Opteka RC-6 Wireless Remote Control for Olympus EVOLT E-520, E-510, E-500, E-420, E-410, E-330, E-300, E-30, E-3 & E-1 Digital SLR Camera ~

by Opteka

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000PDGJXY
• Item model number: OPT-RC-6-OLY-1
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 12, 2007

Product Description

The Opteka RC-6 remote control makes taking group photos easy by allowing you to take pictures away from the camera. The RC-6 allows the selection of either a 2-second shutter delay or instant shutter release. ~ Will work on Olympus Evolt E-510, E-500, E-410, & E-330

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good basic remote, July 19, 2007

By 

BrianS "BrianS" (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Opteka RC-6 Wireless Remote Control for Olympus EVOLT E-520, E-510, E-500, E-420, E-410, E-330, E-300, E-30, E-3 & E-1 Digital SLR Camera ~ (Electronics)

The Opteka remote control unit is conveniently small. The 4 buttons at the top were dedicated to Olympus (I have an E510), but there are buttons for other major brands. The unit works with the built-in sensor in your camera. While it is meant to be used from in front of the camera, I was able to trigger the shutter from behind while indoors ( I haven't tried it outside yet, or at distances over 5ft.).

The W and T functions are turned on when your camera is in BULB mode (dial to max shutter time) so you can manually open and close the shutter. I can't figure out what the + and - buttons do (they exist on Olympus' remote too) but there is no explanation for them in the Olympus manual. The RC-7 comes with minimal information. The remote works fine and offers control for 4 other brands of camera. At $12.95, it's about half the price of the Olympus remote.

Follow up: I've been using the remote for about a month now and have found it useful for quick hands-off shutter release (instead of using a shtter delay). I have upgraded my original review from 3 to 4 stars (though the edit won't let me change the stars).

Follow up (years later): I have kept this remote in my kit for over three years now. While the battery has run out twice it still works like new. I now use it for my two Nikon cameras with complete satisfaction. I was surprised to see that some copies of the remote did not work because mine has been a work horse. I would give this unit five stars now.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inexpensive, no burden to carry and it does the job, January 23, 2008

By 

Lewis A. Edge (Princeton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Opteka RC-6 Wireless Remote Control for Olympus EVOLT E-520, E-510, E-500, E-420, E-410, E-330, E-300, E-30, E-3 & E-1 Digital SLR Camera ~ (Electronics)

My headline pretty much summarizes this product. Costing less than half either the Olympus wireless remote control or Olympus wired shutter release, this little remote control is small and lightweight enough to carry in your camera bag at all times. It worked flawlessly with my Olympus Evolt E-510 right out of the box. The camera's infrared sensor must, of course, be turned on for it to work and the remote control must be pointed at the sensor. Not having to rush to get in front of the camera before the self-timer trips the shutter is a luxury for those who want to photograph themselves alone or in a group. Great product at a great price but mine quit working after about 18 months, so I replaced it with the more expensive Olympus brand.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars With Olympus E-510, All 3 Advertised Buttons Work, July 19, 2008

By 

No H in Jon (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Opteka RC-6 Wireless Remote Control for Olympus EVOLT E-520, E-510, E-500, E-420, E-410, E-330, E-300, E-30, E-3 & E-1 Digital SLR Camera ~ (Electronics)

12/20/08 - Update

I posted this review for the RC-7. It now seems to be associated with the RC-6, which only works for Olympus cameras.

I suspect that it's the same chip with fewer buttons attached to it. If that's the case, this should work as described below for the Olympus E-510 that I reviewed it with.

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I have only used the RC-7 with an Olympus E-510. It also has separate sets of buttons for Minolta, Nikon, Pentax, and two varieties of Canons.
The E-510's own manual only documents the usefulness of three buttons of their brand of remote; Normally only shutter release (S). In manual BULB mode, the W and T buttons will open and close the shutter manually. The - and + buttons are not documented in the E-510's manual. So it's not shocking that on the RC-7 the + and - don't do anything; working as Olympus designed. Olympus apparently only enables these buttons on other models of cameras.

I've used the RC-7 to snap pictures of the moon without shaking the camera on the tripod. Worked great.

Some reviews have complained that the remote doesn't work. Mine appeared to be brand new, but didn't have any plastic tab isolating the battery. It worked right out of the box. Well, that's after I figured out that I had to go through the E-510's drive-mode menu to enable the E-510's ability to react to a remote (top left of camera, left silver button closest to user, near flash button). With this button, you can set the camera to snap a pic immediately after clicking the remote's shutter release button, or to wait two seconds and then snap the pic. RTFM.

If you're in doubt as to whether the RC-7 is sending a signal, then put your camera into live view mode (where you can see the image on the LCD). Then point the remote towards the lens and press and hold any button on the remote. The human eye can't see the signal, but when it is translated onto the LCD screen, there is a noticeable pulsing light from the remote when it's working. If you can't see it, try again in a dark room. Alternatively, try viewing the signal with another digital camera or camcorder - they all should be able to see/reveal it. (You won't see this through any camera's optical viewfinder.)

The RC-7 is a better value than the Olympus version, and it can control other camera brands that you may already have, or buy in the future. Or maybe you have another Olympus model that actually has a use for the + and - buttons.