Compared to... (features & specifications)

Despite its budget price level the E-500 provides a variety of advantages over the competition, these include the Supersonic Wave Filter, unlimited continuous shooting (with a fast card), a larger LCD monitor, lightweight yet robust build and an overall wider variety of functions and settings. Disadvantages include the small viewfinder view, USB 1.1 transfer speed, a lack of a status LCD and the not-instant startup time. As always we must emphasize that features are only one part of the decision process and that we would always put more weight on image quality, which is compared on the following pages.

 
Olympus E-500 EVOLT
Canon EOS 350D
Nikon D50
Price body only $699 $849 $649
Price kit $799 $899 $799
Announced 26 Sep 05 17 Feb 05 20 Apr 05
Review You are here Click here Click here
Kit lens 14 - 45 mm F3.5 - F4.5
(28 - 90 mm equiv.) 		18 - 55 mm F3.5 - F5.6 II
(28.8 - 88 mm equiv.) 		18 - 55 mm F3.5 - F5.6G
(27 - 82.5 mm equiv.)
Body Plastic Plastic Plastic
Sensor 8 megapixel CCD 8 megapixel CMOS 6 megapixel CCD
Dust protection Supersonic Wave Filter None None
Lens mount Four Thirds Canon EF / EF-S Nikon F
FOV crop 2.0x (Four Thirds) 1.6x 1.5x (Nikon DX)
Shading comp. Yes, optional No No
Modes Auto, P, S, A, M, 5 preset scene (15 via menu) Auto, P, A, S, M, A-DEP, 6 preset scene Auto, P, S, A, M, 6 preset scene
Image formats JPEG, TIFF, RAW JPEG, RAW JPEG, RAW
RAW+JPEG One RAW, One JPEG One RAW, One JPEG One RAW, One JPEG
Image params Gradation (3 settings)
Saturation (5 settings)
Contrast (5 settings)
Sharpness (5 settings)
5 preset parameter sets 		Contrast (5 settings)
Sharpness (5 settings)
Saturation (5 settings)
Color tone (5 settings)
3 preset parameter sets		 Auto
Sharpness (6 settings)
Tone (6 settings)
Saturation (3 settings)
Hue (7 settings)
7 preset parameter sets
Color space sRGB, Adobe RGB sRGB, Adobe RGB sRGB (2), Adobe RGB
ISO 100 - 400 (1/3 EV steps)
800, 1600 via boost		 100 - 1600 (1 EV steps) 200 - 1600 (1 EV steps)
EV steps 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV 1/3 or 1/2 EV 1/3 or 1/2 EV
Exp. compen. +/- 5.0 EV +/- 2.0 EV +/- 5.0 EV
Flash exp compen. -2.0 to +2.0 EV -2.0 to +2.0 EV -3.0 to +1.0 EV
Metering 49 area sensor 35 area sensor 420 segment sensor
Metering modes ESP, CW Avg, Spot 35 zone, Partial, CW Avg 3D matrix II, CW Avg, Spot
Shutter 60 - 1/4000 sec 30 - 1/4000 sec 30 - 1/4000 sec
Flash X-sync 1/180 sec 1/200 sec External up to 1/500 sec
AF system 3-point
TTL Phase Differential		 7-point
TTL CMOS sensor		 5-point
Multi-CAM900
AF mode Single, Continuous One shot, AI Servo, Auto Auto, Single, Continuous
AF area mode Auto, Single Single, Dynamic Single, Dynamic, Closest
AF assist Flash strobe, must be up Flash strobe, must be up White lamp
Continuous *1 JPEG: 2.7 fps, 15/∞ images
RAW: 2.7 fps, 4 images		 JPEG: 2.9 fps, 27 images
RAW: 2.9 fps, 6 images		 JPEG: 2.5 fps, 16 images
RAW: 2.5 fps, 4 images
Self-timer 2 or 12 sec 10 sec
(3 sec with mirror lock-up) 		2, 5, 10 or 20 sec
Mirror lock-up Yes, with custom delay Yes, custom function No
WB Auto, 7 preset, Manual, Kelvin Auto, 6 preset, Manual Auto, 6 preset, Manual
WB fine tuning Yes Yes No
Bracketing AE, White Balance, Manual Focus AE, White Balance AE, White Balance
Flash release Electronic (manual / auto) Electronic (manual / auto) Electronic (manual / auto)
Flash sync Front or Rear curtain, Manual control (4 levels) Front or Rear curtain Front or Rear curtain
Viewfinder Pentaprism
Eyepoint: 16 mm
Magnification: 0.9x
(-3.0 to +1.0 m-1 dioptre)		 Pentamirror
Eyepoint: 21 mm
Magnification: 0.8x
(-3.0 to +1.0 m-1 diopter) 		Pentamirror
Eyepoint: 18 mm
Magnification: 0.75x
(-1.6 to +0.5 m-1 dioptre)
Viewfinder view Small Medium Medium
LCD 2.5", 215,250 pixels 1.8", 115,000 pixels 2.0", 130,000 pixels
Orientation sensor Yes Yes Yes
Custom functions n/a, 2 setup menus 9 functions with 24 settings 6 or 20 settings
Storage CF FAT16 / FAT32
xD-Picture Card 		CF FAT16 / FAT32 Secure Digital (SD)
Power Lithium-Ion BLM-1 Lithium-Ion NB-2LH Lithium-Ion EN-EL3
Connectivity USB 1.1 USB 2.0 (Hi-speed) USB 2.0 (Hi-speed)
Play modes 7 display modes 3 display modes 5 display modes
Play edit RAW development No Small picture
Review delete No Yes Yes
Text comment No Yes (set via PC software) Yes (set on camera)
PictBridge Yes Yes Yes
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66 mm 127 x 94 x 64 mm 133 x 102 x 76 mm
Weight (no batt) 435 g 490 g 540 g
Remote release Infrared (optional) Wired (optional)
Infrared (optional) 		Infrared (optional)
Vertical grip No Yes, optional No
Status LCD No (uses LCD monitor) Rear of camera, backlit Top of camera
Command dials One top One top One rear
Power on 1.6 - 1.7 sec Virtually instant Virtually instant
Shutter release Very fast Fast Very fast
Build quality Very good Good Very good
Grip comfort Good Poor Good

*1 Results of our own testing, with a fast card the E-500 can shoot JPEG until the card is full