The E-300 is the second camera from
Olympus to use a 4/3 image sensor and offer a Zuiko lens mount.
Designed as a "consumer" digital SLR, it still offers
a larger resolution than the first 4/3 camera introduced by
Olympus, the E1.
Aperture: f4, shutter speed: 1/125 sec.
One of the characteristics of the E-300 is its undeniable
quality of construction. The finishing is perfect and the
camera has a solid feel that highlights the fact that it is
able to support some heavy professional lenses as well as
the lighter ones designed for the general user.
Like all SLR cameras, in large part the image quality of
the E-300 depends on the lens mounted on the camera.
Aperture: f4, shutter speed: 1/125 sec.
In its "kit" form,
the E-300 is retailed with a relatively economical 14 to 45
mm zoom with starting apertures of f3.5/5.6, which is the
equivalent of a 28 to 90mm lens.
While the focal length range of this lens is practical for
standard photography, the wide angle, which at a 28mm equivalent
is ideal for interior shots, yields images that have a noticeably
soft focus.
Worth noting, the soft focus of the widest angle disappears
as soon as the zoom moves past that point, and images are
quite sharp.
Barrel distortion, common with
the wide angle end of zooms, is very well-corrected with the
E-300, and it is only with photos captured at very short distances
and which happen to have straight image elements that fall
along one of the frames edges that the remaining distortion
can be detected. While at the telephoto end of the zoom, the
opposite distortion, pincushion, is entirely absent.
The same holds true for chromatic aberration, minimal at
the wide angle end even when there are strong contrasts, and
completely absent at the telephoto end.
One of the advantages of the E-300 is the excellent range
of image formats it offers. First, a proprietary RAW format
that produces image files of 13.5 MB is available.
The RAW format provides the photographer the opportunity to
tweak the image for a number of parameters at the level of
the unprocessed image data, a capability which is more limited
once the image has been processed and saved into an established
format. As always, the RAW format image needs to be opened
in the software that is included with the camera to be edited
or simply re-saved using a more common format. But, with the
E-300, a RAW image can also be re-saved as a new image in
the camera into either TIFF or JPEG format based on the
current camera settings, ideal if the software is somehow
unavailable or when the image is needed immediately.
Aperture: f9, shutter speed: 1/200 sec.
Second, the E-300 provides a TIFF
format which requires approximately 7 seconds to save the
image and which, unlike the RAW format, applies current camera
settings for white balance, sharpness, contrast, etc. and
is generally supported. Of course, the TIFF format's primary
advantage is that it retains all the image's colour information,
while its disadvantage is its file size: 23.3 MB for each
8-megapixel frame.
Aperture: f2.8, shutter speed: 1/60 sec.
The remaining option is the
JPEG format, and here again Olympus gives the E-300 a lot
of flexibility. Three levels of compression are available,
ranging from a low ratio of 1:2.7, to a highly compressed
1:16 ratio.
Indeed, set to the SHQ image quality, which uses the least
compression (1:2.7), the E-300's images are effectively as
good as those captured in the other 2 formats, albeit a bit
less "editable," should the need arise.
Besides the image format, one of the most critical components
of a digital camera's image quality is the effectiveness of
its white balance.
An accurate white balance is the
starting point for all other colours recorded by the camera,
and its precision is key. Here also, Olympus has gone to some
lengths to ensure that the user is given flexibility.
For white balance, the E-300
offers no less than 1 Auto setting; 12 presets which can be
tweaked towards red or blue as desired; 4 custom settings
which cover the ends of the Kelvin colour temperature range
that are not part of the presets, and which can be totally
customized themselves; and one One-touch, user-set setting
that makes it possible to precisely adjust the white balance
to ambient conditions.
Aperture: f3.3, shutter speed: 1/30 sec.
But, while this level of control
over the white balance is laudable, its emphasis on the use
of Kelvin degrees may well make it appear too complex to many
users.
With respect to noise, the E-300 proves to have little sensitivity
to noise at 100 and 200 ISO, and even the 400 ISO level yields
a useable image, albeit noisier. Extending the ISO range with
the ISO Boost option, however, is best reserved for situations
when there is plenty of natural light, and a need for as high
a shutter speed as possible, as under dimmer light noise can
interfere seriously with the image.
Exposure metering is more standard
with the E-300, and it is rare that an alternative to the
default ESP metering needs to be used. In fact, even given
subjects that are backlit to some extent, the metering is
usually able to produce a good image. Moreover, the camera
is responsive and there is no intrusive shutter lag once the
AF has acquired a target.
Still, it is worth noting that under low light, the AF is
assisted by the flash and that it should be opened for that
purpose even if it is not being used.
The pop-up flash of the E-300 is
a pleasant surprise. Although the camera is able to receive
larger and more powerful Olympus flash units, the camera's
own flash produces excellent results and is very well-mated
with the kit lens. Flash photos are evenly lit, and the flash
has enough power to light a 5 m (over 16 foot) room.
Some aspects of the E-300 clearly
earmark it as a worthwhile and even an innovative camera.
It offers an 8 megapixel image size, and an image quality
that comes close to some of the best digital SLR cameras currently
available. Moreover, as the 4/3 system gains acceptance, the
E-300 will be compatible with the lenses of other manufacturers.
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