How Many use older oly lens/adapters...successfully???

[DougJGreen]

I should also mention, that I hope you bought that Canon 50mm f1.8 lens to use on a Canon camera. The Canon lens mounts are among the only ones for which there are no adapters to fit 4/3.

The 4/3 adapters that I use and can recommend are:

Pentax M42 screw mount to 4/3
Nikon (F, AI, AIS) to 4/3
Olympus OM to 4/3
Leica R to 4/3

Others that I have never used, but which I know exist are:

Pentax K bayonet to 4/3
Contax/Yashica bayonet to 4/3
Exacta to 4/3
Minolta MD to 4/3

[D.Ann]

I sent them an email/inquiry.

Do you think (just your opinion) I should invest more money in the e-500 or wait and move up. I don't want to keep changing bodies, rather invest in lens, but do I have that kind of foundation in the e-500??? Donna

[DougJGreen]

Donna, IMHO, it really depends upon whether you find that your E-500 has significant OTHER limitations for you besides manual focusing of older lenses.

When I bought my first Olympus E-300, it was with the specific knowledge that I was going to get a Katz-Eye screen and use several manual focus lenses that I owned on it. Were it not for that, I would probably have gone for the E-500.

One thing that I would observe is that Olympus' current product line is confusing, in that there is no clear top or bottom to it. There are many things in which the E-1 is the best, and some things for which the E-500 is the best (AF speed, portability, JPEG resolution), while the E-300 and E-330 tend to be in the middle for most things. I personally just LOVED the ergonomics of the E-300, and I couldn't believe the deals that were out there on it earlier in this year - because to me, it was an equivalent camera to the E-500 but with one key advantage that I intended to use (the Katz-Eye screen). I literally bought TWO E-300 bodies for the price most folks pay for ONE entry level DSLR (I paid under $800 for TWO E-300 bodies and the 2 kit lenses through Cameta)

IMHO, if the ability for manual focusing is only real limitation you find on the E-500 for your purposes, then I would say that putting a $150 Katz-Eye screen into it is a very good option. If, on the other hand, there are other limitations that you find pressing, then your only real choices would be to wait for the E-3, or jump ship to something like a Nikon D200 or a Canon EOS-30D (or the soon to arrive 40D). But I tend to doubt that you would need one of these.

I should add that I find that if you get REALLY serious about your shooting, you will want to have two bodies anyways, with a second one readily available with a different lens, and/or different settings. And your E-500 will surely, for the forseeable future, be plenty good enough to serve as that second body, even if you do outgrow it as your primary one.

[D.Ann]

My last question I promise...what about the Pentax K10D, I know it has a dust buster, is sealed and is stablilized and all those lens...and no I bought that canon thinking I could use an adapter...shoot!!!!

[DougJGreen]

Well, if you really wish to jump ship, IMHO the Pentax K10D is a perfectly good alternative. But, I would caution you, I really don't think you need to, other than some fears that Olympus is not the horse you wish to invest in for the future. But frankly, I think that the relative advantages of ANY midrange DSLR over your E-500 are actually rather negligible.

I personally think that image stabilization is nice to have, but it's not, to me, a major feature, just a minor one.

As for "all those lenses" In truth, with inexpensive adapters and once you have a Katz-Eye screen, your Olympus has a selection that is even greater. Not only can all those manual focus Pentax lenses be used, so can older Olympus, Nikon, Leica, Contax, etc. In terms of MODERN DIGITAL-optimized lenses, I don't think that Pentax's selection is really any better than Olympus.

The one thing besides in-body image stabilization which I believe that Pentaxes are tangibly better than your Olympus is in the size of the viewfinder. But an E-1's finder is just as good, and an E-300's not far behind. And, as I said, with a Katz-Eye screen, I believe that an E-500 will be good enough to use seriously with manual focus lenses

[Moncho]

Hi Donna here are some fromom 50 1,8...

Cheers!



Moncho

[Moncho]

another

[D.Ann]

Lovely portraits. What body do you have? I don't know if I can manually focus very well with my e-500. Donna

[Scouse]

Useful information Doug, ta! (And great shots by the way) I have a few older but great lens' I used on my OM2 and they're a real bugger to focus without a screen. Seeing they won't auto focus one does need some help

That Vivitar 600 is really touchy, just a fraction of motion on the focus adjust and you've lost the shot and that was with a split screen. To get a photo of the moon I had to take about 8-10 shots just to focus in. That was before I started bracketing for light. The Oly 50mm 1.4 could use it as well.

Just looked at their site, I'm going to monitor it for the E550 release.

Edit: How tough it it to install yourself? I used to do my own on other cameras, just wondering if these need special tools or instructions

[Moncho]

mm, sorry Donna I forgot that! it´s E-1, hope it helps!