Olympus EVOLT E-510

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.

Shooting 1
Card Setup	All Erase, Format
Custom Reset Setting	Reset, Reset 1 (set, reset), Reset 2 (set, reset)
Picture Mode	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)
Gradation	High Key, Normal, Low Key
Image Size	RAW + SQ, RAW + HQ, RAW + SHQ, SQ, HQ, SHQ, RAW
White Balance	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)
ISO	Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Noise Filter	Off, Low, Standard, High
Noise Reduction	On, Off
Shooting 2
Metering	ESP (ESP + AF, ESP), Center-Weighted, Spot, Highlight Spot, Shadow Spot
Flash Intensity	+/- 2 in 1/3 increments
AF Mode	S-AF, C-AF, MF, S-AF + MF, C-AF + MF
AF Area	Auto, Left, Center, Right
AE Bracketing	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)
FL Bracketing	Off, 3F 0.3EV, 3F 0.7EV, 3F 1.0EV
Anti-Shock	Off, 1-30 seconds

Setup 1
ISO Limit	100, 200, 400
EV Step	1/3 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV
All White Balance Compensation	All Set (red and green +/- 7), All Reset (Yes, No)
HQ	¼, 1/8, 1/12
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)
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