e330 or e500

[ozkid88]

i have an E500 now but thinking of getting an e330....any advice? should i? any one has exp with both cams before?

[Mikefellh]

Do you want live view? That's the question YOU need to answer...and then you'll know which camera to choose; just like if you wanted IS you'd get the E-510.

[monkeyjopaw]

so the most practical difference between the two would be live view?

[wind30]

yup. I owned an E500 and still have the E330 with me.

Seriously, no point getting the E500. The E330 is SOOOO CHEAP, even in B&S. I think got someone selling for like $600. Just get it. or if you want, get it overseas and comes with international warranty.

The live view is WORTH it. Seriously, the E330 live view is 10x better than the system they put inside the new E510......

[ozkid88]

yea.. but is the battery life of the e330 as good or the same as e500? if the live view is on def not la.. that one understandable, but if its off? is it the same? e330 also dun have the af points button and timer button... thats 2 buttons lesser! haha... in terms of pic quality 0.5mp dun make much of a diff yea?

[Mikefellh]

How big do you expect to print? Anyway, the larger the numbers get the less impact the difference makes...there's a lot of difference between 0.5 and 1mp, but very little between 7.5 & 8mp...3136x2352 vs. 3264x2448 or a difference of 128x96!!!

You're looking too much at the numbers and nit picking. The only issue you really should be looking at between these two cameras is whether you want live view (LV) or not!

If you don't think you care about LV, THEN look at everything else. And the E-330 DOES have a timer (drive) button (just below the AEL/AFL button), and as for the AF points button, that is a feature most can live without (I haven't touched mine since I bought the E-300 two years ago, and wish I could program it to do something USEFUL)!

[ozkid88]

Originally Posted by Mikefellh How big do you expect to print? Anyway, the larger the numbers get the less impact the difference makes...there's a lot of difference between 0.5 and 1mp, but very little between 7.5 & 8mp...3136x2352 vs. 3264x2448 or a difference of 128x96!!! You're looking too much at the numbers and nit picking. The only issue you really should be looking at between these two cameras is whether you want live view (LV) or not! If you don't think you care about LV, THEN look at everything else. And the E-330 DOES have a timer (drive) button (just below the AEL/AFL button), and as for the AF points button, that is a feature most can live without (I haven't touched mine since I bought the E-300 two years ago, and wish I could program it to do something USEFUL)!

haha... i did think it was quite useful with my e500... maybe thats way... haha guess its sth i can live without!thx for the good advice! the button under the ael/afl button is either the timer button or one touch WB, both are pretty useful... haha... but yea... i can live without as well.. jus a matter of convenience i guess any other comments?
i do think i will get a e330 and sell my e500... the live preview is indeed very useful...in many senarios....but SUCKS the battery like dracula!!!!

[xlakedaemon]

Hi...

I do not have a E-500 and I can't comment on it. But I own a E-330 and a E-510 and I love both of them very much.
In fact, I personally believe that they compliment each other very well.
Let me explain:
I bring both cameras whenever I take photographs especially for events and functions.
I use the E-330 with the stock 14-45mm lens for wide shots and the E-510 for the stock 40-150mm lens for tele (with FL-50). Having both, I am not limited to wide or tele shots. I fine myself spedning more time shooting than changing lens constantly. I do not have to change lens all the time for different shots.
The E-510 is a very good camera body for tele lens because of the IS and the AF is much faster than the E-330. I am waiting to get the upcoming 70-300mm lens in September for the E-510.
However, that does not mean the E-330 is useless. In fact, for wide angle shots and macro shots, the E-330 does very well, even better than the E-510. This is because as mentioned, the E-330 has a 10x magnification which is a fantastic feature when doing macro shots. Moreover, the articulating lcd display is very helpful in macro shots. This is why I am planning to buy either a 35mm or 50mm Macro lens for the E-330. Furthermore, the E-330 ISO (100, 125, 160, 200. 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 1000, 1250, 1600) has greater range and intervals as compared to the E-510 (100, 200, 400, 800, 1600) which is great.
I hope that helps...

[marky]

Originally Posted by ozkid88 but SUCKS the battery like dracula!!!!

Seriously, this is not really true cos how much time do you expect to use your live view? I really only used my LV during weird positions, low angle shots and IR shooting. In other cases, i'll use the view finder. I can take around 350 - 400 shots RAW plus Jpeg using one batt fully charged and still have charge left, i'm not sure if this is good but its quite good to me...

[wind30]

Originally Posted by marky Seriously, this is not really true cos how much time do you expect to use your live view? I really only used my LV during weird positions, low angle shots and IR shooting. In other cases, i'll use the view finder. I can take around 350 - 400 shots RAW plus Jpeg using one batt fully charged and still have charge left, i'm not sure if this is good but its quite good to me...

for me,
I used the E330 live view almost EXCLUSIVELY, ie 10% view finder. It still can last me around 250-300 shots I think. Around 2 days worth of shooting when I am on a trip. I use the live view button as a on/off switch I guess. I don't switch off the camera but I do switch of the live view if I will not be using it soon. Very convenient as it is just a single button press.

It is definately not like charge in the morning, evening time no battery kind of scenario so I would say the battery situation is more than acceptable.

[Blu-By-U]

Why do you think stupid me change from a E-500 to a E-330 then to a E-500 and finally back to E-330. That LV is really a must have and must use feature. I cannot live without it.

As for battery life, 1 battery 1 day on my tours. I do carry 2 but 1 block usually last the whole day and I charge it every night irregardless of it's level.

[ozkid88]

wow.. all very good advice thanks loads! i've aldy bought the camera... thanks all! yup... love the live view... its cool... dun have to strain your eye so much and is perfect for street candid shots as well as macro! very versitile! thx all oly fans for ur advice!will be selling my e500!

[microcosm]

Originally Posted by Blu-By-U Why do you think stupid me change from a E-500 to a E-330 then to a E-500 and finally back to E-330. That LV is really a must have and must use feature. I cannot live without it. As for battery life, 1 battery 1 day on my tours. I do carry 2 but 1 block usually last the whole day and I charge it every night irregardless of it's level.

Good habit to have... Lithium batteries do not like deep discharge (use until flat)... It was Metal Hydride batteries that needed to be totally discharged before charging because of the memory effect. But even the newer Metal Hydride ones no longer has the memory effect.

[ozkid88]

Originally Posted by microcosm Good habit to have... Lithium batteries do not like deep discharge (use until flat)... It was Metal Hydride batteries that needed to be totally discharged before charging because of the memory effect. But even the newer Metal Hydride ones no longer has the memory effect.

wow! i din know that! thanks! any other tips on how to save battery life?

[Mikefellh]

Keep them cool...it's said that L-ion batteries stored at room temperatures or warmer and fully charged will have less capacity than those stored in cooler temperatures and not fully charged, at least according to Battery University:

http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

That's why laptop batteries have so many problems...not only are they always fully charged when the laptop is plugged in, but they are in a hot environment.

[microcosm]

Originally Posted by Mikefellh Keep them cool...it's said that L-ion batteries stored at room temperatures or warmer and fully charged will have less capacity than those stored in cooler temperatures and not fully charged, at least according to Battery University: http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm That's why laptop batteries have so many problems...not only are they always fully charged when the laptop is plugged in, but they are in a hot environment.

Thanks for the link... I came across the site but could not remember the link...

[Oly5050]

Why is the E330 LV way better than the E510??

[Mikefellh]

Originally Posted by Oly5050 Why is the E330 LV way better than the E510??

To understand that you'll have to read the review on Steve's Digicams and the section on "Live View Technology":
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_.../e330_pg2.html

"Live View is made possible by incorporating two separate image sensors into the camera: a CCD sensor for Live View framing (used for Mode A Live View) that is mounted in the viewfinder’s optical path, and a Live MOS Sensor for image capture (also used for Mode B Live View)." (see picture in the review for the location of the additional CCD sensor)

The E-510 only has the Mode B Live View as it only has one sensor...what it does is flip the mirror up and opens up the shutter to do Live View...when you go to take a picture before it can do so it has to close the shutter and flip down the mirror, and then flip the mirror up again and open up the shutter....not only does this take more time, but also causes excess vibration. It has to do this as well if you wish to sample the light level (measure exposure) or do autofocus.

[botvinik]

Originally Posted by ozkid88 wow.. all very good advice thanks loads! i've aldy bought the camera... thanks all! yup... love the live view... its cool... dun have to strain your eye so much and is perfect for street candid shots as well as macro! very versitile! thx all oly fans for ur advice!will be selling my e500!

it's an E-330 for me too! made the jump (finally) into dslr world, and bought from a store close-out mega sale last week. my friend who was visiting here in Sing also snapped-up a kit set, and added two zuiko's to boot: 7-14 (what a beauty) and 50 macro!

hope to absorb and learn from the practical experiences of CS'ers here. cheers and happy snapping!

Rey

[drakon09]

Ooooo... 7-14mm and 50mm!

Rey, your friend made excellent purchases - and I'm not trying to console him for spending so much money!