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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RAH" data-source="post: 1214958" data-attributes="member: 5834">I second this recommendation. Especially now because the E-510 can be had for a low price, since it has been replaced by the E-520, due in stores in July or August. That said, you might  look at the E-520 and decide that its enhancements are worth the extra money. It is still reasonably priced.One advantage of the Olympus 4:3 DSLRs is that the somewhat smaller sensor has a 2x "crop-factor" - any lens gives the equivalent of 2x the reach of the same lens on a film SLR. So, as mentioned, the Oly 70-300 (about $350) gives the equivalent of 140-600. Not only does this mean that the lens is smaller and lighter, but also cheaper - i.e. a zoom lens that only goes up to 300 is usually cheaper and lighter than a lens that goes to 400 or 500, which you would need on a 1.5x or 1.6 system to give 600mm equivalent.The downside to the somewhat smaller sensor is the potential for more noise at high ISOs. However, if you read the reviews of the E-510, you sill see that it stands up quite well to comparisons against other DSLRs.</blockquote>