Product Review: Olympus E-520 Digital Camera

Digital camera technology has increased exponentially in the last few years, with quality increasing and price decreasing. A quick rifle through a magazine from the late 1990's, when digital camera's were reaching their peek of adoption, will show the quality that once was considered good - poor low-light quality and very noticeable noise (grain) even in daylight photos. The cameras used to take these poor pictures were priced in the four digital range, and were beyond the budget of all but the most faithful hobbyist.

A look at the current line of cameras shows just how much this reality has changed, and the Olympus E-520 stands on the forefront of this line. The E-520 is a high-quality digital camera with excellent macro and zoom, and is priced at $699. Note that this camera is not a DSLR.

If you're looking for a new camera and have stumbled across the new Olympus, read on to find out if this camera is worth the hefty price tag.

Features

This digital SLR camera features contrast detection auto focus, face detection, shadow adjustment technology, built-in image stabilizer, supersonic wave filter, RAW sequential shooting, ISO 100 - 1600, and a wireless flash.

The camera uses the TruePic III image processor, which effectively cuts noise to extremely low levels, the ideal need of all professional photographers. There's manual adjustment for focus, white balance, and ISO.

The LCD display is nearly 3" in length (2.7"), making it easy to see any blurs or imperfections in your pictures. The camera sports 10 megapixels, has 32 different shooting modes, a built-in secondary flash, auto focus lock, depth of field preview, and an optional underwater camera case.

Build Quality

The build quality of the camera is very nice. The body is solid and firm, and has an ergonomic design that makes it easy to hold despite it's large size. Given that it is a DSLR, the camera won't fit in any pocket - there are two metal should strap brackets on either sides of the camera for convenience.

Photo Quality