Review on 📷 Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Digital SLR Camera: Capture Crystal Clear Shots with CCD Shift Image Stabilization (Body Only) by Sara Hughes

I've never seen a need for a DSLR. I've been perfectly happy with a quality compact camera like the Canon SD800IS that I've shot with. I figured the DSLR was so big and bulky that I wouldn't want to take it with me to shoot, defeating the purpose of getting it in the first place. Everything changed with the birth of our son, when my grandfather offered us an Olympus E-510 DSLR as an "encouragement" to photograph his grandson well. Many other photo review sites offer very detailed and positive reviews of this camera and if you want to know in detail how this camera works and explain all the features, you should just search for these reviews. I'd just like to name three reasons why, as a former SLR antagonist, I'm now leaning towards the Olympus E-510.1. The E-510 is one of the smallest and lightest DSLRs currently available on the market. The included Zuiko 14-42mm and 40-150mm digital lenses are incredibly small and light. Note that the Four Thirds standard requires you to double the focal length of the lens compared to a standard 35mm lens; Thus, a 40-150mm kit lens offers a field of view comparable to an 80-300mm lens. But even with such a wide zoom range, the lens sits compactly and balanced on the camera and doesn't feel like a lead weight when hung around your neck. You still can't beat the simplicity and portability of a digital camera, but the E-510 outperforms any digital camera in the following areas.2. In fact, the image quality is noticeably better than my Canon SD800IS, which is already one of the highest quality digital cameras on the market. Detail and color reproduction, even when I downscaled the E-510 to camera resolution, was extremely impressive. The kit lenses that come with the E-510 also do a great job of preventing the edge-to-edge distortion that plagues my camera on wide-angle shots. While I had to spend some time editing my digital camera photos with photo editing software to get them looking good, the pictures taken with the E-510 looked great straight from the camera and they looked even better after a little editing. The ability to shoot in RAW and do intense post-processing is something you can't achieve with any digital camera.3. When photographing infants and children, speed is key. I've missed many frames on my digital camera due to shutter lag, even when prefocusing by pressing the shutter button halfway. The E-510 has fast autofocus (in good light), shutter lag and an excellent 3fps burst mode. This can make a difference when trying to capture a quick smile or expression on my child's face. Note that, as other reviewers have pointed out, the E-510 has autofocus issues in low light, but you can always fall back to manual focus. The camera is equipped with a focus confirmation light in the viewfinder that lights up when you've achieved correct focus, even in manual focus mode. I still have a lot more to learn about this camera. But if you're torn about making the switch from a digital camera to a DSLR, hopefully these reasons will help you in your decision.