Priced between $500 and $600 complete with a 14mm-42mm lens, the Olympus EVOLT E-520 is one of a newer generation of digital SLR cameras targeted squarely at entry-level purchasers looking to expand beyond the limitations of point-and-shoot photography. It offers an excellent array of automatic controls, so you can just press the shutter and shoot, letting the camera handle the technicalities. It also has an extensive selection of manual controls, though, which allows purchasers to grow into the camera as they learn to call the photographic shots themselves.

The E-520 is small for an SLR, weighing in at just over one pound. It is well constructed, with a comfortable grip, though those with larger hands may find it a bit too small. The camera can use any lens that matches Olympus's Four Thirds standard. Buyers should note that an important consideration in purchasing an SLR is the selection of compatible lenses. There is a good selection of Four Thirds format lenses, but not as many as you would have working with a Nikon or Canon SLR. On the other hand, Olympus builds image stabilization right into the camera body, so this shake-reducing technology is available with any lens you buy. Nikon and Canon offer stabilized lenses, but this is a more expensive solution than the Olympus strategy.

A useful feature of the E-520 is its Live View mode. Traditional SLR cameras require you to look through the viewfinder to line up photos, but the E-520 and some other recent SLRs have added the ability to use the LCD display to set up your shot, as you would with a point-and-shoot camera. The E-520's implementation is better than most, allowing you to auto focus more effectively than others we’ve tested while using the Live View. Still, “better than most” doesn’t mean especially good: auto focus speed is slow and won't work well with fast-moving subjects.

Performance (read in-depth lab performance at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
The Olympus EVOLT E-520 delivered mixed results in our extensive lab testing of image quality. Color and resolution were both good, but we noticed serious problems with image noise, the random speckling that you see in digital photos, particularly in flat color areas and substantial enlargements. On the E-520 we noticed a significant amount of image noise when we raised the ISO setting manually and even worse performance when we let the camera make the adjustment automatically. The E-520 also struggled with white balance, whether in automatic mode or using the presets available for lighting situations like fluorescent lights or cloudy conditions. Continuous shooting speed was good for an SLR in this price range; we were able to squeeze off 3.3 frames per second in burst mode.

Comparisons (read in-depth comparisons at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
The EVOLT E-520 sits in the middle of the entry-level SLR price range. You can go a bit more expensive and pick up cameras like the Nikon D60 or the Canon Rebel XSi or you can save a bit of money and go with something like the Sony Alpha 200. If you decide to spend more we recommend the Canon Rebel XSi as it performed markedly better than the E-520 in almost all of our tests. The D60 doesn't offer as many options as the E-520, and the image quality improvement is not as noticeable. The Sony Alpha A200, by contrast, performed better than the E-520 in most of our lab tests but lacks some of the more advanced features, notably Live View. Overall the E-520 represents a reasonable value and is a good choice for first-time buyers of an SLR, but we are concerned by the mixed lab testing results.