New E-500!

[almo]

Hey guys,

As you may or may not know, I sold off my Canon equipment and decided to buy into the Olympus E-System. Two days ago I got my new camera, my first brand new DSLR, an Olympus E-500!

My first impressions of this camera are so far pretty much all positive. The image quality is awesome, the lenses are great, and the controls are very well thought out. Something that has stuck out to me about using the menues on this camera is how natural it is to use them. On my Canons it was almost like you were leaving the camera to surf the menues, but with the E-500 it's fast and natural.

The camera is light, even with the 40-150mm Zuiko. It is well built and very sturdy. The surface has the feeling of metal, except that it is not cold. I have read that looking through the view finder is like peering down a dimly lit tunnel. This is simply not true. It is true that the mirror and prisim are smaller, but just like all of the 4/3 system the VF is relativly the same. Sure if this VF was used on a larger camera it would look very small, but on this camera it seems as big as any other.

Autofocus is fast and accurate. Color rendition is wonderful. With a fast card this is a very snappy little camera. It writes very quicly. And the screen! OMG don't get me started on that screen, its sweet! 2.5 inches, bright, and can be viewed from almost any angle.

The only things I would have liked different would be the body, I would have liked all metal. There's no battery grip available, and there is only one control wheel instead of two, which means you have to hold down a button to change the aperture in manual mode. If it had those 3 features it would be a pro body.

This is the best Digital camera I have ever owned!

Here are some of my first shots, these are all untouched, except for some cropping...

Very first shot...