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Viewfinder (8.25)
The E-520 viewfinder provides a 95% field of view and a magnification of 0.92x, higher than most competitors’ models. The diopter adjusts from -3.0 to +1.0, and the eyecup is interchangeable with other accessories including a cap or magnifiers.
When shooting, the auto focus points are clearly shown in the center of the viewfinder, and a data display is directly on the right. This display shows the aperture value, shutter speed, shooting mode, flash, white balance, AE lock status, number of storable images, exposure compensation, metering mode, battery levels, exposure mode, and image stabilization status. These are all displayed along a black strip to the right of the viewfinder.
The viewfinder appears dark compared to the Canon Rebel XSi, another entry-level SLR. This was also an issue with the E-520’s predecessor, the E-510.
The viewfinder has a higher magnification level than most other SLRs
LCD Screen (6.5)
The HyperCrystal II LCD measures a substantial 2.7 inches, slightly larger than the 2.5-inch screen on the E-510, but with the same 230,000 pixel resolution. It is brightly colored with a good range of viewing angles.
The LCD is primarily used for the menu system, especially the Super Control Panel, a set of options displayed while shooting that can be altered without going through the Menu button. The Info button is used to display different levels of information during playback, including histograms for different color settings, areas of under- and over-exposure and shooting data.
As with its predecessor, the E-520 has a Live View mode, which allows it to be used in a similar manner to a point and-shoot digital camera. When using Live View, instead of reflecting the light up through the viewfinder using a mirror, the mirror is raised and the shutter opened, allowing the light to hit a sensor panel in the body of the camera directly, which transmits the data to the LCD screen.
While there are situations where Live View is useful, such as tripod shooting with a stationary subject, the technology is still highly problematic. The most obvious shortcoming is the refresh speed of the LCD screen. The on-screen image lags significantly behind the actual view. Rapidly moving from one subject to another is clumsy, due to the slow nature of Live View. While in motion, the Live View blurs as it tries to keep up with a rapidly moving scene. In addition, focusing speed using Live View is terribly slow. The LCD darkens as it auto focuses, and the focus is then locked in before returning to full brightness, all the while making a constant whirring noise. The auto focus itself sometimes struggles to identify the correct objects to focus on, especially with objects that are close. You probably won’t be using this for macro work. The slowness of the LCD screen refresh and of auto focusing, coupled with problematic AF detection means that the Live View isn’t appropriate for any situation in which either you or your subject is moving.
During our testing of the E-520, the Live View’s auto focus had particular trouble in low light conditions shooting at ISO 100 and 200. In dark situations we recommend not using this function, due to its unreliable focusing performance.
There are three focus modes for using Live View, all of which attempt to deal with these problems in different ways. Imager AF works most similarly to a standard point-and-shoot by using the image sensor, and lets you focus by half-pressing the shutter, and then fully depressing to take the photo. However, this only works with certain Zuiko lenses. The particular lenses aren’t listed in the manual, though, which instead suggests you visit the website, which is likewise unhelpful. The second focus mode, AF Sensor, works with any lens, but you cannot auto focus by half depressing the shutter. Instead you aim at the object you want to photograph, and then press the shutter. The screen blanks out while the lens focuses and a picture is taken. Finally there is Hybrid AF, which approximates the focus using the more data taken from the image sensor, allowing some degree of focus to be shown on the LCD, before accurately focusing with the full click of the shutter button.
Flawed though it is, though, the Olympus Live View system still works better than the Canon Rebel XSi, which cannot auto focus at all while in Live View mode.
While in Live View, menus are superimposed over the image on the LCD screen, rather than reverting to the default black background.
Face detection is only available in Live View mode, as the facial recognition system relies on the information provided by the image sensor. This is not mentioned at any point in the manual,. You can actually still turn on face detection while in viewfinder mode, but it does not function.
For use with Live View mode, Olympus has provided a cover for the viewfinder to prevent light leaks through the eyepiece. While not required, leaving the eyepiece uncovered may cause incorrect metering.
UPDATE: Since this review was published, it has come to our attention that the Rebel XSi does, in fact, have auto focus in Live View, although Canon says that "focusing manually is recommended for precise focusing". This somewhat limited contrast AF mode can be activated through the third Custom Functions menu.
The HyperCrystal II LCD measures a substantial 2.7 inches, slightly larger than the 2.5-inch screen on the E-510, but with the same 230,000 pixel resolution. It is brightly colored with a good range of viewing angles.
The LCD is primarily used for the menu system, especially the Super Control Panel, a set of options displayed while shooting that can be altered without going through the Menu button. The Info button is used to display different levels of information during playback, including histograms for different color settings, areas of under- and over-exposure and shooting data.
The Super Control Panel
As with its predecessor, the E-520 has a Live View mode, which allows it to be used in a similar manner to a point and-shoot digital camera. When using Live View, instead of reflecting the light up through the viewfinder using a mirror, the mirror is raised and the shutter opened, allowing the light to hit a sensor panel in the body of the camera directly, which transmits the data to the LCD screen.
While there are situations where Live View is useful, such as tripod shooting with a stationary subject, the technology is still highly problematic. The most obvious shortcoming is the refresh speed of the LCD screen. The on-screen image lags significantly behind the actual view. Rapidly moving from one subject to another is clumsy, due to the slow nature of Live View. While in motion, the Live View blurs as it tries to keep up with a rapidly moving scene. In addition, focusing speed using Live View is terribly slow. The LCD darkens as it auto focuses, and the focus is then locked in before returning to full brightness, all the while making a constant whirring noise. The auto focus itself sometimes struggles to identify the correct objects to focus on, especially with objects that are close. You probably won’t be using this for macro work. The slowness of the LCD screen refresh and of auto focusing, coupled with problematic AF detection means that the Live View isn’t appropriate for any situation in which either you or your subject is moving.
During our testing of the E-520, the Live View’s auto focus had particular trouble in low light conditions shooting at ISO 100 and 200. In dark situations we recommend not using this function, due to its unreliable focusing performance.
There are three focus modes for using Live View, all of which attempt to deal with these problems in different ways. Imager AF works most similarly to a standard point-and-shoot by using the image sensor, and lets you focus by half-pressing the shutter, and then fully depressing to take the photo. However, this only works with certain Zuiko lenses. The particular lenses aren’t listed in the manual, though, which instead suggests you visit the website, which is likewise unhelpful. The second focus mode, AF Sensor, works with any lens, but you cannot auto focus by half depressing the shutter. Instead you aim at the object you want to photograph, and then press the shutter. The screen blanks out while the lens focuses and a picture is taken. Finally there is Hybrid AF, which approximates the focus using the more data taken from the image sensor, allowing some degree of focus to be shown on the LCD, before accurately focusing with the full click of the shutter button.
Flawed though it is, though, the Olympus Live View system still works better than the Canon Rebel XSi, which cannot auto focus at all while in Live View mode.
While in Live View, menus are superimposed over the image on the LCD screen, rather than reverting to the default black background.
Face detection is only available in Live View mode, as the facial recognition system relies on the information provided by the image sensor. This is not mentioned at any point in the manual,. You can actually still turn on face detection while in viewfinder mode, but it does not function.
For use with Live View mode, Olympus has provided a cover for the viewfinder to prevent light leaks through the eyepiece. While not required, leaving the eyepiece uncovered may cause incorrect metering.
UPDATE: Since this review was published, it has come to our attention that the Rebel XSi does, in fact, have auto focus in Live View, although Canon says that "focusing manually is recommended for precise focusing". This somewhat limited contrast AF mode can be activated through the third Custom Functions menu.
A wide variety of controls are available on the Super Control Panel
Flash (7.25)
The distance of the raised flash from the center of the camera lens is directly linked to how likely it is that you’ll experience red-eye in a shot. Unfortunately, the E-520’s flash is noticeably closer to the lens than the Nikon D60 and Canon Rebel XSi, which means there’s a comparatively higher chance of your subjects coming out red-eyed.
The flash is deployed by a single press of the flash button, located just to the left of the viewfinder/flash hump. Pressing the button a second time gives you a variety of options that appear on the LCD screen. There’s auto; red-eye reduction; red-eye reduction slow sync; slow sync 1st curtain; slow sync 2nd curtain; fill-in; manual 1/4; manual 1/16; manual 1/64, and the ever popular “off”. Slow sync is when the flash is coupled with a longer exposure than normal in order to better illuminate a background. Slow 1st curtain sync involves firing the flash just after the shutter opens, and then continuing the exposure. Slow 2nd curtain sync fires just before the shutter closes after a long exposure. They each illuminate the picture at different stages, and can produce different effects with moving objects. The manual flash controls equate to the fraction of full strength the flash will be firing at, so that you can shoot at 1/4, 1/16 or 1/64 power for situations where not quite as much light is required.
Flash bracketing allows three frames to be shot at 0.3EV, 0.7EV or 1.0EV steps, and is controlled via the Menu system.
The flash itself, while diminutive, is decently powerful. When shooting in a completely light sealed room, the flash illumination was noticeably dimmer around the edges of the shot. The fill-in flash functioned admirably, and provided a large amount of light.
Olympus recommends the FL-50R, the FL-36R, the FL-50, FL-36 and FL-20 flashes for use with the hot shoe. The two R models are both wireless (Olympus is pushing the E-520 as being wireless flash friendly). However, with the 36R costing $299.99 and the 50R $499.99, these flashes are in the realm of the truly dedicated, and probably more used by people who would spend more than $700 on a camera. While added functionality is usually advantageous, it is difficult to imagine someone spending $500 on a flash for an entry-level SLR.
The flash is positioned low, but is powerful
The E-520 takes Four Thirds format lenses. This is a closed standard format, developed by Olympus and Kodak. These two companies, along with Panasonic, Sigma, Fujifilm and Leica have all developed lenses or bodies for the Four Thirds format at one point or another. These digital-only lenses have fully electronic mounts, with no mechanical connection to the body of the camera. The lens has independent firmware from the camera itself, allowing for the possibility of additional functions being added at a later date. The Four Thirds format was designed from the ground up for digital cameras, with slightly smaller sensors than other formats, allowing the lenses themselves to be smaller as well. The lenses have a 4:3 aspect ratio rather than a tradition 3:2 aspect ratio, making the shape of the image slightly wider. The smaller sensor associated with the Four Thirds format has a magnification factor of 2, meaning the depth of field of a lens is effectively doubled compared to a 35mm, which is advantageous for telephoto photography, but not so much for wide angle. This is noticeably more than the 1.5 magnification factor found on the 3:2 sensors of most digital SLRs.
The E-520 ships with a kit 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital ED (35mm equivalent focal length 28-84mm). The ED stands for ‘Extra-low Distortion’, which claims to minimize refraction and other chromatic hiccups. It also comes with a lens hood, which is standard for all Zuiko lenses, and a nice freebie for an included lens.
Unlike Nikon and Canon, the Olympus image stabilization setup is housed in the body rather than the lens. This allows for the price of lenses to be kept comparatively low while still providing decent stabilization. The E-520 uses three different image stabilization modes, titled, rather originally, IS1, IS2 and IS3. IS1 is standard full stabilization, while IS2 and 3 stabilize on only one axis. The IS2 setting only stabilizes vertically, allowing the photographer to pan rapidly left and right for tracking fast-moving objects. Conversely, the IS2 only stabilizes horizontally, allowing for rapid up and down shifting.
The same technology that drives the stabilization and the auto focus is also used to prevent dust from appearing on the image sensor. The Supersonic Wave Drive handles the focusing and stabilization, and under the nom de guerre SSWF (or Supersonic Wave Filter) dust adhesion problems are avoided. Whenever the camera is booted up, the SSWF sends off a pulse at 35kHz, vibrating loose any adhering particles, which are then caught in a special adhesive area.
The lens itself is small and light when compared to other entry level digital SLRs, such as the Nikon D60. As mentioned above, this is due to the image stabilization and auto-focus being housed in the body rather than in the lens. The zoom ring felt rather stiff on the Zuiko lens.
Camera based auto focus allows for cheaper lenses
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