Olympus VH-520 User manual

DIGITAL CAMERA
Instruction Manual
VH-520
●Thank you for purchasing an Olympus digital camera. Before you start to use your new camera, please
read these instructions carefully to enjoy optimum performance and a longer service life. Keep this
manual in a safe place for future reference.
●We recommend that you take test shots to get accustomed to your camera before taking important
photographs.
●In the interest of continually improving products, Olympus reserves the right to update or modify
information contained in this manual.

2
EN
Checking the contents of the box
Names of Parts
Names of Parts
3
4
1
27
5
6
8
11
9
10
1Strap eyelet
2Connector cover
3HDMI mini connector
4Multi-connector
5Flash
6Self-timer lamp/AF illuminator
7Lens
8Battery/card compartment lock
9Tripod socket
10Speaker
11 Battery/card cover
or
Digital camera Strap Lithium Ion
Battery (LI-50B) USB-AC adapter (F-2AC) USB cable (CB-USB7) OLYMPUS Setup CD-ROM
Other accessories not shown: Warranty card
Contents may vary depending on purchase location.

3
EN
3
4
6
1
7
8
25
10
11
9
1nbutton
2Microphone
3 Monitor
4 Shutter button
5 button (shooting movies)
6Zoom buttons
7 Indicator lamp
8 Abutton (OK)
9 Arrow pad
INFO (changing information
display)
#(flash)
Y(self-timer)/
(erase)
10 button
11 qbutton (switching between
shooting and playback)
Attaching the camera strap
Attaching the camera strap
Pull the strap tight so that it does not come
loose.
Arrow pad
H(left)
G(down)
F(up)
I(right)
FGHI instruct to press the up/down/left/right
arrow pad.

4
EN
Inserting and removing the
battery and card (commercially
available)
1Follow Steps 1 and 2to open
the battery/card cover.
Battery/card compartment lock
2
1
Battery/card cover
Turn off the camera before opening the battery/
card cover.
2Insert the battery while sliding the
battery lock knob in the direction
of the arrow.
Battery lock knob
Insert the battery as illustrated with the Cmark
toward the battery lock knob.
Damage to the battery exterior (scratches, etc.)
may produce heat or an explosion.
Slide the battery lock knob in the direction of the
arrow to unlock, and then remove the battery.
3Insert the card straight until it
clicks into place.
Write-protect switch
Always use SD/SDHC/SDXC cards or Eye-Fi
card with this camera. Do not insert other types
of memory cards. “Using the card” (p. 53)
●Do not touch the metallic parts of the card directly.
To remove the card
To remove the card
21
Press the card in until it clicks and comes out slightly,
then remove the card.

5
EN
4 Follow Steps 1 and 2to close
the battery/card cover.
11
2
When using the camera, be sure to close and
lock the battery/card cover.
Charging the battery
Connect the USB cable and USB-AC adapter to the
camera and charge the battery.
For charging the battery abroad, see “Using your
charger and USB-AC adapter abroad” (p. 52).
●The battery is not fully charged at shipment. Before
use, be sure to charge the battery until the indicator
lamp turns off (up to 4 hours).
Connecting the camera
Connecting the camera
Indicator lamp
On: Charging
Off: Charged
AC outlet
or USB cable
(supplied)
Connector cover
Multi-connector

6
EN
When to charge the batteries
When to charge the batteries
Charge the battery when the error message shown
below appears.
Battery Empty
Error message
Flashes in red
Never use any cable other than supplied or
Olympus-designated USB cable. This may cause
smoking or burning.
The included F-2AC USB-AC adapter (hereafter
referred to as USB-AC adapter) differs
depending on the region where you purchased
the camera. If you received a plug-in type USB-
AC adapter, plug it directly into AC outlet.
The included USB-AC adapter has been
designed to be used for charging and playback.
Do not take pictures while the USB-AC adapter
is connected to the camera.
Be sure to unplug the power plug of the USB-AC
adapter from the wall outlet when the charging is
complete or the playback ends.
For details on the battery, see “Battery Handling
Precautions” (p. 60). For details on the USB-AC
adapter, see “USB-AC adapter” (p. 61).
●If the indicator lamp does not light, check the USB
cable and USB-AC adapter connections.
●The battery can be charged while the camera is
connected to the computer via USB. The charging
time varies depending on the performance of the
computer. (There may be cases in which it takes
approx. 10 hours.)

7
EN
Turning on the camera and
making the initial settings
When you turn on the camera for the first time, a
screen appears enabling to set the language for the
menus and messages displayed in the monitor, and
the date and time.
To change the selected date and time, see “Setting
the date and time d[X]” (p. 38).
1Press the nbutton to turn
on the camera, press FGHI
of the arrow pad to select your
language and press the Abutton.
2Press FG of the arrow pad to
select the year for [Y].
X
MENU
Back
Y/M/D
Y M D Time
-- -- -- --
:..2013
Date and time setting
screen
3Press Iof the arrow pad to save
the setting for [Y].
X
MENU
Back
Y/M/D
Y M D Time
-- -- -- --
:..2013
4As in Steps 2 and 3, press
FGHI of the arrow pad to
set [M] (month), [D] (day), [Time]
(hours and minutes), and [Y/M/D]
(date order), and then press the
Abutton.
For precise time setting, press the Abutton as
the time signal strikes 00 seconds.
5Press HI of the arrow pad to
select time zone and then press
the Abutton.
●Use FG to turn daylight saving time
([Summer]) on or off.
Summer
’13.02.26 12:30
MENU
Back

8
EN
Learning how to use the
camera
●Press the nbutton to turn on the camera and
enter the standby mode. (Press the nbutton
again to turn off the camera.)
●Select the shooting mode, and press the shutter
button to shoot a still image.
●To shoot a movie, press the button.
●Set the shooting functions using the function
menu or the setup menu.
●To view images, press the qbutton to switch to
playback mode.
●To return to standby mode, press the qbutton
again, or press the shutter button halfway down
and then release it.
●Press and hold the qbutton while the camera is
turned off to start up the camera in the playback
mode.
●In this case, pressing the qbutton again sets
the camera to the standby mode.

9
EN
4 Press the shutter button halfway
down to focus.
Press
halfway
PP
F3.3F3.31/4001/400
Shutter
speed
AF target mark
Aperture
value
●The camera was unable to focus if the AF target
mark flashes red. Try focusing again.
5To take the picture, gently press
the shutter button all the way
down while being careful not to
shake the camera.
Press halfway Press fully
Shooting still images
1Press the nbutton to turn
on the camera.
2Select the shooting mode. (p. 13)
3Hold the camera and compose the
shot.
When holding the camera, take care not to cover
the flash, microphone or other important parts
with your fingers, etc.
Take care so that the flash window is not
exposed to fingerprints or dirt.

10
EN
Using the zoom
Pressing the zoom buttons adjusts the shooting
range.
Pressing the wide
(W) button Pressing the telephoto (T) button
Image size Zoom bar
14M Optical zoom
Other *1
*1 Due to increased processing of the pixel
counts, the image quality will not degrade. The
magnification ratio changes depending on the
image size setting.
Using the flash
The flash functions can be selected to best match the
shooting conditions.
1Press I.
PP
Flash Auto
0.00.0
AUTO
WB
AUTO
WB
AUTO
ISO
AUTO
ISO
MENUMENU
:34
14 M
2Use HI to select the setting
option, and press the Qbutton to
set.
Option Description
Flash Auto The flash fires automatically in
low-light or backlight conditions.
Redeye Pre-flashes are emitted to reduce the occurrence of red eye in your
photos.
Fill In The flash fires regardless of the
available light.
Flash Off The flash does not fire.

11
EN
Using the self-timer
After the shutter button is pressed all the way down,
the picture is taken after a short delay.
1Press G.
PP
1212 22
YOff
MENUMENU
0.00.0
AUTO
WB
AUTO
WB
AUTO
ISO
AUTO
ISO
14 M
:34
2Use HI to select the setting
option, and press the Qbutton to
set.
Option Description
YOff The self-timer is deactivated.
Y12 sec
The self-timer lamp turns on for
approx. 10 seconds, then blinks
for approx. 2 seconds, and then
the picture is taken.
Y2 sec The self-timer lamp blinks for
approx. 2 seconds, and then the
picture is taken.
To cancel the self-timer after it starts
To cancel the self-timer after it starts
Press the button.

12
EN
Shooting screen displays
F3.3F3.31/1001/100
0.00.0
AUTO
WB
AUTO
WB
AUTO
ISO
AUTO
ISO
14 M
zz
PP
0:00:340:00:34
44
Date
:34
1080
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1316 1415 1012
17
18
19
202122
11
When the shutter button is pressed halfway
down
No. Name Normal Detailed No info.
1 Shooting mode RR –
2 Flash RR –
3 Self-timer RRR
4 Exposure
compensation RR –
5 White balance RR –
6 ISO sensitivity RR –
7 Drive RR –
8 Image size
(still images) RR –
9 Aspect RR –
10 Image size (movies) RR –
11 Movie recording
length RR –
12 Movie recording icon RR –
13 World time –R–
14 Date stamp RR –
15 Number of storable
still pictures RR –
16 Current memory RR –
17 Battery check RR –
18 AF target mark RRR
19 Grid Guide –R–
20 Aperture value RRR
21 Shutter speed RRR
22 Camera shake
warning RRR
Switching the displays
Switching the displays
The displays change in the order of Normal →Detailed →No info. each time F(INFO) is pressed.

13
EN
The default settings of the function are
highlighted in .
Shooting mode Submode
P(Pmode) –
M(Mmode) –
Q(Qmode) Recommended/Set 1/Set 2/
Set 3
a
(Super Macro mode) –
 (mode)
Hand-Held Starlight/
GNight Scene/CSport/
NIndoor/RSelf Portrait/
VCuisine/dDocuments/
qBeach & Snow/
Backlight HDR
P(Pmode)
Pop Art/Pin Hole/Fish Eye/
Soft Focus/Sparkle/
Reflection/Miniature/
Dramatic
p(Panorama mode) Auto/PC
●“List of settings available in each shooting mode”
(p. 49), “List of settings” (p. 50), “List of P
settings” (p. 51)
1Press Hof the arrow pad on
standby mode screen first, and
press HI to select shooting
mode.
To select the Q, and Psubmodes,
display submodes by using Gfirst. Then use
HI to select the desired submode and press
the Abutton.
MENUMENU
Scene Mode
:34
8 M
To select a submode
To select a submode
Hand-Held Starlight
MENUMENUMENUMENU
:34
8 M
8 M
0:00:340:00:34
44
:34
1080
Icon indicating the submode that is set
Selecting the shooting mode

14
EN
2To save the image, select [OK] on
the review screen and press the
Qbutton. To retouch the image
additionally, select [Beauty Fix].
MENU
Back
OK
Beauty Fix
Beauty Fix
Beauty Fix
1Use FGHI to select a retouching item, and
press the Qbutton.
MENU
Off
Eye Color Back
2Check the retouched effects on the review screen,
then press the Qbutton to start the retouch
process and save.
●Settings for Beauty Fix can be registered.
●Depending on the picture, the editing may not be
effective.
Learning about the shooting
modes
P (Pmode)
The camera will select the appropriate
aperture value and shutter speed for
the subject. Changes can also be made
to various shooting settings, such as
exposure compensation, as needed.
M(Mmode)
The camera will automatically select the
optimal shooting mode for the scene.
The shooting condition is decided by
the camera and settings cannot be
changed, excepting some functions.
Q(Qmode)
You can shoot with Beauty Fix effects.
1Point the camera toward the
subject. Check the frame
appearing around the face
detected by the camera, and then
press the shutter button to take
the picture.

15
EN
a(Super Macro mode)
This enables shooting as close as 5 cm
(2 in.) to the subject. The zoom position
is locked.
(mode)
You can shoot with the best mode
for the subject and shooting scene.
The best shooting settings for various
scenes are pre-programmed as
submodes. Note that functions may be
limited in some modes.
Refer to the descriptions displayed on
the submode selection screen, and
select the desired submode.
P(Pmode)
You can shoot with special effects.
Refer to the sample images displayed
on the submode selection screen, and
select the desired submode.
The best shooting settings for each
effect are pre-programmed, so some
function settings cannot be changed.
●Note that some effects may not be applied to
movies.
p (Panorama mode)
You can shoot and combine multiple
images to create an image with a wide
angle of view (panoramic image).
Submenu Application
Auto
Panorama images are
automatically combined just
by swinging the camera in the
shooting direction.
PC The frames that were taken are combined into a panorama image
using the PC software.
●Move the camera so that it rotates horizontally
around the center of the lens to take better
panorama images.

16
EN
Taking pictures with [Auto]
Taking pictures with [Auto]
1Select [Auto] in the submenu, and use HI to
select the angle of view (STD: 180°, FULL: 360°)
and then press the Abutton.
2Point the camera to the start position.
3Press the shutter button to begin shooting.
Guide
AUTO
FULL
MENU
Cancel
OK
Save
4Start panning. When the arrow reaches the end of
the guide, recording ends automatically.
●The camera automatically processes the
images and the combined panorama image is
displayed.
●To stop shooting in the middle, press the
shutter button or Abutton. If the camera
pauses for a while, shooting automatically
finishes.
●If the message “Image was not created.” is
displayed, shoot again.
●To cancel the panorama function, press the 
button.
●If the shutter does not automatically release, try
[PC].
Taking pictures with [PC]
Taking pictures with [PC]
1Use FGHI to specify at which edge the next
picture is to be connected, and then press the A
button.
Direction for
combining frames
2Press the shutter button to take the first frame.
The edge of the first frame is displayed faintly on
the screen.
3Compose the next shot so that the edge of the
first frame displayed faintly on the screen overlaps
the subject of the second frame, and press the
shutter button.
4Repeat step 3until the desired number of frames
are taken, and then press the Abutton or 
button when finished.
Panorama shooting is possible for up to 10 frames.
The shot images are combined into a single
panorama image by the PC software.
●For details on installing the PC software, refer
to (p. 40). In addition, refer to the PC software
help guide for details on how to make panorama
images.

17
EN
Viewing images
1Press the q button.Number of frames/
Total number of images
12:30’13/02/26’13/02/26 12:30
4/30
4/30
Playback image
●Pictures taken using Qmode or sequential
shooting are displayed as a group. Press the T
button to play back the image in the group.
2Use HI to select an image.
Displays
previous image Displays next image
●Hold Ito fast forward and hold Hto reverse.
●Press the qbutton again to return to the shooting
screen.
Index view and close-up view
Index view enables quick selection of a desired
image. Close-up view (up to 10× magnification)
allows checking of image details.
1Press the zoom buttons.
4/304/30 4/304/30
WT
W
T12:30’13/02/26’13/02/26 12:3012:30’13/02/26’13/02/26 12:30
’13/02/26 12:30
Single-image view Close-up view
Index view

18
EN
To select an image in index view
To select an image in index view
Use FGHI to select an image, and press the A
button to display the selected image in single-image
view.
To scroll an image in close-up view
To scroll an image in close-up view
Use FGHI to move the viewing area.
Playing back grouped images
If the pictures are taken using Qmode or
sequential shooting, the images taken are displayed
as a group during playback. Several operations are
available for the grouped images; such as expanding
to view or erase images individually, or erasing the
grouped images collectively.
T side
Expands.
• Select the image and press the
Abutton to display the images
individually.
• Use HI to view the previous/
next frame.
Abutton
Playback/pauses playback.
●If a group frame is erased, all images in that
group are erased collectively. If the group includes
images you want to keep, expand the group and
protect them individually.

19
EN
Playback mode display
●Normal No. Name Normal Detailed No info.
1 Battery check –R–
2 Eye-Fi transfer
data RR –
3 Protect RR –
4 Upload order RR –
5 Current memory RR –
6 Frame number/
total number of
images RR –
7 Shutter speed –R–
8 Shooting mode –R–
9 ISO sensitivity –R–
10 Aperture value –R–
11 Exposure
compensation –R–
12 Shooting
submode –R–
13 White balance –R–
14 File name –R–
15 Image size –R–
16 Recording date
and time RR –
17 Grouped image RRR
12:30’13/02/26’13/02/26 12:30
4/304/30
652 3 4
1617
Still image
●Detailed
4/304/30
2.02.0F3.3F3.31/10001/1000
AUTO
WB
AUTO
WB
80
ISO
80
ISO
1
MAGICMAGIC
12:30’13/02/26’13/02/26 12:30
100-0004100-0004
4288×3216
4288×3216
4288×3216
4288×3216
AUTO
WB
AUTO
WB
80
ISO
80
ISO
1
100-0004
100-0004
2.02.0F3.3F3.31/10001/1000
MAGICMAGIC
1 652 3 87 9 10
11
16
12
17 1415 13
4
●No information
17
Switching the displays
Switching the displays
The displays change in the order of Normal →Detailed →No info. each time F(INFO) is pressed.

20
EN
Erasing images during playback
1Display the image you want to
erase and press G().
MENU
Erase Back
Erase
Cancel
4/304/30
100-0004100-0004
2Press FG to select [Erase], and
press the Abutton.
●Grouped images are erased as a group.
●Multiple images or all images can be erased at a
time (p. 32).