Digital Cameras Reach Critical Mass
Written: Jan 03 '03
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Pros: Powerful camera, low cost, impressive picture results
Cons: Software is weak, menu systems need to be revised, no case
The Bottom Line: A powerful, flexible, and relatively low cost camera for those new to Digital Cameras and those who are familiar with them. A Performer in all aspects of Digital Cameras.
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| phrosted's Full Review: Olympus Camedia D-510 Zoom Digital Camera |
I've always thought that Digital Cameras were one of the most important “Killer Apps” of the technological age. But it has taken until now for the technology to advance enough and produce a product that has the quality and features to truly replace your typical 35mm point-and-shoot camera. The D510 Zoom from Olympus is a perfect example of such a product.
Now I'll be honest, I didn't do a whole lot of research before buying my new toy. I knew enough about digital cameras to recognize the features that set them apart, but I had not done any specific research on this camera. But being the gear head I am, when I discovered this gem at a severely reduced clearance price I snatched it up. I knew at that time that Olympus made some very nice cameras in both traditional and digital formats. My impulses on this one seemed to be right on.
I have been using the camera for several weeks now, and am incredibly impressed with the convenience a quality digital camera can provide.
The camera is a 2.1 Mega pixels. This is basically all the quality you need for almost any application. Pictures for the web turn out great, printed pictures in 4x6 and 5x7 look amazing, you can even stretch it to 8x10 without much of a major impact. 1600 x 1200 pictures are produced by most settings, but you can cut down the size to increase the room for pictures.
The 3x Optical and 9x Digital is something that is fairly hard to find in a camera in this price range. If your in the camera business, you know that Olympus makes great quality lens, you'll know the a better quality lens will create a better picture. These hold true with the D510. If you do not know the difference between optical and digital zoom, optical is the physical adjustment of the lens to get a closer picture. Digital simply takes the picture then crops and resizes it to the desired zoom. This is only useful if you want a bigger picture and in most cases, the quality is decreased. 3X Optical is more then enough for my use. The digital zoom is nice to have but I don't use it much because I can crop if necessary using software on my PC. A beautiful feature Olympus includes is the ability to toggle the use of digital zoom. The zoom button is simply a rocker switch located next to the shutter button. If your using the LCD screen as a view finder, you will notice it will display a visual guide showing how much zoom is currently being applied. This guide also shows when you are making use of digital zoom or just optical zoom. Another small feature, but it illustrates the thought that was put into this design.
The camera has a host of other features that set it apart from others. USB auto connect gives you an amazing amount of flexibility and allows windows to recognize the camera as an external hard-drive and lets your simply drag and drop the files you want. When you combine this with Windows XP's digital camera wizard, you couldn't ask for anything easier. This also allows you to use this camera as a card reader for any of your Smart media cards. Speaking of smart media cards, the camera includes a 8mb card in box. Which allows for just fewer than 20 high quality shots. Turn down the quality slightly and get in upwards of 50.
The ability to plug your camera into a video input on a TV is a great addition to the already complete feature set. When your on a trip and don't have the ability to get a hold of a computer for a few minutes to view your pictures, simply plug in the standard RCA output cable and connect it to any TV. An instant slideshow. Olympus was nice enough to include this cable in the package, kudos to you Olympus.
The Quicktime movie capture feature allows you to take short movie clips (25 seconds long). The length of time and lack of audio capture makes this almost pointless, but I have found that I have used it for recording lab results in various classes at school.
The D-510 looks great on paper, but how does it perform in the real world?
Opening the box gives displays various documents including your user manual and software. It has two cables (USB and Video Out), a set of NiMH batteries, a 8mb card, a wristband and the Camera itself. Everything you need to get going is there, although the inclusion of an AC Adapter would have been appreciated.
The actual camera is somewhat bulky compared to smaller models offered by HP, Canon, and Fuji. The newer D520 shares similar specifications but is almost half the depth of the D510 and does not retain the solid of the D510. The D510 case feels similar to brushed aluminium giving it a professional feel and style. It still fits into a pocket (on my rather large pants), but is better suited to remain in a case in a purse or backpack.
The pictures that come out of the camera are bright and vivid and I’ve printed many in a variety of sizes. One of my pictures recently won 2nd place in a photo contest (Picture: Land of the Living Sky available at www.barndoorfanclub.org/gallery/twilight/twilight.html). The variety of shutter speed and aperture settings can be useful for someone with more experience in working with traditional SLRs but I find that letting the camera automatically choose proper settings tends to produce excellent pictures. Having said that, most of my low light pictures turned out less than impressive unless I played with the settings myself. The User Manual includes a great guide on how to take the best pictures in a variety of situations and is worth reading through.
The software is not very useful, although it does allow you to take a number of shots and digitally “stitch” them together to make a panorama. The results of the stitching function look very professional. I do most of my picture touch-ups with JASC Paint Shop Pro.
I purchased two things with my camera: A 16mb Smart media card and a small camera case. The 16mb allows me to capture 30 high quality pictures and then the 8mb can be used as a backup. The case protects the camera wherever I go and holds the USB cable and the extra memory card. NiMH rechargeable batteries are on my list of things to pick up. As with most digital cameras, the D510 eats batteries. It is best to keep an extra set with the case as well. The battery life indicator only shows when the batteries are just about to die and will otherwise show a full charge until it’s too late.
Reasons to buy:
- Powerful camera (2.1 MP, 3x Optical 9x Digital): These features alone make it a desirable and very functional camera to have.
- Low cost: The price point I’ve seen for this camera makes it a viable option for a Christmas present or just as a straight replacement for a 35mm for those new to digital cameras.
- Impressive picture results: Photos are bright and colourful, perfect for printing with a photo printer or getting professionally printed.
- It’s just fun to use: The ability to take a picture of something at a get together, show it on a slideshow later that night, print out a copy for everyone there and then have it posted on a website the next day makes it fun to use.
Things to watch out for:
- No camera case: Best to pick one of these guys up. A good one can be had for under $20
- Software is Weak: Besides the ability to stitch panorama, the software was relatively weak and only useful as a photo viewer, something that Windows XP does natively quite well.
- Menu System: Like other reviews, the menus do require some getting used to and I frequently have to refer back to the manual to track down specific features. Some effort could be made to craft a less intimidating system.
Conclusion:
The Olympus D510 is a solid performer right of the box. With 2.1 MP and 3x Optical zoom, it is the perfect replacement for a traditional 35mm or SLR user experimenting with the new digital camera technology. Although I do have some complaints about what is included camera and what isn’t, they are relatively insignificant compared to the quality and usefulness of the camera overall. Out of all the cameras I have tried out before and after the purchase of my D510, I am still impressed with the quality it produces. For the price, the D510 is best of class.
***Update***
I left my digital camera in my glove box by accident and over the course of two days was involved in some amateur rally racing. Unfortunately I had not left the camera in its case and some of the pixels on the LCD preview screen have gone out. I have not go a hold of Olympus yet but will publish my experiences with technical support as soon as I finalize what is going on.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Epinions.com ID:
phrosted
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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