Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
Trusted Reviews has posted a review of the Olympus E-520.
The improvements, particularly the new image stabilisation mode and autofocus accuracy of Live Modes show that these important technologies are still being perfected, and the latest versions on the E-520 are pretty much as good as they get at the moment.
You can read more about the new camera on Photography Bay’s Olympus E-520 page.
DC Views has reviewed the 18x optical zoom Olympus SP-570 UZ.
It can capture nice wide angle shots of landscapes or interiors while the tele lens is long enough to capture that bird on a wire as well. Handling is excellent and image quality is very good. Add to this a good image stabilisation system, shadow adjustment and face detection, and lots of manual control.
Camera Labs has posted a review of the new Olympus E-420 entry-level DSLR.
Indeed while being perfectly suitable as a primary DSLR, the E-420 and pancake lens will equally appeal to those with larger DSLRs looking for a secondary, smaller option – even if they use a different brand. These people may have been considering enthusiasts compacts like the Canon G9 or Sigma DP1, but by going only a little larger they could enjoy a fully-fledged DSLR with the power and flexibility that brings.
For the latest news and reviews, check out Photography Bay’s Olympus E-420 Reviews and Resources page.
Some of the first sample images from the new Olympus E-520 are now available over at DSLR User. The 10 megapixel E-520 is the successor to the popular Olympus E-510 and features a number of upgrades. You can read more about the new camera on Photography Bay’s Olympus E-520 page.
Photexels has posted a review of the new Olympus E-420.
The Olympus EVOLT E-420 is a good choice if you are thinking of upgrading from your point-and-shoot digicam. It is compact and light and comes closest to working like a P&S: its Live View pretty much works like on your P&S digicam; and, it has AUTO mode, plus easy-to-use Scene Modes, that make it point-and-shoot easy to capture great photos.
For the latest news and reviews, check out Photography Bay’s Olympus E-420 Reviews and Resources page.
Camera Labs has posted a full review of the Olympus E-3 DSLR.
The viewfinder and AF are two usual scapegoats, but with the E-3, Olympus has significantly improved both. The tunnel-vision of earlier Four Thirds viewfinders has been upgraded to a large and bright experience that inspires you to use the 4:3 aspect ratio. The older basic 3-point AF system has been replaced by a new 11-point system which with the right lens and conditions can perform extremely quickly.
For the latest news and reviews on the E-3, visit Photography Bay’s Olympus E-3 Reviews and Resources page.
The Olympus E-520 is the successor to the popular Olympus E-510. The new DSLR follows the recent announcement of the Olympus E-420, which served as the successor to the E-410. The new E-520 carries on the Four Thirds lens mount, which means a 2x crop factor for all lenses.
The E-520 faces stiff competition in the increasingly-ubiquitous sub-$700 digital SLR category, and although it possesses a number of enticing elements, it lacks key differentiators to elevate it significantly above its rivals.
While the marriage of simplicity and complexity in the E-520 may not be an entirely smooth one, it’s one that makes the snapper a very attractive camera for the transitional photographer who wants to leave point-and-shoot land behind but not lose sight of its shores entirely.
Combine the E-520’s minimal size and built-in image stabilization and you’ve got what I believe is one of the best backpacking cameras available.
This is a good transitional camera for anyone wanting to progress to DSLR for the first time although it does have some minor limitations that should be considered and, I imagine in many cases, overlooked.
The level of customizability is astonishing for the price, both in terms of the function of external buttons and the ability to fine-tune the output of the camera to perfectly suit your subject, shooting style and personal preferences.
There’s one of the best Live View modes on the market (with auto focus), a good image stabilization system that’s built into the body, comprehensive presets and a high degree of customizability and control. However, the test results for noise levels, white balance and dynamic range were so poor that they dragged down an otherwise good camera.
On the surface, the new Olympus E-520 looks very similar to the 1-year old E-510 model that it replaces. The E520 retains some key features from its predecessor; the same 10 megapixel LiveMOS sensor, Supersonic Wave Filter, and body-integrated image stabilisation are all present and correct. What have Olympus added then to tempt you to part with £500 / $750 of your hard-earned cash? There’s a bigger 2.7 inch LCD screen, 3.5fps continuous shooting speed, the introduction of Shadow Adjustment Technology, Face Detection and more convenient auto-focus options in Live View, and wireless TTL flash control. Zoltan Arva-Toth finds out if the evolutionary Olympus E-520 has enough new features to survive in the cut-throat world of the entry-level DSLR market.
The image quality of the Olympus E-520 is solid as a rock, leaving no other option than to go to the closest dealer and make your acquaintance with this camera. How that will work out, is up to you, we have been convinced already!
Indeed while the competition now offers some key features you should carefully weigh-up, we can still confidently award the E-520 the Highly Recommended rating of its predecessor. If you’re shopping for a new DSLR at this price-point, it should be on your shortlist.
In terms of overall approach, the E-520 may well be the most flexible consumer DSLR we’ve reviewed this year: whereas the Nikon D60 proved to be an excellent first SLR, and new models from Canon and Pentax have aimed to appeal to a slightly more advanced audience, the E-520 does both at once.
The improvements, particularly the new image stabilisation mode and autofocus accuracy of Live Modes show that these important technologies are still being perfected, and the latest versions on the E-520 are pretty much as good as they get at the moment.
If you’re buying online, I recommend sticking with Amazon, B&H Photo or Adorama. These three vendors are reliable, trustworthy and generally have the best (legitimate) prices.
PhotoToday.net has posted a review of the Olympus FE-340.
The Olympus FE-340 packs a lot of features in a very small camera at a fair price. It’s fully capable of making good basic photos, the type that most families will use the FE-340 for. A few of the newer features like its “Smile” mode need more work, but the job of taking pictures of the kids can be done using the basic features of the camera.
Olympus UK apparently slipped up and posted the model number of the forthcoming successor to the Olympus E-510 on an info page regarding image quality. The offending text has been removed; however, this is the passage that was purportedly published by Olympus:
So that you don’t need to carry a heavy tripod or invest extra money into every single stabilised lens, Olympus integrated a built-in image stabiliser into the camera body of the E-3, E-510 and E-520. It stabilises up to 5 EV steps (up to 4 EV steps with the E-510 and E-520), making it the most effective solution on the market.
You can see the can see the redacted version of the page here. Note that the “and E-520” is gone, which makes the listing of “E-3, E-510” read awkward since there is a comma in a list of only two items. The cached version of the page shows this current version as well. (via dslruser.co.uk)
Since the E-420 was just recently released, the follow-on of the E-520 certainly comes as no surprise. We’ll keep our ears to the ground and pass along the latest news and rumors on the Olympus E-520 when it arrives.
Trusted Reviews has published its review of the flagship Olympus E-3.
What the Olympus E3 brings to the table is excellent images, a great build quality, and a lovely user experience, but fails to match the innovation of the E-1, or even other models from the Olympus range. Instead it’s taken the best bits, refined them and put them all into a very usable camera.
For the latest news and reviews on the E-3, visit Photography Bay’s Olympus E-3 Reviews and Resources page.