Olympus E-520

Opinion: Bought in a double zoom kit with 14-42 f3.5-5.6 and 40-150 f 4.0-5.6 nearly two years ago. I've been shooting almost everything, and I have to say, that it takes very good pictures. I love the colours, especially when set to vivid. It creates a strong color effect and I use that option mainly for macro and portrait. Shooting sports is pretty easy with the 40-150 but only at daylight. Lots of people complain about the 3 focus points. I have to tell you, thatit isn't a disaster. For example, I never felt that i have only 3.
Overally it is a good camera to use, if you're an amateur, but when upgrading to higher level lenses, it can become a real pro.

Opinion: I am selling my E-620 with its 'croocked' Viewfinder image and bought an E-520.
For me the only advantage of 620 over 520 is that the viewfinder information is shown below the frame.
I do not see much difference in the quality of the RAWfiles.

There are two reasons why I did / do not leave the Olympus clan:
+ the excellent quality of the 14-54mmII lens
+ the three-by-four image ratio

I get good prints in A3 size;
nor do I do need to publish my photos in glossy magazines;
so for me the FourThirds sensor is large enough.

BTW The ImageStabilization button is rather useless; I can do without it.

Opinion: I have had this camera now for 3 years, upgrading from the E500. It came with the kit 14-42mm lens and I kept my 40-150mm zoom from the previous camera. For the price, it has been an excellent camera. Good vivid colour saturation, sharp JPEG photos, comfortable in the hand with a reasonably rugged construction (my tripod fell over face down into a rocky seawater pool and both camera and lens survived). The 40-150mm lens was fantastic, bright and sharp, easily outperforming the 14-42mm (which was a very soft), despite the fact the in-camera IS didn't recognise the lens automatically. The weight and size made it moderately portable. Battery life was good (400+ shots) without live view/flash or excessive use of the LCD. The LCD was clear and sharp.
I liked the convenience / cost / compactness of the 4/3 setup but have probably outgrown it now. The high ISO noise is a killer fault for lower light shots and the flash was a poor performer, relative to parallel models. Nevertheless the camera took one of my landscape shots that made it to the top 10 of the Sony World Photography Awards in the Landscape category. My son has it now and I hope he goes one better.

Opinion: Pros:
Good IQ
Wireless flash capability
CDAF Live view
Customizable in many ways
Relatively cheap

Cons:
3 pt Phase Detect AF
Can hunt in very low light
NO AF assist light built-in

Opinion: pros: excellent image, good menus, easy to use,price

cons: only 3 point

Opinion: I've had the e520 for a couple weeks now. I have had some Canon and Nikon DSLRs and decided to try Olympus because of what you get for your money. I would definitely recommend Olympus to anyone looking for an entry or mid-level DSLR.

Here are the things I really like about the camera:
+ The depth and size of the grip. Fits my hand perfectly.
+ Size of the camera (not overly big but not tiny).
+ Build quality seems pretty solid but I wouldn't take it out in the rain
+ Settings for just about everything (e.g. the size of Medium and Small sized JPGs can be customized!)
+ wireless flash communication
+ Price
+ Battery life

Things that are so-so:
* Focus speed seems average
* There are alot of settings to know about. Luckily the dpreview review does a good job going through them.
* IQ seems about average (images need sharpening)

Opinion: I have used this camera for six months now. I had bought it - at a very low price - to upgrade from my beloved E- 500, to get better image quality in high ISO and DR.
So, here is my assessment, comparing with the E 500:
- Construction is slightly cheaper
- The so called “hyper crystal” screen of the E 500 was more scratch resistant !

- I find the shutter noisy. Don’t hope to shoot discretely in concert hall with this camera, except if you are a fan of hard rock. The shutter of the E 500, which is not top level on this regard, is more pleasant and smooth (did I say “musical” ?)

- ISO scale setting is not incremental as it was on E 500 (possibility to set up sensitivity by 1/3 EV steps – some people think it is useless but I liked it very much. I agree that it was more useful with E-500, noise of which appears very quickly (400 ISO).

So, what is worthy with this camera? What about IQ? After all, it is the most important, isn’t it? Well, I can assert: the MOS sensor of the E-520 performs really better. Colours remain … Olympus like, i.e. beautiful! Out-of-the-box JPEGs look pretty natural (if you avoid “vivid” setting!) and need less post processing than JPEGs from E500.
As for DR and electronic noise, there is obviously a significant step forwards! 800 ISO A3 size are quite acceptable! Better than 400 ISO with E-500. Furthermore, noise spots are less chromatic and smaller. I have not really tested at 1600 ISO, but I practically never use it. So, on this point this camera meets my expectations.
The viewfinder (small due to the 4/3 sensor) looks a little brighter than on the previous Oly 4xx and 5xx cameras.
Some consumers complain that the pictures are not crisp enough, compared with E 510 for example. It’s a question of taste. They are slightly smoother, indeed, but I like. It’s more film like…and you can set up sharpness, anyway.

So, I wanted, above all, better IQ and stabilization (works very well indeed). And I am satisfied! But some above mentioned steps backward are a little bit frustrating.
I will not give appreciation about live view: I find it useless.

Last point: I use the “old” 14/45 zoom lens of my E 500 which I find much better than the 14/42 mm.

Opinion: The 2 lens kit at 477.00 is hard to beat.

Build quality is top notch.

I really like how Olympus loads down their entry models with features often not seen until mid range models.

Opinion: Having had an Oly early point and shoot I was familiar with the Oly menu system. A
good and competent user out of the box. With the FL-36R flash in radio mode and
a simple diffuser does remarkable flash photography. Have shot with a Nikon 8400,
so comaparitively, the menu system is just as easy. Image stabilization works well.
To shoot in low like with ISO over 400 you have to like grain.

All in all, pleased with the camera.