hesitant to swith to digital... maybe

Since you have been using a SLR for 30 years, it will be a walk in the park to switch to the e500.

You already understand exposure, the only thing you have to learn is that the ISO setting is the same as changing film speeds. But a lot easier, since you do not have to change a roll of film; just a setting.

You will love Aperture priority and Shutter priority.
You get to set the Aperture or Shutter and the camera sets the other for the perfect exposure.

The camera has loads of manual adjustments, but they are seldom needed. So just learn the ones you deem important and forget the rest.

You will be so satisfied you will bore your friends to death by telling them about the new camera.

Being able to do a few touch-ups with software is like working in a darkroom with an enlarger.

Here is what owners of the e500 has to say about it:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinions.asp?prodkey=oly_e500

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My friend has done some researches on Olympus DSLR 300 and found out that when shooting pictures using ISO above 400, Olympus shows the unacceptable noise level and extreme contrast. Otherwise, it will do fine. Thru' 30 years of your experience, I'm sure that you'll do fine. Just keep that in mind. The lower ISO, the better the picture quality. Another precaution is the highlight and shadow. Don't ever shoot things too bright, you'll loose the details of what is needed. Unlike film, you can't expect the dynamic range of current DSLR meet that of SLR film camera. Just a precaution. Shooting with P and Auto may be helpful just to figure out what 's really in need for the condition. Meanwhile, RAW will provide the best picture quality output. Good luck.

Thanks for your comments and directions. I am most concerned about the ease of learning and use of the camera and wanted your critiques of those aspects. I'm getting a good feel for it from this and other forums and research. I did find a manual for the e500 on-line and there is LOTS in there. Thanks for your help. I'll keep reading ...