Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Digital SLR Camera with CCD Shift Image Stabilization and 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6

I have had this camera for about a month and after using this, I felt compelled to write this review, especially after seeing some comments from first time SLR owners.

My advice to them, please think carefully before buying a dSLR. If all you are going to do is set this camera in Auto mode and shoot, you are making a mistake, an expensive mistake. E-510 or any other dSLR is not designed to excel in this department, definitely not as good as an advanced P&S.

If you want better image quality (color, dynamic range, low noise at high ISO, interchangeable lens etc) and convenience (IS, more buttons, speed), DSLR is the way to go. With power, comes the responsibility. You should also be ready to take the challenge of trying out different settings and spend some time in post processing the RAW images. You can get dynamic range that no P&S can match, if and only if, you are ready to spend the time on it. JPEGs straight from camera will not be significantly better, unless you tweak the settings for each situation perfectly.

Most complaints about this camera are about focusing, under or over exposure. You have to learn how an SLR camera works. There are different metering and focusing modes and you have to choose carefully. Also you have to decide whether to shoot aperture priority or shutter priority based on situations. You can also choose whether to shoot for high key or shadow areas.

No SLR in auto mode can give you a perfect shot of a person when the sun is behind him/her. Either use the proper P mode, or you use spot metering (or at least fill flash).

When something is moving, shooting with slow shutter will also result in blurry image and an SLR expects that the person behind the view finder knows these basics. So my advice is, read the manual and try out all the options and find the modes that suit your needs.

Also, the default ESP metering on this camera is a bit off. It's actually set to ESP + AF in factory. In my experience, if you change Menu2 > Metering to ESP, it works better. You might also consider turning the Noise Filter off for ISO 100 shots. It makes the images sharper (even with sharpness -2) and you can get details that you can't get in any other entry level camera at this moment. But, you might get some visible grains.

What I like -

1. IS, all my lenses are stabilized and I can get sharp shots sometimes at 1/30 when using focal length of 300mm in 35mm equivalent.

2. Clean high ISO, up to 800 is completely usable with little noise reduction. ISO 1600 gives you better or same results compared to other brands, only Canon is half stop ahead.

3. Image quality. The details with noise filter off, the color and the sharpness are wonderful. The dynamic range is not best in it's class, but with RAW files and a little time with Lightroom, it's not really an issue.

4. SSWF. The dust buster in this camera works, unlike other brands (read Canon/Sony/Pentax). Never got a single dust peck on the sensor and I change lenses frequently.

5. Live view. This is the only one in this class at the moment to have this feature. Another Olympus model, E-330 has it, but it was too expensive. This feature really helps when you have time and your eyes are tired. Also when you are shooting macro in an awkward position or using a manual focus lens and want to do precise focusing with the live view magnifier. This is a life saver for me that I can still use old manual focus lenses.

6. The size, weight and ergonomics. With the kit lenses you get 28-300mm range covered and NO OTHER brand can get you this quality in this size and weight. D40x is as good in handling, but lack of IS (and the price/weight of their VR lenses) was a deal breaker.

7. Speed. It's always ready for next shot. In drive mode, you can get 3 frames a second unlimited in HQ JPEG. With RAW, it's limited to 10 shots at the same speed and after that speed reduces to around 1.6 fps. Better than most in it's class if you have a fast card. I don't miss a shot these days due to camera.

What I don't like -

1. Though viewfinder is brighter than some previous Olympus models, it could be bigger. LV helps, but it's not usable always. A small issue considering my eyes aren't too bad.

2. Focus confirmation using manual focus lenses. Though I didn't buy this camera for this purpose, it would have helped a lot. Especially when Panasonic L1 and Pentax models have it, it's just a software fix they have to do so I am hoping they'll release a firmware with this fix.

These are just minor gripes and the second one is easily fixable. All in all, I would say this camera is a winner in the hands of a little experienced person, but a new owner will just need some time to get to know this little gem. IMO, it's the best camera in it's class today if you can live with the "Made in China" sticker on it.

As a professional photographer I have used Cannon and Nikon cameras. I purchased an Olympus E-500 two years ago and was impressed with the sharpness, color capture, and other features. Needing a second camera I tested several Cannon and Nikon pro-level cameras. I found the Olympus E-510 equal or superior to each in edge-to-edge sharpness and color capture using color charts and sharpness charts. Additionally, the ease of use of the E-510 was a contributing factor. I am also impressed with the four-thirds system lenses produced by Olympus; they weigh less then their equivalent lenses in the Cannon or Nikor lines and I feel give better edge-to-edge sharpness. The only negative is the narrow line of pro-level lens in the Olympus line.

I recommended the E-500 to my photography students and now I'll recommend the E-510 as the cost factor is important to students. If you are looking for a solid D-SLR I highly recommend the E-510. I suggest that consideration be given to purchasing the Olympus "high-grade" lenses rather then the kit lens for the advanced photographer. The kit lenses are fine for the consumer.

Buy Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Digital SLR Camera with CCD Shift Image Stabilization and 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Now

I would give this camera five and a half stars, really, if not for one issue.

And a pretty serious one.

But first the good news: the camera is great.

It works blazing fast, controls are excellent and so is the level of control.

All important SLR options, all those many competitors usually "reserve" for "professional" models like all metering modes, auto ISO limit, custom WB, mirror anti shock, remote control capability, manual focusing after AF and even shutter release priorities are there.

Anti-dust system and set of two lens gives you worry free 28-300 (10.7x) range, image stabilization works surprisingly good, widely rumored problem of dynamic range that is half EV below the competition is not visible in 99.95% of the pictures. The rest 0.05% requires microscope and 100% zoom to point out the blown out highlight.

All things considered an excellent camera and value for money.

Of course, there are many things one may complain about, like slow kit lens (and fast lens are available, but expensive) or aggressive noise filter at high ISO (and it could be turned off) or one second delay at start up (never bothered me much) etc. But all these issues are pretty minor and every camera has list of them.

***

Now the bad news low light focusing. I just do not understand that.

Here it is: below certain light level camera just struggles to get focus. That level is somewhat below standard living room illumination so it does not bother many people in standard situations, but try to shoot at the dark bar or at the street in the evening and change in camera behavior is dramatic. Suddenly it may take several seconds before focus is locked way too long. Using flash to illuminate target does not help much flash keeps strobing and strobing and strobing again and finally, when focus is locked it takes additional second to charge it for the shot. I rarely meet people who would stand still for that long... They think I made three pictures of them already, when I accomplished, well, none!

I perfectly understand the technical issue of focusing in low light, but... I am old Olympus E10 owner and it have never bothered me much with this issue. Cheap Canon A70 have never bothered me with this issue either well at least nobody expects performance from $200 compact camera.

May be these old cameras are not trying to get perfect focus when they cannot, may be they limiting time to some reasonable interval I do not know, but Olympus should fix the problem. It is a show stoppers.

For now I turn off AF illumination and switch to shutter release priority in low light situations but I need to recognize it first. I prefer to have slightly out-of-focus pictures, than no pictures at all. Olympus, do you hear?

Read Best Reviews of Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Digital SLR Camera with CCD Shift Image Stabilization and 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Here

I got this camera after reviewing & trying out several different brands at local stores. Compared with the others, the only one I liked better in the hand was the N80, which is considerably more expensive & lacks anti-dust & body-based image stabilization. The viewfinder on this camera is smaller than you're used to if you've shot 35mm SLRs for years, but it's not bad.

Now that I've been using this for a couple of weeks, I like it even more. The body-based image stabilization works well, I can hand-hold the long lens of the set (150mm) for a 1/20 second shot, and it comes out very clear, no visible shake. I can't really comment on the usefulness of the anti-dust capabilities, but have switched out lenses several times, & no dust spots are apparent on my shots. Image quality is great, but the Oly software is worthless. Terrible UI, and the included software that can do decent post-processing of the raw files is trial only. Photoshop Elements w/ Adobe's raw processing & batch conversion from the camera's ORF files to DNG's works great for me. The kit lenses are good, very comparable to old Zuiko lenses from the manual focus 35mm days. Fewer lenses are available for this system than for e.g. Canon or Nikon, but most of the needed lenses are out there. Only thing I really miss is a good fast prime (25mm f/1.4 or f/1.8 would be very appreciated, Oly!) Overall, I'm totally pleased w/ this camera & would recommend it.

Want Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Digital SLR Camera with CCD Shift Image Stabilization and 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Discount?

Have had this kit for a week now and am throughly pleased with my purchase and Amazon's service. I ordered the kit Sunday evening, paid $8 for 3-5 business day shipping, and it arrived Wednesday afternoon, 2 days in my book. I am a noob at digital SLR photography, though I have used older film SLRs, and was able to get some amazing fireworks shots last night using the 40-150mm lens on a tripod (M-mode, 8s, F16, ISO 100, SHQ JPeg).

I am totally amazed at how easy it is to change settings. The buttons are well placed, at least for me, and the menus are very intuitive. I "glanced" through the manual before the camera arrived and began shooting as soon as the battery was charged. I've had nothing but fun, none of the usual frustrations with something new.

It's a lot of money, but I can't believe it won't last me many, many years and the kit lenses are very good, though I'm already drooling for the EC14 (and an EC20 would be even better to double the range).

If there is one negative I can think of it's getting used to shooting with 4x6 prints in mind. Oly uses a 4x3 format and that doesn't translate directly to a 4x6 sheet of paper. Mind you, I don't print often, but it's something to consider, especially if some of your family/friends are computer shy. :)

The other negative might be the Master 2 software. It is painfully slow, but does a good job for free software. I personally use Picasa for most things and Paint Shop Pro when needed.

EDIT: I just found out Amazon has a 30-day price guarantee. This means I will be getting a nice $88 refund on my credit card. Have yet to be disappointed with Amazon.