Perfect for consumer or aspiring digital photographer.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great color reproduction
Easy to navigate
Fast autofocus
Multiview LCD

Cons: Poor auto bracketing no good for HDR
High ISO noise
Slow autofocus in lowlight
No HD output

The Bottom Line: 
Great interface, quality photos, solid build and good price make it perfect even for a side camera.

Author's Review
This is my first Olympus product ever and I am quite impressed with the quality of the camera it feels sturdy and looks like a high quality DSLR.

Form Factor: (9/10)
The best part about Olympus' line of SLR camera's is the fact it's Four Thirds sensor and mount type. This allows the use of multiple lenses from other camera companies provided you have the right adapter. The camera's look and feel is sturdy yet lightweight and small. It is a camera that can be carried in a side bag on a hike or vacation. It's not so small to the extent of being awkward to hold and use as a point and shoot.

Picture Quality: (9/10)
Here is a link a picture test I did with the varying ISO sensitivities. Although the ISO noise is worse after 800 it doesn't mean that the photo is not usuable. An ISO 1600 shot looks pefectly fine for smaller resolution needs, and prints. Besides the ISO issue the e520 reproduces colors very realistically specially blues and greens of nature.

Storage: (8/10)
The e520 uses a dual storage system of Compact Flash and xD memory. It lets the usuer choose the prefered storage. It would have been much better to drop xD for the much more useful SD memory. This is a slight setback but annoying when it comes to being forced to use CF rather than the expensive propietary xD card. The storage options allow for around 115 RAW images per each GB of storage. Around 250 Superfine JPEGs per GB of storage.

Lens: (7/10)
The 14-42mm lens is a Zukio Digital brand of lens that is made by Olympus. It's a perfect lens for well lit and outdoor settings. In some dimly lit rooms 1600 ISO isn't even enough to get a decent shutter. Which can be an issue if a flash is prohibited, if it isn't the flash works great even at ISO 100. It would have been better to give a faster prime lens. But it would take away from the consumer side of this camera.

Outputs: (7/10)
The e520 comes with a USB cable for transfering files from the camera. But a external card reader will result in much faster writing/reading rates for large ammounts of pictures. The USB port on the camera also doubles as a composite video output for viewing on TVs there is no option to view the pictures in HD unless you have a high resolution monitor and computer with the pictures on them. Which can make this hard for showing pictures easily to visiting friends.

Battery Life: (8/10)
I have yet to have a battery die on me while shooting, using live view sparingly and no flash helps drastically improve the life of batteries. Having two batteries helps in situations when you can charge while using the other.

Overall: (8/10)
Olympus' Four Thirds cameras are great at producing natural and vivid colors accurately specially greens and blues. Downside is that the smaller Four Third sensor creates more noise at higher ISOs and lower light than the APS-C sensor of Nikon, Sony, Pentax, or Canon. But it still makes a perfect camera for the amature photographer or photo enthusiast granted they know all the downsides and how to make the camera work for them.