I want jump up to a DSLR and need some input

Oly makes a great camera, but they don't or can't get away from that Xd card. That alone gives you limitations. I would consider Oly or Fuji if only they would drop that slow little card. I think that the SD card will be the wave of the future in dslrs.

I like that site. Thank you! In all of the reading that glazed my eyes over I still don't quite get the differences between an E-500 and an E-1. Is it automated functions, more equipment options, faster shutter speed. They aren't too far apart in price. BTW, I'm gonna plead dumb but please explain to me just what 4/3 is.

Thanks.

The E-1 was released over two and a half years ago.
As I understand it, the E500 is a replacement for the E-1. The E500 is smaller and lighter weight.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=oly_e1%2Coly_e500&show=all

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The 4/3 is referring to the aspect ratio of the sensor and the photo it produces. (Width/Height)

Most DSLR cameras have a sensor that mocks the aspect ratio (3:2) of 35mm film.

The E-2 and E500 has an aspect ratio of 4:3.
Which is the aspect ratio of a standard television screen. Also 4:3 is the aspect ratio of all non DSLR cameras.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=aspect%20ratio

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Thanks for the explaination. Can you tell I'm a bit new? I read on dpreview tha the E-1 has a metal body and is waterproof while the E-500 has a plastic body and is not waterproof. For the average wanna-be photographer that is stepping into dSLRs are these things important? When I buy I want to keep the body(s) and lenses for a long time. Should I stay within a brand or includ a Nikon if it is right. Will the lenses fit both cameras or are they proprietary? I value advise from all of you and thanks.

The E-1 was a first for this design from Olympus and is well liked by its owners.

The E500 is a cost reduced version of the E-1.
This is a common practice to bring down the manufacturing cost, and meet the competition.

The price of the E-1 has dropped since the E500 came out, probably due to slow sales. The E500 has some great advantages, such as the larger megapixel sensor and the larger LCD.

DSLR lenses are not interchangeable between brand of cameras. i.e. A Nikon lens will only fit a Nikon.

There are some lens companies that make lenses for several brands of cameras. (i.e. Sigma and Tamron & Tokina) But the mounting on the lens is different for each brand of camera. (therefore the lenses are different)

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Then would this be a good combo of body and lenses? Ordo you think there are others more appropriate.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse500/

or this

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1192

Thanks for the patience.

Allen

This is the biggest subject with all DSLR cameras.

Which lens for me?

Ask 20 people and you will get 20 different answers;
and all will be good answers for that person.

It is a matter of choosing what is best for you.

Knowing more about lenses never hurts.

Here are some important facts:

Whenever you see the mention of focal length for a lens on digital cameras, you can see two sets of numbers.
One is the actual focal length for that lens.
One is the 35mm film equivalent focal length.

Most people quote the 35mm equivalent number because it gives you a comparison number, so that you can compare apples to apples.

High priced DSLR cameras ($5,000 and up) have a sensor that is the same size as 35mm film.

Lower priced DSLR cameras have sensors that are smaller than 35mm film. Therefore to get the 35mm equivalent focal length you have to multiply the actual focal length by 2 (for the Olympus).

If you see a Olympus zoom lens rated as 17.5 to 45mm, that is the actual focal lengths. When you put that lens on the E500 (with a smaller sensor), you have to use the multiplier (2) to get the 35mm equivalent focal lengths.
That 17.5 to 45mm turns
into 35 to 90mm when used on the E500.

Hopefully this link will be easier to understand:

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=focal+length+multiplier

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Aperture (or f-stop) rating:

This is a rating of the amount of light a lens can collect. The smaller the number, the brighter the lens.

The Nikon 17.5 - 45mm lens is rated f3.5 to F5.6

What this means is that the maximum brightness is f3.5 and when you zoom that lens out, it is then rated at f5.6

Yep, the further you zoom, the less light it can collect. It all has to do with the mechanics of lenses and cost.

Here is a quick write-up about aperture:

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=aperture

An f-stop of f2 can collect twice the amount of light as an f-stop of f2.8.
An f-stop of f2.8 can collect twice the amount of light as an f-stop of f4
etc.

When comparing zoom lenses, the brighter the lens, the more expensive the lens.

For low light work, many people will select a 50mm non-zoom lens (native) with an f-stop of f1.8
These can be found for under $100
A zoom lens with a rating of f1.8 will be priced out of sight.......That is why they don't make them.

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My suggestion......buy a kit lens (17.5 to 45mm) to start with.
Nikon's kit lenses are excellent.
Learning the features on the E500 and that one lens will keep you busy for about 6 months.

By that time you will have discovered what future lens you would like to have.

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WOW! Thank you soooooo much for this information. I appreciate it. This is going to be long to learn I can see. But it will be fun to find photos in what I see mst days.

Can you use a 35mm lens on the digital camera? Is anything lost? I want to buy a DSLR but also a 35mm film one as well and want to use the same lenses between the 2.

lense. I do this quite a bit. I switch lenses between a Canon 20D and a Canon Elan. I do, however, use only Canon lenses, and the digital lenses (15-85mm for example) will not work on the film camera. Just make sure all the lenses you buy will work on both types. Please note, however, that the digital image will be 'cropped' when campared to the film image unless the camera's sensor is the size of a full 35mm frame.

I've been doing alot of reading, searching, pricing, reviewing others' experiences and I have some questions. If I have $X.XX to spend is it wiser to get an E-500 loaded or get an E-1 and E-500 with less. I read where several people had both bodies for various reasons. Is it better to go for an E-500 and assume Oly will be updating the E-1 to something else? What are your thoughts? And can anyone explain a 6gb micro drive in addition to a H1gb xd.

If Olympus is going to update the E-1, it will likely be announced before the end of February. That is when the Photo Marketing Association Show (PMA) in Orlando ends. Many camera announcements will occur between now and the end of February.

I really don't know why someone would want both, the E-1 and the E500.

Micro Drives are tiny hard drives that are made to fit Compact Flash 2 slots. To me, these sound risky.
You are putting too many eggs in one basket.

I assume that H1gb xd is a type of memory card - never heard of it.

Stay with the name brands of memory cards if you want a fast card.

If you are looking for compact flash memory cards, take a look at this link:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-7303

They tested many brands/types for speed on a Canon 20D.

The best bang for the buck is the SanDisk Ultra II.
The SanDisk Extreme III is the fastest, but is only about 7% faster than the Ultra II.

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This is that memory card I talked about.

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_xd.asp

The xD type card missed my eye.

Since Olympus has their name on it, I have no doubt that it is an excellent card.

Olympus and Fujifilm (together) designed the xD card format.

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I did see that fujifilm's look just like oly's. Hitachi is the one that made that 6GB microdrive as well.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0502/05022401hitachi_6gb%20microdrive.asp

Is a larger more detailed sensor that they put in the good cameras, mostly dslrs.