As compact cameras continue to evolve into commodity items, camera makers have shifted the way they approach their entry-level digital SLRs.
In Olympus' case, the E-410 and E-510 include Live View LCD preview mode to mimic the way you frame a shot with a compact camera and scene presets in case you're not comfortable enough to set exposure using the program, aperture- and shutter-priority, and manual shooting modes that are the norm among SLR shooters.
Of course, those modes are still available in the E-510, and can give you the same level of exposure control you find in other SLRs.
Design
Olympus thinks of the E-510 as a small step above the E-410 and thinks that it should appeal to dSLR newbies (or possibly former film SLR owners) that want more of a traditional SLR design than its smaller sibling.
While the E-410 has an extremely compact body design with almost no grip so it can fit into a pocket if you take the lens off, the E-510 has a more prominent grip, making for a slightly larger body. Not only that, the E-510 also includes mechanical, sensor-shift image stabilisation, which the E-410 lacks.
Like most newer entry-level SLRs, the E-510 doesn't include a separate status LCD. Instead, you can access info, such as shutter speed, aperture and ISO, on the camera's main LCD screen. While we normally prefer a status LCD to this method, we do like the way Olympus built its status screen, since you can quickly navigate through the screen to change any of the settings included in that view.
Of course, there are also hard buttons for commonly changed settings, such as ISO, white balance and AF mode, in case you want to bypass the status screen, which you access by pressing the OK button in the middle of the five-way touchpad.
The layout of buttons on the E-510 is very nice, making it a comfortable camera to use, though like most entry-level SLRs, its body is a tad short, and our last finger dangles from the bottom of the grip when we hold it.
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Jaffa-son 22 July 2008
Good: The live view facility and the ease of setting camera modes
Bad: The digital lens (14-42mm) quality seem inferior to OM system lenses
Comment: Having owned an OM-2 & OM30 and built up a collection of OM lenses over the last 20 years I wanted to upgrade our Canon 4MP A80 to a digital SLR. I purchased an E-510 with 14-42 lens Jan 08 and gambled by acquiring an MF-1 adaptor and testing these old lenses.
Don't get me wrong here the 14 - 42mm is a fine lens and gives excellent results. I find A4 size prints are close in quality to those of my OM2/50mm F1.4 camera. The camera has just about adjustable everything and I am still learning/experimenting with it. The up to 10x zoom facility on the LCD is really useful to check after each shot.
Now before I sell off my OM lens collection (at a fraction of the cost - I sold a now vintage car to buy one of them) and start building a collection of digital lenses I want to be sure that its the best option!
Yes with these lenses/MF-1 adaptor you do lose the auto mode and in manual mode you have to focus and then stop down (with the longer focal lenses). Having the LCD screen on its brightest setting aids the use of these lenses.
The results with the 65 - 200mm (130 - 400mm on the E-510 body) are excellent. Even with the 2x-A converter fitted making the top end 800mm and using a tripod and additional lens support (the E-510 is not as rigid as the old OM's) the results are very impressive.
A direct comparison performance of the 50mm F1.4 (100mm on the E-510, stopped to F5.6) with the 14 - 42mm (F3.5 - 5.6) set at 84mm showed the OM lens capable of producing an A3 print with the same detail and definition of the digital at A4 size on my premium quality HP printer with several close and distant subjects. (This testing cost me a 57 & 58 cartridge (£40)!
Conclusion - this may be of interest to others out there with old OM lens collections. There is life in them yet with the E-510/MF-1 adaptor.
If you have no OM kit the E-510 is a great camera but I cannot comment on the longer focal zoom lens. I find up to A4 print size this digital camera produces as good as most analog SLR prints and results are very good when displayed on a 40 inch Sony HD
I have just purchased a 10MP Leica D-Lux 3 (for the wife) so I can see a further review coming on in a few weeks time.
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