Point-and-shoot enthusiasts looking for a smooth move into the digital SLR world will love Olympus‘s nifty E-520 ($539-$599, with lens). Not only will its performance satisfy, but its packed feature set gives shutterbugs a dizzying array of ways to customize the camera.
Although its physical proportions mirror other compact DSLRs in the market, this 10 megapixel offering is much lighter than many. That’s partly due to its use of Four Thirds technology. That technology was built from the roots up for digital SLRs. As a result, they have smaller lenses that weigh less than those found in more conventional mirrorcams.
Another feature borrowed by the E-520 from the pocketcam’s repertoire is panorama photography. However, this feature requires more guesswork with this hardware than it does in the point-and-shoot world. Ordinarily, when you take a shot in a panorama sequence, the transparent edge of that shot appears at the edge of the LCD.
