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Olympus EVolt E-620 Review Summary
12 Megapixels
Single Lens Reflex
Stabilization: Compensates for tiny involuntary movements of the camera.
Continuous Drive
Manual Controls: Both fully-manual (M) and semi-automatic modes (T and V).
Custom White-Balance: Specifies exactly what should be white to the camera.
Action Photography: Shutter speeds of 1/1500 or more.
Night Photography: Reaches shutter-speeds longer than 4 seconds.
Hotshoe: Allows external flash units to be attached.
Spot Metering
Depth-Of-Field Preview: Improve perception of DOF before shooting.
Live-View: Lets DSLR cameras use the rear LCD as an EVF.
Accepts Compact Flash memory.
Accepts xD memory.
Neocamera detailed reviewOlympus E-620 Assessment
The Olympus E-620 is not just a very good DSLR, it is an excellent value with an outstanding and complete feature set. Image noise is a good as we have seen from Four-Thirds cameras and very close to recent rivals using APS size sensors. This can be compensated easily by bright Olympus lenses which often have wider apertures than comparable lenses made for larger-sensor cameras.
The Olympus E-620 is very compact by DSLR-standards. It is the smallest DSLR to feature built-in stabilization. It may be that the price to pay is a cramped design and low battery-life, but that is easily an acceptable compromise for having such a feature set. The main downside would be a tiny viewfinder that makes manual focusing difficult.
Interestingly Olympus has nearly the same feature-set in 3 sizes, the E-620, the much larger E-3 and the compact non-DLSR Micro-Four-Thirds E-P1. If size matters, then you've got choice here. The E-3 features a viewfinder with 100% coverage and the E-P1 has no viewfinder at all.
Rivals from other makes include the Canon EOS Rebel XSi
Canon EOS Rebel XSi, the Pentax K200D and the Nikon D60
Nikon D60. The K200D is the only weather-sealed camera here with a relatively large viewfinder and built-in stabilization. The XSi and D60 lack image-stabilization but show very low noise at high-ISO. The XSi also features the best live-view implementation out there.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Quite low image noise for Four-Thirds system | Poor auto-white-balance in artificial light |
| Good dynamic range | Very small viewfinder |
| Excellent metering, very resistant to blow-out | Questionable placement of controls |
| Reliable auto focus | Complicated menu system |
| Fast and responsive | LCD too reflective |
| Effective stabilization | Short battery life |
| Good dust reduction | |
| Highly customizable | |
| Backlit buttons | |
 Excellent Excellent |
|
Recent Similar Cameras
Related Information
| Sister Models |
|---|
Olympus PEN E-P1 Olympus PEN E-P1 - Micro 4/3, No viewfinder, No flash |
| Olympus E-30 - 5 FPS, 98% Coverage OVF |
Olympus E-3 Olympus E-3 - 10 Megapixels, 5 FPS, 100% Coverage OVF |
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Olympus E-620 Facts
SLR digital camera| 12 Megapixels DSLR | ISO 100-3200 |
| Four-Thirds Mount 2X FLM Sensor-Size: 17 x 13mm  Actual size when viewed at 100 DPI | Shutter 1/4000-60s |
| Built-in Stabilization | Full manual controls, including Manual Focus |
| 95% Coverage Small Viewfinder | Custom white-balance with 2 axis fine-tuning |
| Built-in Dust Reduction | Spot-Metering |
| 4 FPS Drive, Unlimited Images | Hot-Shoe |
| 2.7" LCD 230K Pixels | Lithium-Ion |
| Compact Flash | |
| xD |
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