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I am trying to get some feed back on the Olympus EVOLT E-300. With the data I have gathered I think it is a good SLR for the price. Looking for input.

Thanks,

>>I am trying to get some feed back on the Olympus EVOLT E-300. With the data I have gathered I think it is a good SLR for the price. Looking for input.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>

I was interested in this camera when it was first announced and when it came out I started to read the reviews and look at the system as a whole. Here's what I thought...

- relatively weather proof
- dust free sensor (electronic dust removal system)
- great quality, but expensive, lenses
- a little too small for me

Have you read reviews of this camera? It seems to get less than stellar reviews, particularly for image quality at higher ISOs. If I remember correctly, there were also some problems with color fringing and other digital artifacts in some images.

The other issue with the EVOLT is the fact although the lenses that are made for it are exceptionally good lenses, they are also relatively expensive. So the cost of owning the system could be quite high, depending on what lenses you wanted.

I might also worry about how long this 4/3 system is going to be supported/made if it doesn't start being more successful. In a few years, they may stop making lenses/accessories for this system if it doesn't catch on.

For the same money you could buy the Canon 350 Digital Rebel XLT or the Nikon D70. These don't have the same bells and whistles of the Evolt, but they certainly are good cameras.
The Canon 350 is a good 8 megapixel camera and the Nikon D70 is a probably a better 6MP camera. (Do some reading online about the "benefit" of 8 vs 6 MP and you will see that it makes very little difference at all!).
These canon and Nikon cameras have a much larger selection of lenses and accessories that are more widely available, including some great deals on used lenses.

Try dpreview.com for reading some of the best reviews of these cameras.
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Chris Harrison

Thanks.

No experience or research on my part with the Olympus, but agree with all Chris said about Nikon and Canon. I would just add that the Nikon D70 may soon not be available new because of recent introduction of updated "D70s" (more $ than D70) and soon to be released D50 (less $).

Cheers,
WK