Chris Pirson
Member
I purchased this camera a few weeks ago after several months of research into DSLRs. I had 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 comes with (in this guise) 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 on paper.
In the real world things are different, of course. 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. However, here is perhaps my only criticism of the initial settings when you first turn the camera on. Olympus have tried to reduce image noise by having the noise filter set to medium by default. The noise filter is very effective however it does lead to a lack of fine clarity in the image. Olympus has countered this by altering the sharpness of the image. Effectively the camera takes slightly soft images which it then attempts to sharpen digitally in it's default settings.
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 (as recommended here) 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, apart from the default noise reduction settings, 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 (one is now available via the Olympus software that comes bundled with the camera which aids autofocus through a macro lens and smartens up the image stabiliser even further). 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 even consider purchasing any of the competitors which all sit in a class below.
Problems:
None
The Olympus comes with (in this guise) 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 on paper.
In the real world things are different, of course. 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. However, here is perhaps my only criticism of the initial settings when you first turn the camera on. Olympus have tried to reduce image noise by having the noise filter set to medium by default. The noise filter is very effective however it does lead to a lack of fine clarity in the image. Olympus has countered this by altering the sharpness of the image. Effectively the camera takes slightly soft images which it then attempts to sharpen digitally in it's default settings.
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 (as recommended here) 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, apart from the default noise reduction settings, 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 (one is now available via the Olympus software that comes bundled with the camera which aids autofocus through a macro lens and smartens up the image stabiliser even further). 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 even consider purchasing any of the competitors which all sit in a class below.
Problems:
None