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any E500 owners thinking about buying a E510 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Derry
- Start date
iveljay
Well-known member
Just waiting to see if they offer me anything useful. The worst aspect of the E500 is the viewfinder with both existing E1 and E300 better, especially for manual focussing of long lenses and macros. The anti-shake feature may be attractive but it won't stop the birds moving their heads in low light and in any case using a manual 500 (equivalent to 1000 mm) I need a tripod to stay on target. I'll probably do what I usually do and wait until they are being replaced and buy cheap if I want one. If they have much superior noise control at high ASA - that might do it. N.B. As you probably gather I don't use the E500 for most of my bird work - great for other things though!
greypoint
Well-known member
I currently have an E-500, E-330 and E-400. The E-510 looks tempting as the IS would be useful on occasion, but the live view has limited value as it does'nt have the flip out lcd of the E-330. I've found the E-400 to be an improvement over the E-500 in terms of speed, better AF etc., and have been very pleased with the image quality. Given the current price of the E-400 I'm a bit more inclined to sell the E-330 and E-500 and get another one of those.
Derry
Well-known member
here is a good video review of the E510 by Camera Labs,,
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/OlympusE510/video_review.shtml
I have an E500 and main complaint is the small (dim at times) viewfinder as the last SLR I had was a Nikon F5, no comparison in viewfinders,,
the E510 has the same size viewfinder but does offer live view which overcomes the small viewfinder (AT TIMES),, IS would be nice but not much help when the lense get long,,
ahhhh those decisions we must make,,
still not convinced that the E500 is ready to be moved aside for a new body,,
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/OlympusE510/video_review.shtml
I have an E500 and main complaint is the small (dim at times) viewfinder as the last SLR I had was a Nikon F5, no comparison in viewfinders,,
the E510 has the same size viewfinder but does offer live view which overcomes the small viewfinder (AT TIMES),, IS would be nice but not much help when the lense get long,,
ahhhh those decisions we must make,,
still not convinced that the E500 is ready to be moved aside for a new body,,
greypoint
Well-known member
Temptation being the only thing I can never resist, I've added an e-510 to my camera bag [several items being sold to finance it!] First impressions - and the weather has been terrible - are very positive. Improved AF and the IS really works well. Feels very much like the E-500 to use - I've never had a problem with the viewfinder. I'm using it alongside the E-400, and that remains my favourite camera with regard to handling etc., and image quality from both is very similar - the E-510 coming into it's own when slow shutter speeds are needed. I'm hoping to get out and give it a thorough test when the weather improves!
greypoint
Well-known member
The weather has been pretty dreadful since receiving it - I'm waiting for one of those proper blue sky summer days coupled with something to photograph! These were taken using the 50-200mm Zuiko - cropped and tweaked just a bit to try and make up for the poor light.
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Derry
Well-known member
nice photos Greypoint,, have you tried the camera in a low light situation,,??
I was trying some shots this evening in low light and could never get the E500to focus allowing a shot,, really aggrivating,, have run into this situation a couple other times,, was plently of light to see everything but the camera would not obtain focus,,
I was trying some shots this evening in low light and could never get the E500to focus allowing a shot,, really aggrivating,, have run into this situation a couple other times,, was plently of light to see everything but the camera would not obtain focus,,
greypoint
Well-known member
It was very murky where i took the squirrel shot. It's a disused graveyard full of huge conifers and the squirrels run about and up and down the trees. I had to do a lot of focussing into very dim situations and must say the 510 seemed to perform very well [the 50-200 is'nt the fastest focussing lens in the world!]. I've still got my 500 at the moment so I'll see if I can try a few comparisons between it and the 510, and the 400, with regard to focussing.
Ask yourself , would the 510 make you a better photographer ?
As stated, IS doesn't work for moving objects.
There's nothing wrong with your 500. There's nothing you can't do with it you can do with a 510. Digital bodies hold little value any more, so selling your 500 won't bring much. You're better off keeping it and using it until at least the next body E-5XX comes, even better just use it until it's worn out. Olympus lenses are the real star of the 4-3 series. Better lenses last a long time, hold good value , and make your photos sing. There's no substitute for them ! If you want to spend some money , buy better lenses .... unless you already have some "pro" or "top pro" lenses of course.
Just my opinion of course .
-Garth
rolfw
Active member
Had thought about the E-510, but will stick with my 500s for the moment, apparently the Image Stabilisation is not so hot on the long lenses like my 50-500 and possibly unusable once the EC14 teleconverter is added. Was thinking of buying one of the Zigview displays to enhance tripod use, as the R version can be bought very cheaply now it has been superceded, so that would hold me until the next major upgrade. 
Wildmoreway
Well-known member
I switched from a Canon 400 to an Olympus 510 with a 400 as a backup, also bought a Bigma and a Sigma 105, sadly a housemove and health problems meant that I have not had a real chance to use the equipment yet.
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