Olympus E 620

I already own a typical PS Olympus therefore I am comfortable with their overall setup. I do a lot of hiking and my dinosaur PS just does not cut it anymore. I plan to buy a wide-angle and macro lens in the future. Because I will be taking this with me for day-hikes I need the weight and size to be light. Video is not important to me. Ignoring brand names, is this a good camera for the price and for my needs?

Olympus makes fine cameras but below is what I recommend to someone getting into a DSLR for the first time, it includes a recommendation of 3 cameras to check out, so you may want to compare them to the Olympus E-620

There are a number of good brands so don't be sold on the idea one brand is better than another. I would keep your costs down. I would get a DSLR with a short zoom (like a 18-55mm) to start. No reason to spend more than $425 to $550. Either a 10MP or 12MP will do just fine.

Below, I listed some links, the first link listed below is to a web page that lists the 3 DSLR cameras I am recommending plus the Olympus 620 you are looking at. This list will let you compare features and specs, also it has links to reviews of the cameras, the reviews include sample images from the cameras. Also I included some links to some dealers so that you can try and get the best price. Some dealers have some nice extras, free shipping is very common, and sometimes they are offering a free memory card and/or camera bag. Sometimes you have to click in the “add to cart” button to see the actual price.

Here are 3 models I am recommending and the Olympus 620 (with estimated prices):

Nikon D3000 10MP DSLR Digital Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens - $449
EOS Rebel XS (1000D) 10MP DSLR Digital Camera Kit w/18-55mm IS Lens - $449
Pentax K-x 12MP DSLR with 18-55mm Zoom (has HD Video also) - $550
Olympus E-System E-620 SLR Digital Camera Kit with 14-42mm Lens - $568

Pick a price range, some features you know you want, and even consider which camera feels good in your hand as a factor. Plenty of great cameras, get one you like and start learning the principles of photography and you will be on your way to making some great images.

If you want to stay under $500 then go Nikon or Canon but, I think the Pentax could be of special interest, since it can do HD video and has excellent quality at higher ISO settings which can be useful in low light places and helping get the picture. These features, especially the HD video, on a Nikon or Canon will cost you $100 to $200 more. The Olympus has the 4:3 image ration, the other cameras here are the 3:2 image ratio which is based on 35mm film format, that is something that you may want to take into account.

If you have any questions and if you think I can be of help then please do contact me.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Mark

marksablow.com

2010-01-31 08:12:40 by Echo

Mark Thakara of Olympus UK demonstrates the new Olympus E620 DSLR to Nigel Atherton of What Digital Camera magazine.

Yes I would and did buy the Olympus E-620 12MP Digital SLR camera here on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-12-3MP-Dig ital-Camera-Stabilization/dp/B001TXKQBK/ ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1 250299980&sr=1-1.
I've had the E-620 for a few weeks now and am quite pleased. Other options I considered were the Nikon D5000, Canon T1i & XSi, Panasonic G1, Sony A300 & A350, and Pentax K200D & K20D. Some comments with comparison notes:

1) SIZE & WEIGHT -- There's no point in having a camera that is so bulky that it doesn't get much use. Only the Panasonic G1 is smaller than the E-620 but not by much. There is a more dramatic difference in the size of the lenses, with Olympus being much smaller than all but Panasonic. Makes for a very compact outfit. For anyone used to the size of film SLRs, the E-620 is very similar. My wife also found it the most comfortable for her to hold.

2) BUILD QUALITY & HANDLING -- Very impressed with Olympus here. Solid, dense and with lots of sensibly placed buttons for direct access to settings. The other cameras had a less solid, plasticy feel, and their larger grips still weren't large enough for a comfortable pistol grip with my average size hands. The Sonys, in particular, had awkward button placement. The E-620 has a different style of grip where you hold the camera in the same way as old film SLRs, and is more appropriate to such a small camera. I carry the camera comfortably in my *left* hand, grasping the body and lens barrel with my fingers on the zoom ring; this frees my right hand from having to support the camera while working controls, and leaves my good hand open (I'm a righty).

3) LENSES -- The kit zooms from Olympus are reputed to be of higher quality than the others, as well as being more compact. So far I have been very impressed. I didn't want to buy a camera only to feel the kit lenses needed replacing; I'd rather spend on lenses that offer new capabilities, like fast primes or dedicated macro lenses. For anyone interesting in using legacy manual focus lenses, inexpensive adapters are available to attach virtually any MF SLR lens to Olympus bodies; used lenses can be quite inexpensive on eBay. Panasonic is limited by a very small range of lenses. For a two lens kit, the E-620 was the cheapest option.

4) IMAGE QUALITY -- I wanted to spend my time taking pictures, not fiddling with them in post-processing; Olympus has the best out-of-camera JPGs of the bunch (Canon and Pentax, in particular, fall short here). Although the smaller Olympus sensors are reputed to be a bit noisier, what noise there is is primarily luminance noise, giving images a film-like grain, rather than the colored blotches of chroma noise. I've found noise very well controlled through ISO1000, even with noise reduction set to LOW. For printing up through 8x10 and monitor display, I don't think noise is a concern up through ISO1600 (certainly with noise reduction set to standard). One caveat: be sure to keep gradation set at NORMAL (the default), not AUTO, unless you really need it; using AUTO gradation will noticeably increase noise.

5) IN BODY STABILIZATION -- I prefer in body stabilization to lens-based stabilization for two reasons: in body works with all lenses, and lenses can be more compact. You only carry one body but you are likely to carry multiple lenses, so it pays to keep them small.

6) LIVE VIEW & LCD -- Olympus has the best live view implementation (maybe tied with Sony) with quite quick autofocus. This is very important if you want anyone, e.g. my wife or random bystanders, who's used to compact cameras to use your SLR for snapshots or the like. The tilt & swivel LCD is very handy and seemed more natural than Nikon or Sony's implementations.


Overall, I found the E-620 to be the best value for a two lens kit.


Here are a few notes on the other cameras I considered:
Nikon D5000 -- Good build & handling, but a bit bulky. Live view isn't great. Much more expensive for a two lens kit than the Olympus.

Canon T1i -- Not impressed by the build quality, felt plasticy. Not comfortable for me to hold. Out of camera JPGs not so good. Inferior kit lenses. Much more expensive for a two lens kit than the Olympus.

Canon XSi -- Not impressed by the build quality, felt plasticy. Not comfortable for me to hold. Out of camera JPGs not so good. Bulkier than the Olympus. Inferior kit lenses.

Panasonic G1 -- Limited lens selection; will take legacy MF lenses but doesn't offer image stabilization with them since it isn't in the body. Plasticy. Not much smaller than the Olympus. More expensive than Olympus for a two lens kit.

Sony A300 & A350 -- Hated the button placement--ruled them out on that alone. Live view is very good though.

Pentax K200D & K20D -- Poor out of camera JPGs. Great handling and build quality. Short on features. Kit lenses aren't great. No live view / live view useless.

2009-08-13 21:30:02 by Ronnie Nicole

Price: $599.99

12.3-megapixel Live MOS sensor for photo-quality, poster-size prints
Stores images to Compact Flash (Type I and II), Microdrive, xD Picture card (not included)
TruePic III for superior image quality in all lighting situations; Supersonic Wave Drive (in-body sensor shift)

I'm getting a new camera for Christmas (first SLR yet). I was narrowing it down to the Canon XS and XSi against the Olympus 520 and 620. I decided on the Olympus line based on what I've heard about them (better build than Canon, more comfortable in hand, smaller). The Olympus models also have built-in auto focus. But now, I just can't decide on 620 or 520. 620 produces better quality pictures, quicker shots, and the 6 different picture editing modes, but I'm wondering if all this is worth the extra money. What do you guys think? Also, what do you experienced SLR users know about Olympus' performance and quality compared to other camera brands?

Link to compare: http://www.radiantlite.com/2009/02/olymp us-e-620-vs-e-520-preview.html

E-620..... DUH!

2009-11-29 21:15:08 by Cale

Price: $29.00 $6.95

Makes group photos easy
Allows for shutter release up to 25 feet
Infrared wireless camera operation for Olympus EVOLT & Stylus Digital Cameras

I have read many reviews on the e-620 but they are mixed, good and bad. I want to hear an opinion from a consumers standpoint.

Go to cnet.com for review.

2009-06-17 01:01:54 by Michael

I have an Olympus E-620 digital SLR camera. Whenever I try to take a photo in dim light (it doesn't even need to be completely dark), the camera's flash pulses extremely quickly continuously (about 6 flashes per second) and it doesn't allow you to take a photo. Can someone please tell me what this is or how to fix the problem. Makes it annoying when you can't take pictures at night
I am worried because it was a display camera - i'm hoping it's not faulty.

Thank you
Thank you Jim - Much appreciated.

Is there a setting that I can adjust to stop this from happening ?

Enter the menu and go to the Settings menu (gears). From there, in settings menu "A", an option named "AF Illuminat." should be set to "ON". Turn this to "OFF", save the change, and the camera should no longer strobe in low light. You may notice a decrease in low light AF performance.

Note: The "Menu Display" option in the Setup menu (spanner) must be set to "ON" to access the Settings menus.

2009-07-21 18:58:16 by Danielle