Pentax *ist-D or Olympus E-500?

**I think I posted this is the wrong area the first time, so I'll try here :idea: **
First of all- I just wanted to say hi! I'm new here, and hope to get to chat with everybody!
Second of all- I'm shopping for my first SLR. I was at a camera store today and found these 2 cameras that I was interested in. The Pentax was on sale for $250. It seemed nice, but i'm not sure if I liked the look of it. Something about it bugged me. The Olympus was really nice and was $450 for the camera and 2 lenses. I really liked the camera, but since I'm new to SLRs, I'm worried that I won't be able to learn it.
The camara I want needs to be able to shoot a WIDE variety of styles. I've been shooting landscape for a little while now, and want to start into newborn/children, bands, and weddings. But I also want to do macro. So I want something thats versitile and can work multiple duties.
If you wouldn't recommend either of these, is there another you'd think would be better for me just learning the SLRs?
I've been using my older Olympus Camedia 3040Zoom and its one of the regular digitals that I really like using~ but its on its way out.
http://a870.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...b06eea058d.jpg

Either of those cameras will be good. You can pick up a newer body olympus for around the same price online though, and there are quite a few improvements from the E500 to the E410/E510. I would suggest shopping around a bit if the olympus ends up on your short list.

SLR cameras are very versatile because they have interchangeable lenses. If you want to shoot landscape, you will need to buy a wide angle lens. If you want to shoot macro, you will need a macro lens. If you want to shoot bands and newborns with available light, you will need a lens with a large aperture (small f/number). In short, the camera itself is the least important part of this decision - the lenses that will accompany it are the most important.

I can't make any suggestions regarding the pentax. I know they are quality cameras and I know that they have a large selection of lenses and accessories, but I don't know enough about them to suggest a combination.

For the olympus, I think you will be happy with a body only camera, and the 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 lens. It isn't a super long zoom, but it has a large zoom range from wide angle to short telephoto. It focuses closely, and even though it isn't really a macro lens, you will be pretty satisfied with it's close-up performance. It has a fast aperture so available light is OK, and it is VERY high quality. It runs about $400 so it isn't super expensive. The two lens kit will leave you wishing for better low light capability.

Hopefully someone will chime in about the pentax line!

I have to agree with Erik that both of these cameras are good. but both are older technology. Since Erik touted some of the good points of the Olympus, I'll try to justify the Pentax. First of all, consider the Pentax K10. With the new K20 just released, the price on these are dropping tremendously, so you can expect some good deals. This camera is rated up there with much more expensive level cameras. Another high point, is that all K Mount lenses still fit the new Pentax cameras, with some limitations.
The kit lense in most K10's is the 18-55mm and is very good for what it is designed for. Investment in a good telephoto lens and a good macro lens and you'll be set for just about any situation.
I am also considering a good teleconverter for my pentax *ist DL.
Again, I would urge you to do a little more research into some of the newer models in both of these products, and then choose the one that best suits your needs and shooting style.
Please feel free to ask as many questions about the different models as you need to to make an informed decision and check out the Reviews Section here http://www.photographyreview.com/reviewscrx.aspx for more info on the cameras that your interested in.
Good luck.

It turned out it WAS a Pentax *ist-DL... not the regular D. I ended up getting the Olympus with the 2 lenses. Its definitly complicated! It was $487 after tax, and that got me the screen protector, and the cloth to clean it. But I didn't get a lens protector and i'm worried about that! I have 14 days with this if I want to return it. So I guess I could test it out and if I like it~ great! If not, I can always return it. Hopefully I don't have to go through that, but just incase. Its been crappy weather all day with the rain and all, so hopefully its better tomorrow and I can try it out more outside.

Before I would spend $450.00 on the E-500 I would go ahead and get the 510. The Image Stablization is well worth the extra money. The 510 is a much better camera. Lower noise at high ISO's and the picture quality is better.

Alright, I let the battery charge overnight, and started it up this morning to play with it. I already don't like it. The colors on the auto settings aren't what I thought they would be. I thought they'd be a lot better. I tried taking a picture of my son in the "childrens" mode and it turned out all blah...
Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I really don't like it as of now... :-\ I think I'm going to look for another one and take this back to the store... 15% restocking fee... owch. lol

That sucks, but really the color should be pretty good right out of the box. Post an example for us?

This was one of the first pictures I took with it. Without messing with any of the settings or anything(not like I could yet if I tried). But I used it on full auto for this one. It just doesn't look right to me... but again~ i might be blind, or doing something wrong.
http://a293.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...35d405d5dc.jpg

These were in Childrens Mode:
http://a835.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...326548b452.jpghttp://a425.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...73b3454580.jpg

Color looks pretty good to me, perhaps slightly kodachomish (yellows). They could use a bit of contrast maybe. They look about a third of a stop overexposed. Without the EXIF data, I can't make any guesses.

The camera has a lot of customizable settings for you to fool around with. Here's a website that explains what a lot of these do, although please take his advice with a grain of salt - no one setting is going to be perfect for everyone, or else there wouldn't be a choice!!

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/e500-sett.html

Thanks for the site! I'll keep that in mind :-) I'm just affraid of changing the settings and them ending up staying that way and me ruining the camera... can that happen? Is there a factory reset on it?

There is no way to adjust a setting that isn't reversible, so don't worry about that. The best thing to do is to figure out exactly what each setting does, and then play with the options to see what you like best. There IS a way to reset the camera to stock defaults but i couldn't tell you exactly how without looking it up. A default reset is standard issue on most cameras these days.

Now that you are a proud olympus owner, you should participate on the olympus and 4/3 forum!

http://forums.photographyreview.com/...splay.php?f=56

Did you calibrate your monitor? A Non-Calibrate monitor leads to alot of guesswork.