The Olympus E-500 is the latest
digital SLR using a Four Thirds CCD produced by Olympus, and
to date, although Kodak was a participant in the creation
of the Four Thirds system and Fujifilm accepted the standard,
Olympus is the only manufacturer producing Four Thirds cameras.
The Olympus E-500 is equipped
with a 17.3 x 13 mm, 8.88-megapixel CCD, of which 8.0 megapixels
are effective to capture a maximum image size of 3264 x 2448
pixels, and which doubles the focal length of any lens whose
focal lengths are labelled using the 35mm standard.
The Four Thirds CCD sensitivity range starts at 100 but can
be pushed to 125, 160, 200 250, 320, or 400 ISO. In addition,
if the ISO Boost option is enabled in the Custom menu,
the sensitivity of the E-500 can be set even higher, as values
of 500, 640, 800, 1000, 1250 and 1600 ISO become available.
The Olympus E-500 is able
to receive any Four Thirds compatible lens, and in North America
is currently sold in a kit that includes both the Olympus
14 to 45 mm f3.5-5.6 Zuiko zoom, and the Olympus 40 to
150 mm f3.5-4.5 telephoto.
Both lenses in the kit are supplied with lens hoods, a "perfect"
flower-shaped lens hood for the 14-45 mm, and a more standard
hood for the 40-150 mm.
In addition, thanks to its Zuiko
Digital lens mount, the E-500 is compatible with a number
of lenses produced by Olympus for their Four Thirds cameras:
7-14 mm f4.0 ED
11-22 mm f2.8-3.5
14-54 mm f2.8-3.5
50-200 mm f2.8-3.5 ED
50 mm f2.0 Macro
150 mm f2.0 ED
300 mm f2.8 ED
The E-500 provides a shutter speed range that runs from 60
seconds to 1/4000 second with most shooting modes. Moreover,
when set to the Manual mode, the range gets extended
with a Bulb mode that is intended for use with the
RM-1 optional remote control, and which offers a maximum
exposure time of 8 minutes.
Either selected in the menu or directly through the settings
information display shown on the monitor with the OK
button, the E-500 is able to record images at any one of 7
image sizes:
3264 x 2448 pixels
3200 x 2400 pixels
2560 x 1920 pixels
1600 x 1200 pixels
1280 x 960 pixels
1024 x 768 pixels
640 x 480 pixels
Up to 5 image formats are offered, a commendable flexibility
that should be the rule for all cameras, and not the exception
that it is:
RAW: saves the unprocessed data originating
from the CCD into a 13.6 MB file that must be interpreted
with the software supplied with the camera, or with third-party
software such as the RAW Plug-in devised for Adobe Photoshop.
TIFF: records an uncompressed format that produces
a image file size of 23.5 MB.
SHQ: is the least compressed JPEG format, applying
a compression ratio in the 3:1 range.
HQ: uses a greater compression, but can be selected
to be either 4:1 or 8:1.
SQ: is the setting for all image sizes from 3200
x 2400 down to 640 x 480. With this format, the compression
can be set to be in the 3:1, or 4:1, or 8:1 range.
The image quality and size settings are but one of a number
of selections that are made in the 5-part menu of the E-500,
in this case in the first part of the menu:
Card Setup: serves to delete images, or format
the memory card.
Custom Reset Setting: Reset, Reset 1, Reset 2.
Picture Mode: Vivid, Natural, and Muted, which
can each be adjusted for sharpness, contrast, and saturation;
or Monotone and Sepia, which can be adjusted for Contrast,
Sharpness, B&W filter or Picture Tone.
Flash Exposure Compensation: to adjust the power
of the internal pop-up flash or an externally mounted flash
over a range of ±2 EV in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV or 1 EV increments.
Drive offers 4 settings:
Single Frame Shooting: captures one image every
time the shutter release is pressed.
Sequential Shooting: captures 4 images at 2.5
frames per second using SHQ, HQ or SQ image formats.
Exposure and focus are set at the first frame.
Self-timer: provides a selectable delay of
either 12 or 2 seconds.
Remote control: activates the infrared receiver
for the optional remote control (RM-1), and provides
a 2-second delay or none.
AF Mode: Single AF, Continuous AF, Manual AF, Single
AF+ Manual Focus, Continuous AF + Manual Focus.
AF Frame Selection: Auto, Focus point Left, Focus
point Centre, Focus point Right.
White Balance Bracketing: captures three images
with a variation in white balance, and with a selectable
variation over Red and Blue and Green and Magenta.
Auto Exposure bracketing: Provides a bracketing
range of ± 1 EV in 1/3 EV increments over 3 frames.
Flash Bracketing: As with the standard AE bracketing,
the flash bracketing offers a bracketing range of ±
1 EV in 1/3 EV increments over 3 frames.
Manual Focus Bracketing: The camera shoots multiple
frames, changing the focal point slightly for each frame.
Up to 7 frames can be captured.
Anti-Shock: Intended for use during long exposures,
the system eliminates camera shake caused by vibrations
when the mirror flips up. The time interval from the time
the mirror is raised until the shutter is released can be
set in 1 second increments from 1 to 30 seconds, or to Off.
The third section of the menu concerns Playback mode options:
Slide Show: provides options to play back images
one at a time with a 5-second on-screen time, or show images
by groups of 4, 9, 16 or 25 thumbnails.
Rotation: allows rotating an image in 90° increments
using the
button.
Edit: to edit an image stored on the memory card
and re-save it as a new image. RAW images can be processed
for white balance, sharpness, etc. and then the copy saved
as JPEG or TIFF, which allows them to be printed directly.
Photos captured using TIFF or JPEG formats can be processed
for automatic red-eye fix, or converted to sepia or black
and white images, or have their saturation altered, or be
resized to 1280 x 960, 640 x 480, or 320 x 240 pixels.
DPOF (Print Order): allows selecting images that
will be printed later, either one at a time or all at once,
and decide if the date and/or the capture time will be superimposed
on the print. The E-500 is compatible with PictBridge and
the camera can be connected directly to a similarly compatible
printer via USB to print photos, bypassing the need for
a computer
Copy: makes it possible to copy one frame at a
time between memory cards, or copy all selected frames,
or copy all images.
The next section of the menu is the Custom menu, and
it is the most extensive:
ISO Step: decides whether ISO increases are done
in 1/3 EV increments or 1 EV increments.
ISO Boost offers 3 settings: Off, On + NF (reduces
noise at higher ISO values), and On (no noise reduction).
ISO Limit serves to set the highest ISO that will
be used to reduce image blur: Off, 100, 200, 400 or 800
ISO.
EV Step: sets the EV increment to be used during
Exposure Compensation (1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV).
All White Balance Compensation has two settings:
All Set, and All Reset. The option makes it possible to
apply the same compensation value to all white balance modes
at once.
HQ: decides the image size for the HQ mode and
its compression rate (1/4, 1/8, 1/12).
SQ: decides the image size for the SQ mode and
its compression rate (1/2.7, 1/4, 1/8, 1/12).
Manual Flash allows selecting a fixed light output
for the built-in flash: Full power, 1/4, 1/16 or 1/64.
Flash Intensity Control serves to adjust the amount
of light emitted by the flash.
Flash Speed Synchronization: allows selecting a
flash synchronization speed for an external flash unit.
The speed can be set from 1/60 to 1/180 second in 1/3 EV
increments.
Auto Flash Pop-up: On or Off. Decides whether or
not the flash opens automatically when the camera is set
to the Auto, Portrait, Macro, or Night Portrait mode.
Dial: allows modifying the Control Dial's function
when the camera is set to P, so that rotating the
control dial starts Program Shift, or with the M
mode when the Control dial by itself can be set to change
either the aperture or the shutter speed.
AEL/AFL Mode decides the function assigned to the
AEL/AFL button: AF Start, AF Lock, AE Lock.
AEL/AFL Memo: the AEL button acts as a toggle switch,
pressed once = On, pressed again = Off.
AEL Metering: selects a specific metering mode
for the AEL function (see the metering modes available
above).
Quick Erase: On or Off. When set to Off, a confirmation
screen is displayed when an image is erased.
RAW + JPEG Erase determines which type of file
is erased when erasing a single image on a card: JPEG, RAW,
or RAW + JPEG.
One-Touch White Balance Button []
Function:
Test Picture: allows checking a just captured
image prior to saving it.
My Mode: while holding down the
button, photos can be captured using the My Mode (1
and 2) settings that have been registered in the My
Mode Setup.
Preview: the
button acts as a depth of field preview, stopping down
the lens to the currently selected aperture.
My Mode Setup: allows saving 2 different camera
configurations, which can be recalled using the
button.
Focus Ring: makes it possible to select the rotational
direction of the Focus ring (to the left, or to the right).
AF Illuminator: On or Off. When On the flash can
be raised to provide assistance to the AF system in a dark
environment.
Reset Lens: On or Off. When On, the lens gets reset
to infinity when the power is turned off.
Release Priority S: normally the camera does not
allow the shutter to be released while the Auto focusing
is in progress, or when the flash is charging. This option
makes it possible for the shutter to be released anyway
in Single AF mode, or in Continuous AF mode.
Release Priority C: as above, this option makes
it possible for the shutter to be released in Continuous
AF mode.
The fifth and final section of the E-500's menu is the Setup
menu and it addresses basic settings for the camera. The contents
of this menu are covered in the Interface and Software
section of the review.
The E-500 is compatible with
CompactFlash type I and II memory cards, including Microdrives
(compatible with FAT 32), and with xD Picture cards.
Both memory card slots are located on the right side of the
camera and covered by a solid door. A red LED, below the Arrow
pad on the back of the camera, lights up when either card
is being used, indicating that it should not be ejected while
it is in use. The xD card is ejected by pressing on its edge,
and the CF card is ejected with a lever directly below the
card slot.
The E-500 is retailed without any memory card, but the chart
below provides an idea of the number of photos that can be
stored using a 512MB CompactFlash card, and a 256 xD card:
Format
Image Size
256MB xD Card
512 MB CF Card
RAW
3264 x 2448
18
36
TIFF
10
20
SHQ
40
79
HQ (1/4)
58
113
SQ
(compression 1/2.7)
3200 x 2400
42
82
2560 x 1920
62
123
1600 x 1200
179
353
1280 x 960
275
543
1024 x 768
420
833
640
x 480
999
2016
The E-500 is powered by a
proprietary Lithium-ion battery (BLM-1) which is housed in
the camera's grip and locks into place and is covered by a
solid door with a latch.
In North America the battery and charger (BCM-2) are part
of the camera kit, and recharging the battery can take between
5 and 10 hours.
The connection serves two functions. First, it is used for
USB (High Speed, compatible with USB 2.0) can be configured
to any of four settings in the Setup section of the menu (see
the Interface and Software section of the review for
further information). Second, it can be used to connect
the E-500 to a television (Video Out) and can be configured
in the Setup section of the menu to operate with either
NTSC or PAL televisions.
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Characteristics
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