Gadgets Guide and Review

The Olympus E-30 is the newest addition to the interchangeable-lens digital SLRs (single lens reflex) camera within the Olympus E-System lineup. This new 12.3-megapixel, FourThirds-compliant camera reinforces the company’s commitment to the standard. Positioned as a mid-level model, this new digital SLR camera is intended for anyone who wants to express their creativity through photography, whether they are just starting out or are a professional with years of experience behind them.

The E-30 is a camera that has the speed of the E-3 and the freedom to express oneself with a variety of new creative features, from Art Filters that will let you control the way the image looks from a grainy black and white film to exaggerated colors. From the ability to shoot traditional multiple exposures in Live View for a wedding photographer, to the untraditional multiple exposure of the artistic, the E-30 is the camera for the creative shooter who wants to think differently and shoot in new ways.

Pros

• Excellent out-of-camera JPEG results with good Dynamic Range, pleasing color and subtle tonality
• Bright clear viewfinder far better than most Four Thirds cameras
• Slightly improved resolution and pixel level sharpness over E-3
• Good range of image parameters (but not enough latitude in terms of contrast and saturation)
• Efficient DR enhancement setting (Auto-Gradation)
• Efficient sensor-shift image stabilization system (around 2.5 stops)
• Vertical panning image stabilizer mode
• Solid build quality and excellent handling – very well balanced with kit lens
• Probably the best ergonomics of any Olympus camera yet, and one of the most ‘photographer friendly’ control layouts in its class
• Large range of customization options and comprehensive feature set
• Clear and bright articulated screen
• Intuitive ‘Super Control Panel’ allows quick access to all important shooting settings
• Contrast-detect AF in live view (though see cons, below)
• AF fine-tuning per AF-point
• Decent battery life
• Optional battery grip
• Wireless flash system (with certain Olympus flash guns)
• Good range of live view viewing options including white balance and exposure compensation preview
• Supersonic Wave Filter ensures no dust on sensor (small point: would sometimes be nice to be able to turn it off for faster startup; there’s custom functions for everything else)
• Art filters give interesting creative options
• Digital spirit level
• Speedy and responsive overall performance, short shutter lag
• Fast focus with new SWD lenses (less impressive with other lenses, however)
• Excellent color, good daylight white balance
• User control over ISO noise reduction (’Noise Filter’)
• Up to ten times magnification in Live View for manual focus
• Black and white mode with selectable filters
• Kelvin white balance option, all white balance presets fine tunable
• Fully customizable RAW+JPEG (many competitors have fixed JPEG settings)
• Spot metering with shadow and highlight based spot
• Mirror lock-up with custom delay
• In-camera RAW development and JPEG image editing

Cons

• Resolution not quite as good as best in class, though you won’t see it in JPEGs
• Higher noise levels/noise reduction at higher sensitivities than its best competitors
• Not much highlight headroom in raw files (around half a stop)
• Unreliable auto white balance and presets in artificial light
• Nice though it may be, the viewfinder is visibly smaller than the E-3 and APS-C cameras in this class
• Lower resolution screen than the competition
• Long, unstructured menus make finding some settings frustrating (though to be honest you’re not likely to be spending too much time in the menus)
• Live histogram and preview brightness inaccurate if you use Live Preview Boost.
• Contrast detect AF slow and incompatible with many lenses
• Art filters ‘baked in’ – no controls over effects – and some take way too long to apply
• Can’t flip between Art Filters in live view mode (forced to use a menu)
• Flash must be raised for AF assist (no dedicated AF assist lamp)
• Autofocus in auto AF point selection mode a bit jumpy
• Base sensitivity is almost certainly ISO 200 – shooting at ISO 100 loses you almost a stop of dynamic range. This is not indicated anywhere in the manual or on the camera

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