Title : Olympus E-10 4MP Digital SLR Camera w/ 4x Optical Zoom
Author : Olympus
Release Date :
Binding : Electronics
Regular Price : $1,449.95
Amazon.com Price : $1,099.88
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Editorial Reviews : 4x pro, 9-36mm zoom, 11.4MB of image per picture
Buyer Reviews : When I set out to make my camera purchase, I was trying to decide between a Minolta Dimage 7, a Sony DSC-F707, and the Olympus E-10. After holding all three in my hands and shooting with them, there is no comparison -- the E-10 is a camera and feels and works like an SLR body, the Minolta and the Sony are just consumer electronics.
E-10 photos in adequate light or with a decent flash system are excellent; resolution is great, noise is present but when exposure is good it is very gaussian and thus mimics good film grain perfectly. Though the E-10's sensor is 'only' 4 megapixels, the lens is bright and perfectly matched to the frame; when you're looking at the 8x10 prints, it's very hard to tell the difference between the E-10 and the 5 megapixel cameras on the market. Color reproduction is very true, which means again much more film-like, but possibly flat for people accustomed to consumer digicams (which tend to try to make everything look 'better than real life' rather than 'like real life'). If you want to oversaturate, you can always do it afterward in Photoshop, GIMP, etc.
Some user reviews have complaied about the E-10 autofocus, but there's nothing wrong with it. The E-10 has an SLR-style AF system; this is not a 'focus-free' camera. You must pay attention at least to the AF target area and focus lock, and if you're not shooting in 'P' mode also to the depth of field and shutter speed. Many users who complain about getting out of focus shots with the E-10 are coming from low-end 'focus-free' point and shoot film or digital cameras and don't know how to properly use the AF system on a camera like this one, nor how to adjust for the other variables.
Positives: camera looks like a USB hard drive to the computer, no additional software or hardware needed to transfer images; adjustable quality settings -- SHQ, HQ, and SQ can each be user-defined to any number of resolution and compression settings; both CompactFlash AND SmartMedia slots and you can use both at once; excellent build quality -- my E-10 could survive a war; manual focus and zoom rings for rapid, accurate control; raw mode for highest quality shooting; histogram for checking exposure; all controls are locking controls and are on the camera body -- you won't have to be navigating menus all day while you shoot; settings panel on top is lit (nice touch!) for shooting in darkness; long tripod exposures in low light are stunning, noise-free, and very sharp; bright TTL viewfinder, not an electronic viewfinder like you'll find on some 'SLR-like' digital cameras; easy-to-access rapid white balance measurement system; zero shutter lag -- you can get four shots off in one second; lit status display below the glass in the viewfinder just as you'd expect with any SLR so you can shoot, change settings, shoot, change settings again, without ever moving your eye from the shot.
Negatives: noise becomes a problem in 'pushed' (underexposed, then gamma-corrected) shots -- no 'ISO-boost' trickery with the E-10; body and lens are heavy enough to cause strap-burn after a few hours; inability to reliably use microdrives; must be sent back to Olympus for firmware upgrades; maximum shutter of 1/640s can be a limitation in sunlight or when shooting action; only four shots in continuous mode before having to wait for buffer flush; focus screen can be difficult to see accurately; no depth of field preview; RAW images are not optimized/compressed and are thus 7MB(!) each, TIFF are 12MB(!!).
This is a great camera for the enthusiast or the professional needing a backup or studio camera. On the other hand the E-10 is probably too much work (settings, weight, additional storage requirements of 4 megapixels, more complex AF) if you just want occasional shapshots or a thought-free, unobtrusive vacation camera. When all is said and done, the E-10 is without competition...
(by A. Hsiao)
Features/Technical Specs : * 4 megapixel CCD creates 2,240 x 1,680 images for 8 x 10 prints and beyond * 4x optical zoom with autofocus * Included 32 MB SmartMedia card stores 16 images at default settings * Connects with Macs and PCs via USB port * Uses 4 AA or 2 CR-V3 batteries
