Olympus E-520

Olympus E-520 is a new, refreshed version of once quite innovative and popular Olympus E-510.

Intro:
Olympus E-520 is very customizable, surprisingly feature packed  and affordable DSLR for  beginners and semi-professionals. The camera follows the way paved by E-510 by offering what the older model had best and improving some of its not-so-good features. So, now the Olympus E-520 has a larger screen, 10 megapixels, very high build-quality and compact size.


Olympus E-520 pros:
+ Good image quality at low ISO settings
+ In-body image stabilization
+ Control panel display allows quick access to the important shooting parameters
+ Snappy performance
+ Comprehensive control over noise/detail balance (Noise filter)
+ Choice of AF mode in Live View
+ Mirror lock-up with custom delay
+ Live view can mimic exposure or auto-brighten
+ Excellent magnification in Live View (useful for manual focus/macros)
+ Supersonic Wave Filter ensures no dust on sensor
+ Good Compact Flash write performance with fast CF cards
+ In-camera JPEG image editing
+ Quality kit lens

Olympus E-520 cons:
- Dynamic range limited compared to the rest of class
- Small viewfinder
- Occasionally inconsistent operation
- Comparatively soft image output in JPEG and RAW
- Disappointing high ISO performance
- Menu structure (fortunately you don’t have to use it too often)
- Auto white balance and presets not brilliant
- LCD could be a little brighter
- LCD turns monochrome and noisy in low light
- Image parameters only offer limited latitude around the default settings
- Unreliable flash exposure
- Auto focus provides only three focus points


The design:
Olympus E-520 measures 5.4 in. (W) x 3.6 in.(H) x 2.7 in. D / 136 mm (W) x 91.5 mm (H) x 68 mm (D) and weights 16.8 oz, or 475 grams. As I mentioned before the camera is made of very high quality materials and it feels not only very comfortable but also solid. At the back of the camera you will find the 2.7-inch LCD screen with excellent 176° viewing angle, as well as plenty of customizable buttons. At the bottom of Olympus E-520 is the metal tripod socket, whereas at the top is the pop-up flash, the mode dial. On the right is the handgrip with the shutter release button and the 1500mAH battery port.

Performance:
Olympus E-520 produces vivid and sharp images in most conditions. Considering its price it is also a remarkable low light performer, although is too dark areas you might get monochrome photos. Noise reduction and Optical Image Stabilization system both work fine although the latter could be a bit better. The Olympus E-520 has three different AutoFocus modes in Live View, several predefined Picture Modes and plenty of customizable features such as Gradation, Noise Filter, Sharpness, Saturation, Contrast, Picture Tones and others, so after a few days of testing the camera you should get very good results.
The Olympus E-520’s battery suffices for about 500 shots, and takes about 5 hours to charge.

Menus / ease of use:
The menu system in Olympus E-520 is quite discouraging. Because of its overwhelming number of adjustable features the submenus are often long and difficult predict. Fortunately, thanks to the plenty of customizable buttons and the ‘Super control panel’ which gives direct access to many shooting settings you will not have to delve into the menus too often. So despite the complex menu system the Olympus E-520 is quite user friendly and after some time with the camera you don’t mind the menus and appreciate the number of adjustments is allows you to make.
Along with the Olympus E-520 camera in the box you get:
ED 14-42mm Zoom lens, Li-ion Battery BLM-1, Li-ion battery charger BCM-2, USB 2.0 cable, Video cable, Shoulder strap, OLYMPUS Master 2 CD-ROM, Instruction Manual, Registration card, Eyepiece cap EP-4, Lens and Body Caps, Lens Hood.

Selected Olympus E-520 specifications:
Sensor

10 megapixel Live MOS, Four Thirds format (17.3×13.0mm)
Lens/Zoom
Four Thirds system mount, 2x crop factor
LCD/Viewfinder
2.7″, 230K-pixel HyperCrystal II TFT LCD; optical viewfinder
Sensitivity
ISO 100-1600
Shutter Speed
60-1/4000 seconds
Shooting Modes
Auto, Program, Apeture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Scene
Metering Modes
Digital ESP, Center-Weighted Average, Spot
Focus Modes
3-point TTL phase-difference detection system, 11-point contrast detection AF; Single AF, Continuous AF, Manual Focus, S-AF+MF, C-AF+MF
Drive Modes

Single Frame, Sequential
Flash Modes
Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Red-Eye Reduction with Slow Sync, First Curtain Slow Sync, Second Curtain Slow Sync, Fill, Manual, Forced Off
Self Timer Settings
10 seconds, 2 seconds, Off
Memory Formats
CompactFlash Type I/II, Microdrive, xD-Picture Card
Internal Memory
None
File Formats
JPEG, RAW
Max. Image Size
3648×2736
Max. Video Size
N/A
Zoom During Video
N/A
Battery
Lithium ion rechargeable
Connections
USB 2.0, AV output, DC input
Additional Features
Face Detection, Shadow Adjustment Technology, Perfect Shot Preview, Live View, TruePic III image processor