Super sonic what?
Power and punch in a small package
Nowadays, launching a camera that doesn't have a new fancy doodad to attract attention is suicide. Thankfully for Olympus, their E500 has got two: the Super Sonic Wave Filter and the Four-Thirds system. The SSWF is no WMD, but what it does is clears dust from the image sensor every time you power up the cam. The Four-Thirds system, on the other hand, allows for maximum use of an 8x10 print, while at the same time reducing the camera's and its lenses' footprints.
This system's lenses are probably one of the best reasons to shift to this system. Imagine holding the equivalent of a 600mm lens in a 300mm package. Wide-angle? Olympus was the first to offer the equivalent of 14mm in its D-SLR system with a 7-14mm lens with the x2 cropping factor.
Smaller lenses aside, the E500's 2.5-inch LCD is big enough to display up to 25 thumbnails. There's also a calendar mode showing what photos you took on particular days. Want to compare bracketed shots? You can display two images simultaneously, and even zoom in up to 10x to make sure you've captured all the details. The camera even brackets focus by shooting two frames with the focus shifted forward, and two more frames shifted backward. Better get a huge memory card!
The E500 isn't without its quirks of course. We found the control dial positioned a bit unnaturally. It seemed odd that the right pointy finger had nothing else to do aside from pressing the shutter button! The right thumb has to take care of the menu control arrows, white balance, ISO, auto focus modes, metering modes, auto focus points, and even auto-exposure lock – aside from the control dial for aperture and shutter values, that is. Also, three auto-focus points seem substandard in this day and age.
The E500 combines a light fighting weight with heavy-hitting features. The only downside – if you choose to see it that way – is being an Olympus user in a sea of Canon and Nikon users. And in that sea, it may be tougher to find lenses, but you'll be the only one with a Super Sonic Wave Filter to go with your Ultra-Magnetic Top. Erick Lirios
OLYMPUS E500 | P59,990
www.olympus.com
TECH 8-megapixel digital SLR, uses Compact Flash cards or xD cards, 2.5" LCD screen, 2.5 frames per second shooting, customizable focus ring, multiple meter modes, noise reduction for extended exposures.
LOVE Compact package, bracketing functions, easy picture modes.
HATE Fiddly button layout. Three-point auto-focus.
WE SAY You can't go wrong with one of these. You just have to deal with a limited list of lenses and suppliers.
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T3 Magazine Philippines - April 2006 Issue
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 OLYMPUS E500
Sizing up
The E500 is actually quite compact for a D-SLR, despite a robust plastic exterior and a metal skeleton.
L-130mm, W-137mm, H-95mm
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