PUBLISHED: 1/23/2009
When Olympus decides to take on any new DSLR project, two things are almost certain. First, you can bet that whatever they've got planned, they'll roll it out on their own schedule. And second, that they'll put a slightly different spin on a familiar idea. Whether you think the much debated decision to lead development efforts for the open-format Four Thirds system has been a smart move or not, it's hard not to respect Olympus for being a little "above the fray" when it come to the rampant copy-cat behavior in the quest for consumer dollars.
Which is why we weren't at all surprised when Olympus announced its intent to roll out what can fairly be called its first-ever advanced amateur DSLR for 2009, the Olympus E-30. A few critics have scoffed at the manufacturer for being years behind the times on a trend that has produced some hugely popular mid-priced DSLRs from Olympus's rivals, but as is their modus operandi, the folks behind the E-30 have quietly but insistently argued that there's room – and maybe even need – for a different point of view in this part of the market as well. Thus the E-30: an SLR designed for and marketed to members of a different-thinking group of camera buyers that, if Olympus's research bears out, need a camera with plenty of horsepower, but want to be able to unleash their creativity without getting bogged down in technicalities.
Up against lots of strong options, the E-30 has its work cut out for it. With a slew of technology carried down from the professional E-3 supplemented by some nifty touches that no other manufacturer can lay claim to, the E-30 also has some advantages in its corner.
FEATURES OVERVIEW
Filling a perceived void in the manufacturer's line-up between the consumer-focused E-520 and the professional E-3, the mid-grade E-30 is the first Olympus DSLR to get the manufacturer's next-generation 12.3 megapixel "Live MOS" sensor. This CMOS based Four Thirds format imager replaces the 10 megapixel Live MOS technology currently in use across Olympus's DSLR line. The E-30 also lands a newly developed TruePic III+ image processor.
Like the professional Olympus E-3, the E-30's 2.7 inch "HyperCrystal" LCD can be rotated/swiveled as desired. Working with the E-30's Live View system, which continues to play a prominent role here as in previous Olympus models, the display allows for shot composition from positions – over the head, at ground level, and so on – that would be difficult if not impossible with traditional "viewfinder only" DSLR shot composition.
For its focusing system, the E-30 uses an 11-point phase detection system when shooting through the viewfinder that appears to be a variant of the E-3's extremely fast AF technology. Even more significant, though, are the improvements to Olympus's Imager AF contrast detection focusing technology (which allows the camera to auto focus while shooting in Live View mode without a screen black-out period). According to Olympus, updates to the manufacturer's 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 lens – re-released as a "II" variant – have allowed for significant speed and accuracy improvements when using auto focus in Live View mode.
In anticipation of the E-30's official release late last year, we got to spend some time with a pre-production unit, put together a brief video tour outlining this model's key specs and features.
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