Olympus E-500 with 14-45mm lens review

What you need to know

Reviewed by: Lisa Gidley

Reviewed on: 1 March 2006

Tags: Olympus, Olympus, Olympus, Olympus E-500 with 14-45mm lens, Olympus E-500 with 14-45mm lens

We like:

Compact design; strong autofocus performance even in low-light situations; intuitive and easy-to-navigate menu system; wide range of automated and manual features to appeal to both serious hobbyists and curious SLR newcomers

We don't like:

Unreliable automatic white balance in some conditions; slow start-up time when dust reduction is enabled; compatible Zuiko lenses don't indicate focal distance

CNET UK judgement:

The Olympus E-500 is a compact, easy-to-use digital SLR camera with a broad feature set for its class and very nice photo quality overall

Full review:

A well-designed compact 8-megapixel digital SLR camera, the Olympus E-500 offers a notably broad set of features for its class, including Olympus's signature dust-reduction system. Every time you turn on the E-500, its supersonic wave filter vibrates 35,000 times per second to shimmy dust off the CCD. With more fine-tuning tools than you might expect for the price, not to mention compatibility with Olympus's sharp Zuiko Digital lenses, this affordable model offers an appealing alternative to competitors such as the Nikon D50, the Canon EOS 350D, and the Pentax *ist DL. Continue Reading...