Best cheap Digital-slr camera

Olympus Evolt E500 8MP Digital SLR with 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 & 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Lenses

Designed to be used by photographers of any skill level, the E500’s compact, durable body is packed with Olympus innovations like the exclusive Dust Reduction System for spot-free photos, 8 million pixels of detail for bright and colorful images, a TruePic Turbo Image Processor for fast response time, and an easy-to-view 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD.

Exclusive Dust Free Technology for Spot-Free Photos
Dust is all around us, and when swapping out a lens on a digital single-lens reflex camera there’s a chance that a camera’s electro-statically charged image sensor will attract micro dust that can ruin photos. Olympus’s Dust Reduction System produces spot-free photos with the exclusive Supersonic Wave Filter, a patented ultrasonic technology that shakes at 35,000 vibrations a second to remove dust from in front of the camera sensor every time you turn the camera on.

Detailed, Bright, and Colorful Photos with 8-Megapixel Image Sensor
The E500 is loaded with an impressive 8 million pixels of detail, for bright colorful photos. The image sensor in the Evolt E500 is a high-performance Full Frame Transfer Kodak KAF-8300CE CCD that delivers improved dynamic range, low noise to capture fine image details in the highlight and shadow areas, as well as excellent color fidelity for brilliant colors.

TruePic Turbo for Clarity and Speed
Olympus’s TruePic Turbo Image Processor provides fast camera response, operation, and processing speed for more responsive camera operation. For faster burst rates, the TruePic Turbo processor addresses the dedicated 64 MB image buffer for up to four TIFF or RAW images at 2.5 frames per second, and unlimited burst mode with HQ JPEG images and extreme-speed Compact Flash cards.

Large, Easy-to-View 2.5-Inch HyperCyrstal LCD Monitor
Big and bright with 215,250 pixels, the E500 has a 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD that offers many times the contrast of conventional LCD monitors, so captured images can be beautifully displayed in vivid color on the screen with exceptional clarity. Because photos are for sharing, the E500 LCD features a wide, 160-degree viewing angle on the vertical and horizontal axis, ensuring excellent visibility and beautiful image quality even when everyone huddles around the camera to see what you’ve created.

The World’s Largest Selection of Digital Specific Lenses
The versatility of the Olympus E-System comes from delivering the largest selection of “Designed-for-Digital” lenses–more than any other manufacturer to date. Olympus’s Zuiko Digital Specific Lenses come in a wide range of focal lengths for achieving the best image result, and impress with their spectacular clarity and edge-to-edge sharpness.

Most other digital SLR cameras still use many traditional 35mm film lenses on digital bodies. But since those lenses are based on designs for film and not for pixels, they deliver insufficient light at the edges of a digital camera’s image sensor. This can result in reduced sharpness and color definition, particularly when shooting with large apertures and wide-angle lenses. The E500 does not have this problem, because it accommodates the full line of interchangeable Zuiko Digital Lenses, which are designed for digital capture with smart technology that allows the lenses to communicate with the camera to ensure the best possible image quality.

Olympus dedicated digital optics coupled with the Evolt E500 render sharpness and contrast more consistently at any given f-stop. The lenses are matched to the Four Thirds System standard image sensor for the optimal balance between image quality, camera, and lens size, and expandability. With a wide array of digital specific lenses to choose from, it’s easy to select the ideal lens to bring along when you don’t want to lug a lot of heavy, bulky gear.

The E500 outfit includes a Zuiko digital 14-45mm f3.5-f5.6 lens (equivalent to 28mm-90mm in 35mm photography) that perfectly matches the imager so light strikes the sensor directly to ensure rich, accurate colors and edge-to-edge sharpness. Its 3.2x zoom covers the range most frequently used in ordinary photography and weighs just 10 ounces (285 grams) offering users an extremely dynamic, portable everyday-use zoom. Close-ups as near as 15 inches (38 centimeters) are possible throughout the zoom range. It also comes with a 40-150mm f3.5-4.5 Zuiko lens.

Easy-to-Use, Easy-to-Handle Light and Ergonomic Design
Creating an affordable digital SLR that most anyone can pick up and start to use is about making it easier to operate. That means menus that make sense and buttons on the body that are easy to understand and operate; adding automatic settings for every imaginable situation; making the LCD big and bright enough so you can review a shot without squinting; and making it less of a chore to get images out of the camera and into your computer or printer. Moreover, at just 5.09 x 3.72 x 2.59 inches (W x H x D) and only 15.3 ounces, the Evolt E500 is light and compact enough to comfortably shoot with all day.

You don’t need a degree in photography to shoot like a pro with the E500. Just take it home, charge the Li-ion battery with the included charger, and begin taking photos. Select from one of the camera’s 25 Exposure Modes (Easy, Basic, and Creative) that make it easy to get the results you want, whenever and wherever you want them.

To access the Easy Modes, simply turn the mode dial on the top of the camera to “Scene” and choose from a range of 15 pre-programmed Scene Select modes to achieve the optimal results for Night Scenes, Children, and more.

Every Scene Select mode on the Evolt E500 provides a sample image and a description of what is happening to achieve the desired result. For example, choosing the Landscape setting reveals a sample of a landscape photo, and a text description of what the mode is displayed on the large, easy-to-read 2.5-inch LCD.

The Flexibility of the Most Feature Rich Camera in its Class
Once one feature is mastered, there are a seemingly endless number of other features just waiting to be explored. Because the E500 is designed for the ultimate user-friendly experience, you can choose to let the camera make all the decisions, or take control for a new level of customization and performance.

• 5 Metering Modes: A new 49-Point Digital ESP Light Meter enables digital electro selective pattern metering for accurate exposures under the largest number of conditions. The Digital ESP can also be linked to the AF (autofocus) selection or independent of the AF selection for even more versatility. Olympus’s widely acclaimed proprietary Digital ESP metering calculates the best light values under complex lighting conditions. Center-weighted metering is biased to the center of the viewfinder (cross) area. Spot Meter (2%) enables the most accurate metering for tough lighting conditions like backlit or spot lit. Highlight Spot Meter (2%) adjusts for predominantly white subject for correct exposure with detail. Shadow Spot Meter (2%) adjusts for a black subject, providing the correct exposure with detail.
• 3 Color Modes: Vivid/Natural/Muted: Vivid mode produces photos with more highly saturated colors and higher contrast to optimize images when vivid shots are required. The Natural mode produces realistic color similar to those seen by the human eye and is the perfect choice for the discerning photographer looking for the most realistic photos. The Muted mode is ideal for those users who plan to heavily manipulate or edit their images with the included Olympus Master Software or with Adobe Photoshop.
• A Choice of Two Color Space Settings: Users can choose from two color space settings according to their needs: sRGB, which is the standard for computer monitor viewing and inkjet printer output, and Adobe RGB, which is widely used for commercial applications.
• 9 Black and White Modes: Red, Yellow, Orange, and Green filters can be selected to replicate the same traditional film filters, enhancing the drama of the image in the Black and White shooting mode. In addition to Sepia tone, the Evolt E500 also offers users three tone effects: Blue, Green, and Purple for special results.
• Dual Card Slots: Users also benefit from two memory card slots–one for CompactFlash or Microdrive and one for xD-Picture Cards. Simply depress a button on the back of the camera to choose which card type to capture and copy images back and forth from one card to the other in playback.
• Support for High-Speed and High-Capacity Memory Media: The Evolt E500 supports 32-bit file formatting allowing the use of 2 gigabyte and larger CF, Microdrive, and xD media cards. The Evolt E500 also supports high-speed CF cards for faster operation in the burst mode.
• Simultaneous RAW and JPEG Image Recording: A choice of three image formats is offered: RAW, TIFF, and JPEG. If desired, image data can be simultaneously recorded in RAW and JPEG with the RAW+JPEG format.
• Contrast, Sharpness, and Tone Curve Controls: Contrast can be set to any of five levels, and sharpness can be set to any of seven levels. So whether you want pro-quality tonal fidelity or sharp vibrant colors, you can customize each image to suit their preference.
• White Balance: White balance settings from 3,000K to 7,000K can be set in 12 steps using button and dial controls, with +/- 7-step fine-tuning available for all settings. A one-touch white balance function allows users to store and retrieve up to four frequently used white balance settings at the touch of a button.

What’s in the box:
Evolt E500 digital camera body, one Zuiko digital 14-45mm f3.5-f5.6 lens and one Zuiko digital 40-150mm f3.5-4.5 lens, USB cable, video cable, Li-Ion battery pack (BLM-1), Li-Ion battery charger (BCM-2), shoulder strap, Olympus Master Software CD-ROM, manuals, warranty card.

Olympus Evolt E500 8MP Digital SLR Review

There has already been a lot said on this camera so far so I’ll only add a few things. I have never owned an SLR type camera so this was a new experience for me – in fact, after owning the camera now for a month, I am finally just figuring out how to use it to its full potential – and its potential is very high.

First, let me say that this camera is an excellent value – 8 megapixels and packed with features, including the wonderful super sonic wave filter (which removes dust from the digital sensor). The Olympus line of Digital Zuiko lenses are fantastic, including one of the kit lenses (40-150).

A word to those folks like me (new to the SLR world) to clear up some confusion: a few of the reviewers have mentioned “bad low light performance.” This is not a camera issue, it is more a function of the lens that is attached (or, the speed of the “film” (AKA sensor) that you have the camera set too). Without getting into too much detail, kit lenses included with all of these entry-level DSLR’s are not exactly the best in low light situations – they are referred to in the photographic world as “slow” lenses – meaning that the aperture values they have at the low end are really only good in sunny conditions – at least without setting the camera to a much faster ISO (or film speed setting). So, in other words, the guy that said he is returning his Olympus to go get the canon kit is going to be just as unhappy with the performance of that camera in these situations as he was with the Olympus (from what I’ve read on the professional reviews of the canon, the kit lens is possibly the worst of all the major manufacturers). Blurry pictures are NOT the camera’s fault – they are the user – set the ISO higher to get a higher shutter speed or buy a lens with a “faster” aperture. This is the same with all cameras.

So where does this leave one who is interested in purchasing this camera, well there are two options (at least in my opinion):

1. Buy the 14-45 and 40-150 kit. This really is an excellent value, and while the 14-45 lens isn’t bad (it’s very good outdoors), the 40-150 lens is fantastic. Search any major review – especially those folks that are enthusiasts about olympus and they’ll tell you the same – this lens is remarkable for the price. However, if you do buy this kit (like I did), and you’re planning on taking a lot of pics indoors or in low light situations, do yourself a favor and upgrade to the 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 Digital zuiko lens. This is the kit lens for the professional Olympus DSLR – the E-1. I purchased this recently and the difference is night and day compared to the kit 14-45 f3.5-5.6. The camera has no issues in low light situations, and the “speed” of the lens is fantastic. (BTW, I bought this off of ebay for $400 – I think amazon has it for about $430 with free shipping – so it’s probably a toss up. (this price BTW is much cheaper than upgrading to comparable lenses of competitors like canon and Nikon – remember, you’re going to have to do it no matter which camera you buy if you want good indoor/low light performance).

2. If I had to do it over again, I may have just bought the body. Save yourself $200 and just buy the e-500 body. Then take that $200 and apply it to the price of the 14-54 f2.8-3.5 lens – this would put the total purchase around $1000 and you’ll have a fantastic lens to really learn how the camera works in all situations. So how do you get the great 40-150 lens? I noticed that there are probably 10 on sale on ebay at any given time (from people that are upgrading to the absolutely wonderful 50-200 digial zuiko zoom) for around $100-125.

Whichever option you choose, you really can’t go wrong – this is a wonderful camera for a beginner or serious amateur in SLR photography.

Good luck and welcome to the olympus family!

Buy cheap Olympus Evolt E500 8MP Digital SLR for sale

Olympus Evolt E500 8MP Digital SLR with 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 & 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Lenses