Olympus E-1

Five to eight years ago this camera would have been a really great DSLR for any armature photographer; I would have rated it at five stars with no hassle!

Unfortunately camera technology advances quicker than Usain Bolt (100m sprint world record holder) these days so for a 2011 purchase I would defiantly not advise this camera.

Despite my prehaps negativity about this camera, it still up holds some very impressive specifications that may have not advanced quite so much in the world of photography. It can still do most of the functions any modern day DSLR can do with basic controls (that can take a bit of getting used to) such as alterations to apertures, exposures etc.. as well as more advanced functions.

I have quite a large range of lenses for this camera from huge telephoto ones to diddy macro ones; as they go they're extremely good!

Though it only has a 5.0 megapixel capability (it's not all about the megapixels!) it still produces some very nice, high quality photos - not the best I've seen, but satisfactory. The megapixel is especially an issue to you if you plan on using the camera to produce very large images. I'd personally not purchase a camera today if it were under 10 megapixels.

If looking to purchase a new camera I would recommend this one only if you are quite experienced in the photography field whilst needing to keep on a very tight budget. I found quotes on eBay for £179.99 and a few for less - with accessories! - which seems to be very good value. When I first purchased this camera it cost around £3000 with a few lenses! - So this shows how poorer an investment a camera can be if it's not put to good use!

I'd recommend to an armature photographer (I presume you all are or you would have moved on from this review already!) a much, much newer Olympus, Nikon or Sony DSLR. Sony's Alpha range I have found to have amazingly simple interfaces combined with good to really good specifications, and considering their reasonable prices you can't go wrong!

Please remember that I would advise you to buy this camera 5-7 years ago! So if you travel back in time to that era please don't hesitate to buy one immediately!

I really hope you've found this review helpful, good luck in your photography future! (Please say this helped if it did! thanks!)

Paul