Olympus E-500

Reviewed February 2006

Introduction

Unlike other Olympus digital SLR cameras to date, the Olympus E-500 has a much more traditional design than the last dSLR Olympus introduced, the E300. Another in a series of Four Thirds system cameras, the E-500 uses a CCD with 4:3 proportions and a lens mount optimized for that ratio.

The top side of the grip area supports 5 separate controls. First, angled forwards and slightly to the right, is the 2-stage shutter release, the only chrome-finish button on the camera.

Directly behind the shutter release is the Exposure Compensation button . When pressed, the Exposure Compensation button displays a compensation scale on the monitor, and the current setting to the right of the TTL viewfinder's window. The exposure can be compensated over a range of ± 5 EV in increments of 1/3 or 1/2 or 1 EV, as decided in the menu. The Exposure Compensation button also provides a couple of additional functions. It serves to adjust the aperture when the camera is set to the Manual Shooting mode, while when the camera is in playback mode, it serves to rotate the image displayed on the monitor in 90° increments.aq

Exposure compensation, as with a number of other camera settings, is adjusted using the Control Dial when the camera is set to a shooting modes. While when it is in Playback, the Control dial can be turned one way to display thumbnails (4, 9, 16 or 25 per screen, or in a view that groups images by shooting date in a calendar month presentation) , or magnify an image on screen up to 14X when rotated in the other direction.

To the left of the Control Dial is the Mode Dial, which has the Power Switch lever underneath on the right, and a small blue LED on the left. The LED, labelled SSWF (Supersonic Wave Filter), blinks every time the camera is activated indicating the activation of the ultra sound system that loosens microscopic dust particles from the surface of the CCD, allowing them to fall off it harmlessly.

The Mode Dial has 11 positions, the more advanced modes being separated from the subject-related modes by the Auto position and stopping at the Manual mode:

is the simplest shooting mode of the E-500. In the Auto mode, the camera effectively acts as a point-and-shoot, adjusting all photographic parameters as required, and in low light conditions, the flash opens automatically. Nevertheless, unlike most Auto modes, the E-500 also allows the user to control all camera parameters with the exception of the aperture and shutter speed.

Shutter Priority provides control over the shutter speed while the camera adjusts the aperture. A shutter speed range of 1/4000 second to 60 seconds is available

Manual provides control over both the aperture, by default using the Control Dial and the button, while the shutter speed is adjusted using the Control Dial alone (this function can be inverted if desired in the Custom menu — see the Characteristics section of the review for details). The Manual mode offers a shutter speed range of 1/4000 second down to 60 seconds, like the Shutter Priority mode, and adds a Bulb mode for use with the optional remote control (RM-1), which can provide an exposure time of up to 8 minutes.

Turning the Dial the other way, 5 Scene modes follow the Auto mode. Unlike the other Scene modes available with the E-500, these Dial-selected Scene modes leave some settings (exposure compensation, ISO sensitivity, flash mode, etc.) up to the user. Still, with any one of these 5 Dial-selected modes, the flash opens automatically if it is required, and some camera settings are unavailable:

	Portrait mode uses a large aperture to obtain a well-focused subject and an out-of-focus background. By default, sensitivity and white balance are set to Auto, but can be modified. Sharpness is turned down to -1.
	Landscape is intended to capture scenery and slightly accentuates blues, greens, sharpness and contrast (+1). The mode's default settings set the sensitivity to Auto, the white balance to Daylight, and the Vivid Picture Mode.
	Macro allows the focus to be manually fine-tuned while still letting the autofocus operate. Sensitivity and white balance are both set to Auto by default, but can be user-adjusted.
	Sport gives priority to the shutter speed so as to freeze action. By default, the camera selects the sequential shooting mode and sets the auto focus to continuous, while setting the sensitivity and white balance to Auto.
	Night Scene + Portrait allows the camera to capture exposures that are up to 1 second long. The default setting for the mode uses Auto ISO, Daylight white balance, softens both sharpness (-1) and contrasts (-2), and sets the flash to Slow Synch.

And the final position, SCENE, provides a selection of 15 additional scene modes, each presented with a "typical" photo and a short explanation of the mode:

Two buttons are positioned at the top right of the E-500's back, directly below the Control Dial.

On the left is the One-Touch White Balance button [], which serves to set the white balance under ambient light by pointing the camera at a white surface by holding the button and pressing the shutter release (see further). Moreover, the button can be re-programmed in the Custom menu (see the Characteristics section of the review for information about the Custom menu) to any one of three other riles: as a Depth of Field Preview, stopping down the lens to its current aperture; as a way to see a picture before it is saved and decide whether or not it is worth saving; or as a way to recall a My Mode settings.

By default, the camera selects the focus point automatically from any of three areas aligned horizontally near the centre of the frame.

Using the AF Frame button in conjunction with the Control Dial or the right and left arrows of the Arrow pad, however, it is possible to select one of the three focus areas from options displayed on the monitor, and set the focus point to the left, the centre, or the right.

To the left of these buttons, and on the right side of the viewfinder, is the AEL AFL button. By default, the AEL AFL button locks and maintains the metered exposure parameters while it is held down. As it is with a few other controls on the E-500, its operation can be modified through the Custom menu, and it can be set to lock focus, or exposure, or both. Moreover, the behaviour of the button can be set independently for the E-500's three focus modes (Single, Continuous, or Manual).

And with the E-500 set to the Playback mode, the AEL AFL [] button serves to Protect images against any accidental erasure.

The TTL viewfinder of the E-500 is, aside from the way its prism is positioned, effectively identical to the viewfinder used on the E300. A diopter correction (-3 to +1) is available, and adjusted using a small dial to the left of the exit pupil. The exit pupil itself is framed by a rubber eyecup that can slide up and off so that a cover can be fitted to the exit pupil during long exposures, avoiding any stray light from finding its way to the CCD.

The viewfinder shows 95% of the area being photographed, and provides a rather complete list of camera settings on the right side of the image coming from the lens:

• AF frame and metering area,
• 3 AF areas,
• Aperture,
• Shutter speed,
• Focus indicator,
• Flash indicator,
• White balance setting,
• AEL (Auto Exposure Lock),
• Frame counter,
• Exposure compensation (if any),
• Metering mode,
• Battery state, and
• Exposure Mode (P, Ps, A, S, M only).

The next control down on the right side of the monitor also supports functions in both the capture and playback modes:

In the capture modes, the button serves to select from: Single Frame shooting: captures one image every time the shutter release is pressed. Sequential shooting: captures four frames at 2.5 frames per second (SHQ, HQ and SQ modes only). Focus and exposure are locked at the first frame. Self-Timer shooting: offers a delay of 2 or 12 seconds. Remote Control shooting (using the optional RM-1 remote): provides a choice of 0 second delay (the shutter is released when the remote control is pressed), or 2 seconds (the shutter is released 2 seconds after the remote control has been pressed).

Finally, still on the right side of the monitor, the Arrow pad ensures navigation. At its centre, the OK button serves to confirm menu selection, and when used directly while the camera is in a shooting mode, displays the Control Panel Screen that shows all the basic camera settings and allows any one of these settings to be modified (see INFO button further down).

In addition, each of its four directional buttons displays a short on-screen menu from which options can be selected so as to set:

The up arrow displays the choices for white balance settings: Auto, Sun, Cloudy, Shadow, Tungsten (incandescent), Fluorescent 1 (white fluorescent), Fluorescent 2 (neutral white fluorescent), Fluorescent 3 (daylight fluorescent), One Touch White Balance, Custom White Balance (allows setting the colour temperature from a range that covers from 2,000K to 14,000K.

The right arrow displays the focus Modes: S-AF focuses when the shutter release is pressed halfway. C-AF Continuous Auto Focus adjusts the focus as long as the shutter release is held at the halfway point, even if the subject is moving. MF Manual Focus makes it possible to focus using the focus ring at the front of the lens. S-AF + MF allows fine-tuning the Single auto focus using the manual focus ring. C-AF + MF allows fine-tuning the Continuous auto focus using the manual focus ring.

And the left arrow serves to choose the Metering Modes: Digital ESP metering (49-segment multi pattern metering). Centre-weighted average metering (49-segment multi pattern metering). Spot metering (approx. 2% of the viewfinder screen).

Five more buttons are aligned vertically on the left side of the 2.5-inch, 215,250 pixel, TFT Hyper crystal colour LCD. First, at the top is the Manual Flash Release button. While the flash is automatically opened when the camera is set to the Auto shooting mode or to one of the Scene modes, with modes such as P, A, S, or M the flash has to be opened manually.

The next button down is the Playback button. The playback mode has its own dedicated section in the E-500 menu system. (See the Characteristics section of the review for detailed information on the E-500's menu.)

Directly below the Playback button is the Erase button, which serves to erase one image at a time when the E-500 is in Playback mode and, if the Quick Erase option is selected in the Custom menu, it erases the displayed image instantly without presenting a confirmation dialog.

The MENU button displays the E-500's menu. The menu is composed of 5 sections. The first two sections offer settings that are directly related to the way the camera captures an image. The third section concerns Playback and offers options that relate to the review and editing of photos. These sections are covered in the Characteristics section of this review, as is the next section, which is the Custom menu. The last section, Setup, and the options it contains, are detailed in the Interface and Software section of the review.

The last button on the left side of the monitor is the INFO button.

With the E-500 in a capture mode, the INFO button serves to display detailed information about the camera's current settings, cycling through one information display with a basic level of information, a second display with greater detail, and none. Moreover, pressing the OK button at the centre of the Arrow pad makes it possible to select any of the settings displayed on the screen (ISO, white balance, flash mode, exposure compensation, metering mode, etc.) and change the current value for that particular setting, by-passing the menu entirely.

In Playback mode, the button controls the image information superimposed on the monitor, and once a specific display is selected, it is recalled every time the camera is set to the Playback mode. A total of 7 displays are possible:

• Image only.
• Information 1: frame number, print reservation, protect, record mode, image size and file number.
• Information 2: frame number, print reservation, protect, record mode, compression, date and time and file number.

• Overall Information: displays shooting information, colour channel histograms, and highlights simultaneously.
• Histogram: shows the distribution of brightness in the image. The memory location and image quality are also indicated.
• Highlight Display: the overexposed parts of the recorded image blink. The memory location and image quality are also indicated.
• Shadow Display: the underexposed parts of the recorded image blink. The memory location and image quality are also indicated.

The E-500's flash is designed to synchronize with the camera at 1/180 second or less, has a Guide Number of 13 at full power (its intensity can be controlled), and can cover the field of view captured by a 14 mm wide angle, (comparable to a 28 mm on a 35 mm camera).

The E-500 is also equipped with a Hotshoe that is compatible with Olympus FL-50, FL-36, FL-20, RF-11 and TF-22, and a number of other third-party flash units.

In use, where the E-500 differs however, is with the viewfinder's 4:3 proportions, common to many compact digital cameras instead of the 3:2 ratio of 35mm used in all other dSLR cameras, and in its inclusion of a 2.5-inch LCD display, a feature still uncommon on comparable cameras.