Hello and Merry Christmas ALL:-) I am an Olympus user (E-500). I was about to change and buy Canon EOS D40 when miracle happened and I found Olympus E-3 review. I have already some lenses,flash gun and other stuff for my E-500 and that will fit on E-3 as well. I am a student of photography first year(NO Pro ;-) and my budget is limited. Shall I by Oly or Canon? HELP Thank You Miroslav

If you're already equipped with an Olympus then get the E-3. There are a bunch of Oly fans here that may tell you the same.

Thank You :-) I am 70% decided to get E-3 :-) I just really want to know opinions of people (especially OLYMPUS users) In my class are only Nicon and Canon guys - no help. Thanks and have a nice day :-)

If you have already bought into an Olympus system with the E500 I cannot think of any reason to consider switching to Canon unless you have sufficient funds to make a major investment into the Canon system and want to change all your kit.

a Canon user

That is nice of you. Thank you kindly for advice. Miroslav

Here's another Olympus E-500 user.
Both cameras are roughly in the same category. You can see a side-by-side comparison on THIS LINK.
Notice the star rating given by the users... Canon 40D: 4.5 stars, Olympus E-3: 4.75 stars.
If you already own Olympus gear, I would not hesitate. The E-3 is an excellent camera, (semi-)professional and at the forefront of technological development. The Live View function on the articulated LCD screen, the excellent in-camera Image Stabilisation, the proven dust reduction system and the compactness of the camera system and especially the lenses are all positive factors.
If you're unsure about the upgradeability of your Olympus system, expectations are that Olympus will develop a top-professional camera in the next months (in the Canon 5D or Nikon D300 market niche).
And of course Olympus has some very, very good lenses too...

Still want to give you a link to a website where E-3 users share their first experiences with the camera: http://www.myfourthirds.com/document.php?id=40124

Thank You very much for these useful links. I checked them and I think after bank holiday I will get that small treasure :-) Have a nice day.

Wait wait wait - I didn't know Canon made a D40... wink

Ups I ment Canon 40D :-)

I am a fan of Canon and I will either buy a 40D or a 5D for my next camera since I have several lens already for Canon.staying with the Olympus E-3 makes sense to save money

I was a Oly user who made the switch to Canon and let me tell you while I am very happy with my 30D and Mark3 it was a huge investment and you wont come even close to recovering half of what you spent on the Oly system. The E3 is a solid camera I had a chance to shoot with one about  2 weeks ago and let me say that Live view is very overated in most cases but not with the E3's flip out screen it made getting some insane angle's on a old mission church possible.  I would stick with the olympus system.

I used Olympus in the film days (OM4ti) and when I made the switch to digital, I chose Canon because Olympus at the time didn't have an alternative of the same price/quality.

Although I'm very happy with what I have, I still miss the elegance and compactness of my OM. Compared to it, the 40D with lenses weights probably the double. If I would start now, I'd probably follow my heart and go Olympus again. But as I own a good prosumer camera body and great Sigma lenses that are Canon dedicated, I'm "stuck".

Think well before you make a switch!

You can read the user reviews and ask questions over at dpreview.com

I have a brand new Canon EOS 40D and it's better than I could have imagined. It's really an amazing camera. :)