All About The Olympus E-510 Thread

[spheredome]

I just purchased the E510-kit and write my first impression of this camera. I believed that every shortcome of any model can be compensated as user gets familar using it, with time. So this is my assessment on the feature points and I am new to dSLR.
As a user who don't like to see thru viewfinder, I felt better handling E510 :thumbsup: than D40x (sold). I must clarify that the D40x comparison is my own view (that what I had before).

-The E510 is overall a slow camera (from focus to save), so is not suitable for fast action shots. Liveview is neat feature for those who don't want to look thru view finder all the time but LV does not reflect the real picture lighting taken. You need to preview focus it to get the final brightness.To me its not as issue as my picture are mostly static.
- As mentioned in many reviews, LV cannot focus without flipping mirror down/up again.
- I consider it a mechanically noisy camera as it seemed to add many movement like flash assist tick tick sound, mirror flip from LV, dial button clicks and lens movement.
- The focus assist light is via flash which pop up whenever there is focus problem. Its irritating, imagine it flickering fast stream of light. Fortunately it can be turned off.
- The viewfinder is well spaced out and not crampy like D40X. And has DOP preview on LV too.
- The IS stabliser on LV is neat feature to see that it works.
- The menu are neater than D40X but don't come with help function.
- Battery compartment can run abit warm after some use.
- Overall if you are shooting people posing, avoid using LV focus preview or focus assist light as it can mislead into picture taken.
- The box package better organised than D40x which the former can be brain teasing when repacking back into box.
- I have no comment on picture quality.

 

[stjustin]

I just purchased the E510-kit and write my first impression of this camera. I believed that every shortcome of any model can be compensated as user gets familar using it, with time. So this is my assessment on the feature points and I am new to dSLR.
As a user who don't like to see thru viewfinder, I felt better handling E510 :thumbsup: than D40x (sold). I must clarify that the D40x comparison is my own view (that what I had before).

-The E510 is overall a slow camera (from focus to save), so is not suitable for fast action shots. Liveview is neat feature for those who don't want to look thru view finder all the time but LV does not reflect the real picture lighting taken. You need to preview focus it to get the final brightness.To me its not as issue as my picture are mostly static.
- As mentioned in many reviews, LV cannot focus without flipping mirror down/up again.
- I consider it a mechanically noisy camera as it seemed to add many movement like flash assist tick tick sound, mirror flip from LV, dial button clicks and lens movement.
- The focus assist light is via flash which pop up whenever there is focus problem. Its irritating, imagine it flickering fast stream of light. Fortunately it can be turned off.
- The viewfinder is well spaced out and not crampy like D40X. And has DOP preview on LV too.
- The IS stabliser on LV is neat feature to see that it works.
- The menu are neater than D40X but don't come with help function.
- Battery compartment can run abit warm after some use.
- Overall if you are shooting people posing, avoid using LV focus preview or focus assist light as it can mislead into picture taken.
- The box package better organised than D40x which the former can be brain teasing when repacking back into box.
- I have no comment on picture quality.

you should have bought sony:devil:

 

[spheredome]

I will write one more good thing about E510 here. Another nice feature is the test shot preview without saving (set via Fn menu option). You can preview the picture taken without saving (fast view). Another :thumbsup:

Sony model ..... shoo :bsmilie: (just kidding)

 

[bousozoku]

So, how soon are you returning the E-510? :bsmilie:

It seems that you're not interested in photography, if you concern yourself with how things go back into the box and how loud the camera is, but not about image quality.

I always thought the important part of using the camera was to produce photos, but I might be wrong about that. ;p

 

[blurboiboi]

hope to hear more from you about the cam...

if you wanna sell it for another cam... i am a potential buyer...

 

[microcosm]

Guys! There is a potential for this thread to turn into a flame thread... "should have bought Sony"..."I thought this camera for taking picture"... I know your intentions are good, or might simply be witty, but sometimes, the poster or people reading the thread might not see it this way, so let's refrain from going this direction yes? I don't want to work... please...

The thread starter (TS) did mention in his initial post that

I believed that every shortcome of any model can be compensated as user gets familar using it, with time. So this is my assessment on the feature points and I am new to dSLR.
As a user who don't like to see thru viewfinder, I felt better handling E510 :thumbsup: than D40x (sold).

So spare the TS ok?

It is true that every camera system has its flaws. Picture quality matters, but for some, the overall package might be important too. Loud cameras are not for photographers wanting to shoot golf events or tennis, or those who want to use them in meeting rooms or places of worship. So the review is only fair, serving to inform other potential buyers about the pro and cons of the system.

(spheredome) - In case you are wondering... Olympus is one hell of an extreme company... on one hand, they are building the noisiest camera (E-510) and at the same time, they build the quietest camera (The E-1). You might want to get familiar with the system first and then check out the pro body when it is out at the end of the year... you will be pleasantly surprised at the pro body, without the usual "pro price tag".

This little community here is like a little town. So be nice because the community is really small ok?

Just a friendly little reminder from your friendly neighborhood Superuser... (sounds like a super hero now)... well... its early morning for me... where is my coffee?? :sweat:

 

[microcosm]

By the way, because of the IS mechanism, I have dubbed the E-510 "The E-Five-brator"... that was my first reaction to the IS equipped model... I was laughing in the shop when I handled it... Turn on IS on your camera, and then shut down the camera... and you know what I mean... LOL.

Personally I do not like the handling of the E-510. But that is only subjective. I know there are many here who adores the camera. And that, I think, is where Olympus is successful... they have catered to the different needs of different photographers.

Handle the camera first before buying, and read user reviews like these. It will help you make better decisions...

 

[spheredome]

(microcosm) Thanks for moderation and I will take note of them. To the readers, the humour is plain humour, hv no ill intention. I will handle them better next time.

As to the readers, please don't get me wrong, I like the E510 and D40x and others, in fact I have Sony T9 too, for diff situation, so mine is simply feedback. I tend to feel the product (not a pro way of course) and not just base on tech specs, that's why I yet to change my phone brand.
My reason for not quoting the technical is bec there are many pro reviews out there and I respected/refer to them too and respect reader photographers knowledge as well. So my scope of feedback may seemed out of norm or materialistic (such as packaging).

On the other hand, my feature feedback purpose is to ease those who play with this camera at the shop because the play time is limited. Finally, the learn, try out before buying is the correct rule of thumb. I hope the community can give me encouragement as a new dSLR user.
PS: I won't be selling my E510 for now, in fact I just upgraded the warranty package. Hands off ...on my set.

 

[bousozoku]

Guys! There is a potential for this thread to turn into a flame thread... "should have bought Sony"..."I thought this camera for taking picture"... I know your intentions are good, or might simply be witty, but sometimes, the poster or people reading the thread might not see it this way, so let's refrain from going this direction yes? I don't want to work... please...
...
Just a friendly little reminder from your friendly neighborhood Superuser... (sounds like a super hero now)... well... its early morning for me... where is my coffee?? :sweat:

Yes, sir. I should have put more smileys, so it was apparent what I was saying. :bsmilie: :sweatsm:

 

[spheredome]

I guess may have praised E510 too soon. I just tried to take a photo of my plant is artificial light, dark room and darken background, noticed the photo came out with red/blue speckles all over, especially black area. However these speckles does not appear with room light nor does it appear on normal photo. I never had problem on my previous cameras or compacts.

I tried noise reduction off, max with no improvement.

Any advice?

Picture taken in macro, ISO100, 2.5sec F22.

 

[drewdam]

I guess may have praised E510 too soon. I just tried to take a photo of my plant is artificial light, dark room and darken background, noticed the photo came out with red/blue speckles all over, especially black area. However these speckles does not appear with room light nor does it appear on normal photo. I never had problem on my previous cameras or compacts.

I tried noise reduction off, max with no improvement.

Any advice?

Picture taken in macro, ISO100, 2.5sec F22.

turn on NR n try again.

 

[blurboiboi]

I guess may have praised E510 too soon. I just tried to take a photo of my plant is artificial light, dark room and darken background, noticed the photo came out with red/blue speckles all over, especially black area. However these speckles does not appear with room light nor does it appear on normal photo. I never had problem on my previous cameras or compacts.

I tried noise reduction off, max with no improvement.

Any advice?

Picture taken in macro, ISO100, 2.5sec F22.

looks like hot pixels to me....
if i remember correctly i had similar problems with my KM 5D last time too....
you could turn NR on.... or use the pixel re-mapping feature(i think 510 has right??) to correct/better this problem

 

[drakon09]

I guess may have praised E510 too soon. I just tried to take a photo of my plant is artificial light, dark room and darken background, noticed the photo came out with red/blue speckles all over, especially black area. However these speckles does not appear with room light nor does it appear on normal photo. I never had problem on my previous cameras or compacts.

I tried noise reduction off, max with no improvement.

Noise reduction and noise filter are two different things

Noise filter is used to reduce chromatic and luminance noise.

Noise reduction is used to reduce long exposure noise (like in your picture).

So turn on the noise reduction.

 

[spheredome]

I tried NR on/off and NR filter mode off to high. The dots are still there. But I will try again tonight and keep you posted.
Hot pixel? Under illuminated room, full black object appears OK.

Actually the surface which I photo my plants is glass, not sure if the sensor is misinterpret the reflect light. Unlike the D40x and S3IS, E510 kit lens need lens hood as glare appears under my lighting placement.

Noise at iso100? That's bad, as I have not seen this before in my previous 4mp to 10mp models. I am not agile in advance software correction and this is a bad setback for me. Will also call Olympus up for support. Thanks

 

[drewdam]

I tried NR on/off and NR filter mode off to high. The dots are still there. But I will try again tonight and keep you posted.
Hot pixel? Under illuminated room, full black object appears OK.

Actually the surface which I photo my plants is glass, not sure if the sensor is misinterpret the reflect light. Unlike the D40x and S3IS, E510 kit lens need lens hood as glare appears under my lighting placement.

Noise at iso100? That's bad, as I have not seen this before in my previous 4mp to 10mp models. I am not agile in advance software correction and this is a bad setback for me. Will also call Olympus up for support. Thanks

since u brought up the hot pixel thingy...try long exposure at 1.6s to 4s with n w/o NR and see is there any diff in the final pic...

 

[wind30]

before you call olympus, try it at exposure at 4.5secs. This is hot pixel lah. It is "common" for all sensors. Dark frame subtraction will solve the issue but olympus does it only for exposures longer than X seconds. (dunno what is the criteria for the new E510) Try another shot at 4.5 seconds. It is VERY obvious when the camera is doing darkframe subtraction cuz the mirror is up for like 2 times the shutter speed.

 

[numbers]

I have an e-510 camera and Olympus' FL-50 flash. I use a bracket to hold the FL-50 with a cable from the bracket to the camera's hot shoe. I would like the open the camera' on-board camera to use with the FL-50. The flash's manual says it'll work, but provide on details.

The problem is the on-board flash can not open due to the connector in the hot shoe. If I put the FL-50 in the camera's hot shoe, the on-board flash will not open due to the flash's bulk which physically prevents the flash from opening.

How can I use the FL-50 in TTL mode and still open the on-board camera? With my e-20 and the FL-40 flash there was no problem.

Any suggestions?

numbers

 

[spheredome]

before you call olympus, try it at exposure at 4.5secs. This is hot pixel lah. It is "common" for all sensors. Dark frame subtraction will solve the issue but olympus does it only for exposures longer than X seconds. (dunno what is the criteria for the new E510) Try another shot at 4.5 seconds. It is VERY obvious when the camera is doing darkframe subtraction cuz the mirror is up for like 2 times the shutter speed.

Just tried 5sec and 6sec (iso 100) all came back with noise. I took the equiv shot using S3IS, no spots.

Using Canon S3

 

[spheredome]

Just tried 5sec and 6sec (iso 100) all came back with noise. I took the equiv shot using S3IS, no spots.

Using Canon S3

Here is one of the previous photo taken by D40x. It is clean, thus I don't need much processing.

 

[spheredome]

I did a len cap test and later with confirmation shots. At <=1/2sec and >=8 sec will the hot pixel be completely gone, with NR on. I observed at 8 sec and above, shots will take a significant more write time compared to 6sec (no 7 sec) with NR. No sure if NR only gets activated at 8 sec.

The lens cap test showed 3 - 6 sec pixelation is the same, while 2sec get lighter.

At least temporary I can work on my photo. and thanks for the info on hot pixel provided.