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Table of Contents01. E-520 Home Page |
First Look Opinion
The E-520 has been speculated about since the E-420 was introduced. Some of the posts, be they dreams, or speculation have been entertaining. However, today Olympus has announced the E-520. It shares many of the same features as the E-410 and E-510 did a year ago. The E-520 is claiming to be very similar to the E-420. I must say that I am highly impressed with the E-420. Both are very high valued cameras, in terms of quality, and features for their price point. If you look at the E-420 preview and the E-520 preview you will see much of the same content (about 50% I would guess). The main part of the camera is the same. The same viewfinder, 3.5 FPS, 2.7" LCD, wireless flash controller, etc. I do not have version 1.0 firmware, so I cannot comment on the quality of the images, but I have the impression that it should be about the same file quality of the E-420 which for an entry level SLR is very good. In terms of Image quality, the E-420 blew away the E-410 so I believe that it will handle High ISO's better, with more detail, and less banding, as well provide a much greater dynamic range than the E-510. I do not use the liveview much, however, I am enjoyed this feature, and with the improved LCD think that I may use liveview much more in the future. The main draws for the E-520 are geared more towards the serious shooter, such as Shutter release priority, and built in Image Stabilization, and the extra place to grab onto the camera when shooting. I also believe that the camera is quicker to take the photo when I press the shutter than the previous camera generation. Finally if you are an underwater photographer, the E-520 looks to be a very impressive camera to take when diving, with the features of a large LCD, and the functionalities of an SLR. I think that I may have to pull out the tanks and go for a dip this summer with the camera. The E-510 won more awards than any other Olympus body to date, so I believe that the new E-520, which preforms even better than the E-510 will continue down that linage. If you are looking for a highly functional entry level camera which doesn't break the bank, the E-520 is a very fine camera. I have found very little to gripe about with the E-420, and I think that the E-520 will really help fill those features that people want. As for a vertical shutter release for the E-520, I do not know if we will see that or not, at least from Olympus. However, OwnUser has been making vertical shutter releases which perform very well, so I imagine that soon we will see at least a vertical shutter release from them soon. As for the new 9-18mm Olympus has finally announced a release date for this fall, which I believe will be another winner for the 4/3 system. It appears to be quite small, and yet will offer a very large Field of view. Without playing with the lens (it is still not available at this time) my first impression that it is quite expensive, however, it does use ED glass, so that must affect the price by quite a bit on the lens. Ultra wide angle lenses, are very difficult to make and work well in the digital world, so I look forward to being able to see and play with this lens in the near future before being able to comment any more on the subject. Once again Olympus has given a lot to the market, as the 4/3 system continues to mature. |
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