Review of Olympus E-620 Digicam with 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses

Olympus has established its name for manufacturing very well specified cameras in the entry levels. Olympus was the first company to offer two cameras in the entry brackets the little E-410 and its image-stabilized big brother, the E-510 which was later upgraded to the 420 and 520 respectively. Olympus has now introduced a newer model E-620 with 12.3 mega pixel.  This is one of the world’s smallest and lightest DSLRs with built-in Image Stabilisation.

There are three configurations of E-620 body only, a kit with the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6lens and a two lens kit with that plus the 40-150mm f4-5.6 lens.

This model weighs 1 pound, 3 ounces, with dimensions of 5.1 inches wide by 3.7 inches high by 2.4 inches deep it is lighter and more compact then the D5000 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A380.

The E-620’s lineage is immediately apparent, with 2.7-inch flip-out-and-twist LCD along with some nice touches including a built-in wireless flash controller. A few buttons have been removed around the E620 which has a tilting screen and is slighter larger than the other models to accommodate the new viewfinder. Despite the small size it fits very comfortably in hand and operates in a pretty straightforward manner.

This model also sports a new 2.7″ Hyper Crystal III TFT LCD monitor with 230,000 pixels, which is transmissive to aid viewing in bright light. There are many buttons which are illuminated to allow easier working in low light situations.

There are an array of modes to choose from program, aperture/shutter-priority, and manual (PASM); the most frequently used scene program modes; full auto; and art/scene, in which you can select from the handful of Olympus Art Filters or an additional set of scene program modes. On the right side of the dial are the navigating menus and options, which operates in conjunction with the four-way navigation and OK buttons on the back.

You can also view the Super Control Panel on the LCD by pressing the Ok button where you can access almost every setting through the display. There are other unique features which E-620 has on offer like face detection (in Live View Mode); image size and quality; sharpness, saturation, contrast and gradation (normal, low key, and high key), plus the Picture Mode presets (and custom settings) that encompass those; white balance with preview, which includes manual tweaking along amber/blue and green/magenta sliders; and flash compensation and intensity.

The IS button which controls the sensor-shift stabilizer mode lies below the nav buttons and below your right thumb lies the AF Target button and programmable Fn button. Various options of Fn include face detect, live preview, set manual white balance, return AF point to its default position, enable manual focus, raw +JPEG override, and Olympus My Mode custom settings.

Bracketing is another option which is enabled in this model but is not very convenient to use as you need to delve into the menu system to enable it. Olympus hides its custom menu tab which does not save any space or makes the camera less intimidating, in fact it confuses the first time users and they need to read the manual to program the Fn button and set up My Mode. However you can customize default and high-ISO sensitivity for Auto ISO, dial functions which can be used in conjunction with the PASM exposure modes or disable the blinking focus lights in the view finder.

Like Sony there is an xD card slot in the E620 along with a second slot for memory stick. Olympus includes a Compact Flash slot unlike other manufacturers which include SD/HC. SD/HC makes more sense for users in this market than Compact Flash, since they’re moving up from point-and-shoots and probably already have a few of the cards. Olympus recommends a SanDisk Extreme IV for best burst-shooting results.

E-620 is known to be a fast shooter as it powers on and shoots in 1.4 seconds. Precisely it shoots in a respectable 0.4 second in good light and 0.8 second in dim light which is still slower than the other competitors

The E-620 has borrowed the E-30′s highly adjustable AF setup. It’s possible to fine-tune every AF point individually, with separate settings for the wide-angle and telephoto ends if it’s a zoom lens. This Olympus auto focus technology was developed for the professional E-3 after the comprehensive analysis of thousands of photographs and interviews with professional photographers. This ensures every snap of the shutter produces blur-free results. In addition, the AF was specifically designed to work easily and rapidly with SWD lenses.

Olympus offers the latest generation True Pic III +processor framing and an exceptional viewfinder which magnifies up to 0.96x and provides 95% viewing coverage. Along with an Auto White Balance which also helps reproduce vivid and true to life colors even though it offers competitive photo quality it lacks the video capture ability that its competitors like Cannon and Nixon have on offer.

Equipped with Olympus’ exclusive Supersonic Wave Filter dust protection system – the most effective dust protection system on the market – the Olympus E-620 digital SLR knows how to look after itself which is an added feature. It also uses BLS-1 battery which provides enough power for approximately 500 shots as per CIPA standards. The battery fits into the base of the camera on the hand grip side behind a door with a sliding lock, and has a small retaining clip to prevent it from falling out.

If you are looking at an easy to use camera at an entry level then Olympus E-620 is a good choice. It has a lot of semi advanced features that most of the beginning DSLR users don’t need or want, and a more complex design and user interface than necessary. However, it lacks video capture, and its good performance cannot measure up to models like the D5000 and T1i. The Olympus E-620 is a perfect choice for all the more advanced users who are looking for an inexpensive, compact model which delivers high-quality photos in a budget-friendly package.

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