The lens was not available for purchase as a standalone, which reason why it has remained almost anonymous and not looked at by reviewers or other enthusiasts.
A lengthy review and kudos for the lens on Biofos, however, bring to light that the 'kit lenses' do not necessarily mean that it is just a 'will-do' add-on product.
The Olympus E-500 SE DSLR kit, incidentally, is a special edition bundle for the 8MP digital SLR camera, released in 2005. Unlike standard kits, which would normally include a rechargeable battery pack, the SE (Special Edition) is supplied with a battery holder and three CR-123A batteries.
The Zuiko Digital 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6 is a 7-element in 7 groups lens with aspherical elements and a 7-blade diaphragm, accepts 52mm filter sizes, weighs 210 grams, and comes with an astounding and extraordinary closest focusing distance of 0.28 meters across its entire zoom range.
Fitted to the E-500, the lens is equivalent to a 35-90mm focal length on a 35mm film camera, a perfect go-to lens solution for a lightweight every-day use and travel-friendly digital SLR camera kit, casuals and close-ups, as well as the ubiquitous street scene, where the versatility of the 35-90mm zoom lenses are normally put to test.
At 35mm equivalent, the wide end, where image distortion may be apparent, the lens is best for environmental and contextual shots. At 40 to 45mm equivalent, the 'sweet spot' for photography, which balances the wide-angle view of a 35mm with the tighter perspective of a 50mm for a 'human eye' field of view, the lens is ideal for street, documentary, and travel photography. At 50mm equivalent, of course, the lens is ideal for general use photography.
The 60mm equivalent will take you to the realm of food and still-life photography, natural portraits, and macro-like subjects like insects and flowers, while the 70mm equivalent sets the sights for tight portraits with compressed backgrounds, landscape and cityscape details, bokeh creatives, as well as not being too wide or too close. Portraits with flattering compression, with subject-background separation, and product photography are ideal at 80mm to 90mm equivalent, the long end of the lens.
The Olympus E-500 (Olympus EVOLT E-500 in the US), a well-regarded 8MP CCD consumer-oriented Four Thirds digital SLR camera system, was introduced by Olympus in 2005. The camera, fitted with the much-talked-about Kodak KAF-8300CE CCD sensor, updates the E-300, which is also fitted with the same sensor, and comes with the Supersonic Wave Filter (SSWF) system, first seen on the Olympus E-1 in 2003.
