As the flagship of Olympus’ DSLR lineup, the EVOLT E-510 comes with a hefty set of features. The E-510 woos serious hobbyists with 10 megapixels, built-in mechanical image stabilization, dual CompactFlash and xD-Picture card slots, and a dust reduction system that keeps the sensor clean even when lenses are constantly changed. The DSLR also caters to digital photography novices with its 18 scene modes and a live-view LCD, much like those on compact digital cameras. The Olympus E-510 is offered as part of a one- or two-lens kit. The two-lens kit retails for $999, putting it in the heart of the hot sub-$1,000 DSLR market.
Physical Tour
Front (7.25)
The EVOLT E-510's lens looks small, compared to other DSLR systems, in large part because the camera is Four-Thirds format. The Four-Thirds sensor is smaller than traditional DSLR sensors and calls for more compact lenses. Directly above the lens is an Olympus logo that hovers on the tip of the flash unit’s front. The flash pops up from behind this logo. It is small and narrow and can be completely covered by a quarter.
There is an E-510 logo printed on the right shoulder of the camera. This will likely rub off with use. Just below that logo is a badge for “IS: image stabilization.” Below this, and on the lens mount’s 3 o’clock position, is a large lens release button. In the lower right corner of the front is an embossed graphic depicting the Four Thirds logo that indicates it can accept any Four Thirds-formatted lens.
The hand grip is coated with a comfortable rubbery material, and it sports an infrared window about midway down its face. Between the hand grip and the lens is a printed label designating the camera’s 10 megapixels.
Back (7.0)
The Olympus EVOLT E-510 has a 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD and a small optical viewfinder above it. The viewfinder is surrounded by a large cushioned rubber eyecup that doesn’t pop off easily. The plastic and incredibly tiny diopter adjustment wheel is on the right of the viewfinder. Just above the finder is the hot shoe, which comes with a plastic piece that slides in to protect the leads when a flash isn’t attached. To the left of the viewfinder are some icons that apply to buttons on the top of the camera, although having the icons visible from the back is helpful.
The Playback, Delete, Menu and Info buttons are in a column to the left of the LCD. An Olympus logo sits beneath the LCD screen’s glass. To the upper right of the LCD is the AE/AF lock button that also protects pictures in the Playback mode. Two small circular buttons sit below this one: IS (image stabilization) and the live view button. Below this and shifted right is a traditional multi-selector. It consists of five buttons: a central OK button surrounded by directional buttons shaped like elbow macaroni. The directional buttons have other functions when not engaged in menu navigations. From the top and moving clockwise the functions include White Balance, Auto Focus, ISO, and Metering.
Below the multi-selector is a rectangular patch of rubber that acts as a cover for the USB and video out cables. Above the multi-selector is a patch of textured rubber for the thumb to grip. In the upper right corner of the back are the “Fn” function and Auto Focus area buttons along with an LED that blinks when the camera is busy writing to one of the memory cards.
On the right edge of the back is the media door, which snaps open and shut without a latch. Such a large door should have a latch – a friction closure is bound to wear out. The plastic is flexible, so it is possible to shut the top and have the bottom cracked open.
Left Side (6.75)
There is a strap partially inset into the top of the shoulder. With most lenses, it would be better to cradle the lens barrel with the left hand, but the left side of the EVOLT E-510 is featureless, so users could grip the camera there, too.
Right Side (6.75)
The shoulder strap lug is partially inset into the top of the right side, limiting the extent to which it could interfere with the user's grip. The media door, constructed from plastic, takes up the back half of the side. The front half is covered in a rubbery material that improves grip.
Top (6.5)
The chrome-tone shutter release is on top of the hand grip, surrounded by a narrow ridge of plastic. The ridge improves the feel of the release and may improve its seal. Directly behind the shutter release is a much smaller circular button labeled for exposure compensation: this helps make manual adjustments. The top of the neck strap eyelet can be seen on the right with the mode dial placed just right of the viewfinder hump. It's a large, heavily-textured dial. The power switch is a lever that extends from underneath it.
In front of the mode dial is a tiny LED labeled “SSWF” to indicate the Super Sonic Wave Filter. This flashes blue when the camera is turned on and the dust reduction system is activated. Between the mode dial and the strap eyelet, on the rear edge of the camera, is a single control dial, about where the thumb falls with a normal grip. It is tall with ridges on its sides, but is stiff and takes some serious force to rotate.
The viewfinder hump resides just left of center. At the back of the viewfinder and enclosed pop-up flash is the hot shoe. It comes with a plastic piece that slides into it to protect it from collecting dust when an external flash isn’t attached. To the left of the viewfinder hump are two chrome buttons: Flash in front and Burst/Self-timer/Remote Control/Copy/Print button near the back (yes, that one button does it all). At the far left of the E-510’s top is a neck strap eyelet to match the one on the right.
Bottom (7.5)
The EVOLT E-510 has a metal tripod bushing, which is in line with the camera's optical axis and is ideal for alignment on a tripod and balancing larger lenses. There is a textured area around the bushing that almost looks like window blinds, which may improve the 510's resistance to torque on a tripod and also preserve the camera's finish around the tripod socket.
The battery compartment is on the left beneath the hand grip. The door has a textured sliding latch in its center, and is reinforced with a metal plate. A spring-loaded prong holds the battery in place when the door is open.
[page title="Testing / Performance"]
Color (10.22)
To test the color accuracy of the Olympus E-510, we photographed an industry standard GretagMacbeth Colorchecker test chart, which consists of 24 strategically picked color tiles. The colors correspond to commonly photographed colors such as blue skies, green grass, and flesh tones, as well as a sample of other colors from around the color spectrum. We ran these photographs through Imatest, which compared the actual color of the tiles with the colors the camera produced. In the image below, the outside square of each tile corresponds to the color the camera produced, the inside square is the ideal color of the chart corrected for luminance, and the small rectangle is the ideal color of the chart.
The camera produced the most accurate colors when 1/3 of a stop underexposed, which is the reason why the small color rectangles look lighter than the colors the camera produced. With luminance taken into account, most colors look very accurate. The following graph shows precisely how far off the camera’s colors are from those on the test chart. The squares indicate the ideal, while the circles represent the colors the camera reproduced. The line between them illustrates the degree of error.
With an uncorrected mean color error of only 5.87, the E-510 scored very well. The colors to have significant drift are mostly the blues, which are often shifted on purpose to enhance skies. However, the saturation level of 96.46 percent means it is also fairly undersaturated.
White Balance (6.31)
Auto (6.00)
We tested white balance accuracy by photographing the ColorChecker in four different types of light: flash, fluorescent, outdoor cloudy, and tungsten. The E-510's automatic white balance was not very good. Flash accuracy using the Auto setting was solid, and under cloudy light it was decent, but under fluorescent and tungsten it was miserable. The images below show what kind of color cast your photos will have in these different situations.
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Auto WB - Cloudy Illumination
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Auto WB - Flash Illumination
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Auto WB - Fluorescent Illumination
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Auto WB - Tungsten Illumination
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Preset (6.62)
The E-510's white balance presets faired a little better than the Auto setting, but not by much. The cloudy preset was very accurate, but fluorescent and tungsten were as miserable as using auto. Under tungsten light, the Auto setting will give you a very strong yellow cast, while the preset will turn everything blue. Considering the difficulties the camera had manually white balancing in low light, users should bless the camera gods that the E-510 can shoot in RAW, so that you can adjust the white balance later.
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Shade WB - Shade Illumination
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Fluorescent WB - Fluorscent Illumination
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Tungsten WB - Tungsten Illumination
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Still Life Sequences
Click on the thumbnails below to view the full resolution files.
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Still Life Scene
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ISO 100
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ISO 100
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ISO 200
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ISO 200
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ISO 400
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ISO 400
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ISO 800
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ISO 800
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ISO 1600
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ISO 1600
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Resolution (8.76)
Packing 10 megapixels onto its small Four Thirds sensor, the Olympus E-510 entices consumers with higher resolution than ever before. To test the E-510's performance we shot an industry standard resolution chart at varied apertures, shutter speeds, and focal lengths, to see where the camera was sharpest. We did this for both kit lenses, the 14-42 mm wide angle, and the 40-150 mm telephoto.
We ran the images through Imatest, which calculated a value for resolution, measured in Line Widths per Picture Height (LW/PH). This value describes how many theoretical alternating black and white lines could fit across the image frame before becoming blurred. The E-510 was sharpest using the 40-150 mm telephoto lens, at an ISO of 100, an aperture of f/9.0, and a focal length of 40 mm.
Click to view the high-resolution image
The 10-megapixel E-510 scored well, capturing 1646 lw/ph horizonally with -14 percent undersharpening, and 1589 vertically with -15.5 percent undersharpening. Undersharpening is advantageous for DSLRs, because it enables users to post-process the files to their specifications and control artifacts that emerge from oversharpening. However, the E-510 pretty severely undersharpened the images. We would have liked to see a little more sharpening applied, particularly since much of the camera's targeted demographic often favor usable JPEGs right out of the camera.
Interested in which of the two kit lenses is better to use for medium focal lengths? The answer is clear: the telephoto lens produced images with much more information and fine detail, scoring far better than the wide angle images shot in the same setup. Use the telephoto kit lens as much as you can with this camera!
Noise – Auto ISO (4.45)
We photographed a GretagMacbeth color chart at auto ISO, and calculated the noise levels with Imatest. Pointed at our brightly-lit chart, the E-510 selected ISO 400 for the shot. This is an unusually high ISO to use under our bright studio lights, and risks ending up with an unnecessarily noisy image. However, with the Noise Filter set to Standard, the noise levels stayed quite low. Though this was a much different story with the Noise Filter turned off. The Noise Filter smoothes over noise at high sensitivities, resulting in parts of the image looking fuzzy. The tradeoff here is clear, turn on the Noise Filter to remove ugly noise, but sacrifice sharpness.
Noise – Manual ISO (11.73)
We also shot our test chart at all ISO sensitivities, to see how the noise levels varied over the whole range. The graph below shows the amount of noise measured by the percent of the image it obscured.
With the Noise Filter set to Standard or High, noise levels stayed very low and rose slowly at higher ISO settings. However, with the Noise Filter off, the noise levels were quite high, with a large jump from ISO 200 to 400. Using the Noise Filter sacrifices sharpness for noise removal, as described above.
Dynamic Range (6.91)
Dynamic range is a measure of how many tonal gradations a camera can reproduce from pure black to white. We measure dynamic range by photographing an industry standard backlit Stouffer test chart. The chart consists of a row of rectangles that are all slightly different shades of gray and range from brightest white to darkest black. We run the images through Imatest imaging software to measure the amount of the chart the camera can expose while retaining detail. The more rectangles the camera can reproduce, the better the dynamic range. We shoot the Stouffer chart at every ISO setting, and for the Olympus E-510, we tested three of the Noise Filter settings: Off, Standard, and High.
The graph above shows the dynamic range plotted at all ISO sensitivities. Noise levels have a strong impact on dynamic range, and as you can see, more noise reduction yielded higher dynamic range. The E-510’s dynamic range levels at low ISO settings are not very good, but the camera does manage to keep them from dropping very much at higher ISO settings. Unfortunately, if the Noise Filter smoothes over too much detail for your liking, turning it off will yield very poor dynamic range. This is due to the very high noise levels with the Noise Filter off.
Low Light (9.31)
To test the E-510’s performance in low light, we dimmed the studio lights and tested color and noise performance at 60, 30, 15, and 5 lux. This corresponds to a room softly lit with two lamps (60 lux), down to very low light that would cause you to squint (5 lux). We always shoot low light levels at the highest full resolution ISO sensitivity the camera offers, which in the case of the E-510 was ISO 1600, using the Noise Filter set to Standard (the default).
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Low Light Tests
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60 Lux
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30 Lux
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15 Lux
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5 Lux
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The Noise Filter kept the noise levels quite low, but the main issue here was the difficulty getting the E-510 to manually white balance correctly. The camera had enormous difficulty manually white balancing in low light, and this often resulted in a green cast in the photos. Because of this problem, the E-510 had trouble reproducing accurate colors in low light, having a mean color error of 10.2 at 5 lux.
We also took a look at low light performance from another angle, long exposures. For this test, we shot the ColorChecker at shutter speeds of one to 30 seconds at ISO 400. The graph below shows the noise levels at each shutter speed, with both Noise Reduction on and off.
Noise levels are admirably low, and rise slowly but steadily with increasing exposure length. The Noise Reduction appears to kick in with 20-second exposures, where the two lines on the graph start to separate. Color accuracy was maintained well in long exposures, ranging from a mean color error of about 8 at one second exposures, to about 9.8 at exposures more than 20 seconds. Noise levels also stayed quite low, but it is very important to note that with the Noise Reduction set to Off, there was an abundance of “hot” pixels throughout the images. This caused lots of little points of bright white to be speckled throughout images. These hot pixels were removed with the Noise Reduction turned On, so the lesson here is to always shoot long exposures on the E-510 with Noise Reduction on.
Speed/Timing - All speed tests were conducted using a SanDisk Ultra II 2.0GB Compact Flash card.
Startup to First Shot (8.8)
The Olympus E-510 took 1.2 seconds to start up and snap the first shot. While this may not seem terribly slow to users upgrading to a DSLR from a point-and-shoot camera, most DSLRs now keep it under 1/2 second.
Shot-to-Shot (9.7)
In Burst mode, the E-510 took 11 shots 0.3 seconds apart, and after the eleventh shot slowed down to shooting one shot every second. This 11 shot quick burst took a total of 3.5 seconds.
Shutter-to-Shot (9.0)
With the shutter held halfway down and prefocused, the camera took the shot instantly. Without being prefocused, it took 0.2 seconds to take the shot.
Processing (8.0)
The E-510 takes approximately one second to process a 7MB 3648 x 2736 JPEG image shot at ISO 100. However, while the camera is processing, the playback cannot be viewed.
[page title="Components"]
Viewfinder (6.75)
Some earlier E-series digital cameras had porromirror optical viewfinders, but they weren’t very bright and required the camera to have two separate image sensors to support the live-view LCD. The E-510 has an eye-level single lens reflex optical viewfinder that is 95 percent accurate, which is just shy of its competition.
The brightness issue isn’t completely solved in the Olympus E-510, however. Though it is easy to see the full frame and the view of the data displays on the right, the view is smaller and darker than competing cameras. It is also not convenient for manual focus.
The viewfinder is best used when shooting action because the live-view LCD stutters and blacks out. It also works well when photographing in bright light; at the beach, for example. When it’s very bright it is hard to see the LCD screen - the darker and shaded viewfinder works better in these situations.
The following information is displayed within the viewfinder: Aperture Value, Shutter Speed, Recording mode, Auto Focus confirmation mark, Flash, White Balance, Auto Exposure lock, Number of storable still images, Exposure Compensation value, Metering mode, Battery warning, Exposure mode, Auto Focus frame, and Image Stabilization mode. All the information is displayed on a black strip to the right of the view except for the superimposed Auto Focus frames.
The viewfinder has a fixed Neo Lumi-Micron Mat screen with a 14 mm eyepoint. The viewfinder has 0.92x magnification. There is a small, plastic diopter adjustment to the right of the viewfinder. It is difficult to rotate, but shouldn’t need to be accessed often. It adjusts the view to -3 to +1m-1. The viewfinder is surrounded by a cushy rubber eyecup that is secured to the camera. If for some reason this is lost, they retail for $7 on the Olympus website. There are also a few other viewfinder accessories available on the site.
LCD Screen (8.0)
One of the Olympus EVOLT E-510’s most hyped features is its live-view LCD. The screen measures 2.5 inches and is populated with a robust 230,000 pixels. The HyperCrystal LCD gets its feed straight from the Live-MOS sensor, so its view is 100 percent accurate, one of a few advantages over the viewfinder.
The trouble comes in the method. In order for the live view to work, light has to hit the image sensor. But for the autofocus system to work, the mirror box has to fold out of the way. The image can be seen all the time in the optical viewfinder because some of the light is always reflected upward. However, the LCD’s live view darkens while the autofocus does its job and locks (via the AE/AF button) and then returns to normal view. While the camera is doing all this, there are all kinds of mechanical sounds that make users wonder, “Have I already taken my picture?” The noise of the mirror box flipping around and the autofocus system working confuse users because the shutter doesn’t sound much different.
The sound isn’t the only problem - it takes way too long to actually shoot an image. Another disadvantage is the LCD blacks out when shooting in the Burst mode. This is a common annoyance of all digital cameras’ live LCD screens, compact and DSLR alike. In this case, it is better to use the optical viewfinder. The view can be changed by pushing the view button to the right of the LCD screen. The viewfinder also wins out over the LCD in bright lighting. It is hard to see the LCD in bright lights, even with the 15-level brightness adjustment, so the shaded viewfinder was the best choice in that case.
The live view has its advantages. It is meant to attract more of the mass consumer crowd that enjoyed live-view LCDs on compact digital cameras and are moving up into the DSLR realm. Olympus made sure this camera was affordable to these consumers by nixing the folding LCD that was available on the E-330. That camera had a monitor that folded outward and tilted, but Olympus claimed the component drove prices up and out of range for most consumers. A company representative said in a phone interview with DCI the LCD wasn’t durable enough for a mass consumer market which considers portability a top priority.
While the LCD screen doesn’t fold out and look as cool as the one on the E-330, it does have a 176-degree wide viewing angle. The INFO button changes what is displayed on the LCD screen. Portions of an image can be magnified 7x to check for what Olympus calls “critical focus.” A green rectangle can be moved around the image with the multi-selector to check focus in specific parts of the image. Information can be hidden or fully displayed, with the option to show a histogram.
An additional step can be added to the button’s function. In the setup menu, users can choose from Off, Golden Section, Grid, and Scale to include in the views. The Golden Section shows a 3 x 3 grid with a small central square. The Grid shows a grid of 6 x 8 squares across the frame. The Scale shows a circle with a cross going through it and extending to the edges of the frame, much like in flight simulator games. In the setup menu, users can boost the brightness of the live view and adjust the backlight to stay bright for eight, 30, or 60 seconds after inactivity.
Olympus promises all of its new DSLRs will have the live-view LCD in 2007, but we hope the technology can continue to improve so it’s more functional. The slowness of snapping pictures and the confusion of all the mechanical noise make the live view far less appealing.
Flash (6.75)
The Olympus EVOLT E-510 has a popup flash unit that can be set to automatically spring upward when needed or to open only when you tell it to. Pushing the flash button to the left of the unit opens the flash, and pushing it a second time brings up the flash menu, which has the following choices: Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Red-eye Reduction with Slow Sync, Fill-in, Slow Sync (first curtain), Slow Sync (second curtain), Manual, and Off. The Manual flash mode allows users to adjust the output to Full, 1/4, 1/16, or 1/64 power.
The flash itself pops up in a fairly solid fashion, although it only extends about an inch taller than the Olympus logo. The rectangular flash is so small it could be covered by a quarter. But despite its petite size, it works surprisingly well. It covers the frame from edge to edge and lights subjects nicely. In the pictures that we took, no red eyes peered back at us. However, the proximity of the flash to the lens ups the chance of red-eye.
The flash output can be manually adjusted in the recording menu. It has typical +/- 2 EV choices in steps of 1/3 and offers 3-frame bracketing as well. Users can even link the flash intensity and exposure compensation selections.
Behind the built-in flash is a hot shoe for flash accessories. Olympus recommends the FL-50 and FL-36 flash units, but we did not get to review these accessories. The FL-36 model can adjust its output in 1/8-step increments. Other compatible flashes include the FL-20, SRF-11, and STF-22. The flash sync can be manually set to 1/180, 1/160, 1/125, 1/100, 1/80, or 1/60th of a second in the setup menu. Users can purchase a Olympus hot shoe flash cable for $80.
Lens and Mount (8.5)
The E-510 is compatible with Four Thirds format lenses. While the camera can accept Four Thirds lenses manufactured by Sigma, Panasonic, and Leica, Olympus touts its own lineup. Olympus’ Zuiko Digital lenses are advertised to be specifically made for digital cameras, bending light optimally for an image sensor strewn with pixels instead of onto a sheet of film. Another advantage to a digital lens is that its firmware can be updated much like a camera. As Olympus spokeswoman Sally Smith Clemens said in a conversation with DCI, “If new technology comes out, you can update it rather than buying a whole new lens.”
The Olympus EVOLT E-510 has an optical image stabilization system built into the body so each lens won’t need its own set of floating optics. This is meant to keep the cost of individual lenses down and include wider focal lengths. Manufacturers such as Canon and Nikon include the image stabilization in some lenses, which are marked up to pay for the technology. The E-510’s image stabilization can keep images relatively blur-free and the live view steadier. The image stabilization is activated with a button on the back of the camera intuitively labeled “IS.” There are two modes: one all-purpose mode (IS 1) and one specifically for panning shots (IS 2).
The same motors that move the sensor in response to motion on the image stabilization system serve double duty to shake dust and grime off the sensor. The dust reduction system can be turned on and off, although the default has it perform a split second of self-cleaning every time the camera is turned on. The dust reduction system is meant to purge the camera of any foreign particles that may have settled on the image sensor when changing lenses. Some people may think this is a bit frivolous or unnecessary, but I’ve Photoshopped one too many dust spots off pictures, so I must admit I’m a fan.
The DSLR is sold in two lens kits with Zuiko-branded glass, of course. One package sells with a wide 14-42 mm, f/3.5-5.6 lens, equivalent to a 28-84 mm lens, for $899. The second package includes that lens and adds a midrange 40-150 mm f/3.5-4.5 lens, equivalent to an 80-300 mm lens. It retails for $999 and is the set we reviewed. Both lenses are similar to other offerings already in the Zuiko line, but these were made specifically for the E-510. They will fit on other Four Thirds cameras, but were tailored to be small and light to match the E-510’s body. While “small and light” is one way of saying it., “cheap and flimsy” is more accurate.
The kit lenses come with caps to keep the glass well-protected. Hoods are also included for each lens; those are convenient for shooting in the sunny outdoors. Both lenses have nice textured rubber zoom rings that rotate easily. The focus ring has tighter grooves to texture it, but is made of plastic and located near the front edge of the lens.
[page title="Design / Layout"]
Model Design / Appearance (7.25)
The Olympus EVOLT E-510 has the look of a typical black DSLR, which is good news. Some earlier Olympus DSLRs looked like they were squashed (see the E-300 and E-330). Olympus claimed it was necessary to implement the ugly design in order to get the live view, but this model manages both good design and live view.
The E-510 is smaller than most DSLRs. It will still require two hands to hold, but it won’t require a tripod at all times and can be crammed into a beach bag (thank you dust reduction). The body itself is constructed of a thick, textured metal alloy with a few plastic components. For instance, the media door is a flimsy plastic that lacks a secure latch. Besides that, the rest of the camera is put together well and should survive a few rough trips.
Overall, the Olympus E-510 is one of the best-looking cameras this manufacturer has ever put on the market.
Size / Portability (7.75)
As the flagship of the EVOLT line of DSLRs, we expected the E-510 to be bigger. It is bigger than other E-series cameras at 5.35 x 3.6 x 2.67 inches, and weighs more at 16.2 ounces (body only). Still, it doesn’t take up nearly as much space as the 6.1 x 6.2 x 3.1-inch Canon EOS-1D Mark III, Canon’s $6,000 flagship model. The Olympus E-510 accepts Four Thirds lenses but comes with Zuiko-branded lenses that are very light and small. The E-510 is very portable with its sturdy body, overall size, and included very wide neck strap. It can be fit into a beach bag or large purse, but a small camera bag is recommended.
Handling Ability (7.25)
The Olympus E-510 has a comfortable hand grip coated with textured rubber, curved perfectly for fingers to wrap around. The space between its grip and the lens mount is wide enough, and the grip is comfortable. The strap placement is good, and the shape is generally friendly to the hands. The hand grip is bigger than the one on the E-410 and is meant to attract larger-handed folks and others who appreciate the extra real estate to hang onto.
There is a matching rubber patch on the back of the camera where the thumb naturally rests. Above it is a slight bump that provides more support to prevent slippage. Major parameters can be found through most on-camera buttons, although changing the shutter speeds and apertures calls for tricky handling, requiring users to scroll the stiff jog dial while pushing the exposure compensation button near the shutter release.
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.75)
One of the differences between the Olympus E-510 and the E-410 is the sheer number of controls on the cameras - the flagship E-510 has a lot more. The abundance of controls on the camera makes it easier to access features and avoid the confusing menu system.
Some of the larger controls include the mode dial, which is stacked upon the power switch and isn’t the easiest to rotate. It requires a serious push, and sometimes I even had to grab it with my thumb and finger to budge it. There is a single jog dial behind the mode dial that is mainly used to adjust manual exposure controls. This dial is easier to rotate than the mode dial, thank goodness, although some serious photographers find the presence of only a single jog dial akin to an unforgivable sin.
The jog dial must be rotated with the thumb while the index finger holds down the exposure compensation button near the tip of the hand grip. This isn’t the most comfortable handling position, and adds fuel to the fire for those double-dial lovers.
In front of the exposure compensation button is the chrome shutter release button. The button is big enough and placed on a shallow platform so it can be differentiated from other controls, namely the nearby exposure compensation button.
There are plenty of smaller buttons and controls on the back and top of the camera. All are well-labeled and properly spaced. There is a row of rectangular buttons on the left side of the LCD screen and a smattering of buttons on the right. The multi-selector is on this side and is the traditional type found on most digital cameras, especially on compact models.
On the upper right of the E-510’s back is a “Fn” function button that can be set in the setup menu to directly access one of the following functions: Preview, Live Preview, Off, One-Touch White Balance, Test Picture, and My Mode. For photographers who use the custom white balance, though, this button will have to be set to One-Touch White Balance all the time because it is the only way white balance can be measured (not through the menu system like some cameras). The dials and buttons are made of plastic and make a little clicking sound when pushed. That noise provides some feedback as to their function, but makes them feel a little cheap, too. But besides the cheap sound and feel, the controls are nicely labeled and convenient.
Menu (5.75)
The menu system on the E-510 is similar to its predecessors. The only major change Olympus made to the E-510 is to the background color of the menus, which is darker and makes the white text easier to read.
There is a menu button on the left side of the LCD screen, and it calls up a sort of all-purpose menu that has five tabs on the left side: two for Recording functions, one for Playback, and two for Setup options. To the right of the tabs is a slim vertical bar that shows your approximate location in the selected menu. There aren’t page numbers, but the bar shows whether you’re near the beginning or end.
Functions sit to the right of the bar with their options on the far right. The menu’s background appears black, the immediate background behind the options is dark gray, text is white, and the selected tab and option appears with black letters on a yellow background.
The main menu system appears with the following options; the Playback tab of the menu will be discussed in the Playback mode section of this review.
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Shooting 1
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Card Setup
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All Erase, Format
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Custom Reset Setting
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Reset, Reset 1 (set, reset), Reset 2 (set, reset)
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Picture Mode
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Vivid, Natural, Muted (with +/- 2 full-step scales of contrast, sharpness, and saturation), Monotone (Contrast and Sharpness with +/- 2 scales, Black & White Filter (Neutral, Green, Red, Orange, Yellow), Picture Tone (Neutral, Green, Purple, Blue, Sepia)
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Gradation
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High Key, Normal, Low Key
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Image Size
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RAW + SQ, RAW + HQ, RAW + SHQ, SQ, HQ, SHQ, RAW
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White Balance
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Auto, Daylight 5300K, Shade 7500K, Cloudy 6000K, Lamp 3000K, Fluorescent 1 4000K, Fluorescent 2 4500K, Fluorescent 3 6600K, Custom (red and green +/- 7 adjustment with all previous settings), Custom Kelvin (2000K to 140000K in 56 steps)
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ISO
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Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
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Noise Filter
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Off, Low, Standard, High
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Noise Reduction
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On, Off
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Shooting 2
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Metering
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ESP (ESP + AF, ESP), Center-Weighted, Spot, Highlight Spot, Shadow Spot
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Flash Intensity
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+/- 2 in 1/3 increments
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|
AF Mode
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S-AF, C-AF, MF, S-AF + MF, C-AF + MF
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AF Area
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Auto, Left, Center, Right
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|
AE Bracketing
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Off, 3F 0.3EV, 3F 0.7EV, 3F 1.0EV
|
|
White Balance Bracketing
|
Red-Blue and Green-Magenta (Off, 3F 2-step, 4-step, 6-step options with each)
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|
FL Bracketing
|
Off, 3F 0.3EV, 3F 0.7EV, 3F 1.0EV
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|
Anti-Shock
|
Off, 1-30 seconds
|
|
Setup 1
|
|
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ISO Limit
|
100, 200, 400
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|
EV Step
|
1/3 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV
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|
All White Balance Compensation
|
All Set (red and green +/- 7), All Reset (Yes, No)
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|
HQ
|
¼, 1/8, 1/12
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|
SQ
|
Pixel Count (640 x 480, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 960, 1600 x 1200, 2560 x 1920, 3200 x 2400), Compression (1/12, 1/8, ¼, 1/2.7)
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|
Flash Intensity + Exposure Compensation
|
Off, On
|
|
Flash X-Sync
|
1/180, 1/160, 1/125, 1/100, 1/80, 1/60
|
|
Auto Pop Up
|
Off, On
|
|
Dial
|
P (Ps, Exposure Compensation), M (Shutter, F No.)
|
|
AEL/AFL
|
S-AF (modes 1-3), C-AF (modes 1-4), MF (modes 1-3)
|
|
AEL/AFL Memo
|
Off, On
|
|
AEL Metering
|
Auto, Center-weighted, Spot, Highlight Spot, Shadow Spot
|
|
Quick Erase
|
Off, On
|
|
RAW + JPEG Erase
|
JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG
|
|
Function
|
Preview, Live Preview, Off, One-Touch White Balance, Test Picture, My Mode
|
|
My Mode Setup
|
My Mode 1 (Set, Reset), My Mode 2 (Set, Reset)
|
|
Focus Ring
|
Rotate Counterclockwise, Rotate Clockwise
|
|
AF Illuminator
|
Off, On
|
|
Reset Lens
|
Off, On
|
|
Live View Boost
|
Off, On
|
|
Release Priority S
|
Off, On
|
|
Release Priority C
|
Off, On
|
|
Sound
|
Off, On
|
|
Frame Assist
|
Off, Golden Section, Grid, Scale
|
|
Multi-selector Lock
|
Off, On
|
|
Setup 2
|
|
|
Date and Time
|
Year, Month, Day, Time, Y/M/D etc.
|
|
CF/xD
|
CF, xD
|
|
File Name
|
Auto, Reset
|
|
Edit Filename
|
First Character (Off, 0-9, A-Z), Second Character (Off, 0-9, A-Z)
|
|
LCD Brightness
|
+/- 7
|
|
Language
|
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
|
|
Video Out
|
NTSC, PAL
|
|
Rec View
|
Off, 1-20 seconds
|
|
Sleep
|
Off, 1, 3, 5, 10 min
|
|
Backlit LCD
|
8 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, Hold
|
|
4H Timer
|
Off, 4H
|
|
Button Timer
|
3, 5, 8 sec, Hold
|
|
Priority Set
|
No, Yes
|
|
USB Mode
|
Auto, Storage, MTP, Control
|
|
Color Space
|
sRGB, Adobe RGB
|
|
AEL/AFL to Function
|
Off, On
|
|
Shading Compensation
|
Off, On
|
|
Pixel Mapping
|
Start
|
|
Cleaning Mode
|
Start
|
|
Firmware
|
Body 1.0, Lens 1.0
|
Some of the menus have options curiously placed. For instance, it would make more sense to place options like White Balance and ISO above the custom reset setting or gradation options. Then again, there is another menu of sorts for options like those. A control panel interface appears when the OK button is pushed. The control panel is quite confusing because it is a bunch of icons crammed onto the LCD screen. It doesn’t look very organized and makes finding a specific setting a task. The following options are squished into the control panel’s menu: ISO, White Balance, Flash mode, Picture mode, Metering, AF area, AF mode, Drive/Self-timer/Remote Control, CF/xD, and Image size. The number of pictures remaining on the memory card appears on this menu too.
Overall, Olympus’ menu system will be simple to navigate if you’re used to Olympus products. If you’re not, it will take some getting used to. The menus are long and composed of a mix of text and icons that make selecting a feature quite nearly impossible.
Ease of Use
