Farewell to the Olympus E-510

I recently bid farewell to an Olympus E-510 DSLR. I had bought it with a 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Zuiko, with the idea of using the combo as my "travel kit." The E-510 accompanied me to London and back. It rewarded me with many fine photographs, but in the end we had to go our separate ways. Its design quirks--a small viewfinder, limited dynamic range, high noise at ISOs above 400--had become tiresome, especially with so many more flexible choices available. Apparently, Olympus itself agrees, because just today it introduced the E-510's successor, the E-520. I'm sure it's a better camera. Good enough to gain market share over Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Pentax? I doubt it, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Olympus.

Comments

[Bill Mitchell]

What did you replace it with?

[Gordon Lewis]

I haven't replaced it with anything--yet. I already own a Canon EOS 30D, along with a half-dozen Canon lenses, none over 85mm. The purchase of the E-510 was financed by the sale of a Canon 17-55mm f2.8 EF-S IS. It was a wonderful performer, but too big and heavy for my tastes. Now that Canon has announced its spring rebates, I'm tempted to get a 17-40mm f4, but the truth is I'm doing just fine with what I already own. I still miss the E-510 though. Despite its shortcomings it was a fun little camera.

[Raist3d]

You may really want to try an e-520 then. The sensor and DR are indeed improved by about 1/2 a stop, from my e-420 tests vs the e-410, and the camera will have a lot of little tweaks that together add to a lot.

- Raist

[Dan Ferrall]

Hi Gordon,
I happened across your site when it was mentioned on dpreview and your parting with your E-510. I enjoyed reading some of your other commentary about photography. I look forward to reading some more articles here on your site.

Congratulations on some nice work here.

Dan

[E330]

If you are looking for a replacement for traveling. Get Nikon D40 with 18-200 VR. It is unbeatable.