 Why buy anything else? 12 of 12 people found this review helpful.
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!
Review ID: 10000000005812455  Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our guidelines, it will be posted within 24 hours. You cannot vote on the helpfulness of a review you wrote. Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later.  Love it, well made, well spec'd, well priced D-SLR! Review created: 28/04/08(updated 28/04/08) 7 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Canon and Nikon dominate the D-SLR market, other players such as Olympus, Sony and Pentax compete for third place. Sony is the big power, Pentax are a classic photography brand and Olympus are a little different. They, along with others like Panasonic and Leica decided to establish a new standard (FourThirds) in 2003 for D-SLR, designed for Digital photography from the ground up. This means its design has not been compromised by backwards compatibility with the analogue SLR 35mm film format. This also means that equipment from all who make it according to the standard will work with each other.
That was a brave move and I like it as principle, it should mean that products compete on their merits rather than having equipment that only works within its own proprietary world where a past installed base can protect market share in the future. I work for a computer company that shares similar values.
Also, from a technology point of view I like that the promise of the FourThirds standard is that it will produce compact, light and technically advanced products relying on the innovation of more than just one company, the likes of Olympus, Panasonic and Leica would be collaborating as well as competing.
So, before even thinking about the best camera for my needs, I was well disposed towards Olympus as a brand and so when I researched the market and found that the Olympus E-510 was regarded as a compact, advanced, capable of quality images and great value on price/performance - it was a relatively easy choice although as anybody who has researched cameras will know, there is an awful lot of stuff to go through and mull over.
Having had the camera for a few weeks, used it for a few shots, got into the Olympus world a little via their E-Systems User club and some discussion forums such as the dpreview.com site. I've caught the bug and added lenses and other things to my basic system, mainly with more great buys from eBay and I have to say I'm very pleased with the whole experience. The camera feels very good in the hands, compact but not too small, very solid without being heavy and while I don't expect to be able to use all of its features and settings any time soon, it has a logic to its use that I'm already comfortable with and would happily stay with Olympus in the future.
The idea of the FourThirds D-SLR standard is now producing on its promise, the new Olympus E-3 is a camera to aspire to and Olympus lenses seem to be have a great reputation within their classes from standard to pro level. Panasonic and Lieca have some cool products out their, although they do seem expensive compared to their competition. The range of lenses and add-ons its nowhere near as large as the big boys, but I like that, its not so bewildering but they seem to have the bases covered. Apparently, some believe FourThirds wont make it long term, I hope it does, its a great idea.
So, for me, the Olympus E-510 is all positive, I'm soon to go for a week's D-SLR course so I'll get more insight into how to get the most out of what I think is a great camera which I think for its price is currently unbeatable.
Review ID: 10000000006887689 Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our guidelines, it will be posted within 24 hours. You cannot vote on the helpfulness of a review you wrote. Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later. | |
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