Customer Reviews

Olympus Evolt E520 10MP Digital SLR Camera with Image Stabilization (Body Only)

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am coming from an Olympus C-8080 and a Panasonic DMC-FZ18. Both of these are decent cameras, but not quite SLR quality. Also, the Panasonic is the worst macro camera I have owned. Since I was looking for more options with macro/closeup photography, I wanted a DSLR. My old SLR was an OM2n (back in the prehistoric camera days). I considered getting the E-510 or Nikon D60. Both are decent cameras, but after seeing pictures, decided to stick with Olympus and wait for the 520. I am glad I did!
I normally have a problem with a bit of camera shake and don't use a tripod. I just shot 400 pics and not one bit of camera shake! I was surprised to find out that I didn't even have Image stablization enabled. It is very easy to hold this camera steady. The lens and the viewfinder are crystal clear. I stongly suggest that you get the fastest CF card you can to record your pictures, and at least 4GB. I should tell you though, that I am shooting in both raw and fine jpeg format. This typically takes longer to write. The xd cards are too slow when shooting raw and fine jpeg. Another thing to make yourself aware of: Liveview does not seem perfected in any camera yet. It may take some time, but it is a bit bothersome, because there is a wait between recording photos when using Liveview. If you don't mind using the viewfinder,or waiting about 2 seconds between pictures, it's not a problem. Also, my battery compartment door seems to stick a bit. May need broken in, or it's just tight.
On the plus side: I have only had this camera 36 hours and already feel totally comfortable with it. I have heard people say that it's not user-friendly. I disagree with that statement IF: you have previously owned and used Olympus cameras. This camera isn't that foreign when coming from Olympus. Yes, it takes getting used to the buttons a bit, and my thumb does accidentally hit a button, but heck, I haven't even had the camera a couple of days. I also suggest that you buy the telephoto lens. Unless you shoot all wide-angle pictures, you will not be satisfied with this lens package. Regarding the Olympus lenses ... Primo, very good quality for a zoom/package deal. Much better quality than I expected. I like my pictures to be as crisp as possible, with the lowest noise (who doesn't?), so I have experimented with shutting noise reduction off and using software to reduce noise. The results were good in my test results. The scene modes of the camera are good. I haven't used them all yet (I had to put the camera down and get some sleep sometime in the past 36 hours), but am impressed with face detection on, macro, night modes. The flash is fairly strong. I have never had a built in flash, which doesn't give some type of red eye or blue eyes in dogs, this has not happened yet with the 520. Impressive, but I would suggest if doing closeup, that you diffuse the flash, or stand back a bit and zoom on the subject. REVISION: If you use the Macro nature mode, it seems to adjust the flash a bit. Also, if you like to experiment, play withe the "Vivid mode" a bit. I'm usually not a fan of modes, but in bright sunlight, my colors came out exactly as they should be.
If you are considering buying a more expensive camera and are NOT doing professional studio work, I would say; don't waste your money. Get this camera, because you will be impressed. If you are doing studio work, I would still tell you to get this camera, but get a better lens. After all, it's not always about the camera, but it is always about the lens. Anyone who has ever bought a no-name, camera-store "pushed on you" lens, knows what I am talking about.
When my next lens arrives, I will post more information under the "40-150mm Olympus zoom lens". Highly recommend this camera!
REVISION: Today, I received the adapter to let me use my old OM-2N lenses. I bought a generic one through ebay and it works just fine. I attached my old Tamron 90mm SP macro lens and began shooting. First, be aware that everything has to be done manually. This may not be practical if you need speed when focusing, unless you have mastered, manual focusing. I find that I shake the camera more with the heavier, manual lens, but with practice, I think that can be overcome. In other words, if you own the old OM lenses and don't have the money to get a new lens, buy the adapter and be prepared to make some adjustments.
If you have a flash/lighting system and a tripod, those adjustments will be lessened. I don't think I would do this for the life of the camera, but I would use the old OM lens (especially if you have a high quality one), until I could afford a new digital lens. I also have the 40-150mm digital lens (the one they give in the package deals), and am very impressed with the quality. I have posted some pictures, so you can get an idea of what this camera can do. If you scroll over the pictures, you will see the pictures I shot with the old OM-2N lens. I didn't make any revisions, so that you can get an idea of how the pictures come out of the camera (no photoshop).

Though I have E510. I actually tried and tested the E520 as well and picked E510 for the 2 kit lens deal and the extra features E520 has over E510 which I rarely care about. I thought to add my E510 review under this to give the readers a better idea about how the Olympus E510/E520 wins over the Canons XSi and Nikon D80 we tested. Hope this helps.

Myself and a Canon lover Friend and a Nikon lover Cousin were hunting for DSLRs. We had Film SLRs and few Point & Shoot Digis. We don't want to spend $1500+ for the DSLR and was waiting for the price to come down. When it reached $1000 mark, we started hunting for it and tried out few DSLR models in-stores by carrying our own flash memories and took few sample shots at the same lighting, focal length, ISO, f-Stop and Shutter and narrowed down to most people(s) three choices - Olympus E510, Canon XSi and Nikon D80. I went with E-510 right on the spot after looking at the images on the digital PC monitor in just 4 week end hunting. The other two contemplated a while and my friend went with Canon XSi and my cousin chose D80 as he wanted to use his old Nikon lenses and gears.

On a fine evening we got our stuffs ordered online. As soon we returned from work, we were excited to experiment our choices.

Right out of the box results: (No tweaking)
E-510 - Great Outdoor results with very good natural color processing well exposed. Indoor shots were good natural color tones with a bit dull and underexposed.
XSi - Great Outdoor and Indoor results with very little pink tinted color processing with a good exposure.
D80 - Great Outdoor results with little blue tinted color processing. Indoor results with very little blue tinted color processing with a good exposure.

You can see the pink and blue tint obvious on the skin tone and on the white base subjects. We actually compared the images captured by these three with what we saw with bare eyes. We all observed this very little tone changes when tried out at stores and agreed upon the myth that "Every brand has it's own way and nothing is perfect". But still it's too early to decide which one is best.

We tried it every evening as soon we come back and with little tweaking as suggested by the reviewers and professionals. In just 3 days - I made everyone to think that - I WON. Still those guys wanted to give a try because some times the results from Canon XSi and Nikon D80 will have the same color as E510 in long shots and when occasionally (say like one in 100 shots) E510 underexposes the skin tones will look greyish. We almost go as a group for all the functions/festivals and fill with flashes everywhere :)

After 3 months of coutinuous use at the same places, here is our findings:

Speed: XSi is better than E510 and D80. but thats for just 6-7 frequent shots. after that, the XSi will pop up with "BUSY" icon. It is famous and you can see the complaints in Amazon reviews. The other to will be steady through out the the session. no BUSY nothing.

Color Tone: E510 is more natural across the lighting conditions. Indoor shots need to have exposure compensation set to either +0.3 or +0.7

Indoor Photos: E510 is a bit dull and underexposed right out of the box but after a little tweaking it just blows the other two out of the window with very natural color tones and bright images. It actually chooses the right ISO required where as the Canon XSi always chooses ISO 400 when using flash I don't know why it is set like that.

Dynamic Range: Though the pro reviewers say, D80 is more dynamic we haven't came across a situation to prove it. Under most common outdoors shooting, we all three got almost identical resluts and we liked the E510 processing much better than the other two.

ISO:
upto ISO 400, E510 is noise free. It get's a slight noise pushing in at ISO 800 and at ISO 1600 noise is obvious. Canon XSi is noise free till ISO 1600. Nikon D80 is noise free till ISO 800 and at ISO 1600 it introduces a little noise. It is worth to be noted that we haven't seen a situation that we need to use more than ISO 400 under normal indoor/outdoor common user needs. We actually forced the camera to use ISO 800 and ISO 1600 just to see the results where the camera picked ISO 400 by it's own when you leave it to the camera choise in ISO. This is actually a dark night shot on the river bank pointing the camera at the lighted buildings on the other side of the river and the situation is really dark.


Auto Focus: E-510 locks on for sharp focus almost 99% of the time but hunts for focus at low light with too much flash strobes for 4-5 seconds drving you nuts. XSi is zippy but occasionally the focus is not properly locked. When you view on the camera display it looks fine but when blow up in the monitor, it's unfocused. Nikon D80 had the most mis focus. You can see these misfocus issues at both Amazon reviews and DPreview.

Image Stabilization: E510 wins hands down. I took tack sharp pictures using 70-300 lens zoomed all the way at 300mm with shutter going down till 1/30. XSi's lens based stabilization is not that effective when we used it with 50-200mm lens zoomed to 200mm. It was effective till 1/40. Nikon we haven't tried it as we don't have IS lens. Not to mention the hefty price my friend paid for the Canon 50-200 IS lens while I paid just $240 for the 70-300 lens as I had an effective IS built into my E510 body.

Fit and Feel: E510 wins again with more robust build quality. Nikon D80 is also built good but a bit bigger. XSi looks kind of plasticky and has an uncomfortable grip. E510 just lays in your hand so comfortable and is a joy to use.

Value for Money:
I paid $760 for the 2 kit lens. Bought the 70-300 for $240 . FL-36 flash costed me $150, totaled to $1150.
XSi costed my friend $869 with 18-55mm (Now it is around $500-$600), 70-300mm IS lens for $510. With no flash his kit is now $1379. Flash is another $200
Nikon D80 costed my cousin $910 with 18-135mm with no IS !!! He can't simply use his camera hand held as I am using it with my long zoom 300mm or as my friend using his XSi with his 200mm or in low light.
Now...you decide which one gives you more dollar for dollar...XSi with 70-300mm auto focus is faster than the E510 with 70-300 mm at the very long end of the zoom. XSi with 300mm zoomed couldn't get sharp results all the time, less than 250mm is ideal for hand held. E510 has effective IS and works all the way till 300mm handheld but had focus hunt when used in a slight shadow area.

Follow this link "[...]" to tune up your E510 and enjoy the long journey of Digital photography. Good luck.

Verdict:
We also asked the rest of the people at home and our friends to see the pictures and pick which one looks better without telling them which one came from what camera. The end result is 80% of the images picked by the them who don't even know which camera produced it, picked E510's pictures.

We all three agreed that E510 is the best all around DSLR in it's category and we just pay the hyped price for the Canon and Nikon just for the label which produces image quality that is equal to inferior than the low priced, light weight E510. Look no further, go for this little gem and you will be more pleased than the Canon and Nikon users.

I have done quite a lot of analysis before buying this camera, have used Nikon D40, D40x, D80, D200, Canon D350, D400, D450; but finally it was the Olympus E520 I fell in love with. I recently bought this camera in Hong Kong, when it wasn't even released anywhere in the rest of the world yet. :D

Why did I like it? The ease of use, I have used a prosumer camera for a couple of years now, and was waiting for a camera with similar ease of use, and Olympus heard my prayers.

Technology wise, its one of the best FourThirds system in the market, this has enabled smaller lenses. The Live View is amazing (though I prefer using the optical viewfinder, my wife loves the Live view), it has Face detection and multi-point focus, all I can say is that it is the best as yet (the Canon D450 liveView is really bad), the kit lens is very good too, awesome wide angle. The assisted manual focus is extremely useful; the auto focus is super fast. There are multiple RAW file formats to choose from. The Sensor based Image stabilization works like a charm, better than the optical image stabilization. The playback features are the best, anybody would want to see the photos they clicked a bit closer, it is such a pain to zoom the preview on the Canons and the Nikons, in this even my 7 year old niece can do it. With respect to image quality, you might have seen them on the internet, its comparable to any of the professional cameras.

One small drawback i have noticed is the built in flash, its not as powerful as the Nikon, though we can increase the flash power, but the default setting is not as powerful as the Nikon.

You can checkout my photostream on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/phalgunp/tags/e520/

I evaluated the Canon 40D and new EOS XSI before stumbling onto this little beauty. I can argue that it takes just as good pictures as the 40D - at least in my hands. It's smaller than the Canons and for the price, an incredible deal.

Now, not to put down Canon... I actually broke my Canon brand loyalty for this camera, but overall, Olympus did a great job in packing features and ease of use into this camera and once its in your hands, you'll see it.

The back has lots of buttons but once you spend 15 min figuring out how to navigate the camera and its buttons, you'll like the ready access to many functions.

In terms of image quality, it's breathtaking for those looking to step up from advanced point and shoot cameras. It's not a pro camera for sure but I'm no pro and for what I do, it more than gets the job done. I use it for baby photos, nature macro, nature landscape and cityscape photography and it does great for the variety of environments I shoot in. One thing I find really impressive is the flash. Flash on most DSLR's tend to wash out or harshen images. This camera's flash is just enough but not too much so long as you compose your shots correctly. (Like not having your subject 1 meter from the lens!)

Overall - I'm glad I looked at this and Olympus won themselves a convert!

EDIT - 8/8/08. After using the camera for a few days, I noticed that when I turned the camera off, a rattle would emanate from the inside of the camera. Distraught, I removed the lens and still the rattle continued. Upset that my new beauty was defective, I boxed it back up and prepared to return it... but before I did, I called Olympus support to see if they had any insight since I could find NOTHING on the internet about the rattling. Well, as it turned out, it was the image stabilizer in the camera body that was creating the rattle! The tech said it was a natural function of the IS "resetting" itself. (Remember, this camera has in-body IS, not lens IS) When I turned off the IS, no more rattle. Whew, good thing I called - Olympus support was great and saved a return. Only con is that they should document this in the manual, its a little unnerving at first but you get used to it. Don't worry, the rattle is slight - nothing that will jar the camera from your hands or damage any internal parts. It was that I just never felt something like this emanating from a camera before. Verdict after 1000 shots, still love it!

Yes, the E-520 is my first dSLR. It took me months to make the leap, during which I did A LOT of research, posted questions in forums, went everywhere my mouse would take me. Here were my reasons for choosing this camera:
1. Weight. I have back and shoulder problems, and lugging around a huge camera and heavy lenses was never an option.
2. Mirror-cleaning system. One of the issues that held me back for so long, as I'd been reading about the problems and annoyances caused by dust in mirrors (electronic devices are dust magnets!). But Olympus came up with a solution for this, and everybody said it was the best cleaning system in the market. I chose to believe it.
3. Camera resources. If you're willing to learn them, you'll become a better photographer, and that was my plan. I no longer wanted to let the camera do all the thinking. Although the E-520 still allows that (auto mode), I wanted more control and a better idea of why I was getting the results I was getting. Thus, I can set everything by hand if I want to. Or not, if I'm having a lazy day!
4. In-body image stabilization. Like any point & shoot, the E-520 body is stabilized, which helps reduce camera shake, especially when using those bigger lenses.
5. Lenses. As they say, Olympus has great "glass". Even the most humble and inexpensive Olympus lenses have a lot of quality. They will surely outlast any camera body, which is how it should be: the biggest investment are always the lenses. Furthermore, the peculiar sensor size adopted by the company (four thirds) makes for twice the reach with no gain in bulk. Thus, for instance, a 70-300 mm Olympus lens is, in fact, a 140-600 mm lens -- a huge zoom in a compact package, which is perfect for me since I do a lot of bird photography. And this takes me straight back to the weight and bulk in item #1.

I've had the E-520, plus the "kit"14-42 mm, the 70-300 mm and the 50 f/2 lenses for almost two months and I couldn't be happier. In terms of image quality, the differences between this camera and the superzoom cameras I owned previously (Panasonic FZ18, Canon S3 IS) are not only visible, they are incredible. I haven't had any problems with purple fringing, excessive noise, distortion, nothing.

It is easy and intuitive to navigate the camera menus and controls to do things the way I want. Oh, and dust? I haven't yet given it a thought: the Olympus cleaning system really works. Truth is, for me it is simply a joy to use this camera. Photography is fun now -- not frustration at seeing something and then having the images be a total letdown.

A bit of advice for newbies like myself: join forums, ask for advice, read the manuals and the literature out there (like Brian Peterson), take a lot of pictures then look them through to understand what you did right or wrong. It really helps the learning curve.

This is my first DSLR. I bought this and the Canon XSI at the same time and tried them both for a week. To make a long story short, I returned the XSI and kept the E520. It was just easier to take good pictures indoors, which is where I do most of my shooting. The Canon took more effort to produce good pictures. Plus I liked the interface of the Olympus more.

The XSI has a better viewfinder and a slightly better autofocus system but the Olympus image quality won me over in the end. Its white balance and exposure was just easier to get right than the Canon.

The key is to purchase a camera that you will use and the Olympus does that for me.

*****UPDATE REVIEW MAY 15, 2009*****

I've had this camera now for about 6 months...long enough for me to evaluate it some more. It's about 75% + and about 25% minus. I find it easy to use. Some reviewers did not. At first, it didn't look very sharp on my computer monitor. And the LCD screen doesn't let you zoom in on preview with much sharpness. So, until I actually had some photos printed off the card, I wasn't convinced. It does produce sharp, saturated photos.

The ISO goes to 1600, but I was having trouble getting shutter speeds over 1/80th while trying to shoot a basketball game. Inside, at night, I have given up trying to get sneak photos of my son and his dog asleep in their bed. After watching the focus flash go off 6 or 7 times, I give up. Without the main light on, it's abysmal. Last night, I tried to take a picture of a deer by the road. I never could get it to focus and had to set it to manual. Luckily, I got it right and with RAW, and some editing afterwards, got a pretty decent flash picture. Sadly, my $135 point and shoot would have gotten the picture in focus (the flash couldn't have made the shot). While for daytime shooting the smaller viewfinder doesn't bother me, in low light it performs poorly for trying to focus. The lenses don't have a fixed turn on the focus ring, so you can't guess as the ring will just keep on turning. Other than that, it is a great performing camera. Anyway, I thought I'd add my thoughts.

*****INITIAL REVIEW DECEMBER 4, 2008*****

I ordered an E-520; it was shipped on 11/30 and I received it at lunch on 12/02 by UPS w/free shipping. Can't beat that... (I also found it on a weekend Turkey Day sale for $469.) Anyway, this is a fantastic camera.

I spent 11 years as a paid photographer, doing portraits and weddings, and I worked for a while as a photojournalist, and custom darkroom tech. Every camera has both good and bad attributes. I'm sick of people trashing cameras over trivial crap. I want to photograph nature; my family; vacations; etc. Reading numerous reviews and tiny variances in lab condition tests both confused me and worried me as I toiled over a camera. When I actually worked as a photographer, I shot everything from Hasselblads to Nikons to Mamiyas as a photographer, but this is my first dSLR. The old Nikon is retired and now a shelf decoration at home. Hence I was shopping for a camera to do better than my pocket PAS I take hiking and paddling. I figured I knew a lot about cameras until I started reading all the test reports on digital SLRs. Man, it can get confusing.

Not to bore you with technobabble, I am extremely happy with the camera and I've only used it for 2 days. A few of the things I've noticed as of my 3rd day with the camera are: This camera feels good in my hand. The grip is shaped just right to get a good hand hold and not be hitting buttons with my thumb. It feels a lot more like a pro-grade SLR than a consumer grade (at least to me). The mode and setting dials are conveniently located. The LCD is good. The menus, while there are a LOT of them, are pretty easy to understand once you play with the camera a while. They are bright and easy to read. I like them better than the Canon XSi. You might forget exactly where a sub-menu is if you don't use the camera for a while, but I suspect the average shooter won't be adjusting every little setting just to take pics. My guess is that most people will shoot jpegs and do some EV adjustments, etc. Plus, there are short cut buttons on the camera that can control the ISO, single vs. continuous shooting, etc.

The overlay grid is kind of cool, mostly to play with if you have much experience. It has a square green box that shows you where it took the readings. While squares light up on the overlay, through the viewfinder there are 3 focus points. When it focuses, small red dots light up to show you where the focus is. You can customize these. Basically I found this to be very helpful. In lower light, fast action or lots of differently spaced areas in a shot, it's easy to have the camera get your subject a bit out of focus. I haven't used the face recognition or auto-gradation (shadow adjustment technology) yet. Some of the articles say that a lot of the features are for a transition to a higher grade camera from a PAS. I disagree with that. While some are cutesy, they would help most anybody, especially in rush situations where you don't have to analyze things and make a quick decision. And, not everybody wants to scrutinize every situation and become super photographer. Mom or grandma might want a camera to photograph the kids at football games, or take fireworks pics with on July 4th, etc. Settings that have automatically compensated for variables (at least to some extent) can and do come in handy. I've used them in the past. The day my camera arrived, I did photograph a girls' basketball game at the school where I teach and I was pleased with the results. People complain the viewfinder is too small. It is a bit small compared to Canon, but it's still plenty big. I read where the shape of the 4/3rds sensor causes some of that perception, as compared to traditional viewfinders/sensors which are rectangular. The read out is a tad small, but the major info at the top such as f-stop and shutter speed is readable. Those are the important ones. The small clutter of information at the bottom is more of a learn what's where and just acknowledge it's set. Once you've set them in the control panel menu, do you really need to squint to read them and remind yourself they are there? Just hit the info button for the LCD and that will be displayed...a lot bigger. I used the view finder and 1600 ISO. It performed as expected, although I did have to adjust the EV controls at first as the girls were too dark...sort of shadowy looking. The adjustment cleared the pic up fine. Looking at the pics on my TV and computer, they are well exposed and very sharp, with vivid colors even on natural. The camera LCD flashes on areas with blown highlights, but in a gym, that's to be expected. Most any picture will have high and low key areas. The histograms will prove handy.

People complained the LCD focus is too slow. For stability and a sense of feel for the composure and camera, I used the viewfinder A/F. Putting my elbows against my chest and the camera against my face is something I've done for many years. holding a camera out in front of me is just not natural, nor is it good for low speed shots. Plus, it looks sort of hokey...like my elderly mother holding up a PAS and saying "smile..." Basically, it performed top notch. Most of the time, I didn't even pre-focus and it caught the action. The LCD did take a bit longer, but in my opinion, LCD is for landscapes, wildlife, family group shots, sneaky shooting, etc. The camera does come with a little piece that slides over the viewfinder slots to block light from the sensor when using the LCD. I put it in one of the card pockets of my LowePro camera strap, so it would be handy and I wouldn't lose it. I have both the 14-42mm and the 40-150mm lenses and while the depth of field isn't as shallow as I'd like it, and the bokeh isn't comparable to top-end lenses, you wouldn't expect them to be. Other than the f-stops are not as low as I'd prefer, they are great lenses. I wish they would blur the background better, but different focal lengths can help the aperture out to some degree. The 300mm zoom is on my Christmas list. The 3-pack of lenses would give a person 28-600mm zoom equivalent. For a hobbyist or even a paid shooter, I would be hard-pressed to think of a situation where you would be wanting more. I haven't mentioned a lot of the technical details. You can get information overload on many sites if you want that. If you want to ask me questions, please do so. I'd be pleased to hear other folks' thoughts. I'm experimenting a bit more every day to learn it. I am very pleased with it. In my opinion, you cannot go wrong with this camera, especially considering the quality of the pictures, the features, and the price. I added a Gary Fong puff diffuser for the on board flash.

*****UPDATE FEBRUARY 2, 2009*****

I've had my 520 for about 2 months now, after doing the traditional wondering about brands and models for way too long. I had the typical questions and concerns about the camera. So many reviews by so many labs, individuals, etc. can get quite confusing.

Anyway, getting on to my review update. This camera is plastic, as people have noted. Big deal. It's durable, very attractive and feels absolutely great in my hands. It does not feel cheap in any way. The lenses don't have a very low f-stop unless you get the higher end ones. This is usually not a problem in most situations, except speed shots in very low light. The Live View is terribly slow in low light and drops out quickly in very low light. I'm not sure why people seem so concerned about Live View. I use the viewfinder probably 95+ percent of the time. The viewfinder is quite fast to focus. Landscapes, trying to focus quickly for people shots or moving objects would be where a sluggish Live View would pose a problem in low light. It has a lag anyway...not something I would use for any movement. Use the viewfinder...

I do have a big problem with the way the lenses do not have a set infinity point. While a film photographer, I could guess the distance or set it to infinity if necessary. You can't really do that as it keeps turning. I found that out while doing moon and star photography. A lot of photos of the moom were a bit fuzzy, past what I expected from the moon glow or the atmosphere. You can't see anything with Live View in total darkness and the images are so small in the viewfinder that it's unusable. Having a reference point would be handy, although I'm still working on getting good in night photography in general. I guess reading some articles or books on the subject would seem logical.

A disappointing feature is the limitation of the ISO to 1600. Night sports photography is difficult at 1600, although I think you can probably set it to RAW, and then drag out enough details to be suitable. I'm pretty new to RAW, so I'm not expert in this area. Remember, a night photo will never be as good anyway. So many of the new cameras go to 3200, that 1600 seems kind of wimpy. But, 1600 still blurs indoor basketball a lot of the time. While you can pan with the xD card, most of the time you are following the players and decide when to take the photo.

It has the obvious limitations for night streets, carnivals, etc. where you need some speed in the shutter. The camera settings do come in handy to manipulate. Night shots give that traditional amber look. While this is handy for effect, sometimes it is unwanted. That's where setting the camera's white balance to the light bulb icon corrects it very well. Complicated huh...

The related issue of only 3 focus points for the viewfinder has not given me any problem at all. A lot of reviewers did not like this as most cameras have upped the focus points. This could be a problem for a brand new photographer, but you soon learn where to focus on. Way back when, we didn't even have focus points. Hint: Read all you can on f-stops, depth of field, etc. I had to learn to take photos when my camera had a match-needle for the f-stop and a dial for shutter speed, and a bulb setting. Brain power, not a do-it-all camera is the real key to photography. If you continually rely on the camera to figure it out, you will do a disservice to yourself.

The flash is definitely worthy of praise. It's dead-on; enough said. It also recharges fast. Some people have commented that the menu is complicated. Use the camera for a couple of weeks, experiment with the settings, and flip through the reference manual and I think you'll find it easy to understand. I must admit that I haven't read it all yet, and still don't know how to fine tune some of the settings as well as I should. This is sort of a film to digital transition, where one is used to doing it in your head or the darkroom, and now you have to translate that into telling the camera to do it. I can get somewhat confused if I try to get too creative on the spur of the moment. I think with a camera this versatile, you need a game plan for your shots. I guess I really should study the manual more as I get time.

A first "click," my point and shoot seems to take a better grab shot in some areas. But, it's designed to do that...let the layperson take a quick picture, of decent quality. At first, I was a bit disappointed that my wife's Sony (which cost about $350 when she bought it) too better photos...until I learned how to adjust the camera. You should remember that the latitude of the 520 is designed to push the envelope past that of point and shoots, and realistically past that of most dSLR cameras anywhere when compared to its price. That is what makes the difference. It's amazing how things have come down in price. I bought my first PAS 5 MP digital in 2004 for the small amount of $500. Prior to that, we'd paid about $200-250 on a markdown for a 1.3 MP back about 2001-2002.

A buddy with a much more expensive Canon and I were doing the previously mentioned night photography. He commented on how good it was that my entire LCD menu lit up...that it was easy to see and make adjustments to. He's a good photographer, with a system that probably cost 3-4x what mine did and he frequently praises my E-520 and what a good purchase I made. It seems to me the models with the top displays in gray scale LCD would be frustrating to read compared to this one.

Anyway, bringing my essay to an end. The features are great on this camera. The meter and flash are extremely accurate. The kit lenses are very high quality and embarrassing affordable. The camera is easy to make adjustments to and easy to use with a minimal amount of effort in the learning curve. While lots of people talk about paying money for "good" lenses up the line, I'm not one of them. For casual photography, I can't recommend spending $700-800 or closer to $1,000 on a lens.

Two deficits of Olympus is while they have a good variety of accessories, aftermarket items are an issue, and their stuff is typically fairly expensve. I wish the flash models were cheaper. A very good Sunpak or Vivitar flash is much cheaper than the comparable Oly models. But, with the 4/3rds sensor system, and the zooms, you'd have a headache to keep trying to remember to make adjustments to keep the flash accurate. Plus, there is the voltage limiter to keep from burning out your circuits with another brand flash as an added aftermarket cost.

My end advice: Get this camera and I doubt you will regret your decision. It will give you years of enjoyment, and satisfaction with great photos. Buy whatever Oly lenses you can afford to (based on your needs and not trying to keep up with the Jones). All too often, photographers buy stuff so their camera bag looks full, or they can have bragging rights. Go aftermarket on related items like remote controls, etc. I do recommend buying a BLM-1 battery. I just think they last longer--my opinion. FYI, OwnUser makes a cool battery holder that looks like a motor drive. It adds bulk (or holding area if you prefer that term), and comes with a remote control and an external battery pack that holds AAs and clips on your belt. If you want to play around with things such as close up or fish eye accessories, Opteka and other Japanese brands make inexpensive add-ons. They are cheap in price, but sometimes perform pretty well. I've used cameras and lenses costing thousands of dollors. You don't always have to have an expensive lens or camera to get a satisfying shot. For a picture of the kids or a desk top of photos from the vacation, inexpensive equipment usually does fine, given limitations. That said, inexpensive elements don't always have as good of multi-coatings (if any), or as good quality glass elements...or plastic in some cases. However, some perform amazingly well for a budget price. Try a couple out. If you don't like them, return them for a refund.

In any event, the Olympus E-520, the 14-42 and 40-150 lenses (get the 300 zoom if you like nature) will do an excellent job in almost any job you need them to. At least, that's my opinion.

Just got this SLR today,have owned many Past & Present. First thoughts are this is a TOP Notch Step Up in a Digital SLR Camera. The Auto Focus in Live View is out of this world, just press the shutter botton half way and you are in focus. I currently Own the Canon 40D and Olympus 510. This is what I have been waiting for,SLR Quailty with the ease of operation of a Point and Shoot for quick easy pictures when you need them. Cant go wrong with this one.

I've owned an E510 for over a year. Here are a few comments that might help you.

The E520 adds face detection, a vertical panning IS (image stabilization) mode, and an improved sensor with better noise and dynamic range. Conventional wisdom is that it is not worth upgrading an E510, and further that it is worth looking at E510s on markdown if you can find a good deal. The E520, though, is certainly improved.

There are no bad DSLRs any more. They are all really good, although within a given budget and dimension, designers have to prune certain features. Olympus' main feature is the four-thirds sensor - this is one of the smaller sensor footprints available, meaning that lens designs are slightly more compact, but small sensors generate more noise in low-light conditions.

In good light, sensor noise is not a problem. For most consumer-level users, ISOs up to about 400 or even 800 are very good - but most consumers would notice the more grainy, washed out look at 1600. I would rate an ISO1600 shot as unacceptable at 8"x10" on the E510.

The small light circle also makes the Olympus view finder smaller and darker. If you peer through, say, a budget Nikon, the view is noticeably larger and brighter.

However, the E520 has image stabilization in the body, rather than the lenses. Lens stabilization is slightly better - it also works while you are framing up the shot - but obviously you pay for it in every lens. Many Canon/Nikon lenses do not have IS.

Neither the E520 nor the kit lenses are weather sealed. Be careful in the rain or at the beach. Fortunately, the Olympus self-cleaning sensor is probably the best one out there. I have not had to clean my sensor yet.

You will need an extra battery. The focusing in low light gets slow or fails completely as the battery runs down. I have a Duracell spare - it has been fine.

If you are into HDR (and you WILL be), the E-520 offers only +-1 EV brackets. You will have to use a tripod and fiddle with exposure between each shot for other brackets.

I recommend making a "lens plan" to decide whether to get the body only, or a 1 or 2 lens kit.

Olympus is respected for the quality of the kit lenses. These lens (the 14-42 and 40-150) are extremely compact, with good image quality. They primarily give up speed, but they are well within the speed range of other brand's kit lenses. If you buy the kit lenses, you will look jealously at the 14-54, and the 12-60 "walking around" lenses - these are highly regarded but much more expensive. Except for the extra speed, most consumers will not notice the difference on a 5x4 print with these lenses over the kit lenses. With larger prints, or with low light, the more expensive glass is worth having.

Overall, Olympus lenses are highly regarded, even by people who are not fans of the format. Expect to pay $200 to $600 for "Standard" grade, $600 to $1200 for "High Grade", and $1200 to $2000 for "Super High Grade" lenses. Olympus also offers a few obligatory $5000 monsters - these are well into purely-theoretical for an average user like myself.

I added the 9-18 and 70-300 lenses to my 2 kit lenses, for roughly an extra $1000. This gives me coverage from 9 through 300. These are all Olympus "Standard" quality lenses, good image quality, but not weather sealed, and a bit slow.

It is fair to say that the four-thirds system is a bit of a pariah in the camera world. There are a few pro's shooting with it, but you should be aware that Canon has over 60% of the market, and Nikon something like 15%. If you search B&H, you will find pages and pages of Canon lenses, but only 2 pages of Olympus. Many photographers will pointedly sniff at your 4:3 ratio pictures, instead of their "classic" 3:2 ratio. However, 4:3 is a better crop if you often print out 8x10 pictures instead of the small 5x3 or 6x4, and Walmart and many other developers offer a 5x4 size.

I wish there were more lenses to choose from - yet I would still buy the ones I already bought. I wish the noise performance were better - but I have never really lost a shot because of it, and may add an E-30 body to my bag soon. I'm satisfied with the 4/3 format, and very happy with my camera.

You should google up Wrotniak, four-thirds (on Wikipedia), or four-thirds forum for more information.

I was shopping from my first DSLR and finally settled for the Oly E520 after shortlisting it with Canon XSi [450D] and Sony A300. Some of the features that made me go for it are mentioned below:

- a nice package with 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses
- the quality of Zuiko lenses [and they are smart to market them as optimized for digital photography]
- SSWF dust removal system [which according to some works the best]
- Live View [XSi and A300 have that too]
- In body Image stabilization, which means that you don't need expensive lenses with stabilization [A300 has in-body stabilization too]
- the camera felt better in hand than the other two
- the Olympus brand
- Intuitive Menu

I have both the CF and xD cards on it. The xD card box has a code that activates Art and 3D feature on the Olympus Master 2 Software.

For someone who is moving up from the point and shoots, the Oly E-520 is one of the best choices. I have been using it for a week now and everyday I learn something new about it.

Overall, it's one of the best and I have no hesitation in giving it 5 stars and recommending it highly!!!!