| Brand: | Olympus | ||
| Average Rating |
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The Olympus E-520 delivers brilliant results thanks to advanced technologies that produce clear, sharp images. The E-520′s industry-leading Image Stabilization technology, which is built into the camera body, compensates for movement so you can capture blur-free shots with any lens – even at slow shutter speeds. Autofocus Live View brings subjects into sharp focus; it is the perfect tool for macro, portrait or even landscape shooting. This camera was built to produce amazing results for photo hobbyists and serious digital photographers alike. more info
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Often overlooked, Research is rewarded
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Nikon and Canon get most of the attention when it comes to the dSLR market. And for good reason. They are great cameras. But they might not be the perfect choice for everyone. I submit that this camera competes completely with anything Canon and Nikon can bring at this price point. With features like anti-shake in the camera and several scene modes, this camera makes life a little easier for folks in a hurry. I was suprised at how well this camera is able to pull in really good shots on the fly.
Great Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
my first slr and i love it,great picture quality and easy to use!but i still have to learn more about this camera.
Shooting into a crowd
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
For the beginning to mid range photographer this is a great deal. The body is around $500, the lenses can be $100 each.
The camera is real good in manual. However I have a lot of trouble with the scene or auto modes. The flash comes up and it is confusing why it won’t take the shot sometimes. Long story short, the auto metering system is too stupid for its own good.
In manual there can be a little noise at expected setting but noise filter, reduction, shock, and Image stabilization leave you with no excuse for that to become a problem. The shutter can do 1/4000 to 60″/Bulb; overall a good range. Aperture is all in the body (the lenses don’t have manual aperture.) Focusing is excellent and many options are offered in that regard. There are good on board effects, sharpness, contrast, saturation, greyscale with tint balance, and many more.
The dust feature is priceless. The lenses come with respective hoods. CARD SOLD SEPARATELY (that one got had me biking up to Walmart 8 in the morning. Warning- the software for downloading is kinda sucky. I would just copy from removable disk.
Overall I say it’s a great camera for the hobbies, student, or superstar on the way up! I am of the opinion that this is one fully loaded, serious piece of equipment at the top it its class.
Great Camera, Great Lenses and Features Galore
and I can’t say enough good things about this camera or this combo.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The E-520 is my very first DSLR and I have had it now since April ’09 (the Easter Bunny brought it
The camera body is lightweight enough to carry all day without getting tired but sturdy enough to not feel “cheap”. The two kit lenses cover most of the distances the average user will want or need, and again neither one is a back-breaker. I use the 40-150mm when I am going to spend a day at the zoo to bring the animals closer to me (since they won’t let me get closer to them
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One really nifty feature that the camera offers is the ability to use Live View Boost to focus and frame pictures with an infrared filter in place on the front of the lens and to actually see what the camera will record. Pretty cool.
The controls are easy to use and I think the only challenge I have encountered where they are concerned is not in using them but in remembering what to use when and to remember what menu it is under. Fortunately, most of the things you will need most often (wb, AF, Flash, ISO, etc.) also have dedicated buttons easy to find right there on the camera body. You can also set your own custom profile combos to allow you to quickly switch from one set up to another without having to remember what you did the last time that you liked.
The 20 scene modes make life very easy especially when you are just starting out or if you don’t want to think and just want to shoot. And the ability (with the optional waterproof housing and light) to shoot underwater would be a really cool thing to do.
Color is great, clarity is great, the ability to remotely control the FL-36R or FL-50R flash units without having to have them attached to the camera by wires of any kind is great too.
A word about the proprietary XD card (the camera supports three different recording formats, CF, XD and Microdrive (But who uses those really?)) you can have the card in the camera in addition to the CF card and I would recommend having one just for the panoramic assist option which is only available if you use the XD card. The panoramic assist supports horizontal and vertical pans and the stitching software is built into the Olympus Master software that comes standard with the camera.
The only down side to having this camera is that you may find it difficult to find all the different lenses available at your local camera store (but there is always Amazon) as Nikon and Cannon have much better marketing. Oh, and one more word about lenses, you can get adapters which will allow you to use not only Olympus OM mount lenses from your SLR but also Pentax, Minolta, Nikon, Cannon, Miyama, and all the rest. Olympus only makes the OM mount adapter but you can find all the others aftermarket. You will need to be able to manually focus and set the f-stop on the lens itself as those features won’t be supported through the adapters but it sure opens up options.
Thank the gods for digital cameras!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I shopped and I compared before buying. While the E-520 is not my first SLR–I have owned and shot with Nikons and Canons for many years–it is my first Digital SLR. I am very comfortable with it. It is sturdy, good looking, flexible and efficient.
The main complaint I see regarding the E-520 is its ability to focus. That is a valid complaint. However…
First, every lens that Oly makes is different in its auto-focus characteristics. Yes, you will have to become familiar with each lens separately, but this is true of all SLR cameras and lenses.
Second, some lenses are better than others at AF. Most of the complaints I see come from birders, and they are probably using the 40-150 kit lens, or the 70-300 lens. These lenses do take some getting used to.
I was shocked when I received the 70-300. It’s a monster! But I have been able to focus on a wire 100 feet away, then move the camera and focus 200 yards beyond that within a split second; same with the 40-150 kit lens after a little practice.
In low light, I recommend that one ALWAYS focus manually.
As far as the quality of the image produced by the E-520 (once you master the focusing aspect), it is spectacular. I have spent hours comparing images from the E-520 to those from Nikons and Canons. There is virtually no difference. (Check out the review and compare images at: [...]
If you’re willing and able to spend $8000 for the top Nikon body (and another $10,000 or so for lenses), you will get that little bit of extra resolution and snappy auto-focus. But you didn’t spend $18,000 for the Olympus E-520.
Is it fair to buy a $25,000 Pontiac Solstice and expect it to perform like a $160,000 Ferrari?
The E-520 is an amazing camera. Period. Full stop. It’s even more amazing when you consider that you can buy it with two kit lenses and add the 50mm “Pro” lens and still have spent under $1000.
Happy shooting!
Very good but not perfect
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The pictures are slighlly darker and contrasty.This can be corrected with the special program that Olympus offer. The flash mode annoiying. The pictures are excellent.easy to handle and rugged!
Olympus E-520: Better technology for lesser price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have been using this for past one month now and havn’t had any problems with it yet. The pictures are sharp and colors captured are live, especially in the “Vivid” mode.
The advantage is In-body image stabilizer so you don’t have to buy lenses with IS, saves money on that front; and the body is smaller than the competitors, so is easy to handle too.
However, sometimes, the built-in flash interferes with the brightness of the image in auto-mode. It might be darker than it should be. But for the features you’re getting at the price, I would give it 5-star…
Have fun shooting
Execellant Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The pictures taken from this Camera came out wonderfully. I owned a Olympus Digital Camera earlier. On that strength I purchased this Olympus E520 and I feel that I did the best thing.
DSLR Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
One of the best cameras I have ever owned. No trouble so far and the quality of the photo’s is very good. On the downside it can be a little slow to focus at times. Perhaps I just need more practice using it.
Very Disappointed
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I have been an Olympus fan for a very long time. My first Olympus was the OM-1. I migrated to the OM-2 and then the OM-4. I also owned and used an OM-10 and Olympus XA. I’ve had excellent results with all of the film cameras. I’ve also been very pleased with my digital cameras from Olympus right up until I bought the E-520. I previously owned a C-3040 and still own (and love) a C-5060. I’ve been a loyal and enthusiastic Olympus fan.
The E-520 has been major disappointment. The principle reason is its auto focus. In almost all low contrast situations it has significant problems. This means(for example) that when trying to take shots of birds on an expanse of water the auto focus function will cycle back and forth repeatedly and then lock up making it impossible to take a picture. I have to turn the camera off and back on and then try to “fool” the auto focus or focus manually. This is a major hassle and often results in an opportunity missed. I recently took a cruise to Alaska and repeatedly faced this problem when shooting birds on the water, flags against a overcast sky, and the moon at night, etc.. I would not recommend this camera to anyone that wanted to take nature or landscape pictures.
When the auto focus works properly the pictures are excellent. The colors are crisp and as bright as they should be and the images are razor sharp. There is a possibility that the camera is defective and I intend to take my complaint directly to Olympus. I’ll update this review when they respond.
E520 is a great feature-packed entry level DSLR
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought my E-520 in November of 2008 and we purchased this second camera for my father.
As said before in many other reviews, the E-520 is a DSLR with full control over it’s features. In-body image stabilization works great and allows all 4/3rds lenses to be stabilized.
The E-520 pairs beautifully with the 50mm f/2.0 Zuiko Digital Macro.
The 14-42mm is a versatile wide angle and the 40-150mm is a great entry level telephoto.
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