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Hi all,

I am considering buying the E510 and have read a couple of reviews on
this camera. They seem to be mostly positive but one said it had poor
low light capability and another said it's lcd screen was hard to see
in sunlight. I was wondering if anybody had any real world experience
with this camera (or the E500/esentially the same camera) they'd be
willing to share. Any comments would be appreciated.

John

> I am considering buying the E510 and have read a couple of reviews on
> this camera. They seem to be mostly positive but one said it had poor
> low light capability and another said it's lcd screen was hard to see
> in sunlight. I was wondering if anybody had any real world experience
> with this camera (or the E500/esentially the same camera) they'd be
> willing to share. Any comments would be appreciated.
>
> John

John: The main reason for choosing an E510 is for its wide-angle
capabilities (28mm equivalent). I picked one up while on vacation in Hawaii.
After a thousand or so photos (not all in Hawaii), here's what I've found-

Pros-
--------------------------------
>Wide-angle lens, already noted
>Easy-to-hold shape allows you to "get the shot" without spending a lot of
>time composing.
>Small & lightweight
>Relatively simple controls
>Fairly inexpensive for a 5 megapixel camera
>Uses AA NiMH batteries
>Big LCD

Cons-
--------------------------------
>Fairly noisy images and lower dynamic range than many
>White balance often very poor in lower-light situations (direct-lit scenes
>usually OK, anything else questionable)
>Random exposure issues. The exact same scene will sometimes shoot
>correctly, while other times something goes screwy (reading the exif file,
>you get oddly-changing values for "brightness" and "exposure bias" that
>somehow have control over the picture, for no apparent reason)
>XD memory, which is both slow and expensive.
>No burst mode
>No auto-bracketing for exposure (which could be very useful with this
>camera)
>Poor owner's manual, and incorrect documentation which says that "sports"
>mode defaults to ISO200. On my camera, sports mode doesn't change effective
>ISO from whatever you'd previously set it to.

It's not a great camera, certainly not destined to become a classic. The
wide-angle capabilities are nice, but I would have been better off getting
an adapter lens (if one were available for my D40). Better yet, use my Oly
5050... but that camera was in the shop for repair at the time (dropped it
and caused lens damage, which Olympus covered under warranty, even after
being told it was caused by a drop).

Guess I ought to ask what you plan to use the camera for? What requirements
(size & lens range)?

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Mike,

Thanks for the reply even though you are obviously not a fan of this
camera. The low light issue you mention was pretty much what I had
read in one of the reviews. The random exposure is more worrisome. I
wonder if it could be unique to your particular unit or if it's a
problem with the model. Have you heard of anyone else with this issue?

The "No Burst Mode" complaint isn't really an issue for me (at least I
don't think it would be).

I plan to use the camera mostly for vacation shots when I don't feel
like dragging around my SLR (an old Nikon I've had for 20
years/heavy/bulky but incredible optics).

My wife would be the main user of this camera, using it for taking
candid family type shots. The wide angle seemed like a bonus there.
One of the things that drew me to this camera is it seemed to have
fairly easy point and shoot capabilities that my wife would appreciate
and yet have full manual control that I could utilize when I used it.
It has a nice big LCD for our less than youthful eyes and I liked the
shape of the camera for ease of use.

All that said the main reason I was asking about this camera is that
my wife works at a department store that sells only a few different
models of digicams. She gets anything they sell at cost price and this
was the best camera that they sell. The rest are 3 megapixel and lower
point and shoot types. At cost price, this camera is priced about the
same as most 3 megapixel cameras I see in other stores. With two kids
in university, price is definitely an issue. I totally agree with you
on the xd memory being expensive. I didn't realize it was slow. I just
assumed because it was more expensive it would be better. How dumb is
that?

Thanks again for all your input. Anything more you have to add would
be greatly appreciated.


John





















On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 05:16:14 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
<> wrote:

>> I am considering buying the E510 and have read a couple of reviews on
>> this camera. They seem to be mostly positive but one said it had poor
>> low light capability and another said it's lcd screen was hard to see
>> in sunlight. I was wondering if anybody had any real world experience
>> with this camera (or the E500/esentially the same camera) they'd be
>> willing to share. Any comments would be appreciated.
>>
>> John
>
>John: The main reason for choosing an E510 is for its wide-angle
>capabilities (28mm equivalent). I picked one up while on vacation in Hawaii.
>After a thousand or so photos (not all in Hawaii), here's what I've found-
>
>Pros-
>--------------------------------
>>Wide-angle lens, already noted
>>Easy-to-hold shape allows you to "get the shot" without spending a lot of
>>time composing.
>>Small & lightweight
>>Relatively simple controls
>>Fairly inexpensive for a 5 megapixel camera
>>Uses AA NiMH batteries
>>Big LCD
>
>Cons-
>--------------------------------
>>Fairly noisy images and lower dynamic range than many
>>White balance often very poor in lower-light situations (direct-lit scenes
>>usually OK, anything else questionable)
>>Random exposure issues. The exact same scene will sometimes shoot
>>correctly, while other times something goes screwy (reading the exif file,
>>you get oddly-changing values for "brightness" and "exposure bias" that
>>somehow have control over the picture, for no apparent reason)
>>XD memory, which is both slow and expensive.
>>No burst mode
>>No auto-bracketing for exposure (which could be very useful with this
>>camera)
>>Poor owner's manual, and incorrect documentation which says that "sports"
>>mode defaults to ISO200. On my camera, sports mode doesn't change effective
>>ISO from whatever you'd previously set it to.
>
>It's not a great camera, certainly not destined to become a classic. The
>wide-angle capabilities are nice, but I would have been better off getting
>an adapter lens (if one were available for my D40). Better yet, use my Oly
>5050... but that camera was in the shop for repair at the time (dropped it
>and caused lens damage, which Olympus covered under warranty, even after
>being told it was caused by a drop).
>
>Guess I ought to ask what you plan to use the camera for? What requirements
>(size & lens range)?
>
>--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
>www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
>

> Thanks for the reply even though you are obviously not a fan of this
> camera. The low light issue you mention was pretty much what I had
> read in one of the reviews. The random exposure is more worrisome. I
> wonder if it could be unique to your particular unit or if it's a
> problem with the model. Have you heard of anyone else with this issue?

It could very well be an issue with my particular camera; when I have a bit
of time I'm going to try and document it and perhaps send it in for repair.
I haven't heard of anyone else with these issues, as I don't know anyone
else with this particular camera.
>
> The "No Burst Mode" complaint isn't really an issue for me (at least I
> don't think it would be).
>
> I plan to use the camera mostly for vacation shots when I don't feel
> like dragging around my SLR (an old Nikon I've had for 20
> years/heavy/bulky but incredible optics).

That was my intended use, and I did get some nice shots from it! But perhaps
part of the problem is that my Olympus 5050 has me spoiled rather badly.

> My wife would be the main user of this camera, using it for taking
> candid family type shots. The wide angle seemed like a bonus there.
> One of the things that drew me to this camera is it seemed to have
> fairly easy point and shoot capabilities that my wife would appreciate
> and yet have full manual control that I could utilize when I used it.
> It has a nice big LCD for our less than youthful eyes and I liked the
> shape of the camera for ease of use.

The LCD isn't as useful as it might be, as bright sun washes it out, and
it's pretty critical regarding viewing angle; if you look at it one way, it
looks like the colors are great, but from a slightly different angle things
look way overexposed. Fortunately, the finished product usually looks better
than what's on the LCD. And yes, you do get hooked on that 28mm lens, and
have to remember there are times when you're better off shooting a bit more
normal (35-50mm equivalent).

> All that said the main reason I was asking about this camera is that
> my wife works at a department store that sells only a few different
> models of digicams. She gets anything they sell at cost price and this
> was the best camera that they sell. The rest are 3 megapixel and lower
> point and shoot types. At cost price, this camera is priced about the
> same as most 3 megapixel cameras I see in other stores. With two kids
> in university, price is definitely an issue. I totally agree with you
> on the xd memory being expensive. I didn't realize it was slow. I just
> assumed because it was more expensive it would be better. How dumb is
> that?

Another nice thing I didn't mention was that it's pretty quick to power up &
shut down. No long delay before you can take a picture.

The pricing issue is definitely relevant, which is why I asked about your
requirements etc. But, do keep in mind that mere megapixels aren't as
important as one might think. Some of the best shots I've taken were with my
older Olympus 3000, a 3-megapixel camera that, like the 5050, just wouldn't
take a bad shot.

Regarding the speed of the XD cards, don't worry about it. That's not an
issue with the Fuji E510; the only time I notice it is if I use the same
card in my Oly 5050. Cost, now that's another matter! Still, unless you're
planning to not download any of the shots while on vacation (so you'd have
to store them all on the card), you'd probably be fine with a 256meg card,
maybe even 128 if you don't take too many photos. But the 16meg card it
ships with is almost insulting.

> Thanks again for all your input. Anything more you have to add would
> be greatly appreciated.

Overall, it's a very easy camera to use, which is always a good thing! But
if it's going to cost you more than $240 or so, I'd definitely be looking at
some alternatives. I just noticed that Fry's was having a 1-day sale on the
Olympus 5000 for $147; I was going to pick one up for my daughter for
Christmas, but they were gone. Still, their on-line presence (outpost.com)
has them for $199. It would still have the downside of using XD memory
cards, but otherwise is quite a bit more capable. The wide-angle lens is
missing though- 38mm equivalent. I *would* miss the 28mm on the Fuji!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com