The Olympus Evolt E500 Review!

The Olympus Evolt E500 Review - In March 2006 Olympus gave four features top priority when developing the E500, maximum image quality, a sensor cleaning system that removes dust from the CCD without the need for consumers to fiddle with the important bits, ease of use and finally a compact design.

Previous Olympus E's have been large, somewhat blocky models, so while this one is still a bit on the bigger side, it is significantly smaller than its predecessors! 

It almost looks like slim-line version of the Olympus E-1 model. 

Image quality easily lives up to expectations with its 8.0 Mega pixels at your disposal. 

Metering and focusing features are particularly good and produced very pleasing results even in very trying shooting situations.

The sensor cleaning system is perhaps the cherry on top for this model.

It removes dirt and dust particles that get into the camera body while the lens is removed. 

It uses Olympus' proprietary 'Supersonic Wave Filter' set up which has a special filter in front of the Four-Thirds format CCD. 

Each time the camera is turned on, or when the cleaning system activated by the photographer, the Supersonic Wave Filter kicks in and gives itself a high frequency shake down. 

Any dust on the filter falls onto a special sticky membrane, thus preventing the dirt form going anywhere.

To quote a Olympus Evolt E500 Review tester, 'the focus is crispier than a Pringle in a freezer!' The E500 also features surprisingly accurate color modes and settings, which include vivid, natural & muted modes. 

Each of which can be further adjusted for contrast, sharpness and saturation.

The sensor cleaning system is perhaps the cherry on top for this model.

It removes dirt and dust particles that get into the camera body while the lens & body are separated. It uses Olympus' proprietary 'Supersonic Wave Filter' set up which has a special filter in front of the Four-Thirds format CCD. 

Each time the camera is turned on, or when the cleaning system activated by the photographer, the Supersonic Wave Filter kicks in and gives itself a high frequency shake down. Any dust on the filter falls onto a special sticky membrane, thus preventing the dirt form making its way back into the camera parts!

Some of the camera's other key features include highlight and shadow basis spot metering, a new 49-segment exposure sensor, which it must be said performs like a dream, there's a one touch white balance control and unlimited sequential shooting at 2.5fps! 

The camera even boasts built-in color filters for black and white photography. Gone are the days of clumsy filter systems stuck over the lens's front element, as the E-500 has them built-in and includes green - for skin tones, red - for darker sky tones, orange - for telephoto, yellow - for contrast between sky and clouds and finally a neutral too.

The Olympus Evolt E500 is so packed with features its price is a shock!

The package includes the 14-45mm lens used in this test, it's great value & with independent lens makers such as Sigma backing the 'Four Thirds' standard, it looks set to grow! 

In short, if you're looking for a compact, lightweight DSLR that packs a punch in almost all departments, then you would do far worse than stopping your search here and choosing the E500.