Digital Camera Reviews

The Olympus E-510 is a feature-packed 10 Megapixel DSLR based on the maturing Four Thirds standard. Announced alongside the tiny E-410 in March 2007, the new E-510 packs in a raft of features which include anti-dust, Live View, and built-in anti-shake facilities which work with any lens you attach; indeed it’s the very first Four Thirds DSLR to feature built-in stabilisation. It’s a powerful feature-set, and priced competitively against rival 10 Megapixel DSLRs.

The E-510 shares the same N-MOS sensor as the E-410, providing the Live View option which lets you compose with the main colour screen as an alternative to the traditional optical viewfinder.

Olympus Evolt E-510 Reviews from dcresource

What I liked:
* Excellent photo quality if you tweak the settings; minimal noise until ISO 1600 (with noise filter set to low)
* Optical image stabilization for every lens you attach
* Great value for the money
* Well built, easy-to-hold body
* Live view on LCD allows you to see 100% of the frame, preview white balance and exposure, and check focus (but see issues below)
* Dust reduction system
* Full manual controls (even more than on the E-410)
* Tons of scene modes (great for people migrating from point-and-shoots)
* RAW image format supported

What I didn’t care for:
* Soft photos at default settings (adjust the noise filter to fix that); occasional underexposure and dull colors
* Live view feature not as robust as on a fixed-lens camera: view is grainy and sluggish, difficult to see outdoors and in low light; adds 1 second of shutter lag if autofocus is on; not available in continuous shooting mode
* Low light focusing a little slow when flash is closed; camera seems to “give up” some times
* Setting custom white balance is more difficult than it should be
* RAW conversion software softens images, even when noise filter is turned off on the camera
* Flimsy plastic door over battery compartment comes off easily
* No AC adapter or battery grip available
* Slow battery charger included

Olympus Evolt E-510 Reviews From digitalcamerareview

Pros:
Excellent image quality, fast, very tweakable, good noise management, compact, easy to use, Live View LCD, excellent Dust Reduction system, full manual controls, and dual memory card slots

Cons:
Default images are a bit soft, there’s slight tendency toward underexposure, and no ability to immediately delete an image

Olympus Evolt E-510 Reviews From cnet

The good: Sensor-shift image stabilization; Live View mode (LCD preview) operation.

The bad: Sluggish autofocus; Subpar exposure and white-balance performance; some poor choices for default settings.

The bottom line: The Olympus Evolt E-510 has quirky exposure and white-balance issues, but its Live View and Image Stabilization modes may make some photographers give this SLR a chance.