Olympus EVOLT E-520

Drive / Burst Mode (7.50)
The E-520 can be switched into Continuous Shooting mode either by using the button on the top left of the body, or by navigating the Super Control Panel. Burst mode only functions for JPEGs, and it fires at a continuous 3.5 shots per second, with exposure, focus and white balance locked in after the first shot.

Playback Mode (7.75)
Playback mode is activated via the playback button on the upper left of the LCD screen. The zoom level in Playback mode can be altered using the control dial. Rotating it counter-clockwise zooms in on the individual image. Clockwise zooms out and, after hitting full size, shows several thumbnails on screen at a time. You can see 4, 9, 25, 49 or 100 images at a time, depending on zoom level. However, at the high end of that scale, it is difficult to correctly identify images. If you continue zooming out, the view changes to a calendar, where you can choose the date and see the photos taken at that point.

Six different screen displays for viewing the photo are cycled via the Info button. Playback defaults to showing just the photo but that can be changed to include file name and photo number; image size and date and time; white and RGB histograms with camera settings; full histogram and colored, blinking indicators to show areas that are underexposed or overexposed.

A certain amount of editing is possible in-camera, via the Play menu. On offer are shadow adjustment, redeye fix, crop, black and white, sepia, saturation and scaling. The shadow adjustment tool alters the image to brighten the areas of the shot that are in shadow. It works well, bringing out details from the shadows without washing out the rest of the image. It’s not a match for a skilled user of Photoshop, but it does a solid job.

Custom Image Presets (8.00)
The E-520 has a wide variety of presets for practically every occasion. Five frequently used presets and a menu of further modes are available through the Mode dial. The five represented on the dial are Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports, and Night Portrait. Clicking over to the scene mode enables 15 additional preset modes for those who want to get the best shots out of varied environments but don’t have the knowledge to attempt full manual adjustments.