photo enthusiast.    

Photos Taken with the Olympus Evolt E-500

Olympus Evolt E-500 Specifications

• 8-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 16 x 22-inch prints
• 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD display; 5 metering modes and built-in filters, including nine filters for black-and-white photography
• Exclusive dust-free technology for spot-free photos
• Lightweight ergonomic design; kit includes Zuiko 14-45mm f3.5-5.6 digital SLR lens
• Powered by one lithium-ion battery; stores images on CF, Micro Drive, or xD Picture Cards
  
  
• Type: Interchangeable-lens digital SLR camera
• Media: Compact Flash card (Type I, II), Micro Drive, xD Picture Card (dual slot)
• Imaging size: 17.3mm x 13.0mm
• Lens mount: Four thirds mount
• Compatible lens: Zuiko digital, four thirds system lens
• Number of effective pixels: 8 million pixels
• Image sensor type: 4/3 type full-frame transfer type CCD solid-state image sensor
• Effective pixel number: 8.15 million pixels
• Aspect: 0.16875
• Filter array: Primary color filter (RGB)
• Dust protect filter: Yes: Supersonic Wave Filter
• Recording format: DCF (JPEG), TIFF, RAW
• Recording mode: JPEG, TIFF Ver. 6.0 (Exif 2.2), RAW (12bit)
• RAW + JPEG Recording: Yes: RAW + SHQ/HQ/SQ modes
• Viewfinder type: Eye-level Penta Dach mirror type optical viewfinder
• View field coverage: Approximately 95%
• Magnification: Approximately 0.9x with 50mm lens set to infinity on -1 diopter
• Eye point: 16mm (-1m-1)
• Diopter adjustment: Built-in type -3.0 to +1.0 diopter
• Focusing screen: Fixed type
• Mirror: Quick-return mirror
• Viewfinder information: AF frame, Shutter speed, Aperture value, AF confirmation mark, Flash, White balance, AE lock, Number of storable still pictures, Exposure compensation value indication, Metering mode, Battery check, Exposure mode, Record mode
• Eyepiece shutter: Interchangeable type, EP-4 supplied
• Depth of field preview: One-touch WB button (customizable)
• Playback monitor type: HyperCrystal LCD (TFT color LCD)
• Size: 2.5 inch
• Pixel number: 215,250 pixels
• View field coverage: Approximately 100%
• Brightness control: +/- 7 steps
• Autofocus type: TTL phase difference detection system
• Focus mode: Single AF (S-AF), continuous AF (C-AF), manual focus, S-AF + MF, C-AF + MF
• Focus area: 3 points
• Detection range: EV 0 to 19 (ISO 100)
• Focus area selection: Automatic selectable, manual selectable
• AF assist lamp: Built-in Flash type
• AF lock: Locked by first position of Shutter Button/AE/AF lock button (customizable)
• Focus tracking: Available in continuous AF mode
• Manual focus: Available by rotation of a lens focus ring; available for setting manual focus operation in AF mode
• Light metering mode: Digital ESP/center-weighted average/spot (approximately 2%)/spot with highlight, shadow control
• Detection range: Digital ESP/center-weighted average; EV 1 to 20 (50mm f2, ISO 100) spot/spot with highlight, shadow control; EV 3 to 17 (50mm f2, ISO 100)
• Exposure mode: Full auto, program with program shift, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual, scene program AE, scene select AE
• Scene program: Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports, Night Scene and Portrait
• Scene select: Portrait, Landscape, Landscape and Portrait, Night Scene, Night Scene and Portrait, Firework, Sunset, Macro, Sports, High-Key, Low-Key, Documents, Beach and Snow, Candle, Children
• Sensitivity: Auto: ISO 100 to 400; manual: ISO 100 to 400, expandable to 1600 (in each 1/3 EV step possible) (Noise filter is selectable in ISO boost)
• Exposure compensation: Up to +/- 5 EV in each 1, 1/2, or 1/3 EV step
• AE lock: Locked by first position of shutter button, AE/AF lock button (customizable)
• Exposure bracketing: 3 frames in +/- 1, 2/3, 1/2, or 1/3 EV step
• White balance modes: Auto WB, Preset WB, Custom WB, One-touch WB
• Preset WB: Lamp 1 (3000k), Fluorescent 1 (4000k), Fluorescent 2 (4500k), Fluorescent 3 (6600k), Daylight (5300k), Claudy (6000k), Shade (7500k)
• WB compensation: R-B/G-M up to +/- 7 step in each 2mired step for each Auto/Preset setting
• Custom WB: Compensation up to +/- 7 step; 2000-6000K in 100K steps; 6000-8000K in 200K steps; 8000-10000K in 500K steps
• One-touch mode: 4 one-touch settings
• WB bracketing: 3 frames with +/- 4/8/12 mired steps
• Picture mode: Vivid, natural, muted, black & white, sepia
• Color mode: Color space sRGB/AdobeRGB
• Saturation: 5 levels in each Vivid, Natural, and Muted mode
• Sharpness: 5 levels in each Picture mode
• Contrast: 5 levels in each Picture mode
• Shutter type: Electronic controlled focal plane shutter
• Shutter speed: A,P,Ps: 1/4000 second to 60 seconds (depends on conditions); S: 1/4000 second to 60 seconds; M: 1/4000 second to 60 seconds and Bulb (up to 8 minutes); AUTO: 1/4000 second to 2 seconds; Scene: 1/4000 second to 2 seconds (depends on selected mode)
• Self-timer: 12 seconds or 2 seconds (possible to cancel)
• Remote control: Wireless with bulb function by RM-1 (RM-1:option)
• Drive mode: Single/sequential shooting
• Sequential shooting speed: Approximately 2.5 frames per second
• Maximum frame number on sequential shooting: RAW; TIFF:4 frames; JPEG (HQ, SQ); up to full capacity with high-speed media (with SanDisk Extreme III CF card on default image quality mode {HQ 1/8})
• Control panel information: Flash mode, Flash compensation value indication, Metering mode, Focus mode, Record mode, Aperture value, Shutter speed, Battery check, Number of storable still pictures, Image quality adjustment, ISO, Color space, Mono tone, Hi/Lo Key, White balance, Remote control, Self-timer, Exposure level indicator, Exposure compensation indicator, AF frame, Number of storable sequential pictures, Exposure compensation value indication, Auto bracket, Noise reduction, Single-frame shooting/Sequential shooting, Color saturation compensation value indication, Sharpness compensation indication value, AE bracket, WB bracket
• Flash control: TTL auto FP/TTL auto for Olympus dedicated flash
• Built-in flash: Yes; flash guide number: 13
• Flash modes: Auto, red-eye reduction, slow synchro, fill-in for exclusive flash
• X-Sync speed: X=1/180 second
• Intensity control: Up to +/- 2 EV in each 1, 1/2, or 1/3 EV step
• Syncro timing: Front curtain and rear curtain selectable
• Multi-flash control: Yes (control built in and ext FL flash independently)
• Playback display mode: Single/zoom (2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14x), Index (4, 9, 16, 25 frames), Calendar View, Slide Show, Light Box View
• Information: Exposure Mode, Metering Mode, Shutter Speed, F-Stop, Compensation level, ISO, Color Space, WB Mode, WB Compensation Level, Focal Length, Focus Area, File type, Picture Mode
• Erase mode: Single, All, Selected
• Image protect mode: Single
• Menu category: REC1, REC2, Play Back, Custom, Setup
• Languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean (depending on region)
• Custom reset: 2 types
• Personal computer interface: Full-speed USB 2.0 (12 MB per second)
• Personal computer connector: USB connector: MiniB
• Video signal output: Video-out jack (NTSC or PAL selectable)
• X-synchronization socket (PC Socket): Hot shoe
• Remote cable: N/A
• Battery: Rechargeable Li-ion battery Pack BLM-1/3x CR123A with LBH-1
• Battery check: Automatic check
• Sleep mode: Yes (1, 3, 5, 10 minutes; selectable)
• Date/time saving: Approximately 5 months using the built-in battery
• Dimensions: 5 x 3.7 x 2.6 inches (129.5 x 94.5 x 66 millimeters)
• Weight: 15.34 ounces (435 grams) [body only]
• Temperature: Operating range: 32 to 104 degrees F (0 to 40 degrees C); storage range: -4 to 140 degrees F (-20 to 60 degrees C)
• Humidity: Operating range; 30 to 90%; storage range; 10 to 90%
• Dust- and splash-proof: No
• 14-45mm lens:
• Focal length: 14-45mm (28mm-90mm 35mm equivalent)
• Lens construction: 12 elements in 10 groups including 2 aspherical lens elements
• Lens mechanism: Floating focusing mechanism
• Angle of view: 75 to 27 degrees
• Closest focusing distance: 0.38m
• Maximum image magnification: 0.26x (0.52x 35mm equivalent)
  
• Maximum aperture: f3.5 wide/f5.6 telephoto
• Minimum aperture: f22
• Number of blades: 7
• Filter size: 58mm
• Dimensions (D x L): 2.8 x 3.41 inches (71 x 86.5 millimeters)
• Weight: 9.98 ounces (285 grams)
• Compatibility: Teleconverter EC-14: yes (MF use only); extension tube EX-25: closest focusing distance 6 inches/153 millimeters; extended maximum image magnification 1.14x; minimum field size: 15 x 11mm