Olympus E-510

Reviewed September 2007

Test Photos

STILL LIFE PHOTO

This subject is photographed in a room that has a mix of fluorescent and incandescent light, but which is not brightly lit. The camera's flash is used to add fill light. The backdrop is 1.95 m (6.5 ft) from the camera.

As always when the camera offers a RAW format, it is used to capture most of the images shown here. The RAW images are then converted to TIFF format, without any modification making it possible for the reader to see an image as close to the RAW as possible.

The wide angle image the camera yields has very even lighting, and colours very close to reality.

ZOOM PHOTO

Now we zoom in on a specific area. The intent is to test the sharpness of the image at the zoom's maximum setting. The camera remains at the same distance as with the preceding photo.

At its maximum magnifying power, the kit lens is equivalent to an 84 mm focal length, and yields an image that has many of the same characteristics as the wide angle shot, but which is sharper, even when captured using the widest aperture.

Still, when the RAW images of the E-510 are opened, their sharpness is generally soft. However, these images can be sharpened much more effectively — and without artefacts — using software.

Moreover, as with the wide angle shot, the telephoto image is also entirely free of noise.

CLOSE-UP PHOTO

The kit lens, a 14-42 mm f3.5-5.6 ED, was the only lens supplied for this review of the E-510. As with all dSLR cameras, the camera's capability to capture macro images is dependent on the lens used.

Using the kit lens the telephoto end allows focusing on a subject that is 10 cm (3.9 in.) from the front element of the lens. At this distance, the field of view captured measures 8.5 cm (3.54 in.) horizontally.

BUILDING PHOTO

This image is our outdoor test. The architecture of the building, in particular the angled girders, immediately show the presence of jaggies. The shadowed entrance can also often reveal the quality of the exposure.

When opened in a program such as Olympus Master 2 or Photoshop Camera RAW, the RAW image produced by the E-510 reveals the photographic quality of the camera. The exposures are flawless, and the dynamic range of the camera allows it to capture as much detail in the highlights as in the shadow areas.

As with other RAW images, the sharpness is a touch soft, but there is neither distortion nor chromatic aberration.

ZOOM PHOTO

Zooming in on the entrance of the building, the shadowed entrance takes on a greater importance for the metering and can cause an overexposure of sections that are directly lit.

Since this image is captured from the same vantage point as the wide angle shot, the relatively short zoom of the kit lens offers a limited magnification of the entrance area of the building. Nevertheless, the exposure is excellent and reveals a great deal of detail inside the building, behind the green glass doors.

As it is with the wide angle shot, the telephoto image has no trace of distortion and no chromatic aberration.

NIGHT PHOTO

As this camera is capable of a long exposure, a photo taken at night is included.

Offering a maximum timed exposure time of 60 seconds, the E-510 is a flexible tool to experiment with night photography. With a subject such as this one, where the light is originating from distant sources, the ambient light does not allow much detail to be perceived with the naked eye, and even the lower part of the bridge cannot be distinguished from the dark water below.

The E-510 is equipped with a dark frame noise reduction system that effectively doubles the time required to capture an image.

The system captures a second image with the same exposure time as the first, but without opening the shutter, making it possible to identify where noise occurs in the frame and then delete it from the first image. The E-510 allows the effect of the noise reduction system to be controlled, making it possible to minimize its impact on the overall sharpness of the image when required.

With this image, noise is effectively minimized and there is very little residual noise, and a lot of detail is visible.