Olympus e-510 DSLR

[rah]

Any E-510 users?
Looking for user experiences please.
I am tossing up between d80 and E510.
The e-510 appeals due to a good inbuilt IS and reputed excellent kit lens.

Just worried about dynamic range and Imgae quality, Looking for sharp, detailed well exposed images.

ON paper this is the perfect camera for me for a great price. My worry is how little people seem to be using it or talking about it.

[Ivanerrol]

Buy the D80

[shutterbug]

D80

[sirhc55]

rah - the Olympus has some impressive features but all I can suggest is to hold them both and let your intuition be the decider. The camera is not the be all of photography - the person is more important

[PiroStitch]

go the d80 if you're looking for a long term investment. There's nothing wrong with the Olympus, just that the d80 will probably allow you a lot more room to move in the future if you want to expand on lenses, etc.

[rah]

I am seriously leaning towards the d80 but i am tempted by the following

1. I like IS in body
2. The 4/3 lens are compact as is the e-510 body
3. I like live view (although I am aware of its limitations on the e-510)


I am just waiting on more reviews and user experiences before I decide.
I will hold and try both but initially it will be mostly point and shoot anyway. It will take many hours of use before I could say I like the lay out and feel for more advanced usage.


I greatly appreciate all the comments.
Are there any e510 users here though?

[gstark]

1. I like IS in body

Careful you don't tread in that smelly pile of marketing .....

IS/VR needs to behave differently based upon the characteristics of the glass it's being used upon. Further, you don't need it on many shorter focal lengths.

On the subject of glass ....

2. The 4/3 lens are compact as is the e-510 body

And your selection is as wide and varied as ....

er ....

um ....

Oh, yes, there's not much glass around for the 4/3 system is there?

In your original post you made the correct observation that there's not too much info available on the Oly. With very good reason ....

If you do not see yourself taking your photgraphy seriously, then by all means, get the Oly they used to make great film cameras.

If you see that potentially you may want to go deeper, into photography then an Oly purchase will be a short-sighted decision, because you will, at some future point, buy either a Nikon or a Canon.

Are there any e510 users here though?

I suspect that they have a very lonely existence. I don't believe that any have been seen in captivity.

[ziggy]

510 looks to be a excellent piece of gear.

I have 2 E system bodies, and regard them extremely highly.

The DR and noise argument extremely overblown, I would put the older bodies on a par with a D70 for noise , and the newer bodies have adjustable noise filtering, allowing the user to choose.

As for lenses, It has more available lenses than a D40(x) could use, all of them very good to excellent, but priced accordingly. The only real shortfall now is a cheaper wide angle but promised for next year.

As for users , why bother posting on a Nikon board Im too busy taking photos.

But seriously you cannot buy a bad DSLR in any brand


Read this guys review and general e system info.

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/index.html

[gstark]

Ziggy,

Two points.

As for users , why bother posting on a Nikon board Im too busy taking photos.

This board ceased being a Nikon-centric board about two years ago. I would respectfully suggest that you bring yourself up-to-date with where this board lies in terms of its members' camera ownership.

And, indeed, the general market, which doesn't seem to be buying Olympus in any serious numbers, despite the fact that Oly have been known to make some very good cameras.

Had you come to our dinner last Saturday night, you might have noticed that more than half of the remotes and batteries given away went to Canon owners.

And please ensure that you bring your location, in your profile, into line with our requirements.

But seriously you cannot buy a bad DSLR in any brand

I would beg to differ, but no, it's not Olympus that I'm thinking of.

[Ivanerrol]

If you are going to go off the big two, consider Pentax

(a) Cheap
(b) They can use virtually every 35mm lens that Pentax and Takumar ever made. Plus a huge amount of other manufacturers K mount and M42 lenses
(c) Anti shake on all lenses.
(d) Is not 2 x times crop like Oly.

Otherwise D80

[rah]

looks to be the d80 then.
The pentax has had so so reviews from what I can see.

Thanks anyway.
Not buying straight away so still keen to hear from any olympus users if they are out there!


AT the moment just learning the art by playing around with my nikon coolpix 4500 and photoshop.

[Colcam]

I have just sold my brother a new 510 Olympus. He is very impressed with it. I have always used Nikon, but have a very healthy respect for Olympus gear and particularly their lenses. They have a very large range of lenses and accessories, plus you can draw on the lenses made by all of the other members of the 4:3 lens mount club including Leica and with an adaptor, the huge OM range of Zuiko lenses. A slightly smaller sensor, but the quality is there, so don't be afraid to break away from the Nikon/Canon line of thought. The images come from the eye, not the camera.

Give a PM and I will slip you my brother's email.
Col

[ziggy]

Ziggy,

Two points.

As for users , why bother posting on a Nikon board Im too busy taking photos.

This board ceased being a Nikon-centric board about two years ago. I would respectfully suggest that you bring yourself up-to-date with where this board lies in terms of its members' camera ownership.

Understand this, however there is minimal to no content for users of the "Other" brands here , and I would assume this and other reasons to be why "other" members are thin on the ground. Just because they dont post here does not mean they do not exist.

And, indeed, the general market, which doesn't seem to be buying Olympus in any serious numbers, despite the fact that Oly have been known to make some very good cameras.

Had you come to our dinner last Saturday night, you might have noticed that more than half of the remotes and batteries given away went to Canon owners.

And please ensure that you bring your location, in your profile, into line with our requirements.

Done

But seriously you cannot buy a bad DSLR in any brand

I would beg to differ, but no, it's not Olympus that I'm thinking of.

 PS Colcam, if you brother wants to try out some of the mid range lenses, I have the 50-200 , 11-22 18-50 sigma and teleconverter and 35 macro, let me know. I would be interested in seeing a 510 with IS on the 580mm equivalent of the 50-200+tc:)

[rah]

Thanks for the contact. I will PM you. I'd be interested in his experiences with this cam. Does he have much DSLR experience otherwise?

[gstark]

Ziggy,

Two points.

As for users , why bother posting on a Nikon board Im too busy taking photos.

This board ceased being a Nikon-centric board about two years ago. I would respectfully suggest that you bring yourself up-to-date with where this board lies in terms of its members' camera ownership.

Understand this, however there is minimal to no content for users of the "Other" brands here , and I would assume this and other reasons to be why "other" members are thin on the ground. Just because they dont post here does not mean they do not exist.

Again, you need to check your facts.

We have a very active and vibrant Canon section, and a large number of Canon users.

Including myself!

We have a sprinkling of Pentax users, but not enough, as yet, to justify them having their own exclusive section.

We have about four KM users, and probably a similar number of Olympus users. Hardly sufficient to justify their own section of the forum, I would respectfully suggest.

I suspect that we have more film users than KM + Oly + Pentax combined.

[aswcheng]

Any E-510 users?
Looking for user experiences please.

This is not exactly answering your query, but I saw an old E-500 selling for $650 at the Southland Harvey Norman a few days ago. It was an ex-display model, with twin lens (from memory, I think it was the 14-45 & 40-150).

Cheers,
Andy

[rah]

That is a good price however that camera doesnt have inbuilt IS and is 8megapixel and I dont think has live view.

They must be selling them off cheap due to the recent e510 release.