1. KIT INCLUDES 10 PRODUCTS -- All Brand New Items with all Manufacturer-supplied Accessories + Full USA Warranties:
2. <#1> Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi SLR Camera Body PLUS +
3. <#2> Tamron AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical Lens + <#3> Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di LD Macro Lens +
4. <#4> Transcend 8GB HC SecureDigital Class 6 (SDHC) Card + <#5> Spare LP-E5 Battery + <#6> High Speed USB 2.0 SD Card Reader + <#7> Memory Card Storage Wallet +
5. <#8> Royal 1000 Deluxe SLR System Camera Case + <#9> ImageRecall Digital Image Recovery Software + <#10> Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

Editorial Review :

Kit includes: 1) Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi Body; 2) Tamron 28-80mm Lens; 3) Tamron 70-300mm Lens; 4) 8GB SDHC Card; 5) Spare LP-E5 Battery; 6) SD Card Reader; 7) Memory Card Storage Wallet; 8) SLR System Case; 9) Image Recovery Software; 10) Microfiber Cleaning Cloth ♦ For stunning photography with point-and-shoot ease, look no further than Canon's EOS Rebel XSi. The EOS Rebel XSi brings staggering technological innovation to the masses. It features Canon's EOS Integrated Cleaning System, Live View Function, a powerful DIGIC III Image Processor, plus a new 12.2-megapixel CMOS Sensor. The EOS Rebel XSi's refined, ergonomic design includes a new 3.0-inch LCD monitor, compatibility with SD and SDHC Memory cards and new accessories that enhance every aspect of the photographic experience. ♦ The Tamron 28-80mm is a terrific walk-around lens for landscapes, group shots and portraits. Superior aspherical optics provide improved image resolution throughout its zoom range. ♦ The Tamron 70-300mm is a compact, lightweight, ultra-tele zoom that is ideal for taking pictures at a distance. This versatile lens has macro capability with a magnification of 1:2 for incredible half-lifesize close-ups. ♦ Take more pictures with this Transcend 8GB High-Capacity SecureDigital (SDHC) memory card. ♦ Increase your shooting capacity with this powerful LP-E5 Lithium-ion rechargeable battery. ♦ Transfer files quickly and easily with this USB 2.0 SecureDigital (SD) Card Reader. ♦ Retrieve lost or deleted images from your memory card with Image Recall Digital Image Recovery Software. ♦ Made from durable nylon, this case will easily hold your camera, lenses, flash and accessories. ♦ Retrieve lost or deleted images from your memory card with Image Recall Digital Image Recovery Software. ♦ Keep your camera and lens smudge-free with this handy microfiber cleaning cloth.

Customer Review :

WARNING

Take care about this: They sale a KIT but they don't delivery as you bought. If is missing any item, they will send to you misspeled parts.
And you will have to complain a lot to get back your money.

Rating :

1. 12.1-megapixel 4/3-type MOS sensor; world's first Micro Four Thirds camera
2. Includes Lumix G Vario 14 - 45 mm F3.5 - F5.6 ASPH.Mega OIS lens
3. Live View Finder and bright 460,000-dot resolution, 3.0-inch LCD
4. New Contrast AF (Auto Focus) function; Face Detection and Intelligent Auto (iA) mode
5. Capture images to SD/SDHC/Multimedia cards (not included)

Editorial Review :

The Panasonic Lumix G1 is the world's first camera to employ the new Micro Four Thirds System standard. Together with an innovative mirror-less structure that also dramatically downsizes the camera body, the LUMIX G Micro System achieves a dramatic portability and ease of use by an adoption of electronic Full-time Live View Finder instead of conventional optical viewfinder. Despite the G1's ultra-compact design, it comes fully equipped with features that assure outstanding ease of use, made possible by the contrast AF system. The G1 also boasts iA (Intelligent Auto) mode, a feature that took the world by storm in Lumix digital compact cameras. iA mode brings together a full range of functions - led by AF Tracking , Face Detection, Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure - that together let users take strikingly beautiful photos with maximum ease every time they shoot. The G1 breaks new ground in styling too, overturning SLR camera conventions by giving users a variety of body colors to choose from. For people who have been hesitant about moving up to an SLR camera, the G1 is a perfect fit. It is a small, sophisticated, easy-to-use camera that will greatly expand any user's photographic capabilities.

Customer Review :

Very capable camera, quick, compact, loads of controls

The Lumix G1 is a pleasure to use. It's very quick and responsive. Lots of manual controls and it has some nice customization features. Most of the common functions have physical buttons, which means that they are quick to find and use. The electronic view finder is ok, but not anywhere as good as a real SLR view finder, but for me I don't expect to use it much. The screen on the back is excellent, bright and clear. The menus are not very well organized, but no worse than most camera menus. The images that I have taken so far are very good, but maybe a touch underexposed, thats easily corrected with the exposure adjustment.

I wish that there were more lenses available for the micro 4/3rds, but I guess thats just a waiting game. The included lens' aperture isn't very wide. I would love to have a wide angle fixed focal length with an nice big aperture like say F1.2 :)

The g1 is small for an SLR like camera, but it's still too big to cary all the time like a pocket camera.

One last thing, the lack of a video mode is quite disappointing, but it is an excellent still camera.

Rating :

1. 10-megapixel CMOS sensor captures enough detail for photo-quality 18 x 24-inch prints
2. Lightweight ergonomic design; body only, lenses sold separately
3. Enhanced in-body Image Stabilization with Supersonic Wave Drive technology
4. Face Detection and Shadow Adjustment technologies; Perfect Shot Preview
5. Compatible with CompactFlash Type I and II, Microdrives, and xD-Picture Cards (not included)

Editorial Review :

Your life is full of priceless, fleeting moments that you want to keep just the way you see and feel them. Preserve each moment with the E-520. With the E-520's Live View, you can shoot your subject while viewing it on the LCD monitor, so it's just like shooting with a compact camera. In addition to phase-difference detection AF, the E-520 incorporates a high speed Imager AF that offers easy 11-point multi-area autofocusing with Live View simply by half-pressing the shutter button. Face Detection AF automatically detects up to 8 faces at a time and adjusts focus appropriately. Accurate composition is assured by the monitor's 100% field of view. The E-520 is equipped with a 2.7" HyperCrystal II LCD monitor with high-definition 230,000-dot resolution, improved contrast ratio, and enhanced color reproduction capability. While shooting with Live View, framing-assist patterns or a histogram can be displayed on the LCD monitor to improve your picture composition and check exposure condition. The E-520 incorporates a Live MOS sensor with 10-Megapixels, Olympus' original TruePic III image processing engine delivers improved imaging, gradation expression and color reproduction capabilities as well as minimized noise at high ISO setting. Olympus' highly acclaimed dust reduction system employs a Supersonic Wave Filter in front of the image sensor, which vibrates at such high speed and with such great power that it removes even the most stubborn dust; dust that cannot be removed by just shaking the image sensor or by discharging the static electricity. Weight - 475 grams (body only) Requires use of an Olympus Zuiko lens or compatible for use of camera

Customer Review :

A superb entry level DSLR

I looked at Canon XSI/XTI and Nikon 60D and decided to go with Olympus. And I am very happy with my decision.

The body is light, the pictures are sharp. AF is very good. When I showed the pictures to my friends who owned Canon and Nikon, they kept asking me if I improved the pictures on photoshop or not. I told them no and they didn't believe me.

The battery lasted very long. I took hundreds of pictures so far in the last month and I have only recharged my camera once.

3.5 fps is pretty decent. The only minor complaint is that AF is a bit slow in low light situation, but it is no big deal for me.

Overall, this is the best entry level DSLR in the market.

Rating :

E510 / E520 | Awesome - Gem of the mid level DSLR:

Though I have E510. I actually tried and tested the E520 as well and picked E510 for the 2 kit lens deal and the extra features E520 has over E510 which I rarely care about. I thought to add my E510 review under this to give the readers a better idea about how the Olympus E510/E520 wins over the Canons XSi and Nikon D80 we tested. Hope this helps.

Myself and a Canon lover Friend and a Nikon lover Cousin were hunting for DSLRs. We had Film SLRs and few Point & Shoot Digis. We don't want to spend $1500+ for the DSLR and was waiting for the price to come down. When it reached $1000 mark, we started hunting for it and tried out few DSLR models in-stores by carrying our own flash memories and took few sample shots at the same lighting, focal length, ISO, f-Stop and Shutter and narrowed down to most people(s) three choices - Olympus E510, Canon XSi and Nikon D80. I went with E-510 right on the spot after looking at the images on the digital PC monitor in just 4 week end hunting. The other two contemplated a while and my friend went with Canon XSi and my cousin chose D80 as he wanted to use his old Nikon lenses and gears.

On a fine evening we got our stuffs ordered online. As soon we returned from work, we were excited to experiment our choices.

Right out of the box results: (No tweaking)
E-510 - Great Outdoor results with very good natural color processing well exposed. Indoor shots were good natural color tones with a bit dull and underexposed.
XSi - Great Outdoor and Indoor results with very little pink tinted color processing with a good exposure.
D80 - Great Outdoor results with little blue tinted color processing. Indoor results with very little blue tinted color processing with a good exposure.

You can see the pink and blue tint obvious on the skin tone and on the white base subjects. We actually compared the images captured by these three with what we saw with bare eyes. We all observed this very little tone changes when tried out at stores and agreed upon the myth that "Every brand has it's own way and nothing is perfect". But still it's too early to decide which one is best.

We tried it every evening as soon we come back and with little tweaking as suggested by the reviewers and professionals. In just 3 days - I made everyone to think that - I WON. Still those guys wanted to give a try because some times the results from Canon XSi and Nikon D80 will have the same color as E510 in long shots and when occasionally (say like one in 100 shots) E510 underexposes the skin tones will look greyish. We almost go as a group for all the functions/festivals and fill with flashes everywhere :)

After 3 months of coutinuous use at the same places, here is our findings:

Speed: XSi is better than E510 and D80. but thats for just 6-7 frequent shots. after that, the XSi will pop up with "BUSY" icon. It is famous and you can see the complaints in Amazon reviews. The other to will be steady through out the the session. no BUSY nothing.

Color Tone: E510 is more natural across the lighting conditions. Indoor shots need to have exposure compensation set to either +0.3 or +0.7

Indoor Photos: E510 is a bit dull and underexposed right out of the box but after a little tweaking it just blows the other two out of the window with very natural color tones and bright images. It actually chooses the right ISO required where as the Canon XSi always chooses ISO 400 when using flash I don't know why it is set like that.

Dynamic Range: Though the pro reviewers say, D80 is more dynamic we haven't came across a situation to prove it. Under most common outdoors shooting, we all three got almost identical resluts and we liked the E510 processing much better than the other two.

ISO:
upto ISO 400, E510 is noise free. It get's a slight noise pushing in at ISO 800 and at ISO 1600 noise is obvious. Canon XSi is noise free till ISO 1600. Nikon D80 is noise free till ISO 800 and at ISO 1600 it introduces a little noise. It is worth to be noted that we haven't seen a situation that we need to use more than ISO 400 under normal indoor/outdoor common user needs. We actually forced the camera to use ISO 800 and ISO 1600 just to see the results where the camera picked ISO 400 by it's own when you leave it to the camera choise in ISO. This is actually a dark night shot on the river bank pointing the camera at the lighted buildings on the other side of the river and the situation is really dark.


Auto Focus: E-510 locks on for sharp focus almost 99% of the time but hunts for focus at low light with too much flash strobes for 4-5 seconds drving you nuts. XSi is zippy but occasionally the focus is not properly locked. When you view on the camera display it looks fine but when blow up in the monitor, it's unfocused. Nikon D80 had the most mis focus. You can see these misfocus issues at both Amazon reviews and DPreview.

Image Stabilization: E510 wins hands down. I took tack sharp pictures using 70-300 lens zoomed all the way at 300mm with shutter going down till 1/30. XSi's lens based stabilization is not that effective when we used it with 50-200mm lens zoomed to 200mm. It was effective till 1/40. Nikon we haven't tried it as we don't have IS lens. Not to mention the hefty price my friend paid for the Canon 50-200 IS lens while I paid just $240 for the 70-300 lens as I had an effective IS built into my E510 body.

Fit and Feel: E510 wins again with more robust build quality. Nikon D80 is also built good but a bit bigger. XSi looks kind of plasticky and has an uncomfortable grip. E510 just lays in your hand so comfortable and is a joy to use.

Value for Money:
I paid $560 for the 2 kit lens. Sold my 40-150mm for $110 and bought the 70-300 for $240 making my kit to cost me $690. FL-36 flash costed me $150, totalled to $840.
XSi costed my friend $869 with 18-55mm (Now it is around $500-$600), 70-300mm IS lens for $510. With no flash his kit is now $1379.
Nikon D80 costed my cousin $910 with 18-135mm with no IS !!! He can't simply use his camera hand held as I am using it with my long zoom 300mm or as my friend using his XSi with his 200mm or in low light.
Now...you decide which one gives you more dollar for dollar...XSi with 70-300mm auto focus is faster than the E510 with 70-300 mm at the very long end of the zoom. XSi with 300mm zoomed couldn't get sharp results all the time, less than 250mm is ideal for hand held. E510 has effective IS and works all the way till 300mm handheld but had focus hunt when used in a slight shadow area.

Follow this link "http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/e510-sett.html" to tune up your E510 and enjoy the long journey of Digital photography. Good luck.

Verdict:
We also asked the rest of the people at home and our friends to see the pictures and pick which one looks better without telling them which one came from what camera. The end result is 80% of the images picked by the them who don't even know which camera produced it, picked E510's pictures.

We all three agreed that E510 is the best all around DSLR in it's category and we just pay the hyped price for the Canon and Nikon just for the label which produces image quality that is equal to inferior than the low priced, light weight E510. Look no further, go for this little gem and you will be more pleased than the Canon and Nikon users.


Rating :

EVOLT 520

A GREAT CAMERA FOR THE AMATEUR IF SERIOUS ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY, IT HAS AN AWFULLY LOT OF SETTINGS THAT CAN BE USED BUT TAKES A LOT OF STUDYING THE MANUAL TO MASTER ALL OF ITS POTENTIAL.
I HAVE YET TO EXPERIMENT WITH CONTROLLING WHITE BALANCE AND BRACKETING BUT I'M GETTING THERE.
THE PRICE GIVES MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK THAN THE MID-RANGE NIKON OR CANNON.

Rating :

Great Camera for the money

I have a E410, E500 and now the E520 body. All of these are great cameras. The E520 has a very fast recycle rate on both the images and the flash. It is very easily used as point-and-shoot in auto mode and I can still get all of the effects that I could with a manual film camera. One point I will make very clear. If you buy this as a "kit" with lenses don't expect this performance. The lenses that come in most kits are cheap. Dont get me wrong, they work great in FULL SUN... ANYTHING other though you will likely have slow responses and blurry photos. Many times the camera just will not aquire. Buy good quality lenses and you will not be dissapointed!

Rating :

great camera

I've never purchased anything but Olympus Cameras... I have three of them dating back to the 1980's. Every Camera has been an excellent camera as the E 520 has also has proven to be.

Rating :

More reviews...

1. Superb image quality: 10.1 Megapixel CMOS Sensor, extensive noise reduction technology, and 14-bit conversion for outstanding color tones and gradations
2. Outstanding performance: 6.5 fps, burst rate up to 75 consecutive JPEGs or 17 RAW images and DIGIC III Image Processor
3. Strong, rugged build quality: magnesium-alloy exterior, shutter durability-tested to 100,000 cycles, top speed 1/8000, top x-sync speed 1/250
4. New AF system with 9 cross-type sensors, and world's first diagonal high-precision cross-type AF at center point with f/2.8 and faster lenses
5. EOS Integrated Cleaning System, Picture Style settings, Spot metering, and Highlight Tone Priority for advanced in-camera image control

Editorial Review :

Welcome to the next generation of digital SLR photography - the Canon EOS 40D. The EOS 40D combines Canon's tremendous know-how in both the digital and photographic worlds, creating a camera that not only does everything one would expect of a traditional digital SLR, but one that incorporates staggering leaps forward in technological innovation. With new features like Canon's EOS Integrated Cleaning System, Live View Function, a more powerful DIGIC III Image Processor, plus a 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 3.0-inch LCD monitor and more, the EOS 40D elevates digital photography to new heights, enhancing the shooting experience, and delivering images one could only expect from a Canon.

Customer Review :

Brilliant Camera!

I love this camera. I've been dedicated to Canon and they've never let me down. This is no exception. I do with that it had better low-light functionality and maybe even went to 6400 (3200 is alright though) but for the price point you can't go wrong. My biggest critique - the 50D came out a week after I purchased this camera.

Rating :

A good buy especially with the lens kit

I have had this camera for about 2 months now. I bought it to be able to take lower light level shots with less graininess than my previous Canon G3. I also wanted better optics and resolution. I was a bit disappointed with the low level light performance. It is certainly less grainy but the shutter speed is to slow for most of my purposes. However, I may have been expecting too much. The larger sensor certainly gives better overall noise performance.
The optics gives me better depth of field which is one of the things I was after. The zoom give me enough close up for most of my shots but sometimes I use a 75-300mm telephoto that I bought separately when I run out of gas. For wide angle shots the 17-85mm is handy although it distorts a bit at the low end. I think (and I'm no expert) this is a function of the physics involved with such a wide angle (fish eye effect).
The flash is a big step up from the G3. This camera doesn't "wash out" the color by over exposing. Almost none of my shots suffer from this which was a problem with the old G3.
I use the high compression and have typical file sizes of 1.5 to 2 meg. When blowing up you really don't notice the difference between the less compressed higher quality images. I only use the higher quality mode for shots I know I want the most out of.
Bottom line I really like this camera and would highly recommend it. I use a 4 gig sandisk extreme III memory card.
I would like to say I wish the DSLR community would stop being snobby and push a video mode. There is no excuse now that they have the live view feature. I can't tell you how many times I was shooting stills and my kids did something that needed to be videoed then and there because running to grab the real video would mean loosing the moment altogether. So hopefully there will eventually be that feature. It is the only thing really missing from this camera that would prompt me to buy another. Well that and unbelievable low light level performance.

Rating :

Excellent camera and lens

I have had this camera and lens for 9 months. Beautiful photos. Love the "live view" for setting up to take photos with a tripod. Large sensor means excellent low-light capability. Fast start-up time. Extremely fast focusing. Love the ability to take 6 photos per second! Manual controls are wonderful and easy to use. Beautiful display. The EFS 17-85 lens is great (remember to multiply by 1.6 for comparable 35mm focal lengths). Am also using a SanDisk Extreme III CF card. This is a fast card.

Rating :

1. KIT INCLUDES 9 PRODUCTS -- All Brand New Items with all Manufacturer-supplied Accessories + Full USA Warranties:
2. <#1> Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi SLR Camera Body PLUS + <#2> Canon EFS 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Zoom Lens +
3. <#3> Transcend 4GB High-Capacity SecureDigital (SDHC) Memory Card + <#4> Spare LP-E5 Battery + <#5> Precision Design High Speed USB 2.0 SD Card Reader +
4. <#6> Precision Design Memory Card Storage Wallet + <#7> Precision Design Deluxe SLR Camera Case +
5. <#8> ImageRecall Digital Image Recovery Software + <#9> Cameta Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

Editorial Review :

Kit includes:
♦ 1) Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi Body
♦ 2) Canon EFS 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Zoom Lens
♦ 3) Transcend 4GB SDHC Memory Card
♦ 4) Spare LP-E5 Battery
♦ 5) Precision Design USB 2.0 SD Card Reader
♦ 6) Precision Design Memory Card Storage Wallet
♦ 7) Precision Design Deluxe SLR Camera Case
♦ 8) ImageRecall Digital Image Recovery Software
♦ 9) Cameta Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

For stunning photography with point-and-shoot ease, look no further than Canon's EOS Rebel XSi. The EOS Rebel XSi brings staggering technological innovation to the masses. It features Canon's EOS Integrated Cleaning System, Live View Function, a powerful DIGIC III Image Processor, plus a new 12.2-megapixel CMOS Sensor. The EOS Rebel XSi's refined, ergonomic design includes a new 3.0-inch LCD monitor, compatibility with SD and SDHC Memory cards and new accessories that enhance every aspect of the photographic experience.

The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens is designed with Canon's Optical Image Stabilizer technology while retaining the compactness and lightness of previous models.

Take more pictures with this Transcend 4GB High-Capacity SecureDigital (SDHC) memory card.

Increase your shooting capacity with this powerful LP-E5 Lithium-ion rechargeable battery.

Transfer files quickly and easily with this USB 2.0 SD Card Reader.

Keep multiple memory cards protected and organized with this durable storage wallet.

Made from durable nylon, this case will easily hold your camera, lenses, flash and accessories.

Retrieve lost or deleted images from your memory card with Image Recall Digital Image Recovery Software.

Keep your camera and lens smudge-free with this handy microfiber cleaning cloth.

Customer Review :

Fantastic Package

This is a fantastic package at a great price!!! The memory card and extra battery are must have's, and the bag is really nice!!! Awesome camera in a great bundle!!

Rating :