HISTORY:
Impressive looking DSLR from Olympus but I have no idea how to use it! This was our daughter's foray into the world of SLR but she switched to IPhones and things like that so this SLR has been sitting here at home ever since.
I am offering this camera (full description is below) on an AS-IS basis because I have no knowledge about these things, I can only check the basics and not even sure if things are working as they should be.
Here we go ...
Olympus Digital SLR camera
Fitted with a Zuiko digital lens, 14 ~ 45mm (apparently these were standard lens supplied with the E-500 when she purchased it)
The lens has a MARUMI UV Haze filter screwed onto the front
SUPPLIED ITEMS:
In addition to the camera body and lens mentioned above...
Battery is supplied (not Olympus, says its an Mi battery type: DCB BLM-1
WHAT IS NOT SUPPLIED
No memory card - I used an OLYMPUS XD 2Gb card I had lying around for my "testing"
No battery charger - I don't know where the original has gone so I used a "universal" charger that I have here
No camera strap
The original box, user manual have long gone but I did download a User Manual online (to try and help me understand this beast) - I can supply this manual on a CD if you need it
COSMETIC CONDITION:
Looks great! Very impressive looking camera (If only I knew how to use it!)
No body scratches
No missing buttons or "things that don't feel right"
TESTING
Well, I charged the battery (which still seems to be good) and had a play around.
It's a nice big LCD control panel screen on the rear, great for old eyes like mine!
Turned it on and "played around" with the various settings and this side of things seemed to be ok, I could easily make adjustments to all of the settings by using the menu buttons etc
When turning on the camera, I first get a splash screen which says "Dust Removal" then it goes to the menu - I am assuming this is correct
I looked through the viewfinder and I can see various settings also being displayed as well, along with a little box in the centre which I think is something to do with focusing.
I can manually make the Flash unit on top pop up or by moving the camera into a dark area and pushing the "Go For It" button halfway down, it comes up by itself (I guess this means the camera thinks its too dark to take a photograph without the flash)
Now I am no photography expert or even novice, I just point and shoot by little old camera I have. On this Olympus E-500 I see lots of ISO speed settings and other settings but I have as much knowledge about this as a piece of wood - zilch! zip! Our daughter isn't living with us now so she can't help either.
So, at this point I can see all the settings and change them (the large LCD display shows what is going on and also I can see changes on the little viewfinder you look through)
TAKING A PHOTOGRAPH:
I press the "GO" button to take a picture, it does take the picture fine and the little red light shows it is saving the photograph to the memory card. I can then see the photograph on the large LCD screen.
HOWEVER I had trouble getting a good sharp focus, I think this is something to do with the lens and not the camera itself. If I zoom into something, that works fine but I lose focus and damned if I can figure out how to make the picture sharp once I have zoomed out (or in)
The result is a nice picture, yes, but it is not sharp - nothing strange about the photograph (no parts missing, no discoloured areas or funny artifacts) it's just "out of focus" if I try to take a photograph of a distant subject using the zoom of the lens. I really think this is something to do with the second ring on the lens, which appears to do nothing at all!
This is why I believe the lens is the issue here.
It is up to the prospective new owner to decide if it is functioning properly (subject to Covid restrictions being removed, a visitor is welcome to have a "play' with it.)
I took off the lens (even that was a challenge for me) and looked very carefully (without breathing all over the little mirror) for dust dirt or mould - I do believe these things are enemies of such a camera's so I took a close look.
I can see nothing of note on the lens itself or at the front of the camera (where the mirror is) - it all looks very clean and also without scratches
NOTE: Memory card
I also had a spare CF card here (I do a lot of general electronics but not photography) it's a Sandisk Ultra II 2Gb CF card. However I couldn't use it, when inserted into the camera it says on the screen WRITE PROTECTED - damned if I could see any lever or button on the card to enable writing so I just used the XD card for testing
I took photographs (which show up on the LCD screen after taking them) at various distances from me but I noticed what I am sure is a problem!
Focus doesn't seem right, in fact I suspect this lens is faulty.
It has two rotating rings, a wider one towards the camera end which adjusts the picture subject size (zoom?) but if the subject is too far away, it is blurry. The second ring near the front of the lens rotates (continuously) but seems to do nothing at all - the picture does not change, particularly the focus.
I also thought these camera len's whirred away while they automatically adjusted the focus, this one does NOT. It acts like a manual lens with no automatic movement in-out at all - perhaps this is the problem?
So my non-expert opinion is that the lens is dodgy at best, the camera operation seems to be fine.
I am hoping that someone can see potential in this E-500 either for just the body or at least knows how to use this beast correctly!
Since checking it out, I have placed the camera in a sealed plastic bag (so it doesn't get dirty) and in a nice cool, dark cupboard in a spare room - I believe these camera's like to be treated with care and respect!
