My new E-300 just arrived

[dougjgreen]

My E-300 w/14-45 lens bought from Cameta just arrived. First impressions - Build quality is VERY substantial - certainly more so than the E-500 I handled, and at least on a par with, if not better than the Nikon D70. Ergonomics are extremely good. This is clearly a case where the unusual shape and viefinder architecture absolutely add to the handling of the camera. I haven't shot anything worth posting yet, just basic test shots.

14-45 lens: So far, I'm not nearly as impressed by this optic as I am with the camera. It's better constructed than I thought it would be, but the slow maximum f-stop is definitely an issue. And the first shots I took with some older very fine Pentax MF lenses seem to be a bit sharper, and certainly more free from distortion/vignetting, etc. Note, this might be due to camera shake from slower shutter speeds forced by the lens' slow max f-stop, rather than an optical sharpness issue - but that's a real world issue.

I'm quite sure I'll be keeping the camera, but once my 11-22 and 40-150 lenses arrive, I have my doubts about whether I'll hang onto the 14-45 zoom.

[Mr. Pickles]

Congrats on the new toy. Hopefully you like the camera, and it gets you a bunch of great shots.

[Paul Shields]

Congrats on your purchase Doug. You should enjoy the 40-150, and especially the 11-22mm.

[chucklyman]

Doug; I have had my E-300 for about a year now. It's just a wonderful product. I think you will be happy with your purchase. I try to use mine every day. Have fun!