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Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Digital SLR Camera with CCD Shift Image Stabilization and 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 and 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 Zuiko Lenses

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Product Description U) OLYMPUS E-510 2 ZOOM OUTFIT Reviews First of all, don't buy this camera before looking at prices on the newer model E-520. I just saw newer E-520 for less than the price I see listed on this item (subject to change over time, of course). I'll continue with a comment or two on this model in case you have a chance to get a steal of a price on a used one. I've had my E-510 for almost three years now and have loved using it and learning about photography with it. I've gotten some spectacular shots with it. Blah blah, I'm sure you can find detailed specs and glowing praise in other reviews. I just want to comment on the two things that irritate me about this camera. First, the higher ISO settings are pretty much unusable due to the ridiculous amount of noise and banding you'll see in areas that aren't extremely well lit. Olympus DSLRs are notorious for this problem. I'd love to see them make a breakthrough in their sensors before I upgrade cameras because I've invested in this system. But if they don't do something drastic to increase the usability of the higher ISO settings, I'm going to abandon them for Nikon. Second, the exposure bracketing makes HDR photography painful to attempt. You can only take three bracketed exposures in a row and then only 1 EV apart from each other. I found out about HDR technique a only few months after buying this camera and then began regretting having chosen this one. Live and learn. Otherwise, if you aren't bothered by those two shortcomings, and you aren't planning to be a pro shooter, you will probably LOVE this little DSLR. It's been great in just about every other way. I've had this DSLR for two years now. So far this E510 has survived three different countries - Micronesia, Kuwait and Afghanistan. I like this camera but it is not perfect. I had trouble getting used to the Camera's white-balance - light spots in the photos were always over-exposed until I had a friend show me how to use the camera in program mode. The predialed modes are not very good outside in direct sunlight. The dust reduction system I don't really understand. Only after a few months there was dust inside the lens and the body it's self. I don't see how it cleans its self. The camera feels good in the hand and is smaller than a lot of DSLRs - I like that. The flash system is a bit slow, though. I don't like that. Over all this camera is a good beginner camera to learn from with the intent of jumping into semi-pro, pro DSLR models. I jumpled from my Canon S3 IS to this...I didn't like this DSLR over the Canon S3 IS - I will never buy Olympus again, though, simply because of the overexposure problems of light areas within every photo unless you play with settings here and there to compensate. I'm going back to Canon and my next purchase is the 7D with some very good quality lenses. I've been an Olympus fan since the OM line was introduced. In fact, I resisted making the digital switch until just 18 months ago. The E-330 was my first Digital SLR and it gave me pixel-fever... more megapixels please! The E-510 does it all. It provides a fully automatic that anyone can use or, extreme manual control for the pro. Coupled with OLY digital lenses, I gave an exhaustive test using the kit lenses for macro photography to scenics that just blows me away. Making the switch from the OM to the E-series was surprisingly painless. Even though there is much more capability and options, they make sense and are convenient. Many times I don't have to look at the body, fingers just know where to go for a feature/option. Once I started buying better lenses, it continued to provide amazing results. Above all others I highly recommend the Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 SWD. The other I use extensively is the Zuiko Digital ED 14-54mm F2.8 Come on Nikon and Canon users, I welcome a shootout any day. Next was the coupled flashes... even though there is an incredible amount of flexibility and control with the "built-in" flash I still went with the FL-50 unit and I depend on it for weddings. Great range, consistently good exposures, even more flexibility and control. A brief departure to the E-520. Bought it. Returned it. Sorry Olympus, you blew it big time. The E-510 consistently shoots better and you can depend on the image being there. Not so for the next generation. I'll never give up my E-510 until it dies... maybe I'd better buy one and keep it stored. The E-620 is my next purchase. The additional features on it are unbelievable at the price. Test reviews are very good. Gotta have one to keep my E-510 company. Any one want to by an E-330? I purchased the Olympus Digital SLR to replace my point-and-shoot so I could get better quality photographs of my grandson's high school wrestling matches... all indoors under widely varying light conditions and at varying distances. I am a photography neophyte so have spent much time reading and studying the manual... there are so many features that it took me quite a while to determine which ones were most important for my needs, but the manual is detailed and well-written and I finally got all the settings correct. I am getting excellent quality photographs. I use mostly AUTO settings, but do switch to aperture and shutter speed settings from time to time. I haven't used the camera for scenic photos, such as when I am on vacation, so can't comment on that yet. The extra 150mm lens comes in handy when I have to stay in the bleachers during the matches... but the aperture is only 5.0 so lighting is an issue. I purchased an external flash unit which helps some. I would have no hesitation recommending this camera.