Olympus E-520 review
Design
Housing & Handling
The E-520 is housed in a glass-reinforced plastic construction which keeps overall weight down and gives the camera a solid feeling. It lacks the splashproofing of the E-3 though.
For the most part the camera handles well, with its buttons giving good travel and a satisfying click when depressed. Unlike the front-mounted intrusive strap eyelets of the Olympus E-420, the two straplets on the E-520 are positioned on the edges of the top-plate, enabling easier access to the camera's main controls.
Improved Grip
The addition of a grip results in the camera acquainting with the shooting hand much better, with the benefit stretching beyond just general handling, given the three extra buttons accessible by the thumb on the rear. Together with the extra weight of the E-520, this gets round the imbalancing problems of the smaller and more lightweight Olympus E-420. Even with the beast of a lens that is the Zuiko 7-14mm f/4, the E-520 feels perfectly balanced to both shoot with and carry around.
Advantages over E-420
The E-520 therefore trumps its smaller sibliing in many ways, though there is one problem you notice as soon as you turn the camera on. The right selection wheel is both in front of and annoyingly close to the power switch, meaning that your thumb must first hurdle over the wheel to power up the camera. There seems to be no obvious reason as to why the Olympus E-420’s ‘flick-to-the-left’ design couldn’t have been implemented here. Even so, we would go as far as saying that the E-520 provides superb handling; it’s a well weighted camera and the grip fits the hand perfectly, while both thumb rest and shutter release fall easily to the hand.
Have your say!
Latest comments
October 01 14:49
Stephen Brasure
With the release of the Olympus E-620, the E-520 is now available at some very low prices (at least in the United States). It's hard to find a better deal than the E-520 lens kit, which is a great camera for those purchasing their first digital SLR. Having purchased a dual lens kit for my first SLR, I'm more than pleased with the camera's performance but you do have to be aware of it's limitations, as with any camera. One advantage of the Olympus E-520 is the quality of the JPEG images straight from the camera. They are usually quite excellent, and those who prefer to avoid a lot of post processing should compare JPEG quality of the 520 with images from other entry level SLR cameras. The quality of Olypus Zuiko lenses available for the E-520 is generally considered to be excellent and competitive with comparable offerings from Canon and Nikon. And again, for the average consumer, buying into the 4/3 Olympus system isn't any more or less advantageous than purchasing other systems. That being said, if the purchaser plans to upgrade to a full sensor body, than sticking with Canon or NIkon or other system may be preferable. With the availability of quality lenses, getting started with a 520 system can be a very cost effective means to enter SLR photography. And, there is always the option of upgrading to a newer body i.e. E-620 as prices come down or newer bodies are released. Bottom line..........the Olympus E-520 is a very competent and cost effective camera system for most consumers.
May 26 16:35
Peter Bower
Quite frankly, most photographers would not notice the limitations of the 520, because they would never put the camera to extremes of use. 99% will just shoot on auto with perhaps a few minor adjustments. On the positive side, I have not seen better landscapes than with the Olympus 510/520. Only the Sony 850 equals it but look at the price difference. Olympus kit lenses are supurb for the money and must be class leaders. Fit an Olympus 14 - 54 F 2.8 zoom and you will get pro results that are hard to beat. I still prefer the 510 over the newer 620 because for me the pop art is of very low priority in taking factual pictures. I want real life reproduction and nothing more. Peter