Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - Here's what I receive
in the box:
EVOLT E-330 dSLR w/Body Cap
No memory card [though I received a 1GB Team
CF Card]
14-45mm F3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital Lens w/lens
shade, lens cap and rear cap
Shoulder Strap
Li-Ion Battery BLM-1 7.2V 1500 mAh, Charger
& Power Cord
Interface Cables: A/V; USB
Instruction Manuals: Advanced Manual; Quick
Start Guide, System Chart
Software CDs: Olympus Master 1.1
The Olympus EVOLT E-330 feels comfortable
and handling is superb, except perhaps for the
left bottom front edge [viewed from the back]
that keeps jabbing into the palm of my left hand;
a slightly more rounded edge would be perfect.
Otherwise, the main controls fall under your fingers
and there is no fumbling for the controls. Press
a control button and rotate the Control Dial with
your thumb for fast settings change.
Operations are fast. Half-press the shutter release
button and your subject instantly zips into focus.
Compared to other DSLRs that use a pentaprism
(instead of mirrors), the viewfinder is dark and
small. But coming from a user who mostly uses
compact consumer digital cameras [DSLRs are still
too large and heavy for my taste], the porro mirror
viewfinder looks positively big and welcomed compared
to the tunnel vision on consumer digital cameras.
In my review kit, besides the camera, I also
receive the 14-45mm F3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital Lens.
Due to the 2x crop factor, the lens provides a
35mm equivalent focal length of 28-90mm. One thing
that I notice right away is the incredible shallow
depth-of-field possible with the lens when using
a large aperture and/or using the lens at the
tele end of the focal length.
Though the major feature of the E-330 is the
Live View LCD, at first I found myself using the
viewfinder most of the time, as I guess most DSLR
users do anyway; it's just the way you hold the
camera with the right hand on the grip and the
left hand under the lens that makes it natural
to use the viewfinder. However, when I did have
to crouch low for macro shots or to get a low
angle, boy, was I mighty glad for the Live View
LCD and the fact that it also tilts! It's the
best of both worlds.
Overlay:
Olympus E-330 and Panasonic L1
Mouseover
image to see the Panasonic L1
Back when I did the E-300 review, I wrote the
following:
"If you are used only to consumer digital
cameras, you will miss a few things when you
upgrade to a dSLR. For example, there is no
live view on the LCD monitor -- it's strictly
for Playback. For macro work, there is no swiveling
LCD monitor, so you have to crouch down to your
subject level peering thru the viewfinder."
Well, the E-330 has rectified both situations
with its Live View tilting LCD!
Consider what you get with the E-330:
- Excellent image quality with low noise up to
ISO 400, with usable ISO 800
- Dust Reduction System
- Live View LCD when you really need to use it
- Tilting LCD for flexibility in composition
- Powerful built-in flash
Overall, the Olympus EVOLT E-330 is a
very capable DSLR with lots of exposure flexibility
-- it will take months to try them all -- and
excellent image quality. The Live View LCD adds
the practical and useful flexibility not available
in any other DSLR (except the Panasonic L1 / Leica
Digilux 3). If you're thinking of graduating from
the world of point-and-shoot digicams but not
too sure about it, the Olympus E-330 is not too
big and not too heavy and may be the exact bridge
digital camera you need to convince you to make
the jump.
