The Olympus dust reduction system has been around longer than any other, and appears to be the most effective at reducing and eliminating sensor dust.Olympus has a longer history of digital SLR camera fabrication than Sony, who appears to be working out some kinks with their first SLR (according to independent user reviews).The live view LCD incredibly useful for a variety of shooting conditions.In the end, the winner for me is the Olympus E-510. But it's landscape and nature photographers who are going to able to leverage ALL of the features the camera has to offer for maximum effect. Please don't assume that the E-510 can't take portrait and action shots - it most certainly can. The 4/3 format is better suited for making large prints, something that you'll want to do if you capture a fantastic landscape shot.The dust reduction system ensures that the sensor stays clean, even if you are changing lenses in dusty environments.The compact size and extremely light weight make the camera easy to carry with you into the wilderness.A wide variety of custom metering and white balance settings help ensure that your photos are correctly exposed and that colors are captured accurately.Image stabilization is most useful when taking photos of non-moving subjects, since subject motion can cause blur in your photo even if the camera is steady.The live view mode makes it easy to get the camera close to plants and flowers without having to contort your body or crouch down in the mud.The 3-point autofocus system zeroes in quickly on a wide variety of subjects, even ones that trick other autofocus systems.Given its feature set, I'd recommend the E-510 principally for landscape, nature and wildlife photographers. Simply put, there are a lot of different ways to leverage the built-in stabilization system of the E-510. Since this is the case, you can use it to your advantage to create photos where the background is perfectly clear, but your subject is a blur of motion (without IS the entire photo would come out blurry). No amount of IS is going to make a fast-moving subject appear clear when the light is dim - only a fast shutter speed can freeze the motion of the SUBJECT. The image stabilization system works against the shaking of the camera and helps you take clear photos even when the camera is forced to use a slow shutter speed.īut image stabilization is not just to make every photo look crisp and clear - it can also be used to creatively enhance your digital images. But slow shutter speeds magnify camera shake (when you're holding the camera in your hands) and it's the motion of the camera that causes the blur in your photos. The slow shutter speed is a result of the dim lighting - the camera must keep the shutter open longer to let in more light for a proper exposure. The two culprits responsible for creating the blur are a slow shutter speed paired with camera shake. The end result without IS is a lot of blurry photos. The most common example: taking photos inside museums and aquariums. You're holding the camera in your hands (instead of bracing it with a tripod).It's most convenient under the following conditions: This system helps you capture photos that would simply not be possible without it. You can't see the stabilization working when you look through the viewfinder, but you can see it if you use the camera's live view mode (more on this later). The anti-shake works with any lens that you attach to the camera - you don't have to buy special stabilized lenses. The most notable feature on the Olympus E-510 is its built-in anti-shake system, since it's the only Olympus digital SLR with this feature (as of July 2007). Once you throw in a built-in anti-shake system to the camera's compact frame, you've got an enticing competitor to many of the other 10 megapixel digital SLR cameras currently available. Its 10.2 megapixels lets you make high-quality 16x20 inch prints, the dust control system keeps the sensor clean, and the live view lets you compose your photos either through the viewfinder or by using the camera's large 2.5 inch LCD screen. They were the first to have a digital SLR camera with a live view LCD - one that works just like many compact digital cameras on the market today.Īnd now the E-510 is also a first: it's the only camera to include ALL of these features. They were the first to add a dust control system to their digital SLR cameras (something that's now been adopted by other manufacturers). They were the first to adopt a new standard - called 4/3 - that uses a sensor with dimensions that are better suited for large-scale prints.

This Olympus E-510 Guide will introduce you to this new 10.2 megapixel digital SLR camera from a company that's been pushing the boundaries of SLR technology.

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