Inherited an Olympus E330

[rustyarrow]

Welcome Karen

[Ian]

Kazanne Just a thought - have you actually used your E-330 yet? It uses rare xD and Compact Flash memory cards, plus the battery or batteries you have may not be in very good condition after all these years.

Ian

[Ian]

All Olympus E-System cameras up to, but not including, the E-400 and E-510, used the same BLM-1, so that's the E-1, E-300, E-500, and the E-330. E-3, E-30 and E-5, too. All other E-5xx or E-4xx or E-6xx bodies used the more compact BLN-1 battery.

[Kazanne]

Yes I have been using it. I charged the battery as soon as I got the camera and tested it out. It worked perfectly. It has an xD card in which seems fine too. I bought a spare battery for it, albeit not olympus brand (hope that won't cause problems). I've been playing around with it, reading and watching YouTube videos and loving the learning process. It's got about 5 lenses with it too. I've uploaded some photos I took onto my computer and I agree with the general view that the colours are lovely. There's so much to get my head around but I really like the look and feel of this camera and I'm going to be using it a lot.

[blu-by-u]

What ever you do, DON'T Format that xD in the PC. it must be done in camera. And try to use the CF. that xD is really funky. It can write and then images disappear.

[JonSchick]

Enjoy using the camera (subject to Ian's comments about cards above; I'd also try and find a new spare battery if you can as they eventually degrade so worth trying to find one). The E330 shared a lot of DNA with the Panasonic L1 and Leica Digilux 3, both of which have the same sensor and both of which are also still highly regarded especially for the colours they produce.

[Ian]

Couldn't resist getting them out

[Ian]

Ah! Bad luck with the batteries! I've not actually ever used the E-300 body in the picture. I acquired it from Mark Thackara some time ago when he was clearing out some old bits and pieces from the Olympus UK offices when then moved location. I will chrgcharge some batteries up myself!

[Ian]

Charged a battery today and the E-300 appears to be fully functional - the weather wasn't great today so I haven't taken any meaningful shots. That tiny rear screen though - a bit of shock! The E-330 was a big step upwards in that department!

[griffljg]

All three batteries charged up successfully overnight. Both E300 and E3 fired up and are working. Agree with Ian. That minute screen on the E300 sure takes some getting used to. I'll play around a bit further later today.

[Kazanne]

Lenses I have with it are all Zuiko. They are 35mm, 17.5-45mm, 18-180mm, 70- 300mm and 14-42.mm.

[Melaka]

The 17.5-45 was arguably the least desirable of all the Oly lenses. It came with some kits and I think most of us sold ours asap.

[Ian]

Lenses I have with it are all Zuiko. They are 35mm, 17.5-45mm, 18-180mm, 70- 300mm and 14-42.mm.

The 17.5-45 is a budget kit lens - you might want to keep any eye out for the premium standard zoom, which is the 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5. The 35mm will be a macro lens - you can have some good fun with that one. The 18-180 is a super-zoom - again a good example of this sort of lens. The 14-42mm is a later budget standard zoom lens introduced with the E-4xx and E-5xx. It's actually not bad and probably better than the 17.5-45mm.

Assuming that you have got the camera working. I would encourage you to use RAW (ORF) file recording as this will produce better results with modern image editing software.

Ian

[Kazanne]

The 17.5-45 is a budget kit lens - you might want to keep any eye out for the premium standard zoom, which is the 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5. The 35mm will be a macro lens - you can have some good fun with that one. The 18-180 is a super-zoom - again a good example of this sort of lens. The 14-42mm is a later budget standard zoom lens introduced with the E-4xx and E-5xx. It's actually not bad and probably better than the 17.5-45mm.

Assuming that you have got the camera working. I would encourage you to use RAW (ORF) file recording as this will produce better results with modern image editing software.

Ian

So I would use the 35mm for portraits and close ups etc and the 18-180 for wildlife/landscape photography is that correct? And what about the 70-300mm? what would that be used for? I did read up on RAW but thought it might take up too much space on the memory card. But I will set the camera to RAW and see how I go. I don't have any paid for editing programmes, I just use Photopea on my windows 10 pc. Sorry if the questions seem basic but I'm really just at the start of my learning about photography. My aim is to be able to take some really artistic photos. I'm actually a dog groomer by profession and take photos of finished dogs on my phone but I can see an opportunity to do something much better with a camera.
tia
Karen

[JonSchick]

I used to have a copy of the 18-180 and it's a surprisingly capable one lens does most things pretty well solution - you may find it does most of what you need but you'll start to struggle in poor light. That's when the 14-54 premium zoom mentioned above by Ian would really help. Or even the Leica 14-50 2.8/3.5 lens which was launched with the Panasonic L1 cousin of your camera; the advantage of that lens is that it also includes image stabilisation which can be very helpful indeed.

[griffljg]

So I would use the 35mm for portraits and close ups etc and the 18-180 for wildlife/landscape photography is that correct? And what about the 70-300mm? what would that be used for? I did read up on RAW but thought it might take up too much space on the memory card. But I will set the camera to RAW and see how I go. I don't have any paid for editing programmes, I just use Photopea on my windows 10 pc. Sorry if the questions seem basic but I'm really just at the start of my learning about photography. My aim is to be able to take some really artistic photos. I'm actually a dog groomer by profession and take photos of finished dogs on my phone but I can see an opportunity to do something much better with a camera.
tia
Karen

By "super-zoom", what is meant is a zoom which has a very great range of focal lengths. On this camera, a focal length of 25mm is as the human eye would see it. Anything less can be considered wide angle, while anything more can be considered telephoto. So the 18-180 could be used for a great variety of subjects. - From landscapes to wildlife with just about everything else in between. Think of it as a "jack of all trades".

The 70-300mm zoom is a telephoto zoom. I still have my old one, which I used on my E3 over 10 years ago on a visit to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. It is great for wildlife. I still occasionally use it on my OMSystem OM-1 through an MMF-3 adapter (which you won't need). It is amazingly sharp and well put together for such a simple, cheap little lens.

I can only reiterate what Ian has said regarding raw (ORF) files. A "raw" file is a digital negative. I can still take the raw files from that 2012 South Africa trip, edit them in modern post-processing software and have a result that looks perfectly acceptable even by today's standards. I suggest that, for starters, you download and install the (free) OM Workspace software: https://download.omsystem.com/pages/owdownload/en/. It is slow and the interface is clunky, but the raw file conversion is still around the best there is for Olympus / OMSystem cameras.

But most of all, have fun!

Larry

[Ian]

So I would use the 35mm for portraits and close ups etc and the 18-180 for wildlife/landscape photography is that correct? And what about the 70-300mm? what would that be used for? I did read up on RAW but thought it might take up too much space on the memory card. But I will set the camera to RAW and see how I go. I don't have any paid for editing programmes, I just use Photopea on my windows 10 pc. Sorry if the questions seem basic but I'm really just at the start of my learning about photography. My aim is to be able to take some really artistic photos. I'm actually a dog groomer by profession and take photos of finished dogs on my phone but I can see an opportunity to do something much better with a camera.
tia
Karen

The 35mm lens is probably a macro lens - for very close focusing, to photograph small objects like coins, stamps, very small flowers, insects, etc. Look out for the word 'macro' on the lens itself,

The typical recommended focal length for portrait photography is between 40mm and 50mm, so you could use your 14-42 or 18-180 zooms, at between 40 or 50mm.

The reference to RAW file recording may be a bit too confusing at this stage. A RAW file preserves much more image information than a JPEG file. It might be best to use JPEG for now as you get used to using your camera. If you are going to take pictures of something special or memorable, use RAW/ORF - and you can use JPEG at the same time.

What size memory cards do you have?

There are plenty of free, open source, photo editing packages and many of them will edit both RAW and JPEG photos.

If you are used to taking photos on your phone, be aware that the better phones can take really good photos. A classic DSLR like E-330 may not be able to do some things that a phone does well but it's a great way to learn about photography and as you get better you will find it's more logical to use the E-330.

The 70-300 you have is a telephoto zoom and it can also focus close, like a macro lens.

Take things step by step.

Ian

[blu-by-u]

How far is Hampshire to Wycombe? I may have a 14-54 still in my box.

[Kazanne]

How far is Hampshire to Wycombe? I may have a 14-54 still in my box.

it's about 1hr 45

[Ian]

Hampshire is a big county, stretching from the southern coast (e.g. Portsmouth) to not far from SW London.

Ian

[Kazanne]

By "super-zoom", what is meant is a zoom which has a very great range of focal lengths. On this camera, a focal length of 25mm is as the human eye would see it. Anything less can be considered wide angle, while anything more can be considered telephoto. So the 18-180 could be used for a great variety of subjects. - From landscapes to wildlife with just about everything else in between. Think of it as a "jack of all trades".

The 70-300mm zoom is a telephoto zoom. I still have my old one, which I used on my E3 over 10 years ago on a visit to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. It is great for wildlife. I still occasionally use it on my OMSystem OM-1 through an MMF-3 adapter (which you won't need). It is amazingly sharp and well put together for such a simple, cheap little lens.

I can only reiterate what Ian has said regarding raw (ORF) files. A "raw" file is a digital negative. I can still take the raw files from that 2012 South Africa trip, edit them in modern post-processing software and have a result that looks perfectly acceptable even by today's standards. I suggest that, for starters, you download and install the (free) OM Workspace software: https://download.omsystem.com/pages/owdownload/en/. It is slow and the interface is clunky, but the raw file conversion is still around the best there is for Olympus / OMSystem cameras.

But most of all, have fun!

Larry

Downloaded the omsystem. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

[Kazanne]

The 35mm lens is probably a macro lens - for very close focusing, to photograph small objects like coins, stamps, very small flowers, insects, etc. Look out for the word 'macro' on the lens itself,

The typical recommended focal length for portrait photography is between 40mm and 50mm, so you could use your 14-42 or 18-180 zooms, at between 40 or 50mm.

The reference to RAW file recording may be a bit too confusing at this stage. A RAW file preserves much more image information than a JPEG file. It might be best to use JPEG for now as you get used to using your camera. If you are going to take pictures of something special or memorable, use RAW/ORF - and you can use JPEG at the same time.

What size memory cards do you have?

There are plenty of free, open source, photo editing packages and many of them will edit both RAW and JPEG photos.

If you are used to taking photos on your phone, be aware that the better phones can take really good photos. A classic DSLR like E-330 may not be able to do some things that a phone does well but it's a great way to learn about photography and as you get better you will find it's more logical to use the E-330.

The 70-300 you have is a telephoto zoom and it can also focus close, like a macro lens.

Take things step by step.

Ian

It's a 1mg memory card. I'm still using an old Samsung A70 phone so the E330 might be comparable. It's all goid fun 🙂

[griffljg]

It's a 1mg memory card. I'm still using an old Samsung A70 phone so the E330 might be comparable. It's all goid fun 🙂

You might find that memory card a bit limiting size-wise. Keep a lookout for a Compact Flash Type 1 or Type 2 card of no more than 16GB capacity.