Well, I did bite the bullet. Last Saturday I placed an order with hhgregg for
an E-510 two lens kit. With their regular $50 discount and a $100 off coupon,
it was $150 off list price. Picked it up this afternoon and headed to the local
zoo with my son and daughter (plus wives and grandchildren). Both son and
daughter purchased E-510 kits before I did. We wanted to check them out. I used
the 40-150mm kit lens. For a standard lens, it gives excellent results. I
expect no less from the 14-42 kit lens. (I also have the 14-54 and 50-200
zooms.) My son used the 50-200. The walk around the zoo was quite pleasurable.
The camera with lens is very light weight and easy on the back and/or shoulder.
To say the least, I am r-e-a-l-l-y impressed with the E-510. At 74, I am not as
steady as I used to be. Imagine my pleasure at being able to get tack sharp
hand-held shots at F4.0, ISO 100, 1 sec. with IS on. (In-house experiment.)
Olympus' IS works folks! at the zoo, the kit lens did a great job when I
focused properly. (I prefer to use center focus most of the time.) Both AF and
manual focus work well. My son feels that the LCD image is a bit soft. I don't
think so, but then most things look a bit soft to me. <G> The diopter
adjustment is a boon for old eyes. The LCD image can be magnified up to14X.
That's handy for checking focus. The controls seem well placed for my use.
YMMV.
The auto setting will only select up to ISO 400, but ISO can be manually set to
800 and 1600. ISO 1600 looks quite good and usable. It has the look some of the
faster films. (I know. I know--usable ISO 1600 may not seem such a big deal
with some of you C*non and N*kon users since you can use 3200, but how much did
you pay for your image stabilized camera and two lenses?) ;o)
The E-510 has a noise filter with low, standard and high settings. It also has
automatic noise reduction for long exposures (i.e. night scenes). For very slow
shutter speeds, it has an anti-shock function to control vibrations by altering
the interval between mirror lift and shutter release. It can be set to operate
within a range of 1 to 30 seconds. All in all, it seems to be a versatile piece
of equipment. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes, I would and I have.
;o) I own and make good use of an E-500, but the IS and ISO 1600 capability of
the E-510 will relegate the E-500 to backup much of the time.
If Olympus continues to make improvements (better low light auto focus) and add
features (ISO 3200) to the upcoming E-(?), plus giving it the dust proofing,
moisture proofing and rugged features of the E-1, it is going to be one heck of
a camera. If the price is right, it will offer extraordinary value to a lot of
photographers. That should make the wait worth while. The ZD lenses are
first-rate. (And there's all that legacy glass out there just waiting for a
second chance.)
It looks as though Olympus may not be as foolish as some anti-4/3rds people
have thought. Apparently you can get quite acceptable results from a 4/3rds
sensor. I'm betting that acceptance of the E-410 and E-510 will cause Olympus
to bring out the E-(?) very soon. I suspect that Olympus is finalizing features
and software. The E-510 is probably a test camera for several E-(?) features.
Or--Olympus may simply be waiting for manufacturing time after the E-410 and
E-510 production runs have been made.
IMHO, those whose pockets are less deep might find the E-510 worth considering.
Others might hold out just a wee bit longer for the E-(?) debut. It is nice to
have a choice.
Robert
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