Olympus Evolt E-510 Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens

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 was looking for a camera for my son who is doing A level photography at college.i came across this on e-bay and as it came with all the necessary attachments and equipment i found it to be the best way of building a starter kit and was great value for money.he has been using it non stop since and the photographic results have been superb. was defiantely a great buy and would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone!

This camera is ideal for someone who wishes to explore the flexability of digital SLR. It has enough features to make it worthwhile, without the heavy price tag of a professional equivalent. Recommended. The image stability and dust removal features are I think unique in this price bracket.

Excellent SLR with everything you need. Complete with numerous accessories, would definateley recommend.

This is an amazing camera. Ideal for a beginner but suitable for the semi-pro.
Beginners can start using it straight away with brilliant results and the semi-pro can acheive stunning results using manual features rather than automatic.
I have had this a few weeks ungrading from a 4.0 megapixel olympus non SLR and the results have blown me away see Amazon for further review. Dont hesitate to buy this camera over Canons / Nikons etc etc. 5 Stars all the way at a fantastic price.

I have never used an SLR before and have found this to be a reliable, fun and easy to use, quality product! The live view screen really helps as when im in manual mode i can see what difference my settings are gonna make to the photo before i take it. This is obviously better than the old style facts and figures layout of many other (more expensive) cameras! The flash settings are great so in a situation where you have not as much light as you'd like but also too much for a full flah, you can alter the flash to be half, a quarter, all the way down to an eighth of it's strength! very flexible options in the menu and the software that goes with it is great too. You have to download a RAW file viewer for the highest quality pics but thats free and is no trouble to do. It takes about 2mins! The kit lenses are compact, light, and have a good range. I got the 14-42mm and the 40-150mm with my kit and they do a good job for what i use it for. I'm looking to purchase the 70-300mm lens too. This will give you roughly 18x optical zoom through the range of the 3 lenses...whcih is immense!! Fair enough a bridge camera such as the Panasonic fz28 would give you that all in one camera but having used it I still think the SLR gives better quality pictures and is a bargain for the price. However one drawback is that besides the Zuiko lenses there are not that many brands that will fit the camera. So having bought the 3 standard lenses the price jumps up significantly to between £300 and £4000 per lens. Although unless you are taking photography to another level the kit ones are fine :-). The image stabilization (in built not digital) is brilliant especially in low light but if you mainly use your camera in daytime settings then you could go for the e410 or e420 as they have digital stabilization which is fine for that type of light. Hope this helps, Danny

This is my first SLR camera, I have owned an Olympus in the past, an Olympus 330 Super Zoom, which gave good results. However I took this out of the box yesterday, took the kids to the park & played around with various settings, I'm well impressed

Upgraded from an E-500 for live view and image stabilisation and both work beautifully.
The camera is a pleasure to use.