But, frankly, neither do its images justice.

Olympus C-2000 Zoom.

Information from the Olympus E-3's new 49-zone metering sensor is paired with data from the autofocus sensors, according to the company. The Olympus E-330 does both. Tendency to underexpose images indoors, requiring +1.3 EV compensation. According to our tests, the Olympus E-510 captured 15 Large/Fine JPEG images before the buffer filled, then it took only two seconds to save all images to the card.

"33 mm fixed lens."

In Aperture mode, you can see the aperture you've set, but you don't know what the camera's going to do with the shutter speed until after the capture. I only used the FL-36 external flash occasionally.

That's because there is no underwater housing available from Olympus for the E-510. 40 mm - 320 mm (8x) zoom lens. The pixel count is a little lower, at 7.5 megapixels, but it can indeed clock out a live image from the sensor, with no effective limit on the duration of the live display. With that main mirror flipped out of the way to let light fall on the main sensor, this SLR's ability to focus and meter is cut off. • Image Quality. Read user reviews (1).

And with its basic feature set, outdoor enthusiasts -- regardless of whether they're on the slopes or under the sea -- can spend their time enjoying their activities rather than fussing with camera settings.

The 3x lens is only smaller by a nose, but the 40-150 takes you to 300mm equivalence in a remarkably small space. Because the LCD is somewhat dim in bright sunlight, these images seem badly underexposed; but if you adjust the exposure for a better appearance on the LCD, you'll blow the highlights even worse. In particular has an improved nine-point AF system that focuses very fast.Read user reviews (7). The E-3 is exactly the camera Olympus needs to break into this prosumer SLR market, which is already dominated by Canon and Nikon, with Pentax, Sony, and Panasonic starting to fill in the gaps.

In our first sample, the spots exceeded hundreds, but our second sample was significantly better. Film caused scratches on the emulsion while moving through the camera, and stuck to negatives and slides in storage. Overall, it's a better camera for the enthusiast photographer, a decision I came to reluctantly after using both in several different situations with some of Olympus's other lenses and accessories.Continuous mode is sometimes inconsistent, slowing every three to four frames. Metering options include 49-zone ESP metering, Spot, Center-weighted, and a new Highlight/Shadow spot metering mode. Read user reviews (33). 1.3 million sensor photo detectors.

The Olympus E-510's ISO 1,600 performance was pretty good, producing somewhat soft images, but with little noise. Holding the E-410 for long periods of time is not as easy as holding an E-510 or even the Rebel XTi, whose grip is very small, and it gets even harder if you attach a long zoom or heavy prime lens to the E-410, but when I'm just headed out for some casual shooting, the E-410's small profile and small lenses are just right. Unless your needs are specifically for a very small camera that you'll be shooting primarily in daylight -- and you have no problem regularly tweaking images -- I think most consumer needs will be served better with a different SLR. Thanks to the LCD I was able to sit back and frame shots with the camera comfortably out front.But the Olympus SP-550 UZ was up to it. Olympus - Top Pro. 35 mm - 106 mm (3x) zoom lens. Both flashes resulted in a very blue cast against the yellow lights, but they're usable shots.

Camera Forums. Find the Best Camera For You.You can't see it in the first shot, but open the Auto Levels version and the dust becomes visible (click on the images to see larger versions). Review Date: 5/24/2007.

The E-500, launched at the end of last year, is a conventionally-styled lightweight and relatively compact D-SLR which offers all the advantages of the 4/3 system at a price of just £549 including a 14-45mm standard zoom lens. Olympus Stylus 1200. D-SLR Viewfinder. As you'd expect, the E-510 retains Olympus' unique Supersonic Wave Filter, which couples a high-frequency vibration of the imager to remove dust from its surface, plus a range of seals to stop movement of dust through the camera body.ISO 3200 and 5000 at reduced (3.1Mp) image size. No optical viewfinder. I love the E-410's small size, but its lack of a sizeable grip make adding any accessories awkward. Read user reviews (16).

Even on a bright day, the view is significantly dimmer, such that your eye has to adjust to the darker view. This presumably allows the Olympus E-410 to gain up without significant color speckles dancing on the screen. I submit that they should have either built-in an electronic viewfinder shutter that closes automatically, or let the shutter-close switch also activate Live View. Digital Camera Reviews. As the market for digital SLRs gets more crowded, we can expect more and more attempts at product differentiation. E-System advantages.Camera home. Read user reviews (131).

If you shoot in Manual mode, you press this button to adjust the Aperture, since there's no dedicated dial. (Mju 410 Digital). 610 shots. Full autofocus shutter response is sluggish by current standards.Visit our discussion forum for the Olympus Stylus 770 SW! 12.4 million sensor photo detectors. Telephoto lens.

The E-510 also works with a pretty impressive array of high-quality optics that are small for their equivalent focal lengths, making for a good, robust wildlife camera kit that won't take more space than necessary. Here image stabilization helped maintain sharpness despite a 1/10 second exposure. The FE280 product bundle includes a LI-42B Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery and Charger, USB Cable, Audio/Video Cable, Wrist Strap, Manual, CD-ROM with OLYMPUS Master 2 Software and Warranty Card. Unlike it's little brother, the Olympus E-510 has a nice big grip. Built-in pop-up flash with six operating modes and intensity adjustment. The "SW" in the name hints at two of the camera's more unusual features - both shock- and water-proofing.

"Ultimately, the E-330 has three ways to frame your images, and each is a compromise big enough that I'd hesitate to recommend a camera with any one of these viewfinders, let alone all three."

Olympus C-740 UZ. Read user reviews (33).

I actually felt I should back off a little for a nicer composition. It's fine for telephoto shots, if a little underpowered. Olympus EVOLT E-330. 10.8 million sensor photo detectors. As is true with all Live View SLRs, there's significant shutter lag, but that's the price of the feature at this point.To review images, I tried to step into the shade to avoid the reflection of the sun on the monitor. I found the best focus with the center point, but often moved it around when there was time. You can even switch the Fn button with the AEL/AFL button, putting this important button in a better place to serve the creative photographer; it also minimizes the awkward reach required to focus in Live View mode. A Review includes a User Report and full image analysis.

According to the diagram shown below, the light is split again before it reaches the Live View A sensor, to pass a little of it on to the 49-zone exposure sensor. A long zoom shouldn't be so light that it loses its target in a breeze, and the Olympus SP-550 UZ has the heft to steady itself in your hand without wearying your arm. A long zoom shouldn't be so light that it loses its target in a breeze, and the Olympus SP-550 UZ has the heft to steady itself in your hand without wearying your arm. Here the lens is set to 28mm.Unlike most cameras that use this mode for manual focusing, you can indeed judge and adjust sharpness pretty closely with the Olympus E-330's Enlarged display mode, despite the fly-by-wire focusing ring. Image resize. Read user reviews (130).

I can't be sure whether they chose the Four-Thirds sensor size for this reason, or if it was a size that was more affordable, but the company claims the goal was to enable smaller lenses and smaller cameras. Olympus C-2000 Zoom.The standard lenses are ideal for all-round applications for advanced amateurs and ambitious hobby users. Opening the Olympus E-3's Card cover is awkward at first, but if you just rock the camera to the left and hold it in your left hand, a simple upward flip of the right thumb moves the release lever and the door pops open to reveal not only a CF card slot, but an xD-Picture Card slot as well. **In combination of ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-60mm SWD and E-3. This was taken with the 40-150mm kit lens. 28 mm - 504 mm (18x) zoom lens.

D-SLR Viewfinder. Manual and automatic focus modes, with adjustable AF area and Single-Shot and Continuous settings. I actually felt I should back off a little for a nicer composition. • Live View.(14 shots). Olympus C-770 UZ. I experimented taking pictures of my son running around the yard with his Tonka truck.

It's not that Olympus is entirely marketing these two cameras exclusively as Live View SLRs, but because they're the first with Live View, people will expect the E-410 to work just like their digicam; and further, because it's an SLR they will also expect it to have lower shutter lag than their digicam. Most consumers without a special need for a utilitarian camera would do better learning to love the greater speed offered by a single-viewfinder SLR. Olympus says they use a Thixomold process to make these shells, a method that promises greater durability, with less potential for bubbles or seams in the magnesium alloy shell structures. Caution when using Digital Image Stabilization, the Available Light Scene mode, and high ISOs should help prevent most image noise, giving snapshooters a way to capture decent -- albeit not great -- images of their outdoor adventures. Good Prefocus shutter lag.As has been the case with every Olympus SLR I've reviewed, though, I managed to get some very good shots with the E-410. Our full review. Read user reviews (41).

Depending on how contrasty your subject is, you can focus in around a half second, or it might take a few. In Aperture mode, you can see the aperture you've set, but you don't know what the camera's going to do with the shutter speed until after the capture. Just press the button on the back, compose on the LCD, and press the shutter button. Unlike other sensor-shift IS systems, you can actually see the IS at work thanks to Live View mode. Live LCD preview allows shots from odd angles. The Olympus E-3 is expected to ship in November 2007, at an estimated street price of US$1,699, body-only.

10.9 million sensor photo detectors. While it has enough to complain about, the Olympus SP-550 UZ merits a. The E-3's four-way navigator, which Olympus calls an Arrow pad, is well-positioned for easy access, and it's even angled a bit toward the right to accommodate the thumb's angle of attack. 37 mm - 111 mm (3x) zoom lens. > Olympus SP-550 UltraZoom.

The FE-280 also features Digital Image Stabilization Edit, which uses a built-in gyro sensor to track camera movement and enables users to fix blurry images right in the camera. Olympus Stylus 830 Digital Camera - Preview - The Imaging Resource! Expected to retail for about $1,700, the Olympus E-3 is slated to ship in November 2007. Olympus FE-130. Dave Etchells talks to Toshiyuki Terada, Olympus's Digital SLR Planning Manager, at the October 16, 2007 launch event.Never mind that this method introduces more shake than holding the camera to your eye; it's more comfortable, usually more accurate, and easier to envision your print on a larger, backlit screen. In unusually dark conditions, I used the bright white LED Illuminator on the Olympus 770 SW to light up the scene, which made it easier to compose the shot, helped autofocus lock in and seemed to eliminate the "blinking." This lamp can also be used as a lamp for macro shooting, or just as a flashlight. You'll get most of what you need to handle RAW images with the included software. And with its basic feature set, outdoor enthusiasts -- regardless of whether they're on the slopes or under the sea -- can spend their time enjoying their activities rather than fussing with camera settings. As the smallest SLR on the market, the Olympus E-410 brings to mind the revolution started with the company's first full-frame 35mm SLR back in 1972: the M-1, later renamed the OM-1.

The cool part is that you can customize which direction you use to focus in the menu. Canon PIXMA MP970 Printer. Instead, the E-510 is a few millimeters wider and offers a significantly deeper handgrip that adds to the camera's thickness, and offers a more comfortable hand-hold.

• On the other hand, this mode is so limited, and using it so involved, that you could just as easily capture a shot, zoom in to look at it to check focus, then refocus and take another shot.
• To be a little more usable, thanks to its larger grip, better feature set, and the addition of body-based image stabilization.
• The Pentax K100D, the Rebel XTi, the Nikon D40, and the Olympus OM-1 come to mind.
• Olympus FE-240.
• (Mju 790 SW Digital).

In particular has an improved nine-point AF system that focuses very fast. It's the E-510's special features that push it over the top.

Olympus SP-550 UZ Overview. You'll have to switch back to meter and make one final framing check, either through the optical viewfinder or on the LCD, then take your shot. Four new lenses and a 2.0x teleconverter were also announced with the Olympus E-3: the Zuiko 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 SWD; the Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 SWD; the Zuiko 14-35mm f/2.0 SWD; and the Zuiko 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6. Some users may find the lack of manual controls frustrating, but considering that the Olympus 770 SW is designed to be used under challenging conditions, such as underwater or at the beach, the on-board editing features to adjust brightness and saturation will come in handy for minor adjustments. The Olympus E-510 uses a fixed eye-level pentamirror with a 95% field of view.

• Attractive design is also quite functional with a textured grip that holds onto.
• The lens that appears in both bundles is the 3x, 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6, a very small optic that is equivalent to a 28-84mm lens on a 35mm camera.
• A separate mode uses a "Pre-Capture" feature that starts capturing shots the moment focus is locked, storing five frames just before the shutter release is fully depressed, compensating somewhat for user response time and shutter lag.

So clearly this mode is only a temporary, focus-only mode. I can't be sure whether they chose the Four-Thirds sensor size for this reason, or if it was a size that was more affordable, but the company claims the goal was to enable smaller lenses and smaller cameras. Olympus Stylus 1200.

Olympus Stylus 780. For all needs, the perfect lens can be offered from a standard, telephoto & ultra zoom to a macro lens.It does not have the in-camera panoramic stitching mode found in the Stylus 820 and 1200 models. The Olympus SP-550 UZ ships with the following items in the box:.

Read user reviews (35). The camera's virtual menu is attractive, but because it's different from the more standard tabbed menu systems, it may take a little while to get used to. Read user reviews (86). Read user reviews (112). Image Stabilization.Spot, Center-Weighted, and Digital ESP metering systems. Olympus Stylus 725 SW. Enjoy professional light setting without cables. Simple pro lighting and use tips let you snap stunning photos.

But what's that little brown spot? The original OM-series spanned three decades, culminating in the OM-4T, an innovative, albeit manual-focus camera that was finally discontinued in 2002. Whereas the Canon XTi on top left much chroma noise to preserve detail, and the D40 effectively smooshed out chroma noise along with some detail, the E410 strikes a balance between the two extremes. Olympus E-510 digital SLR body.White balance and Flash exposure bracketing.

33 mm fixed lens. You'll have to switch back to meter and make one final framing check, either through the optical viewfinder or on the LCD, then take your shot.3.3 million sensor photo detectors. (The Canon Rebel XTi comes with the software for this trick.). The pack duplicates the Function and AF-selection button, the Main dial, the Sub-dial, and the shutter button.

See our Imatest page for more on the different tone curves generated by these two cameras. Read user reviews (35). Untitled Document. It's more comfortable than using the smallish optical viewfinder, and the AF points are more visible on the LCD than they appear in the optical viewfinder.35 mm - 140 mm (4x) zoom lens.

Olympus E-System Bag. As with the previous E-330 model, the E-510 allows images to be framed on the LCD display. Olympus SP-550 UZ digital camera. Olympus says they hid a little tribute to the OM-1 under the E-410 and E-510's pop-up flash. Find the Best Camera For You.**In combination of ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-60mm SWD and E-3. Olympus E-3 vs Canon EOS 40D.

With these onboard features, direct Olympus 770 SW's PictBridge printing is more appealing, since you can tweak images in-camera prior to outputting the photo. I was disappointed not to find any boats on the lake but I zoomed across the lake anyway and was shocked to see what the camera captured. We're in the process of starting our tests of Olympus Four-Thirds optics on SLRgear.com, and the initial results show that my experience and Olympus's claims for their edge-to-edge sharpness are indeed valid, at least in the first lens we've tested. 36 mm - 108 mm (3x) zoom lens. The list below is in reverse chronological order (most recently announced camera first). The E-510 also includes the latest iteration of Olympus' TruePic image processor.Olympus D-595 Zoom. 11.8 million sensor photo detectors. I'm not sure why, but Olympus either didn't want to, or for some reason couldn't use the same contrast detection method used in nearly all modern digital cameras.

Camera Drivers. The E-3 is exactly the camera Olympus needs to break into this prosumer SLR market, which is already dominated by Canon and Nikon, with Pentax, Sony, and Panasonic starting to fill in the gaps. Olympus was also the first to take on this challenge. It is a lot of body for a Four-Thirds sensor, but regardless of sensor size, I prefer some substance in an SLR. The complicated viewfinder arrangement has gotten in the way of my review of the E-330, really; and I think they'll get in the way for users as well. Since it's a Four-Thirds camera, the E-410 is compatible with all 28 Four-Thirds lenses made by Olympus, Sigma, and Panasonic.Low light. If you're the gadgety type who needs a hybrid digital camera, the E-330 is that camera. Ask me about the rest, and I'll tell you that it takes pretty good pictures, and I'd bet it has many happy owners. The '790 includes an Olympus-branded 3x optical zoom with a 38 - 114mm equivalent focal length range and F3.5 - 5.0 maximum aperture, folded by a prism to allow the lens to be mounted at right angles to the front of the camera. Olympus Stylus 725 SW.

Olympus Stylus 770 SW Overview. Something else that you won't find for the E-510 is the PT-E03 Underwater Housing, available for around $1,100 (It also requires a "lens port" for the size of lens you'll be using; the PPO-E01 will work with the kit lens and costs approximately $365). Read user reviews (130). ISO 3200 and 5000 at reduced (3.1Mp) image size. 36.7 mm - 35 mm (0.9x) zoom lens. The FE280 aims to keep things simple, with a whopping seventeen scene modes that make it easy to get the shot without understanding the subtleties of shutter speeds, apertures and the suchlike.While all three lenses are pretty close when compared by center sharpness, it's at the corners where we see a significant difference. A few other manufacturers have also signed up to develop 4/3 format cameras and lenses, but so far Olympus is the only one to have launched actual products, starting with the E-1 professional SLR in 2003, which was well received but priced too high to compete with the consumer-oriented digital SLRs that are now starting to dominate the market.

All 11 AF points appear in the Olympus E-3's Live View mode, and light up very similar to how they do in the optical viewfinder, except that the whole dot illuminates. CD-ROM with Olympus Master 2.0 software.In use, I found the AF system on the prototype we saw to be pretty reliable, and though it sometimes took its time deciding where to focus, it fairly zipped into focus once the decision was made, thanks to the SuperSonic Wave Drive motor on the new 12-60mm lens. Olympus C-3030 Zoom. Olympus provides several ways to work around the focus issue. To get better composition, I cropped this a little, as this was as close as I could get.

That is probably fine if you're shooting in a darker setting, but very often I was using the flash for fill, and would have preferred to just take a shot without fill so that I didn't miss the moment. Compared to an LCD display, you're getting your information at the speed of light, not filtered and delayed through oodles of electronic circuits before it gets to the LCD. The new versatile E-510 is made for total control: a compact body with built-in image stabilser, Live View and strong dust reduction. The first thing you notice with the E-330 is that it's big and wide. First, I'm happy that there was room to keep the power switch in the same location as on the E-500.Olympus has moved the Olympus E-3's Main Dial on the back relative to the more recent models, but this is indeed where it's located on the Olympus E-1, so they stuck with what upgrading E-1 owners will be used to. Unfortunately, while most higher-end SLRs, like the Canon 20D or Nikon D80, have a second control dial to control aperture while the first controls the shutter speed when shooting in Manual mode, the E-510 has only the one Control dial. Though it has the great lens and full-auto modes, it too often fails to serve up accurate exposure and white balance indoors where consumers take a good portion of their pictures. As the smallest SLR on the market, the Olympus E-410 brings to mind the revolution started with the company's first full-frame 35mm SLR back in 1972: the M-1, later renamed the OM-1.

Olympus D-535 Zoom. Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens (kit only). But more experienced shooters need more buttons to quickly tweak settings to get the best shot, and the E-510 delivers. Still, that small limitation aside, Olympus has certainly found many fans of the ability to have a live LCD preview comparable to those found on compact cameras. 5.6x digital zoom (seamless 100x total zoom). Though the Olympus E-3 has a 10-megapixel sensor like the E-510 and E-410, the new sensor has been improved to support the faster read speed to help enable five-frame-per-second continuous shooting.

• You can view it from in front of the Olympus E-3, from the left or right, and from above and below, and you can fold it in toward the camera to protect it.
• The sensor is the same shot to shot, so any dust that sticks to the glass just sits there, affecting each frame the same as the last.
• Read user reviews (25).
• Olympus Bright Capture Technology for low light situations.
• Camera is expensive compared to E-500, offering questionable benefit with its three viewfinder modes.
• Read user reviews (16).
• Continuous mode is fast at 3.1 frames per second.

> Olympus E-3. Standard Lenses.