Olympus E-510 Digital Camera

I purchased this camera after several months of research into DSLRs. I looked at the Nikon D40x and the Canon EOS 400D as they are all in a similar price range. However the decision was in fact quite a simple one.
The Olympus can come with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm lens which, when taking the 2X crop factor into account, gives a fantastic 24-300mm focal range. Combined with an in body image stabiliser, the only really effective dust reduction system available on the market and live view, this makes for a fantastic package.
Handling the E-510 is a joy with a proper grip on the body, something the smaller E-410 is sadly lacking, which means the camera feels secure and stable in your hand, even at the 300mm end of the standard kit telephoto lens.
The out of the box results from this camera are excellent and Olympus have done a fantastic job of dealing with the noise issues previously associated with the Four Thirds system.
Given the recent advances in Four Thirds LMOS sensor design noise really isn't an issue until above about ISO 800. I have found the best image quality at lower than ISO 400 comes from turning off the noise filter and reducing the sharpening at which point I can find no real difference between the Nikon, Canon or Olympus, even when pixel peeping. Above ISO 400 a small amount of noise reduction is an advantage as is the case for all DSLRs under £1500.
That said this camera returns excellent results straight out of the box. Of course, shooting in RAW format helps immensely, especially if you are used to shooting in JPEG formats as the level of detail is spectacular.
The menu system is intuitive and with the information screen turned on (if not using the live view option) it is simple to adjust all the parameters. Olympus have also spent some time thinking about the handling of the camera. All the knobs and buttons are laid out sensibly and all within easy reach when using the camera, something that cannot be said of the Nikon D40x. The camera has dedicated buttons for white balance, ISO, metering and AF mode which makes quick selection of the ideal settings quick and easy.
The 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses are exceptional for kit lenses. The 14-42mm lens performs brilliantly in every condition I have tried it in and also produces surprisingly sharp and clear macro shots with no evidence of lens distortion. With the range of Four Thirds mount lenses growing thanks to significant input from Sigma there is now a huge range of glassware available right up to professional levels (best start saving now!).
The autofocus, while only having 3 focus points in comparison to up to 51 on some Nikons, may seem under specified but having used the E-510 back to back with an EOS 400D and a Nikon D40x there is little real world difference and the same things confuse the autofocus systems on all 3 cameras. If anything, I found trying to select appropriate focus points something of a challenge on the Nikon.
All in all, this camera offers a huge feature list including the surprisingly effect sensor shift based image stabiliser, excellent controls via the info screen, a fast responsive shutter, autofocus while in live view mode (a genuine rarity), selectable colour spaces, an in camera RAW development facility and online firmware upgrades. Add to this the excellent kit lenses (the 14-42mm lens leaves the Canon 18-55mm kit lens in its wake) and a brilliant price, it leaves you wondering why you would buy anything else!

I decided to buy this just a couple of minutes after I'd won an eBay auction for the camera. Although it doesn't go into all the bells, whistles and gizmos on this camera, it is a very good place to start. It is presented in a comprehensive layout that takes you through the lot, or by chapter - depending on how much you can take in! Best to have the camera with you when watching, and pause the play-back whilst you have a fiddle with the controls/settings in an effort to keep up. There are probably more detailed tutorial DVD's out there, but I would highly recommend this one because it is only a starting point from which you can gain confidence then add to your learning on your own.