The Amatuer Photographer Novice DSLR of the Year 2006

[Iloca]

The Amatuer Photographer Novice DSLR of the Year 2006

The nominations are ..

Canon 350D
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D
Nikon D50
Olympus E-500
Nikon D70s

And the winner is... Olympus E-500

[downfader]

Out of all those they nominated I think thats the ideal one for price and features. Its a decent little camera.

[ElectricPics]

Must admit, despite my firm committment to things Canon, I recently found myself recommending an E-500 value kit to someone who wanted to move up to a DSLR from a P&S. It offers everything he'll need for the forseeable future, at a cracking price, and the glass is somewhat better than the Canon 18-55 kit lens.

[Benchista]

It's a decent camera indeed - my concerns lie more with the limitations of the system than with the camera. Unlike the dismal E-300, of course.

[downfader]

Well it is a novice cam [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] If anyone wants anything more pro a D200, 20D or upwards would suit the user better. I'm talking about build quality as well as features, ofcourse.

[Benchista]

It's much more than a novice camera - it's very decent all-round, but unless and until the system grows (and at a range of price points) I wouldn't recommend it as sooner or later you're fairly likely to need to change systems.

[Craftysnapper]

I think it was well deserved , as to Nicks pessimism I think that may change in the future.
Sigma has anounced five new lenses in the 4/3rd's mount.
30/1,4
18-50/2,8
105/2,8
150/2,8
50-500/4-6,3

(With a doubling of focal lengh a 210 or 300mm f/2.8 macro sounds tempting.)
Pansonic will anounce the 4/3rds DMC-L1 and of course with panasonic coming to the table that may bring Lieca who have announced

The Olympus/Leica press release is very encouraging but there are no specifics yet. All it says is that Leica will join the Four Thirds Consortium and will develop lenses for future release.

What they will be is anybody's guess at this point. Maybe, more information will "leak" during PMA.

Of course Panasonic could swallow up Olympus just has Sony has Minolta..but that applies to any but the big two (or even one Big C)in this day and age.

And of course we could in the future just be discussing who can afford the most expensive Canon and nothing else..Arrrgg ..I prefere to stay a optimist

[Benchista]

I think it was well deserved , as to Nicks pessimism I think that may change in the future.
Sigma has anounced five new lenses in the 4/3rd's mount.
30/1,4
18-50/2,8
105/2,8
150/2,8
50-500/4-6,3

Missed that - that's certainly an improvement, but the wideangle side still isn't well supported.

[Craftysnapper]

Missed that - that's certainly an improvement, but the wideangle side still isn't well supported.

Tue but if it was not for Sigma that would be true off all manafactures lens line up in that price bracket for comparable wide angle zooms...4/3rd is a relativly new mount and I'm old enought to remember when Sigma did not have a large line up of lenses in the less popular mounts of the day (Pentax & Minolta ) but that changed over time.

Guess I'm a the glass is half full kind off a guy

[Footloose]

I'd like to see what impact on quality the E500 delivers with the much better 14>54mm lens. I suspect with that lens, [minimal signs of fringing & other artifacts] the body delivers results that would make a few sceptics take another look at what Olly has to offer.
The 4/3rds system is criticised for a lack of choice in the optics available, a bit like the Apple Mac, where this related to the softwear. As with the Mac, you may not have choice, but what you can get, is extremely good kit!

[Repton]

well said!!

[AJUK]

The 2 Things that bother me about the E system are the smaller sensors and the lack of wifde aperture standard and wide angle primes.

[Modelsheart]

Ok so I've read everyones posts and I didnt really see to many negative things said about the E-500 but I'm a complete beginner so some of the stuff you all commented on I didn't completely understand. I just got back from Iraq and while I was over there I took ALOT of pictures and video. I found myself really enjoying it. Within days of being home I was already bored out of my mind so I decided to start a few new hobbies and go back to school. I'm going to school for computer programming mostly concentrating on web design and I enjoy photographer so much I decided to combine the two but before I commit to a camera I want to make sure that I will be able to upgrade it with new lens etc. for alittle while and wont be stuck buying a new one in a year.
Mostly I will be using it to take pictures of girls I know that are going to model for me.
Any help is appreciated.

[Learning]

A novice wants a camera that wil get acceptable results in point and shoot mode, but allows the user to take control when the user wants to.
The press photographer wants a camera that wil get acceptable results in point and shoot mode, but allows the user to take control when the user needs to.
Why should we be condescending to a novice?
A rich novice might well find that a so called 'professional' camera to be ideal providing the weight is o.k. It won't break easily will it?

[Modelsheart]

A novice wants a camera that wil get acceptable results in point and shoot mode, but allows the user to take control when the user wants to.
The press photographer wants a camera that wil get acceptable results in point and shoot mode, but allows the user to take control when the user needs to.
Why should we be condescending to a novice?
A rich novice might well find that a so called 'professional' camera to be ideal providing the weight is o.k. It won't break easily will it?

Im sure I can and will break it, but I'm using hard earned money to spend on a fun hobby so why would I care... Novice... I wont be in a year with your help

[AJUK]

I never used P&S mode when I was new to photography, I don't see how that would get anybody anywhere, I used aperture priority.

[Iloca]

Hi,

if you want specific information have a look here,

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/index.html

Ok, so the guy's an Olympus user but he will criticise them.

This should set your mind at rest regarding Customer Satisfaction.

http://olympusamerica.com/index.asp

Richard

[IvorETower]

So, the E-500 is the camera for amatuer novices.
What's the camera for amateur novices?

Anyway I thought a novice was a female who wanted to become a nun. Is taking photos in convents allowed?

[Nod]

Anyway I thought a novice was a female who wanted to become a nun. Is taking photos in convents allowed?

Only for habitual photographers. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Fen]

So, the E-500 is the camera for amatuer novices.
What's the camera for amateur novices?

the E-510