Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Digital SLR Camera with CCD Shift Image Stabilization and 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Lens

Found this camera for the lowest price on Amazon.com
It was a wonderful deal since it included two lenses for under $600. Yes, this camera was discontinued last year, but made a lot of sense to purchase since the newer version does not include any features that make it that much better for me.

The camera arrived sooner than expected and I have not experienced any issues yet - Just enjoying it!

This is such a great deal that it should be hard for any amateur looking for an SLR to pass up. It is a comfortable camera to hold, has 2 great kit lenses and the 4/3 system is really just starting to take off. I have only had mine a couple days, but I am loving it already.

I love taking photos with this camera! It's just what I needed to take my photography skills to the next level. The kit lenses are surprisingly good and light which are traits that don't often go together in lenses. It's quick compared to even the nicest P&S cameras (I had a Canon S3 IS before this). IS in the body is a nice feature so I don't have to buy more expensive lenses to get that feature. The jpeg white balance seems a little off (too much white by default) so I just shoot in RAW which gets around that problem. You can also adjust the white balance but I just decided I'd rather do it in post. Picasa does a good job with the RAW files so I don't have to use the Olympus software which seems kind of klunky to me. I may get Lightroom at some point when my finances have recovered to get a little more in-depth with post processing.
The live view feature sounded good on paper but really isn't that useful in practice. I might as well just take a photo and see how that looks instead of previewing with live view. If it's no good I can just delete it.
The only really annoying thing about this camera is Olympus' proprietary USB connector. Why do they have to do that?!?! It takes what might have been a five star product down to four. There is no good reason to take a standard like a mini USB connection and change it to make your customers have to buy your special cables. But even with this gripe it was worth it.
Auto focus in low light is not that great (slow) and it uses the flash to get a focus lock which can be distracting to your subjects and kind of kills the mood you often create in a low light situation. In sunlight the focus is quick and accurate.
I also got an Olympus Macro Extension Tube which is nice if you like to take some macro shots but don't want to spend the money on a whole separate lens. The tube with the 40-150 lens takes some nice macro shots (manual focus only) without breaking the bank.
Other recommended accessories would be a Zing neoprene pouch (Standard SLR size will fit with either lens) and some UV Protective filters to keep the optics clean and safe.
Overall it's highly recommended if you're looking to break into the world of DSLR photography without having to take out a second mortgage.

I switched from film SLR to digital and E-510 was my choice. I'm using it for 6 months and so far I don't regret it. The 14-42 kit lens had front focusing issues but Olympus repair service fixed it. The other kit lens (40-150) performs excellent.
I'd like to see better dynamic range, but this is more film vs. digital issue than E-510 itself. I noticed increased noise at ISO400 and more. This is problem with most 4/3 cameras caused by smaller sensor size.
I use it mostly in full manual mode, as this is the way I used my old film SLR camera.
I upgraded to Zuiko 14-54 and 70-300, and with this combination I couldn't ask for more.
In conclusion, E-510 is not perfect at all, but probably the best choice for the price.

This is my first camera review and is based upon six weeks of heavy use of my new Olympus E-510, 10MP, DSLR with two very good kit lenses (14-42mm and 40-150mm). I bought the camera to upgrade my ability to capture indoor architectural details in historic buildings. My background includes the use of 35mm film SLRs and digital point & shoot cameras. I have been slow on getting a DSLR because I don't like big, heavy cameras in outsized bags. The E-510 is amazingly light but easy to get a good grip on. I've added a Lowepro 160 AW bag for the camera, two lenses, a spare Olympus Li-ion battery and a spare 4GB compactFlash card. There's still room for more and it is almost feather light over your shoulder.

I have taken several hundred practice images in my own home using the built-in flash and an external Olympus FL-36 electronic flash with tripod. As expected, the built-in flash is fine for quick photos of the family but more serious work demands an external flash unit. I've added a diffuser to my FL-36 and found it helpful. I've used automatic settings and tried the full range of manual settings. So far I've only used the lower resolution SQ JPEG settings. For minute detail I plan to use higher resolution HQ, SHQ and RAW settings in the future. These settings are all easy to find and quick to set using the camera's easy to read paper instruction manual and intuitive Menu viewable through the LCD window on the back of the camera.

Outdoors I've made very good use of both lenses and the image stabilization feature. When you can walk backwards in a busy zoo and can capture a two year old without blurring, you've got a great stabilization system on the camera! I've taken several hundred images of waterfalls in a dark forrest with brilliant, high-noon sun streaming through the trees and close range to distant landscape shots around a large manmade lake from a fast moving boat. All the results have been excellent. I have taken a number of these images, opened them up in Adobe Photoshop CS2 and been very pleased with the results.

I have tried the "live view" capability and it works fine but I find myself using the viewfinder 95% of the time. So, this feature is pretty cool but up to you on how you prefer to use it. Battery life is outstanding. In other words battery life has been a complete non-issue to me, inside, outside, with or without the flash.

Concerning low-light focus problems mentioned in some other reviews. I have experienced the problem, but with all the settings this camera has, you can easily work around the issue. But it is important to know this limitation and experiment with it before you encounter it in a photo shoot situation.

If you'd like some outstanding recommendations on how to customize and save your E-510 camera settings check out this website. http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/e510-sett.html

One thing I have not tried yet is the panoramic shooting mode. To use this mode you must have a Panoramic xD card (I bought two CompactFlash cards, 2GB & 4GB when I bought the camera). The xD card will be my next purchase. Unless you want to spend the money, you might buy the 4GB CompactFlash card and a 1GB or 2GB xD card for starters. No, the camera does not come with a memory card upon initial purchase unless you buy a complete kit.

So, read the reviews, to include the 4 and 3 star reviews. If you make your decision to buy a E-510 and save a few bucks or buy the newest E-520 you won't be disappointed. Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Digital SLR Camera with CCD Shift Image Stabilization and 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 and 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 Zuiko Lenses