Is the Olympus E-510 the best digital camera for under $1000?

Background information on my decision to get a new digital camera
I had a wedding coming up that I had been asked to take pictures of by a friend. I am not a professional photographer. I wanted to have a camera that would simplify this task. I already was in a mode mentally that I wanted to upgrade into a new digital camera. This wedding gave me a reason to jump into my next camera. I wanted to get something that was easy to use but also was a reasonable price. I knew from my experience in shooting pictures with my previous digital cameras that the better the overall image quality is and the ability to do things like shoot in darker rooms and focus in on subjects makes all the difference when editing the pictures later in Photoshop.
I had two previous digital cameras were both Olympus. My first was a C-8080. This was a great overall camera but had a fixed lens on it so I was not able to have any of the advantages that come with being able to shoot out lenses. I was happy with it overall though so I decided when I upgraded to upgrade to an Olympus E-500. It to me had the best overall image quality for the price when I purchased it.
Having already had two digital cameras I was aware of issues that digital cameras have compared to old school cameras. The main advantage digital cameras had was that you could shoot all you want and not have unwanted film costs. But digital shooting in my experience was not without its problems. I had problems with my Olympus E-500 with focusing in low light situations and if the camera was not in focus , in auto mode it would not allow a picture to be taken.

Which digital camera should I get?
Cameras compared in this review all under $1000
Nikon D60 10.2-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm VR Lens - Black
Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body – Black
Olympus E510 10-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera with 40-150mm & 14-42mm Lenses

It all comes down to me to basic qualities:

How well does the camera fit in your hand?
This is a two part consideration the first is feel. Most often when one is shooting the shooting is done by the feel. You feel for the shutter as you look through the viewfinder. You feel for the shutter when shooting in the dark at night when shooting in a dark room or shooting fireworks.
I like the overall feel of the Olympus E-510, it felt natural in my hand and the shutter was large enough it was easy to find. The Nikon cameras in the same price range felt good to. I did not like the feel of the Canon cameras.
As far as weight goes, the Olympus was the lightest. This is because it uses the proprietary 4/3 lenses that enable the body to be lighter and the lens to. So the Olympus one in this category. After a day of shooting with a heavy camera one appreciates the advantage of a lighter overall camera.
How does this camera compare with the new Olympus E-3?
I would not recommend the E-3 camera for new inexperienced photographers. The main reason is it does not have the 30 predefined modes found on the E-510 on it. So if you’re not a pro or medium level you wont have those predefined modes to help get you started, other than shooting in Auto mode. The auto modes have saved me, when I get into a shooting situation that I was not expecting. I like having them to use even though I do use the more advanced features as well. I dial in the one closest to the event and all the shutter and apature settings and white balance are set to get the best picture possible. An example of this is some sunset shots I took. The white balance was set so well the sunset pictures were amazing.

What advanced features does the camera have?:
All of the cameras I looked at in the $700 range had live view. But I can’t really see myself using that feature. I mostly shoot through the viewfinder. The Olympus viewfinder was not as big as the Nikon and the Canon I preferred both of those cameras to the Olympus In viewfinder view and size. I really like the predefined views that Olympus has. I think for an inexperienced photographer this is a good way to get into shooting without having to learn all the ins and outs of more complex features like shutter speed. Olympus has more predefined modes then either Canon or Nikon cameras in the price range. Another great quality of Olympus is that there are lots and lots of custom setting modes.

How good is the Image quality:
Image quality on the E-510 is excellent. It is very good on the Canon and Nikon as well. Image quality has to do with two things, image sensor and lenses. The included lenses for both the Nikon and Canon in the sub thousand kits have entry level lenses that have sweet spots but not edge to edge lenses that are a quality of pro grade lenses. The on board color processing is good on Nikon Canon and Olympus so its an even wash there.

It’s all in the menus:
The Olympus camera feature control menus can be confusing. On the positive side once you learn them then you can navigate any similar Olympus camera. However they are nested and in many instances tend to be just thrown into one particular menu or another. This is a definite negative on the Olympus compared to other leading cameras like the Canon or Nikon.
Olympus does have a dual role that enables the LCD screen to not just be used for live view or viewing images shot. It can also be used to set features. I use it most for this instead of the menus. Turning on a flash is faster there then going through the convoluted menu system of Olympus.

What about viewing images shot on the camera LCD:
All three cameras were comparable in viewing brightness on the camera LCD. Most digital cameras still use a Jpeg image to show images shot so you’re not really seeing the intensity in the shadow detail gained by shooting in RAW mode. I did not compare this features on Canon and Nikon but I can say that the Olympus auto rotates the image so its not sideways if you shot it in a sideways configuration. I love this feature.

Image stabilization what does that have to do with my decision?:
One of the coolest features on the newer digital cameras this year is stabilization. No matter which camera you get make sure it has this feature on it. You will find there are several flavors of stabilization out there. One is build into the camera itself. And the other flavor is on the lenses. I prefer the on body stabilization. With both the Canon and Nikon you have to buy image stablization on the lens and so for every lens you buy you must pay extra for it. It does not come on the body with those two cameras. So which camera for the price gets the best image quality? If you pay more any of the leading cameras can get you there. But what can you get for a lower then $1000 cost. The Olympus camera has two kinds both on the camera, One is for camera shake and the other is for image shake. The key thing here is that it’s on the camera body not on the lens. This saves money later and you can use less expensive lenses with no stabilization and you still have image stabilization because its in the body not the camera. To me the Olympus with its on the body image stabilization is the winner.

Which did I choose?
In the end I chose Olympus, I could use my lenses with the body of the E-510 and the problem I mentioned earlier I had with focus in the darker areas has been fixed on the E-510.
So I shot the wedding and was very happy that overall my pictures came out the way I had hoped they would and so I am pleased with my decision.

My Advice for others getting into digital cameras?
Is the Olympus E-510 camera the one for you? It really depends on a few things. I think if you have lots of lenses for an existing camera such as Minolta, then you may want to go with a camera that is compatible with those lenses. The digital camera that is most compatible with Minolta lenses is the Sony camera. I have presented features I looked for when I purchased a new digital camera. Hopefully this review was helpful to you in your decision.

Recommended Accessories for any digital camera you decide on:
Small tripod that fits in your bag
Bean bag tripod
Neutral density filter
Close Up screw on filters for close up shooting
Purchase a camera remote accessory that is optional
Purchase the optional external flash but practice its not intuitive to use
get a small led Pin light for shooting in the dark
buy a large external hard drive, you will fill up your drive fast with the larger
RAW shots
Get a nice camera bag to hold all this stuff
Get a lens cleaner and soft cloth