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Jewish World Review April 22, 2005 / 10 Nisan, 5765 Olympus' digital wonder-worker By Mark Kellner
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
There's the Olympus Evolt (stet) E-300 digital camera — and then there's
everything else. That may be a bit over the top, but having shot the better
part of 100 pictures in the course of three days — indoors, outdoors,
daytime, dusk and at night — I'm more than a tad smitten by this lightweight
wonder.
The Evolt E-300 (list price $999 with lens; expect to find it in stores for
around $899) is a fairly lightweight camera, about 9 ounces less than the
Fuji S-1 I normally carry. The Evolt is an 8 megapixel camera, versus the
3.5 megapixels of the S-1. And while the Fuji uses Nikon-mount-compatible
lenses, the Olympus relies on Zuiko Digital lenses, made by the camera
maker.
But those differences only begin to tell the story. The Evolt's lighter
weight makes it easier to handle and shoot; I found myself less inhibited
when taking pictures. Its autofocus is fast, its recycling even faster,
allowing me to shoot a series of images more quickly than I could imagine
with the Fuji, or with a Nikon D-100 I also used recently.
The lens system on the Olympus is designed to all but eliminate the
possibility of liquid damage. The seal is so tight and precise that almost
no dust could enter the camera; if any does, the camera sensor — the
electronic part that records the photographic image — is self-cleaning.
Professional or semi-pro photographers will find a lot to like about this
camera. F stops and speeds can be adjusted with a flywheel control; image
modes from standard quality up to RAW (stet) can be set from an
easy-to-learn menu system; there's a whole "white balance system" you can
use to set the white light balance for your shooting, and it works very
nicely. I also like Olympus' use of the CompactFlash (stet) memory card
standard, which ranges up to 1 Gigabyte of storage in something roughly 1.4
by 1.6 inches. The cards are widely available, and depending on the image
quality selected, you can range from 38 images (for ultra-high resolution
RAW files), up to more than 2,500 very low-res images on a 512 Mbyte card,
which retails for around $60. (Translation: that's a lot more image storage
and flexibility than any roll of film in history.)
The viewfinder is optical, meaning you see "through" the camera lens and
provides quick info on shutter speed and other settings as well as battery
strength. And, frankly, the rechargeable battery found in the Evolt is
another strength of this camera: it's much easier to deal with than the
multitude of batteries my Fuji S-1 requires (four AAs, two lithium cells and
a memory backup battery) and it charges quickly.
Once you've shot a bunch of pictures, the built-in picture viewer is a gem.
Press the green "play" button on the rear of the camera and you'll see your
last shot. Rotate the flywheel and you'll see thumbnails of the pictures
you've taken, up to 12 at a time. Select a given shot, turn the flywheel and
you can zoom in up to 10-times magnification as well as "pan" around the
image, to make sure its sharp and clear.
If there's something to dislike about this camera, I haven't found it yet.
Olympus may not have the high profile of some digital camera makers, but
they have a winning product in the E-volt, and it's one you might want to
check out before the blossoms of springtime are just a memory. Details are
online at http://www.olympusamerica.com/.
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JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here. © 2005, News World Communications, Inc. Reprinted with permission of The Washington Times. Visit the paper at http://www.washingtontimes.com |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||
