Olympus 500 DSLR...a spanner in the works.

[Bristol Pete]

Did my usual lunch time research today and went into London Camera Exchange. They threw the Olympus 500 DSLR into the ring with the two lens package at £649.00, which seems pretty good and I reckon I could negotiate a deal. Had a play, seems inherently like the 350D in build and shape.

Any opinions here aside from the research I will do online.

Evidently a few posters here work in the camera industry so input is readily accepted.

Personally, I went from an Olympus P/S to a Canon and looking back at my archive shots I think I prefer to colour of the Olympus stuff which again, may sway a decision.

Who said buying a camera was easy

Cheers,

Pete.

 

[cu3ed]

So far (the one in the shop), has been recieved very very well, the twin lens kit here goes for 629.99, so you should be able to haggle them down a good bit , but not much more under that, maybe press for a free 512 card or sommin.

As far as i can tell the 4/3rds systems is working very very well for them, and, has recieved good reviews, some stating how much better than the Canon it is. I do like the build quality, the grip is abit more substancial so sits (in my hand anyways), very well.

Also the Sonic dust cleaner that shimmers any dust that might land, seems to be very effective, although its not sommin im about to throw dust.

So far the twin kit has done very well here.

 

[Bristol Pete]

Thanks for the comment. Noted.

 

[stevegreen]

Are there not a limited range of extra lenses for the Olympus? Also will manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron make compatible lenses for this make?

 

[midtones]

http://www.ukdigital.co.uk/olympus_digital_slr_lenses.htm

Sigma announced a few at PMA too.

K.

 

[cu3ed]

Yep Sigma have launched a few for the 4/3rds system.

 

[stegalv]

hi captain,i am in the process of buying a dslr and interested in the oly e500,been into currys today and had a play, it's 599 quid in there with 2 lenses,printer,1 gig card and a bag.
if i can get over the issue of the small veiwfinder which a lot of reviews say dos'nt help trying to focus in low light i will probably buy one.
the trouble with the offer from currys is the lenses,which i think are slightly different from the lenses you have seen, and,probably to keep the price under 600 quid they have taken the olympus battery and charger out of the package, which means extra outlay.

 

[cu3ed]

Yep saw the Currys "offer", dont know what they are playing at, the battery and charger come INSIDE the UK specifed boxe's!

The two lenses we are doing (from Olymous UK), are the Zuikio (sp), 14-45mm, and the 45-150mms, the charger and battery could trun out to be quite expensive, would advise just going somewhere else and get the proper lenses and everything included in the kit.

Also make sure you are getting you 2 years warrenty return with any Olympus camera.

 

[richard plumb]

Bear in mind that the biggest outlay for a DSLR over a few years will be the lenses, and therefore any choice of future DSLR is likely to be the same/similar brand due to the lenses you already have.

Not discounting the olympus, but the 4/3 system is a little short on lenses. Maybe that'll pick up now that Sigma have pitched in, and I think the newer LIVE preview/sonic cleaning DSLRs from panasonic are also 4/3

 

[Bristol Pete]

hi captain,i am in the process of buying a dslr and interested in the oly e500,been into currys today and had a play, it's 599 quid in there with 2 lenses,printer,1 gig card and a bag.
if i can get over the issue of the small veiwfinder which a lot of reviews say dos'nt help trying to focus in low light i will probably buy one.
the trouble with the offer from currys is the lenses,which i think are slightly different from the lenses you have seen, and,probably to keep the price under 600 quid they have taken the olympus battery and charger out of the package, which means extra outlay.

Yeah, saw that offer. Makes sense is some ways but removing the lith battery and charger is somewhat comical. Having searched online both are a few quid and negate the deal really. I would imagine the supplied batteries would last only a matter of minutes. Finally, despite being a new camera it only has USB1 which again seems odd.

Pete.

 

[Ikki]

Panasonic has just announced a new 4/3 DSLR at PMA, the Lumix DMC-L1 which is a fairly radical piece of kit. To go with it Leica announced it's first 4/3 lens, the Leica D 14-50 mm f2.8-3.5 with built in image stabilisation.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1

They are certainly very interesting pieces of kit. The lens is the first of a range, which along with the Sigma lenses and the recently expanded Olly range will add up to a decent number of lenses to choose from.

No prices yet, but I can't see Panasonic putting a silly price on this DSLR/lens combo if they want more than a toehold in the market.

 

[cu3ed]

Actually just got word to day that we will be doing a 3rd package fwith the e-500, basically it will be the twin lens kit (with everything), but also a 40gig travel drive (dont ask i havent seen one yet), for £659.99

 

[timp]

Actually just got word to day that we will be doing a 3rd package fwith the e-500, basically it will be the twin lens kit (with everything), but also a 40gig travel drive (dont ask i havent seen one yet), for £659.99

Any news on this yet?

Do the Currys / Dixons 2 lens kit really not come with batt / charger?? (knowing this'll save me a trip to Currys tomorrow!)

Will the £659.99 kit mentioned above have the charger?

 

[Bristol Pete]

Do the Currys / Dixons 2 lens kit really not come with batt / charger?? (knowing this'll save me a trip to Currys tomorrow!)

Fact. The Dixons/currys package does NOT come with battery and charger. There is even a sign in Dixons stating that fact. You have been warned

Hope this helps,

Pete.

 

[senu]

This is where I do my online research for cameras, May be yours too: Very informative

 

[cu3ed]

Any news on this yet?

Do the Currys / Dixons 2 lens kit really not come with batt / charger?? (knowing this'll save me a trip to Currys tomorrow!)

Will the £659.99 kit mentioned above have the charger?

Yes, the Uk specifed kit ALWAYS comes with the battery and charger, we will be taking stock of these shortly, maybe by the end of next week.

 

[timp]

Checked the E500 out in PCWorld today - no charger / battery, just 3 x CR123 in a holder - frankly thats scandalous! Can't imagine anyone buying such a camera in the knowledge there is no rechargeable battery supplied.

 

[cu3ed]

No, its the fact the have the battery and chargers "kit", which they then ask you to pay a totoally scandellous price for!

 

[condyk]

The only serious players in the DSLR market right now are Canon and Nikon. Personally, if I was seriously starting again in photography then I would still stick to one or the other. The reason some of this other stuff is so cheap is because they are trying to grab market share at the easier to penetrate bottom end of the market. At the end of the day any system needs good lenses. You need to satisfy yourself that the smaller players can supply your needs long term. For a basic level shooter I am sure the Olympus can be a good buy.

 

[cu3ed]

Sorry cant agree with that, nikon or canon? yes their stuff is good, and they do sell the most that doesnt mean the rest are making cheap cameras just to "get their share".
The olympus E-500 has proved to be a big contender at that price, so far doing better than the Canon did with the critics, plus you dont seem to realise that Olympus have their seriously professional side, usually reserved for medical companies and such.


Also we seem to sell alot more olympus stuff. But also i think they have done the right thing, they arnt trying to make semi-pro cameras, they dont have a market (currently) for that, as their isnt enough of a market share to go about, if you put a realistic 3rd contender in then the market will be split 3 ways, unfortunatly wiuth pricing the camera market is so delicate (looked what nearly happinned to Leica), that no one is making enough money on these things.......that goes for all the comapnies, they none of them are rolling in it.

 

[condyk]

Sorry cant agree with that, in fact thats a pretty stupid thing to say, nikon or canon? yes their stuff is good, and they do sell the most that doesnt mean the rest are making crap cameras just to "get their share".
The olympus E-500 has proved to be a big contender at that price, so far doing better than the Canon with the critics, plus you dont seem to realise that Olympus have their seriously professional side, usually reserved for medical companies and such.

Sorry chum ... you clearly didn't read what I said. I didn't say it was 'crap' I said the pricing offers are there to grab market share because neither the consumer nor pro market is really looking over in the direction of Olympus. As to 'reviews' I suspect you're being a little selective. Let anyone here do an independent Google and make their own mind up.

Sounds like you want to make a sale It may be a good camera (I read the reviews when it came out and it seems decent so long as you keep ISO down to around the 400 mark) but if you're serious about photography for the long haul you won't buy into a system that is struggling to keep up. The larger investment is normally into a lens collection so I'd be careful of investing in a system that may not last. Minolta dropped out the DSLR race a few months back and they had a better product IMHO with body based IS! Who'll be next? Sony/Minolta and Samsung (new model based on the Pentax *ist DS2) are probable more likely to take on the big two.

Yes, Olympus make good lenses too (the MF 21mm is a classic I'd like to get hold of) ... but they don't make that many relatively and certainly there isn't the coverage you'll get with Canon from the four key lens brands. That counts big time when you get more serious.

You need a lot of faith if you go in the Olympus direction. However, as I said, it'll be a good camera for someone wanting to go beyond P&S and just run the camera with a few lenses until it falls apart. My own view is this will be the last Olympus DSLR. That's pretty tragic seeing it was my first ever SLR 20 or so years ago

 

[cu3ed]

Well its not the last camera as the new Olympus (the first to have a live screen) the E-330, will be here soon.

The 4.3rds system has been going for years now, its only now they have decided to increase the amount of lenses as their bodies have became more popular. Another popular thing is that you can get the lens adaptor for the old Olypmpus lens (assuming you dont mind using the camera in full manual to do this)

Hoe can i make a quick sale if im keeing myself annoymous?
I heard the prices for the Samung/Pentax DSLRS, they are gonna be a spectacular failure if they bring them about at the proposed prices!

 

[HCking]

Another popular thing is that you can get the lens adaptor for the old Olypmpus lens (assuming you dont mind using the camera in full manual to do this)

I dont think that is a selling feature that will sway anyone to Olympus, you can get mounts for any mount to mount system like Canon to Nikon, Nikon to Contax.

I agree totally you have to buy into a system / manufacturer, It costs money to change when you are established using one system.

On another subject I went into a local histreet camera chain to see if they could get any where near a price on a Canon 5D to the online retailers, In the 5 mins i was in the store I was pushed every camera apart from canon / nikon brands, when I said all i'm intrested in was a 5D they got hostile, Iasked if they could match or come colse to the internet deals they said " No they wouldnt as the prices they were selling at they would not have in stock, I pointed out that all 3 retailers had them in stock as i had checked and all 3 had retail premesis, to which the reply was "if you dont want one of the other makes of cameras i sugest you got and buy online"

So why are they pushing other brands of camera and not Canon / Nikon ?.

 

[barongreenback]

HCking - it's called margin. Nikon and Canon products are widely available and through many internet sources, including specialists. The other ranges are less readily available and less well known hence Jessops can preserve a bit of margin on these.

 

[cu3ed]

ehh no, theirs no margin in these cameras really, doent matter.

Although why the hell they didnt want to sell you a 5D i beyond any comprehension, if someone comes in to my place asking for a 5D they obviously know what they are looking for, and that they probobly have a range of lenses, so i woldnt talk anybody that came in asking for a particular model as they have already made their mind up.

Its different if people come in asking for a DSLR in general , saying "what would you recommend?".