Olympus Evolt E-510 First Thoughts Review

The diminutive Olympus E-510 looks and feels much like its iconic 35mm OM series predecessors, but the similarities end there.  The E510 may be the ultimate bridge camera; an imaging device that almost perfectly spans the gap between prosumer P&S (point & shoot) consumer digicams like the Canon Powershot S5 IS and mid-level digital SLRs like the Canon EOS 5D.  The E-510 has all the bells and whistles users have come to expect from high-end prosumer digicams, but it also provides all the creative flexibility one expects from a dSLR system camera.

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The feature rich E-510 is a Four Thirds format 10 megapixel dSLR with on-board (works with any lens mounted) mechanical/digital image stabilization and a cutting edge Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system. More important to P&S digicam users graduating to modular imaging platform, the E-510 sports a new N-MOS (CMOS) sensor that allows (unlike the vast majority of dSLRs) the bright (230,000-pixel) 2.5-inch LCD screen to be used for composing images. 

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Equally impressive is the E-510’s ergonomic footprint - this digital camera is as compact and easy to use as many of today’s long zoom P&S digital cameras.  Consumers who like the convenience and immediacy of P&S prosumer digicams will adore the E510.    Construction is robust (polycarbonate body shell over a metal alloy frame) and all controls are logically placed and easily accessed - plus the E-510 provides direct access to white balance, AF mode, ISO/sensitivity, and metering options.  This snazzy little dSLR is targeted at serious amateurs and was obviously designed by photographers for photographers. 

As a dSLR, the E-510 can hold its own nicely when compared to its rivals (the Nikon D80, the Canon 30D, the Pentax K10D, and the Sony A100) and is available in a competitively priced body only version, or with a surprisingly good Olympus Zuiko Digital f/3.5-f5.6/14-42mm (28- 84mm equivalent) ED kit lens, or (two lens kit) with the 14mm-42mm and an Olympus Zuiko Digital f4.0-f5.6/40-150mm (80mm – 300mm equivalent) zoom.  

Stay tuned for our full review, coming soon!

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