Olympus E-410

Reviewed May 2007

Image Quality

As we have observed over the last few months, one of the most dynamic areas of digital photography is that of entry-level SLR cameras. And the arrival of the Olympus E-410 adds yet another choice for those who want to make the move to a dSLR.

From the start, Olympus decided to create and develop a new system for its dSLR cameras: the Four Third system, named for the aspect ratio of the sensor, and develop lenses for a new type of mount instead of adapting cameras that were originally designed for film.

Olympus was also the first company to develop a dust reduction system for digital SLRs, the Supersonic Wave Filter (SSWF), and again the first to develop a camera that brings one of the features of compact digital cameras, the ability to frame shots using the LCD monitor, to a reflex-type camera, a system Olympus calls Live View that is built into the E-410.

When it is active, the camera lifts the mirror that normally bounces the light coming through the lens to the viewfinder, and opens the shutter, allowing 100% of the framed image captured by the Live MOS sensor to be redirected to the monitor.

The system offers an additional level of flexibility when capturing images, not only because it shows precisely what part of the subject will be captured, but because it remains visible from different angles, allows capturing shots, such as overhead in a crowd, that would have been either difficult or impossible otherwise.

In addition, while in the Live View mode, the E-410 is also able to auto focus when the AFL button is pressed, briefly freezing the live image while the focus is established. And, once the auto focus is set, the left arrow of the Arrow Pad can be used to preview the depth of field, closing the lens diaphragm to the selected aperture — valuable for macro shots that are a perfect use for the Live View mode.

Although it uses only 3 focus points at the horizontal centre of the frame, the E-410's auto focus is quite reliable. In use it operates much like a wide area focus and generally has little difficulty in finding the subject on which to focus. An AF assist is provided for those times when the available light is insufficient for the system to operate reliably, but as it uses the pop-up flash, when the camera is used in the advanced modes, the user has to remember to open the flash.

With the E-410 set to its default metering pattern, ESP, results are usually excellent and effortless. Still, when there is a strong contrast in the scene, highlights are the first to lose some detail. With other subjects, however, such as bird photography, the use of one of the other metering patterns, centre-weighed or spot, may be best as it will ensure the subject is properly exposed and the background, generally brighter, does not exert too great an influence on the metering.

One of the strengths of the E-410 is its low sensitivity to noise, and even at high ISO settings, noise is well controlled. Used outdoors and with bright sunshine, the entire ISO range of the camera is useable, making it possible to access very fast shutter speeds. Only at 1600 ISO does noise become visible, but its impact on the level of detail the camera captures is minimal. Under low light, clean images can be obtained at up to 800 ISO, as long as some care is taken with the exposure. Under these conditions, images captured at 1600 ISO are noisier, but can still be used if processed through a noise reduction software.

Keeping in mind that the E-410 is designed to be light and easy to carry, the lenses included in the kit are a good fit. They are composed of plastic — including the lens mounts — making them light as well, and while there is some play in their lens barrel at full extension, their image quality is very good.

These two lenses — a 14 - 42 mm f3.5-5.6 ED and a 40 - 150 mm f5-5.6 ED — are new lighter and more compact lenses than the ones that are already part of the Zuiko Digital range.

Straight out of the box, the user has access to a focal length range that starts at the equivalent of 28 mm and extends to a powerful 300 mm, and at a weight that is comparable to some bridge-type cameras and an optional conversion lens.

The image quality of the E-410 is excellent and the RAW format provides the most flexibility to the photographer, including a direct selection of the colour space sRGB or Adobe RGB, the later being particularly useful when producing high quality prints.

On the JPEG side, Olympus deserves a special mention. The E-410 offers a superb selection of image compression levels, including one of the lowest, 1/2.7, which has no artefacts and which retains an extensive range of colours.

With its excellent image quality, be it at the lowest JPEG compression or with the RAW format, its complete set of shooting modes, its advanced Live View mode, or even its effective dust reduction system, the Olympus Evolt E-410 has one of the best price to value ratios of cameras currently on the market. Moreover, the advantage and value that the 2-lens kit offers should place this camera high on the list of any person wanting to move to a digital SLR camera.