Olympus Evolt E-500, Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 5/15/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus Evolt E-500, Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 5/14/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus Evolt E-500, Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 5/13/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus Evolt E-500, Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 5/12/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus Evolt E-500, Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5

CCD Resurgence: Crops and close-ups with the classic 8MP CCD Olympus E-500 mounted with an Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5, a kit lens first introduced for Olympus E-500 and E-300 DSLRs in 2004.

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5, a highly regarded Four Thirds system, is a compact, lightweight, and affordable vintage telephoto lens praised for its high sharpness and bright f/3.5-4.5 aperture. The lens, which often outperforms its kit lens reputation, is equivalent to an 80-300mm zoom on a full-frame camera.

The lens is often highlighted for its smooth zoom action and good performance for portraits or distant subjects in good lighting conditions, although autofocus can hunt in low-contrast situations.

The Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 was first introduced in 2004 and is commonly bundled with the E-500 and E-300 models. The lens works natively with Olympus DSLR cameras like the Olympus E-1, E-3, E-30, E-300, E-330, E-400, E-410, E-420, E-450, E-500, E-510, E-520, E-620, and can be used on Micro Four Thirds cameras via an adapter.

Construction is of 13 elements in 10 groups, with multi-coating to reduce flare and ghosting, 7 aperture blades, a minimum focus distance of 1.5 meters, measures 77mm in diameter x 107mm in length, takes 58mm filters, comes with a hood, and weighs 425 grams.

The lens features a metal mount with rubberized rings, is not weather-sealed, and comes with a front element that rotates during focus. Manual focus is a long 470-degree throw, which could be used to advantage for crops and close-up shots, and colors, typical of Olympus Zuiko glass, are true-to-life with strong contrast.

Though not without its faults, the lightweight build feels solid and durable; the zoom and focus rings are smooth, with no zoom creep. The lens excels in field use for telephoto reach, like capturing sunflowers or portraits with creamy bokeh at longer focal lengths.

Olympus E-500, Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5

For vintage CCD enthusiasts, the Olympus E-500 is a highly regarded, lightweight 8MP sensor DSLR from 2005. The DSLR is highly acknowledged for producing vibrant, film-like colors, having an excellent quality body with a standout feature for maintaining image quality - a built-in Supersonic Wave Filter, which shakes dust off the sensor every time the camera is turned on.

Olympus E-500, Helios 44-2 58mm f/2

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 5/1/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Helios 44-2 58mm f/2

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 4/30/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Helios 44-2 58mm f/2

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 4/29/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Helios 44-2 58mm f/2

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 4/28/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Helios 44-2 58mm f/2

CCD Resurgence: Images with the legendary cult classic 'swirly bokeh' Helios 44-2 58mm f/2, mounted on the equally acknowledged 10MP CCD Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera.

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The Helios 44-2 58mm f/2, born out of the series of Helios-44 lenses produced by KMZ, MMZ, and other factories in Soviet Russia from the early 1970s through the late 1980s, is a legendary Soviet-era cult classic M42 mount preset aperture lens, with a clickless counterclockwise turn (to open) aperture ring located on the front of the lens.

The compact, solid, all-metal and glass design, based on the Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2, features a 6-element, 4-group construction with 8 aperture blades, a minimum focus distance of 0.5 meters with a magnification ratio of 1:6.5 at its closest focus point, accepts 49mm filters, and weighs approximately 270 grams.

The lens is known for its distinctive 'swirly' bokeh, strong center sharpness, and vintage rendering, characterized by moderate contrast and vignetting at wide apertures. It was introduced as the kit lens for the Russian-made Zenit 35mm SLR film camera series and features a well-recessed front element, almost within a semi-hood, which helps protect it from stray light. On PentaxForums, the lens has a Sharpness rating of 8.8, Aberrations rating of 8.4, Bokeh rating of 9.5, Handling rating of 8.4, and Value rating of 9.7.

Said to be the most mass-produced lenses ever, the Helios-44 series is seen in many versions and iterations, including an early 44 with 13 blades, the 44-2 as shown here, the 44M-4, 44M-6, and 44M-7. While the 'M' designation indicates a M42 mount version, the lens is also available with a 'K' designation for PK-mount versions. Often regarded as the best in terms of image control is the MC 44M-7, which has many fake versions circulating.

On a 2x crop sensor 4/3 digital SLR, the 58mm focal length lens provides a field of view almost equivalent to a 120mm short-telephoto lens on a 35mm full frame camera, a useful focal length for portraits, travel, landscape, wildlife, and event photography. If you are into portraits, the focal length allows for a comfortable distance between the camera and subject for detailed, flattering images with a pleasing background blur.

The focal length, which can be considered a versatile 'all-in-one' lens, is ideal for photographers who want to pack light and treat the lens as a go-to option for a single-lens setup. The focal length is also excellent for macro photography, for close-ups of small subjects like insects and plants, and has the potential to highlight intricate details.

Olympus E-500, Helios 44-2 58mm f/2

The Olympus E-500, which features the legendary 8MP Kodak KAF-8300CE Full Frame Transfer CCD sensor, is prized by vintage enthusiasts as an affordable entry point for those wanting to experience the specific color science of older CCD sensors. The camera captures images in RAW and JPEG formats at up to 3264 x 2448 resolution. When launched in 2005, the E-500 was the lightest interchangeable-lens DSLR then, weighing 435g body-only, and measuring 129.5 x 94.5 x 66 mm.

Olympus E-500, Zuiko Digital 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 1/16/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Zuiko Digital 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 1/15/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Zuiko Digital 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 1/14/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Zuiko Digital 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 1/13/26

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Zuiko Digital 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6, Not Too Often Seen

CCD Resurgence: Images with a vintage Four Thirds Zuiko Digital 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6, the compact standard zoom lens, Olympus E-500 SE Kits, a lightweight at 210 grams, and focuses down to 0.28m.

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Aside from a product announcement post on DPR and a few mentions on the Net, not much is really known of the 2005 Four Thirds Zuiko Digital 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6, a compact standard zoom lens that was available only as a kit lens with the Olympus E-500 SE Kit.

The lens was not available for purchase as a standalone, which is 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 everyday 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 is normally put to the 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.

Olympus E-500, Zuiko Digital 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6

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.

Olympus E-500, Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 8/15/25

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 8/14/25

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 8/13/25

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8

The Galleria, Photo of the Day, 8/12/25

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Olympus E-500, Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8

CCD Resurgence: Image making with a legacy Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8 wide-angle prime mounted on a 2x crop sensor Four/Thirds digital SLR camera.

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

A highly recommended digital SLR and lens kit combo for CCD enthusiasts is the Olympus E-500, a vintage digital SLR camera launched in 2005 with an 8MP Four Thirds sensor from Kodak, fitted with a legacy manual focus from the 1080s, the Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8.

The camera and lens combo, light in the hand, and swift on the take, should do well for enthusiasts enamored with the low-light, high-quality film-like images CCD sensors are known for.

The Olympus E-500, although not the smallest, was the lightest DSLR camera on the market when it was launched in 2005, and, unlike the preceding E-300 model, featured a body shape similar to that of a conventional SLR.

The camera is fitted with the highly acknowledged 8MP Kodak KAF-8300CE CCD sensor, has good ergonomics, a comfortable hand grip, and a body that is built stiff and strong.

The Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8, on the other hand, is a lens known for its good contrast and color rendition, and is a later version of the original Mini-Wide. The lens, a compact, manual-focus wide-angle lens, was made available in various camera mounts from the 1980s to the early 1990s.

Construction-wise, the Mini Wide II is mainly of plastic construction with a 6-element, 6-group optical design, multi-coated glass, and 6 matte blades that form a hexagonal aperture shape. The lens measures 43–50 mm in length, depending on the version, weighs around 210 grams, and takes 52mm filters.

To distinguish it from the original iteration, the Mini Wide II features a plastic aperture ring and a diagonal pattern focus grip, while the original Mini Wide has a metal aperture ring and a square pattern focus grip. On PentaxForums, the Mini Wide II enjoys a favored rating of Sharpness (8.6), Aberrations (7.4), Bokeh (7.7), Handling (8.7), and Value ( 9.2).

Reviews indicate that the lens shows moderate sharpness when used wide open. Sharpness, however, improves significantly from edge to edge when the lens is stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8, a characteristic that makes the lens well-suited for shooting in bright daylight with smaller apertures.

Olympus E-500, Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8

On the 2x crop sensor E-500, the Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm f/2.8, with its standard normal 56mm equivalent offering a field of view similar to that of a short telephoto, is a good choice for street photography, cityscapes, and environmental portraits. The lens has a close-focus distance of 0.22 meters and is known for its macro capabilities at a 1:4.5 macro reproduction ratio.