I've been wanting a digital SLR for quite some time now. I have an opportunity to purchase a used Olympus E-500 for about $340. The only thing that appears to be wrong with it is the owner lost the battery charger. That's no big deal, I can get a batt & charger for about $50.
Does anyone have any input or personal knowledge with this camera?

No personal experience, but Olympus is usually pretty good, plus I think instead of adopting the other manufaturer's SLR systems, they developed their own. Later used by other camera manufacturers.

That price is really ridiculously low for a 700-900 dollar camera. I don't know how much cameras depreciate, but I'd definitly make sure the battery pack isn't the only problem.

I'm jealous, I need a new camera.

I agree, check to make sure there is nothing else wrong with the camera. Perhaps bring it to your local photography store and have them check it out. Even if you have to pay for that service, it can't be more than a few dozen dollars, but it would save you $340 in the long run if they find something seriously wrong with the camera.

If the missing battery charger is really the only problem, and you can get another one (from eBay or whatever) for a reasonable price, then it might be nice to go for it. Olympus is a good brand.

Another one to consider is the Canon SD Powershot ELPH series. I bought the SD1000 model this past year and IIRC it was around $250. Compact, easy to operate, and takes great pictures.

Depends on what exactly you want in a digital still camera.

Bobby,

Here's a review of the Olympus E-500 http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse500/

Be aware that the Olympus uses a 4/3 sensor and a 2.0 crop factor. Nikon uses a 1.5 and Canon uses a 1.6 crop factor for 35mm equilavent lenses. i.e. if the Olympus lens is 50mm, on the E-500 it would be a 100mm lens.

The viewfinder is rather small for a dSLR also.

Finding batteries and chargers won't be that big of a deal for you. SterlingTek I think this is the charger you'll need for the Olympus. I've bought several batteries and chargers from them before ... a good company and quick shipping, plus a year warranty on the products!

Another thing you might want to consider, is the price of lenses before you make the swap to a dSLR and especially the 2.0 crop factor of the Olympus system.

Hope this helps.

Don

I own an Olympus...here's a pic of it

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/camera/specification/1341/show.html

I mean it's not fancy schmancy, but it is a great camera for a college kid that goes to parties and stuff like that. Small, Compact, Good Quality. It's what I use to post pics on here. My g-ma is a photographer and she loves the Canon!

I'm looking more at the digital SLR's. Trying to upgrade from the point-n-shoot type camera's.

Don, it looks like you're fairly knowledgeable with dSLR's, what would be your recommendation? I'm trying to stay in the $300 range so I figure for a dSLR I'll need to stay with used, which I don't mind at all.
I've got a 35mm Canon EOS, but unfortunately I got that camera at the tail end of the film camera's life span. Shortly after that I started buying digital point-n-shoots. It's a nice camera that's not worth near what I paid for it.

Ah, that helps knowing that you've got the Canon. What kind of lenses do you have for the 35mm? The lens/lenses you have should work OK with a digital Rebel.

I checked the prices of the Digital Rebel XT 8mp via amazon and you can get get the body for around $400 or with an 18-55mm (28.8-88mm digital) lens for $460 which is a pretty good price.

The next step up would be the XTi 10mp for $520/body or $600/kit lens.

I also checked the prices of used equipment at KEH and found out you probably wouldn't save but about $50 going used.

I've done alot of research in the past year since I've been considering moving up to a dSLR from the Sony prosumer line of cameras. After Canon made the specs available in September, I took the plunge and got the Canon 40D as soon as they became available with the kit lens and also bought the 17-50 2.8 Tamron lens, a battery grip (something you might consider getting since the XT is a smaller camera) and a 580EX II flash.

I'll send you a PM with my phone number and we'll talk more about this.

Hope this helps.
Don

The current lenses I have are the Canon Ultrasonic 22-55mm and Canon Zoom Lens EF 80-200mm.
I think I would rather stay with the Canon line, especially if my current lenses will work with the dSLR body.
I'm going to do some more looking around. I've got your number and I'll try to give you a call sometime next week. I'm going to Abilene tomorrow for Christmas with the wifes mom and that side of the family. We'll be heading back on Sunday then her dad is due in town and he'll be spending Christmas Eve with us.
I'll be checking in here when I can, I'm just not going to have the time to be able to sit down and carry on any lengthy conversations over the phone within the next few days. If I find something before then that I can't pass up, I'll be sure to call you first and see what your opinion is.

I don't think you'll have any problems with those lenses working with an XT or XTi. That would give you pretty good coverage from around 35mm-320mm.

I'll be on vacation after Christmas until around the 10th of January, so just give me a call whenever you get the chance.

Have a safe trip and a Merry Christmas!

Don

my wife had a canon eos rebel 35mm which is exactly why went with the digi rebel as well so all her lenses were still useful. I've been stunned lately at how much the price of the xti has come down under what I paid for hers. (ouch!)

you might want to check out B&H photo video pro...the have a monster store in Manhattan and they are THE place for anything photography...they ship free countrywide and have an outstanding selection...they also take trade ins and my well have some used digis that might fit your price range. Always have had great service from them...Merry Christmas!

Tim ... it's about time you jumped in here!

Bobby, if you can wait a few more weeks, I think you'd be able to get the XTi for even less. The life cycle for Canon announcing new products is every 18 months. The XT was announded Feb. 2005, the XTi announced Aug. 2006, so, the next one in this lineup would/should be Feb. 2008. This doesn't mean that the other cameras in the lineup are inferior, it just means that there's more features in the next addition and LOWER prices on the existing models.

Here's something else to think about when considering between the XT and XTi. The XT has a 1.8" LCD. The XTi has a 2.5" LCD. There's more differences than those, but I used that as an example. Also, and this is personal preference, the XT feels more .... plastic and more like a toy compared to the XTi. I'd suggest going to Circuit City or Best Buy and just playing around with it to see if it feels good in your hands.

Tim made a good suggestion about B&H. I've heard nothing but good reports on B&H. I think Adorama has used cameras also. Sometimes you can get good deals through Dell with their stackable coupons on cameras (but they're as slow as a 90 year old woman in rush hour traffic to deliver when they say they will).

So, there's a few options for you when you get ready to buy ... KEH, B&H, Adorama, Dell.

I'll keep my eyes open if something pops up that I think you might be interested in.

Don

I just bought this...
http://www.expecam.com/products.asp?product_id=13478

Canon XTi body for $299.
I hope I did good and I hope I'll be able to use my current lenses with it, if not I'll be lens hunting soon.

Bobby, let's hope for the best, but I dunno about this company. They have a 0.0 rating from reseller ratings for the past six months.

Don

Well crap. I'm calling them first thing in the morning to see what's up.

I'm afraid I might have to go with Don on this one Bobby...that camera is actually a step up model from my wifes and if it includes everything like he says it would be a steal...I just bought a spare battery for my wifes rebel and it was $69...I hope for your sake Don is wrong (and I know he does too) but I wouldnt be surprised if he is right...keep your guard up and I hope it comes thru for you.

Okay, I'm in the process of having that order canceled. I contacted my CC company and they said to email the seller requesting them to cancel the order and if they still process the sale, my CC company will be able to help me at that point. I sent email and I'm trying to contact them by phone to request them to cancel due to I ordered in error.
Until then, I found this on Craigslist, any input?
http://austin.craigslist.org/ele/502881765.html

I'm thinking about trying to see if he'll be willing to take anything in partial trade. I've got a Sony video camera and I'll put up my Xbox game console with games, if he's willing.

*I will NOT finalize any sale without any input*

I hope everything went ok on cancelling the order.
Don

The latest item I've found is a used 6.3meg Canon Rebel for $225, body only. Comes with 512Mb Compact Flash Memory Card, USB Cable, Battery Charger, Battery, Strap and Manuals.

I went to Fry's Electronics today so I could touch some camera's. It was pretty tempting with some of the deals they had, but I want to stay Canon and the least expensive Canon Rebel they had was an 8 meg for $549.
I kept thinking about the 6.3 Meg used one for $225. Big difference in prices.

See if you can't spot any deals after this whole christmas rush. Many articles each year talking about greater deals after the christmas days!

Here ya go. More than the used one, but not as expensive as the XTi. I think it's the same one you saw at Fry's and it comes from Amazon. I've had nothing but good results buying from Amazon.

Canon XT I think this is the one that Tim got his wife.

Click here for the review of it. It lists the differences between the 300D and the 350D.

Again, there will be a new one coming out in about 6-8 weeks and we all know what happens to prices once a new toy is introduced.

Don

Hey Bobby, its 12:44 EST and noradsanta.org shows tracking Santa over San Antonio TX as we speak...the big guy must be close so maybe he'll bring you the right camera ...Merry Christmas

Don would be dead on once again...we did indeed buy the XT350D which at the time was the next step up from the 300D but not anywhere near the hi-zoot 20D. She liked the 350D for several reasons...mostly its ability to get fast shots and deliver an almost instant image on the LCD screen...very akin to a motor drive on a film camera. Once we armed it with a 1G memory card it has been a force to be reckoned with...she has snapped pics out the passenger window at 40-50mph which have come out crystal clear. She shoots many pics in RAW file format which yields a high resolution able to be enlarged to as big as 11x14...it has a tripod mount and a "hot shoe" as well as accepting all her Canon lenses with no issue...autofocus works flawlessly...it is slightly more compact than the 300D but definitely worth the extra coin.

Okay guys, purchase has been made.
Don, I was 2 clicks away from buying the XT from Amazon when I decided to do a search for an XTi, just to see what kind of deals Amazon had.
I found an XTi (body only), used/like new, for $479 from a 5 star seller. Also bought a 2gb SanDisk CF and all should be here on Thursday.
I figured for a little more $ I could get a lot more out of the camera than I was originally looking for.
The way I see it, I'm getting a lot more than the XT I saw at Fry's yesterday for about the same price.
The price for the XT plus the 2GB CF was $513 (normal shipping).
The price for the XTi plus the 2GB CF was $547 (next day shipping).
The way I see it, the used/like new XTi option was a no brainer over the new XT.

I thank you all for your input, the information you provided help me to go in what I think was the right direction.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Bobby, I think you done good!!!!!!

I was thinking today how to put this into something car related to make it all fall into place, but I see you already did that by finally looking at the big picture and the advantages of one over the other for the money you were going to spend. I think you came out good with what you got.

Now ... get busy playing with that new camera with your existing lenses and show us some pictures!

You'll be able to take quite a few pictures with the 2gb card, too. Try to do some RAW shooting and process them with DPP that comes with the camera. If you don't get the disk with the camera, I think you can download it via Canon's website to get the latest firmware version of the DPP (Digital Photo Professional) Shoot, shoot and then shoot some more and READ THE MANUAL with the camera in your hands so you know where all the controls are.

If you have any questions after you get it, just give me a call ... I'll try to help you out.

Again, I'm happy for you

Don

Now start looking for a prime lens. 85mm F1.8 takes great pics.

Hey Bobby ... how's that new camera working? Don't leave us hanging!!

I haven't rcv'd it yet. Due to the holidays, the warehouse that it's shipping from has been closed. I have been rcv'g email updates from the seller on a regular basis. At first he said the warehouse would be open on Saturday the 5th. I got an email from him yesterday that it looks like it will ship this week. I did pay for expedited shipping so I might be getting it either today or tomorrow.
As soon as I get it and start playing with it, I'll post up.

What place did you order it from?

Amazon.com

It'll be here and Amazon is always good about shipping when they say they will and are always good if there's a problem with being out of stock.

I know you can't wait to get it.

Don

Yeah, this guy I'm getting it from is top notch when it comes to customer service. I've rcv'd several emails from him updating me on the status. He said the warehouse it's shipping from generally ships the product to him first and he mails them out directly. Since my order got caught in the holiday season he said he had to pull some serious strings in order to get the warehouse to ship directly to me, cutting him out as the middle man. I should rcv it at work on Monday, with a slight chance of getting it on Tuesday instead. I was really hoping to get it Friday so I could play with it all weekend, but no luck there.

Pkg arrived today, and boy was I surprised when I opened the box.
The following is what was in the box:
1 Canon Rebel XTi body
6 Batteries (yes, 6!)
2 Table Top Tripods
1 Thumb Drive CF Card Reader
1 Lens Cleaning Kit
2 Battery Chargers (1 std charger and 1 that can be charged in your car as well as with a wall socket)
Various cables, strap, disks and everything else that is expected in a new box.

Keep in mind that was advertised was a gently used XTi body, that's all I was expecting. Turns out the camera is a refurb, which to me that means it's better than used.

I've already snapped off some pics which I'll post later. Right now I gotta do the dishes and get dinner ready.

I think you just made out like a bandit. Great buy, and am lookin forward to seeing what the new camera can do.

Whatcha makin for dinner? Mind if I come over? lol

Wow, you got more than what was bargained for.

Nothing wrong with a refurb ... and you're right, it's better than used. It means it was gone over personally by one of the techs. Which means, if something was wrong, it was taken care of. Better than being boxed up off the assembly line and shipped out with no close inspection!

I'll be looking for pictures soon!!

I didn't get to post any of the pics I took last night, I got too busy reading the owners manual and watching LSU take the National Championship.

The best way to learn the new camera ... owner's manual in one hand, camera in the other!