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With the E-500, noise appears more tamed than with previous Olympus dSLR cameras, and is significantly lower than on a compact digital camera using a smaller sensor. For example, photos shot in daylight at 800 ISO show a level of noise that is comparable to images captured with a compact camera at 200 ISO. And at 1600 ISO, the E-500's upper sensitivity limit, noise is comparable to the 400 ISO level of many current compact cameras with a similar resolution."

The E-500 is so packed with kit there's not room to go over it all here, suffice to say this is as comprehensively specified D-SLR as you're likely to want (or need). At £600 for the standard kit that includes the 14-45mm lens used in the test, it's great value and with independent lens makers such as Sigma backing the FourThirds standard, it looks set to grow and grow. In short, if you’re looking for a compact, lightweight D-SLR that packs a punch in almost all departments, then you would do far worse than stopping your search right here."

Overall, I can only conclude that with the E-500 Olympus has introduced a very strong product. For its price-range, it offers the user a remarkable amount of options: plenty of special functions, fantastic image quality and an ergonomically very well thought out design. Naturally, it has a few minor flaws but in my opinion it is one of the best cameras, if not the very best, in its class. Truly recommended!"

Overall there's much to like about the E-500. While it's not the best digital SLR in its class, it may be the best value. It offers a lot of features, good performance and photo quality, and a nicely designed body that costs less than you'd expect. If you're moving up to a digital SLR and don't currently own any lenses, the E-500 should be on your shopping list. Even if you already have a couple of lenses from Canon/Minolta/Nikon/Pentax it's still worth a look.

The Olympus E-500 has 8Mp quality, matching the best budget digital SLRs and a unique approach to combating dust on the sensor. Some may not like the motorised manual focusing, but few will complain about a body and two lenses for £675. It's great value."

The E-500 should secure Olympus a place on the lucrative consumer D-SLR shelf alongside the Nikon D50, Canon EOS 350D and Pentax *ist DL. It is a very well designed camera, combining excellent picture quality, outstanding performance and lots of creative versatility, while still maintaining beginner-friendly simplicity and easy handling. It is a genuine pleasure to use, and produces superb results."

But it must be said the overall image quality is very good, the affordable twin lens bundle will cover most eventualities, while that short delay at startup ensures you'll rarely if ever worry about dust - and that's something the 350D / Rebel XT and its rivals can only dream of. That said, anyone seriously considering the E-500 should also compare it with Panasonic's long-awaited Digital SLR, due to be announced at the PMA show at the end of February 2006."

The Olympus EVOLT E-500 is a leading contender in versatility in the "affordable" category. Aside from 8-megapixel resolution, this digital SLR boasts many operating modes plus a vast range of advanced options for controlling exposure, white balance, color space, and other image parameters. "