All About The Olympus E-510 Thread

[cjtune]

Actually, it is quite fast.... too fast to accurately time mentally... I estimate maybe about 0.25s or less. When the shutter button is pressed, the mirror flips, the camera focuses and exposes to take the picture... a couple of seconds later, the mirror flips down again.

But you do know this is not what I'm referring to in that post, don't you?

Hmm, seems like a major improvement over the E-330. The E-330's LV mode B shutter lag has been clocked at 0.75 sec.

The shutter lag is a separate question from the IS.
It is one major obstacle in using LV mode B for live action shots on the E-330.
By the time the mirror retracts again after the exposure metering, a moving subject could be in a completely different pose already and out of the original focal point's DOF. Think of a catwalk or stage performances that you may need an overhead shot with Live View.

Yeah, off-topic a bit.

 

[tomcat]

Hmm, seems like a major improvement over the E-330. The E-330's LV mode B shutter lag has been clocked at 0.75 sec.

The shutter lag is a separate question from the IS.
It is one major obstacle in using LV mode B for live action shots on the E-330.
By the time the mirror retracts again after the exposure metering, a moving subject could be in a completely different pose already and out of the original focal point's DOF. Think of a catwalk or stage performances that you may need an overhead shot with Live View.

Yeah, off-topic a bit.

Yes, I don't recall it being this fast with both the E-330 and the L1.

The only drawback is that you can't shoot continuously in this mode as the screen immediately fills with the captured image until the mirror flips back.

I was trying this out just now and I could actually get sharp results even when the shutter speeds were low. The availability of IS in the E-510 seems to have a synergistic effect on shooting in LiveView mode. Now to compare this with a E-410.... :think:

 

[OlyFlyer]

...as the screen immediately fills with the captured image until the mirror flips back...

Can't you turn preview off to prevent showing the captured image?

 

[raymond10]

Tried turning the preview off. But it seems to mirror is still flipping. Don't know why.

 

[ykkok]

On E-510, the mirror flips down for focusing even if you turn preview off in Liveview.
In Liveview, half-pressing the shutter does not invoke the AF. It must be fully depressed.

If you want to AF without needing to take a snap, use the AEL/AFL to trigger the AF and this will also causes the mirror to flip down momentarily.

I am guessing that the Mode A LV in E-330 has a shorter shutter lag than it's B and also the E-510's LV.

 

[tomcat]

Of the 3 DSLRs (E-330 Mode B, L1 and E-510) with LV, the LV of the E-510 has the shortest lag for shooting. E-330 Mode A is of course the fastest as it uses a separate CCD sensor. The L1 flips its mirror twice in succession - once for focusing and another time for exposure if you press and hold the shutter button down. The E-510 only flip its mirror once to focus and shoot if you press and hold the shutter button down. E-330 mode is the worst as you would need to press the AEL/AFL button once to focus and then separately press the shutter button to shoot.

 

[ykkok]

You are right tomcat. Having to press the AEL/AFL for AF in B mode is a bit awkward. This mode in E-330, very much resembles the LV in E-510, but not as fast.

I usuall use A if AF is needed, and MF in B mode.

That's why, not to be confused:

Liveviews:

E-330 Mode A : AF as normal
E-330 Mode B : MF (but able to AF with AEL/AFL, mirror flips down for AF)

E-510 : AF after shutter depressed + mirror flips down for AF.

 

[danieloo]

Hm....Still donno what you guys been talking about...but will definately try that out when E510 is available in Malaysia. Thanks to Tomcat for his Wonderful sample photo...wonderful cat you have there....many compliments already...haha...

 

[satch]

impressive!

 

[Blu-By-U]

Uncle Tom, as usual the first to get impressive cameras. Thanks for the review.

Think I won't regret getting back the E-330 and this E-510 or future E-xx will have to take a backstage for me until further savings are available. Right now, the E-510's LV seem am improvement over the E-330's Mode B but still not as fast as the Mode A which I use more frequently. :thumbsup:

 

[prkravi]

:bigeyes: Amazing pictures unbelievable at such low shutter speeds!!
:sweat: :sweatsm: i bought the E500 inspite of knowing the arrival of the E510 in March at the IT Show!! Wish i could have waited for a while!
Phew!! Anyways all that i can do now is to exercise my arms well for more stability and to carry my tripod often!

 

[unagi]

All pics were taken handheld to check out the effectiveness of the in-body IS of the E-510.

#4 Macro - My Dirty Remote Control

1/20s f/8.0 at 50.0mm ISO 100

im very green in fotography but this is seriously an awesome pic :thumbsup: !! the texture is so engaging i can feel the red, green n yellow buttons roughing up against my fingers. i strongly recommend you try out more compositions or variations from it (perhaps engage more of the metal plate surface which gives a little nail screechy effect). the concept is there already for you, even the faded text on the remote! dun 4get to blanja me if u win prize.. hahahaha

 

[unagi]

Hm....Still donno what you guys been talking about...but will definately try that out when E510 is available in Malaysia. Thanks to Tomcat for his Wonderful sample photo...wonderful cat you have there....many compliments already...haha...

there's a cool video tour of the e410 over at cameralabs webby. it'll giv u some idea of how LV snapping works. That website has many other vid tours on other cams & gear as well. i find them educational, useful, and worth a million words. http://www.cameralabs.com/

 

[major_tom]

anyone know if the e510 body is available in Japan? Might be getting it since I will be working there soon

 

[tomcat]

Here's some more pics of the IS at work... this time in telephotography using the el-cheapo ZD 40-150mm zoom kit lens at 150mm fully opened with my cats drafted into service as models again.

#7

1/10s f/4.5 at 150.0mm ISO 100

#8

1/10s f/4.5 at 150.0mm ISO 100

#9

1/20s f/4.5 at 150.0mm ISO 100

#10

1/60s f/4.5 at 150.0mm ISO 100

It would have been impossible for me to take these photos handheld at such low shutter speeds were it not for the IS function in the E-510. Looking at it from another angle, the availability of IS in the E-510 has extended the useability of the slow ZD 40-150mm (as well as those of any other slow zoom lenses) by allowing it to be used handheld under low light condition.

 

[headfonz]

hi tomcat, don't mind i OT a bit. was there any pp for the cat photos? the colours and textures are very unlike what i've seen so far of the e-system jpegs posted so far.

or did you use a different setting? :what:

 

[tomcat]

hi tomcat, don't mind i OT a bit. was there any pp for the cat photos? the colours and textures are very unlike what i've seen so far of the e-system jpegs posted so far.

or did you use a different setting? :what:

These were shot in RAW and converted using ACR in CS3. Also, if you look closely, you will see that most of the shots were either side lit or back lit which tend to make the images prone to abnormal color casts.

However, I have to say that I find the E-510 handles difficult exposures much better than the previous Olympus DSLRs that I have owned and used (like the E-300 and E-330). There is much less tendency to blow highlights under such situations (and also under normal situations) than with these cameras. Colour-wise, these pics which I had posted are not much different from those that I had taken with my other Olympus DSLRs though.

 

[nightpiper]

mr Tomcat, i hope u made the cats signed the model release forms. :bsmilie: :bsmilie: if not, they all gang up to file a class action against ur "abuse" with their rights. :bsmilie:

thx again for the samples. :lovegrin:

 

[drakon09]

These were shot in RAW and converted using ACR in CS3. Also, if you look closely, you will see that most of the shots were either side lit or back lit which tend to make the images prone to abnormal color casts.

However, I have to say that I find the E-510 handles difficult exposures much better than the previous Olympus DSLRs that I have owned and used (like the E-300 and E-330). There is much less tendency to blow highlights under such situations (and also under normal situations) than with these cameras. Colour-wise, these pics which I had posted are not much different from those that I had taken with my other Olympus DSLRs though.

Uncle tomcat, if you don't mind changes in your workflow, Studio 2.0 does convert ORFs better than ACR. But Studio is slower to operate though.

Sidenote: How many cats do you own? :lovegrin:

 

[tomcat]

I don't want to install Studio 2 now as it is only available as a 30-day trial version and what's more, it requires that I uninstall my Studio 1.5 before it could be installed.

ACR 4.1 is probably not fully optimised for the E-510 at the moment as it is not officially supported even though it works.

I'm actually waiting for SilkyPix 3 to release their update supporting E-510 (which should be any day now) as SilkyPix is my all-time favorite raw converter for Olympus ORF.