Olympus E-520 Review

Olympus E-520 Review

The Olympus E-520 is a refreshed version of Olympus's upper-entry-level camera, the E-510. As such it's a slightly bulked-up E-420 with image stabilization, which makes it one of the most feature-packed and customizable cameras available for under £500/$800. It loses some of its sibling's compact chic but offers a bigger, longer-lasting battery and a more familiar grip shape to those people familiar with contemporary DSLRs.

Its Four-Thirds sensor (2.43cm2) offers 10 million pixel output and a Live view system that has become commonplace since Olympus pioneered the idea a few years back. It's clearly a camera that comes from a company with a strong heritage of making products for photographers, with useful features such as highlight and shadow spot metering modes sitting alongside a plethora of beginner-friendly point-and-shoot modes.

The whole market has become a much more competitive place since the E-510 first hit the market in March 2007, so has the the newest version done enough to stand out against the increasingly slick APS-C offerings?

New features (compared to the E-510)
-Larger, 2.7" LCD display (versus 2.5" on the E-510)
-Contrast detect autofocus (with select lenses)
-Face detection in live view mode
-Auto Gradation (Dynamic Range enhancement)
-Faster continuous shooting speeds (3.5 vs 3.0 fps)
-Wireless flash control (Up to three groups)
-Additional Image Stabilization mode for panning

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse520/

Canon EOS 1000D

Canon EOS 1000D (Rebel XS / Kiss F) ReviewJuly 2008, Richard Butler

When Canon launched the EOS 300D back in 2003 it was widely regarded as the first affordable digital SLR and secured Canon a seemingly indomitable number-one spot in the market. Since then the 'small' Canon has gone through three further iterations and the current model - the EOS 450D - offers a feature set and image quality that could only have been dreamed about five years ago (and at a price point well below the 300D's). However, the competition haven't been idle spectators and have recently launched a number of de-spec'ed cameras that have redefined the entry level segment and undercut the EOS 450D in the DSLR hierarchy.
Canon has now responded to this mounting pressure by launching a new model one tier below the 450D in its current lineup - the EOS 1000D. It shares bits and pieces with Rebels gone by and, depending from which angle you look at it, the new model is either a stripped down 450D or a 'reheated' 400D. It's a lower specification camera than the 450D, by every measure you might see listed on the shop shelf, but is not the huge step down that its market positioning might lead you to expect.
On the next page of this review you'll find a detailed comparison between the 1000D, 450D and 400D but the headlines are; a 10MP sensor, 2.5 in LCD monitor, 7-point AF system and no spot-metering (like the 400D) but gaining Live View with both phase- and contrast-detect AF, SD/SDHC for storage and a control and menu layout that is pretty much identical to the EOS 450D's. In fact, because it's based around the same Digic III processor, it shares an interface with almost every current Canon DSLR all the way up to the 1DsMkIII.
Note that throughout this preview we will refer to the EOS 1000D by its European name; if you live in other parts of the world you'll know the camera by Rebel XS or Kiss F Digital, but they're all essentially the same camera. BY When Canon launched the EOS 300D back in 2003 it was widely regarded as the first affordable digital SLR and secured Canon a seemingly indomitable number-one spot in the market. Since then the 'small' Canon has gone through three further iterations and the current model - the EOS 450D - offers a feature set and image quality that could only have been dreamed about five years ago (and at a price point well below the 300D's). However, the competition haven't been idle spectators and have recently launched a number of de-spec'ed cameras that have redefined the entry level segment and undercut the EOS 450D in the DSLR hierarchy.
Canon has now responded to this mounting pressure by launching a new model one tier below the 450D in its current lineup - the EOS 1000D. It shares bits and pieces with Rebels gone by and, depending from which angle you look at it, the new model is either a stripped down 450D or a 'reheated' 400D. It's a lower specification camera than the 450D, by every measure you might see listed on the shop shelf, but is not the huge step down that its market positioning might lead you to expect.
On the next page of this review you'll find a detailed comparison between the 1000D, 450D and 400D but the headlines are; a 10MP sensor, 2.5 in LCD monitor, 7-point AF system and no spot-metering (like the 400D) but gaining Live View with both phase- and contrast-detect AF, SD/SDHC for storage and a control and menu layout that is pretty much identical to the EOS 450D's. In fact, because it's based around the same Digic III processor, it shares an interface with almost every current Canon DSLR all the way up to the 1DsMkIII.
Note that throughout this preview we will refer to the EOS 1000D by its European name; if you live in other parts of the world you'll know the camera by Rebel XS or Kiss F Digital, but they're all essentially the same camera. By http://www.dpreview.com