Olympus EVOLT E-520 Digital Camera Review - Olympus DSLR

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Manual Control Options
The E-520 has a wide variety of controls and options for an entry-level SLR. By combining the presets with a large number of manual controls, Olympus has created a camera that can be enjoyed by users at a variety of skill levels. Someone who has only used point-and-shoots will have an easy time working with the presets, whereas those with a more manual mindset will take joy in the detailed control options available.

Manual adjustments are accessed through a variety of controls. Some have a designated button on the body of the camera, such as Image Stabilization, White Balance and Flash. Others can be accessed through the Super Control Panel ( the persistent menu system on the LCD screen), including picture quality, face detection and saturation. All of these controls, and many others, are also available by pressing the Menu button, and going through the hierarchical menu system. Using the designated buttons or Super Control Panel can save considerable time over using the Menu button and navigating through the system of multiple sub-menus.

Focus
Auto Focus (4.50)
The auto focus area changes depending on whether or not you are shooting in Live View. When using the viewfinder, you are restricted to left, center, right or all, the latter of which focuses using all three targets. Having only three AF points is fewer than one would expect for an SLR, and far less than the nine focus points offered by the Rebel XSi and the Sony A200. Thankfully, changing between these options is easy with your eye up to the viewfinder, as the focal location is clearly illuminated. The AF Area button is easily reachable by thumb, and then rotating the control dial or using the four-way controller will alter the focal point

When Live View is activated, the AF Area button brings up a grid of 10 squares covering most of the LCD, and individual squares can be selected as the focal point, a significant improvement over the control given with the viewfinder. Unfortunately, the auto focus on Live View is rather slow and inaccurate, so while it’s a nice touch, it’s difficult to use. When using a tripod Live View could be advantageous. It removes the need to look through the viewfinder constantly, and the LCD screen is viewable from a greater variety of angles. The more extensive auto focus points afforded by Live View would likewise be useful when using a tripod, as a more precise control of the focal area of the picture could be obtained.

The Auto focus button located on the four-way pad displays the perplexing options of S-AF, C-AF, MF, S-AF+MF and C-AF+MF when pressed. The definitions of these modes are not shown, but are mentioned in the manual. They are, in order, Single AF, Continuous AF, Manual Focus, Single with Manual and Continuous with Manual.

Single AF is fairly standard and self-explanatory. You half depress the shutter, you get a small beep indicating the focus is set and locked, and you press the shutter button down completely to take the photo. Continuous auto focus constantly re-focuses on whatever you’re aiming at as it moves across the frame. Manual Focus puts the control in the focal ring on the lens. S-AF+MF and C-AF+MF attempt to combine various positive aspects of auto and manual. In S-AF+MF, after half depressing the shutter, you can manually tweak the focus using the focal ring. With C-AF+MF you focus manually using the ring, then partially press the shutter to activate continuous focus. S-AF+MF is useful in situations where the auto focus has trouble focusing precisely, allowing the manual controls to be used for fine control. C-AF+MF would be good in situations where an object that is precisely focused might move slightly. However, these are both highly specific situations.

There is no dedicated auto focus assist lamp. Instead the E-520 stutters out a staccato of flashes to provide sufficient lighting to focus. This provides a strong illumination, but consequently can be highly distracting. In a situation where your subject could be startled or alerted by a rapidly firing flash, an auto focus lamp would be preferable.

Manual Focus (5.00)
Unlike many digital SLRs, there is no physical auto focus/manual focus switch on the body of the camera. As mentioned above, going through the AF menu activates the manual focus, rather than flicking a handy switch. The focus ring feels far more substantial than either the XSi or the Nikon D60, as well as being smoother to turn and offering a more stable focus.

ISO (8.00)
The ISO range is pretty standard, with Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600. This matches the Nikon D60 and the Canon Rebel XSi, while the Sony A200 goes up to 3200. As with most features of the E-520, the ISO screen is reached by pressing a dedicated button on the rear of the machine, with alternate routes via the Super Control Panel and the Menu button.

White Balance (11.00)
The E-520 has a broad selection of White Balance controls. There are seven pre-sets: Sunshine (5300K), Shade (7500K), Cloudy (6000K), Incandescent (3000K), three levels of Fluorescent (4000K, 4500K, and 6600K) and Flash (5500K). There’s also a Custom White Balance where you enter the appropriate degrees K, the ever-popular Auto, and a One Button White Balance that lets you shoot a piece of white paper in order to meter the appropriate setting. This value is saved in the camera till overwritten by another use of the One Button White Balance.

All of these are also tweakable in both Amber-Blue and Green-Magenta directions, at 7 increments each. If you’re shooting in varying conditions, the One Button White Balance can be bound to the Function button, which allows you to easily re-balance and continue shooting, even if conditions alter. There’s also a White Balance Bracketing function, which can take the same photo under multiple white balance settings. This feature allows for the white balance to be bracketed for both red-blue and green-magenta. These features are definitely aimed at the more professional user, especially the custom white balance, as it’s rare to find a new SLR user who knows the Kelvin value of their lighting setup.

Exposure (10.00)
The standard MSAP settings are present on the Mode Dial: Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Program. As with any SLR that only has a single control wheel, only one function can be adjusted at a time in full manual mode. On the E-520, the control wheel alters the shutter speed, and if you want to adjust the aperture you must press the exposure compensation button, a small control located by the shutter release. This switches which function you alter, and it can be switched back by pressing again. The control wheel is well situated, reachable by thumb, and easy to turn.

Metering (8.50)
The default setting for metering is Digital ESP (Electro Selective Pattern), which measures 49 areas in the image, and, according to the Olympus USA website, “analyzes the picture and compares it to a pre-program to give proper exposure for each situation”. It can work in conjunction with the auto focus to give a reading based on the area that is in focus. There is also a center weighted average metering, which places a stronger emphasis on the object at the center of the shot. Finally, there is spot metering, which measures from exactly the center of the shot, and two variations, highlight and shadow spot metering. Highlight is used if the background of a shot is overly bright, and whites may turn out underexposed if the normal auto-exposure is used. Shadow spot metering works in a similar way to prevent blacks from coming out grey in a dark environment.

Shutter Speed (10.00)
The E-520 provides a large spread of shutter speeds, ranging from a 60 seconds to a speedy 1/4000th of a second with 52 speeds in-between. The Rebel XSi, Sony A200 and the D60 all offer 30 seconds to 1/4000th. Bulb shooting is available in full manual mode, and works via an optional infrared remote control for that much-needed additional stability.

Aperture
The aperture range for the kit lens runs from f/3.5 to f/22 in 16 steps, and is adjusted via the control wheel only. There is a depth of field preview function, simply called Preview, for use with both the optical viewfinder and Live View. When taking a photo ordinarily, the lens’ aperture is always wide open in order to make the shot easier to see. Unfortunately, this view is not indicative of the depth of field of the final photo after the aperture is stopped down. Using the depth of field preview function closes the iris down to the level that the shot will be taken at, and provides an accurate indication of the focus distance, at the cost of darkening the view considerably. The only way to activate the preview is to bind it to the Function button. Interestingly, you can apply the Live View DOF Preview when not shooting in Live View, and the camera will briefly switch to Live View, allowing you to preview the shot on the larger LCD screen. The viewfinder Preview mode works adequately, but in Live View it seems to struggle. At the higher apertures (above f15) Live View Preview goes black and white except under very bright lights. This feature, while poorly documented, is designed for low light conditions to increase contrast on the LCD, and boost sensitivity to deliver more information. The depth of field preview function is one that is too often left off entry-level SLRs, and is good to see included here.

~~Modes Page 7 of 13 Image Parameters Olympus EVOLT E-520 Digital Camera Review Navigation~~

~~Intro~~

Physical Tour

Testing/Performance

Components

Design / Layout

Modes

Control Options

Image Parameters

Connectivity / Extras

Overall Impressions

Conclusion

Sample Photos

Specs / Ratings