Magic Lantern Guides: Olympus EVOLT E-510 [Paperback]

David Schloss (Author)

Book Description

Series: Magic Lantern Guides | Publication Date: November 1, 2007

Olympus has always had a reputation for its innovative, compact single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera design, and this new model lives up to its predecessors. With a 2.5-inch Live View LCD monitor, 10-megapixel imaging sensor, and proven dust reduction system for clear, spot-free photographs, the EVOLT E-510 will be a major contender—and this Magic Lantern Guide is the place to go to learn how to use all its fabulous features of this major digital SLR contender. Photographers will find out how they can compose shots from a variety of angles other consumer digital SLR’s can’t match; how to make the most of the camera’s capability to capture crisp, high-resolution images; and how get the most blur-free pictures possible thanks to the EVOLT E-510’s mechanical image stabilization.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600592570
• ISBN-13: 978-1600592577
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good to marginal - depending on how your mind works, October 31, 2007

By 

S. A. Herrington (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magic Lantern Guides: Olympus EVOLT E-510 (Paperback)

Pros:
- The guide has a more logical layout than the manual
- Bigger text size is easier to read than the manual.
- Some bits of information they have weren't in the manual. (Fn button use when reviewing images on the LCD, for example)
Cons:
- It doesn't provide a lot of extra detail that isn't in the manual.
- Some information is wrong, or really lightly covered. How about information on in-camera editing? Not to be found here, though it's a feature of the camera. Same for some of the flash modes that can be set & adjusted.

Conclusion:
I was disappointed because I expected more info on how and why to use features of the camera, not just that the camera has certain features. "What does the 'vivid' picture mode really do? Is it worth using? Should I make those adjustments in Photoshop/Lightroom instead?" Questions like that were unanswered.
If you can't read the manual because of its size, grab the PDF version of the manual (online at Olympus' site) and read it on your pc. Makes flipping between sections a lot easier too.
For information about how to get the best out of your camera, there are a lot of great webistes where Oly enthusiasts (Wrotniak, dpreveiw forums, etc) have posted a TON of information on E-system cameras. Spend more time shooting, less reading. That's probably the best way to get to know your camera and all the features it offers.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not indispensible, October 24, 2007

By 

Hondo (West Texas and Ohio) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Magic Lantern Guides: Olympus EVOLT E-510 (Paperback)

I have another Magic Lantern Guide, that for the discontinued Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D. That older volume is 240 pages long and was quite helpful to me in getting to know and use my first DSLR. This book covers a new camera with many more features, yet is only 160 pages long. It seems to me that the purpose of these guides is to supplement the supplied owner's manual with more in-depth information and explanations. Yet I find myself referring to the owner's manual to get MORE information and helpful hints than are in the book. Thus, I would say that if you already have ANY of these guides, for ANY other DSLR, you do not really need this one.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, October 27, 2007

By 

Jack (Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Magic Lantern Guides: Olympus EVOLT E-510 (Paperback)

I never used a Magic Latern Guide before. Having never owned a DSLR before, I expected it to clearly illustrate shooting tips based on the specifics of the E-510. The guide was actually more of an advanced owner's manual. Do not expect color pictures or anything that will really explain the nuances of picture composition. I learned from this experience that it is more effective to purchase a book of this type at a book store where you can actually open it up and see if the contents meet your requirements. There are non-camera specific digital camera books that do a much better job of explaining how to utilize advanced features like lighting, white balance, DOF, raw vs. jpeg, flash photography, etc.