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Olympus Evolt E620 12.3MP Live MOS Digital SLR Camera with Image Stabilization and 2.7 inch Swivel LCD
 
Manufacturer: Olympus
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List Price: $799.99
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Product Description
OLYMPUS 262162 12.3 Megapixel E-620 Camera Kit (Includes ED 14–42mm zoom & 40–150mm zoom)

Product Details
  • 12.3-megapixel Live MOS sensor for photo-quality, poster-size prints
  • Lightweight ergonomic design; kit includes 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko lens and 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 ED Zuiko lens
  • TruePic III for superior image quality in all lighting situations; Supersonic Wave Drive (in-body sensor shift)
  • 2.7-inch HyperCrystal III Swivel LCD; Smooth Live View allows you to change the frame rate of the Live View display
  • Stores images to Compact Flash (Type I and II), Microdrive, xD Picture card (not included)

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Customer Reviews
quality, size & value
 
Review Date: June 5, 2009
Reviewer: philosoph, New York (in exile from Chicago)
I've had the E-620 for a few weeks now and am quite pleased. Other options I considered were the Nikon D5000, Canon T1i & XSi, Panasonic G1, Sony A300 & A350, and Pentax K200D & K20D. Some comments with comparison notes:

1) SIZE & WEIGHT -- There's no point in having a camera that is so bulky that it doesn't get much use. Only the Panasonic G1 is smaller than the E-620 but not by much. There is a more dramatic difference in the size of the lenses, with Olympus being much smaller than all but Panasonic. Makes for a very compact outfit. For anyone used to the size of film SLRs, the E-620 is very similar. My wife also found it the most comfortable for her to hold.

2) BUILD QUALITY & HANDLING -- Very impressed with Olympus here. Solid, dense and with lots of sensibly placed buttons for direct access to settings. The other cameras had a less solid, plasticy feel, and their larger grips still weren't large enough for a comfortable pistol grip with my average size hands. The Sonys, in particular, had awkward button placement. The E-620 has a different style of grip where you hold the camera in the same way as old film SLRs, and is more appropriate to such a small camera. I carry the camera comfortably in my *left* hand, grasping the body and lens barrel with my fingers on the zoom ring; this frees my right hand from having to support the camera while working controls, and leaves my good hand open (I'm a righty).

3) LENSES -- The kit zooms from Olympus are reputed to be of higher quality than the others, as well as being more compact. So far I have been very impressed. I didn't want to buy a camera only to feel the kit lenses needed replacing; I'd rather spend on lenses that offer new capabilities, like fast primes or dedicated macro lenses. For anyone interesting in using legacy manual focus lenses, inexpensive adapters are available to attach virtually any MF SLR lens to Olympus bodies; used lenses can be quite inexpensive on eBay. Panasonic is limited by a very small range of lenses. For a two lens kit, the E-620 was the cheapest option.

4) IMAGE QUALITY -- I wanted to spend my time taking pictures, not fiddling with them in post-processing; Olympus has the best out-of-camera JPGs of the bunch (Canon and Pentax, in particular, fall short here). Although the smaller Olympus sensors are reputed to be a bit noisier, what noise there is is primarily luminance noise, giving images a film-like grain, rather than the colored blotches of chroma noise. I've found noise very well controlled through ISO1000, even with noise reduction set to LOW. For printing up through 8x10 and monitor display, I don't think noise is a concern up through ISO1600 (certainly with noise reduction set to standard). One caveat: be sure to keep gradation set at NORMAL (the default), not AUTO, unless you really need it; using AUTO gradation will noticeably increase noise.

5) IN BODY STABILIZATION -- I prefer in body stabilization to lens-based stabilization for two reasons: in body works with all lenses, and lenses can be more compact. You only carry one body but you are likely to carry multiple lenses, so it pays to keep them small.

6) LIVE VIEW & LCD -- Olympus has the best live view implementation (maybe tied with Sony) with quite quick autofocus. This is very important if you want anyone, e.g. my wife or random bystanders, who's used to compact cameras to use your SLR for snapshots or the like. The tilt & swivel LCD is very handy and seemed more natural than Nikon or Sony's implementations.


Overall, I found the E-620 to be the best value for a two lens kit.


Here are a few notes on the other cameras I considered:
Nikon D5000 -- Good build & handling, but a bit bulky. Live view isn't great. Much more expensive for a two lens kit than the Olympus.

Canon T1i -- Not impressed by the build quality, felt plasticy. Not comfortable for me to hold. Out of camera JPGs not so good. Inferior kit lenses. Much more expensive for a two lens kit than the Olympus.

Canon XSi -- Not impressed by the build quality, felt plasticy. Not comfortable for me to hold. Out of camera JPGs not so good. Bulkier than the Olympus. Inferior kit lenses.

Panasonic G1 -- Limited lens selection; will take legacy MF lenses but doesn't offer image stabilization with them since it isn't in the body. Plasticy. Not much smaller than the Olympus. More expensive than Olympus for a two lens kit.

Sony A300 & A350 -- Hated the button placement--ruled them out on that alone. Live view is very good though.

Pentax K200D & K20D -- Poor out of camera JPGs. Great handling and build quality. Short on features. Kit lenses aren't great. No live view / live view useless.
Very competitive mid entry dslr
 
Review Date: May 10, 2009
Reviewer: Waqas Mustafeez, CA, USA
I have had the E-620 for about a week and i moved from a E-510. E-510 was my first DSLR and using that over the years i have been very satisfied and happy with the 510 especially due to the in body image stabilization and lens line-up. Liveview was also a plus over competitors but i never really used it unless it was really dark or i needed to manual focus.

Some things on the E-510 that were aging and were kind of the few weak points of the entry level E series was the 3 point autofocus system, small viewfinder and low light focusing. The lcd was so so too but for an SLR i don't see why a high pixel LCD should be important.. sure its good to have one but its not important.
Anyhow the E-620 really improves all these problems and really becomes a strong no compromise camera; worthy of buying just because its excellent.. not because its great value as was the case for me for the E-510.

1) The viewfinder is much larger; suitable for manual focusing.
2) now has 7 points - 5 cross (which is better then any entry slr .. d5000, t1i etc included). -- now that Ive had sometime to try out the imager AF; ill say that although its not the fastest AF system (talking about the hybrid mode as i don't have compatible lenses for standalone imager mode) -- it works very reliably in low light conditions; better then the phase detect sensor on its own. Using liveview to compose night shots many times i found my e510 hunting and eventually taking out of focus shots forcing complete manual focus-- hybrid mode definitely lets you use AF in seriously dark conditions.
3) nice flipping LCD which again trumps the other 2 boys in the group in terms of utility.
4) Much better tone curves/gradation/dynamic range.. people argue .. i don't know.. i just know that highlight and shadow information is retained very well. Of course jpgs turn out nice due to the gradation but there is dynamic range improvement visible in raw too.

Some things that have continued to be Olympus selling points
5) in body image stabilization
6) Excellent body quality... compare it to canon entry levels and see what i mean
7) Very strong, potentially the best lens line-up out there. kit lenses being outstanding value for money -- you can start taking good photographs right away.. unlike kit lenses from others.

Some other feature like the Art filters and multiple exposure (over laying multiple photos) are just a side for most people. Id say all of them are aesthetically pleasing filters and fun to try-- if you use them, you still have your raw file to do off camera processing. But id say that these features to me are like the video recording by canon and nikon -- just a pleasant aside but not really what dslr photography has been about (at least in the past).
The issue of high ISO with oly has always been there, some thoughts:
I like the extra ISO steps and use the ISO 160 as standard ( people say 200 gives best DR in comparison to 100 -- but i think 160 is slightly better then 200)
In contrast to canons move up to 15MP for the 50D and t1i-- Olys move from 10 to 12.3MP you will find actually better high iso performance then the E-510 and 520. ISO 1250 is about comparable to 1600 of others. id say upto ~ 1250 is useable. Notice that 15MP and over the APS-C pixel density actually goes above the 10MP 4/3rd sensor. Essentially low light performance in APS-C cameras has been going down (or staying stable at best) across the board. So if you want to take pictures of football games in pitch dark at 6400 ISO 4/3rds or APS-C is not what you are looking for. Generally the solution to low light is not pumping up the ISO the first course of action is of course flash- with regards to that E-620 allows a lot of functionality with the Fl-36R/50R units including built in wireless flash support (no need for carrying a transmitter)
Over all for an mid entry SLR you will be very happy with the E-620. Another factor is ergonomics and i like holding an Olympus but that you will have to try and compare yourself-- happy shooting!

-updated to include thoughts on Imager AF and wireless flash support
Great images with less weight
 
Review Date: June 6, 2009
Reviewer: Robert Bell,
I've had an E-620 for about a month, and with each photo I'm finding more to like about it.

Any camera represents a series of compromises as the manufacturer trades weight vs. features vs. cost vs. ergonomics vs. image quality. Any purchase decision should be based on how those particular trade-offs jibe with the intended use. None of the name-brand cameras in this price range that I've looked at are bad. But, for me and for the type of photography I do now, the E-620 is the closest fit.

Number one is the available lenses. Read the reviews of the kit zooms such as the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS with its chromatic aberration and the Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR DX with its barrel distortion. Unlike the Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED, both have front elements that rotate when you focus, making the use of a polarizer or a petal-type hood difficult. Unlike the Olympus, both have manual focus rings that can't be used without shifting the lens out of autofocus. Yes, Canon and Nikon make other lenses that are sharper, faster, heavier and more expensive -- so does Olympus. But if you want to use the kit lens, the Olympus one gets better reviews.

Olympus also makes a sharp and handy Zuiko Digital 35mm f/3.5 Macro, which has been spending more time on my E-620 than either of the kit lenses. For me, it's a great walking-around lens, good for both environmental portraits and product shots. On the other hand, if I needed a 600mm f/4 or a 14mm f/2.8, I'd have gotten a Canon or a Nikon.

The E-620 has in-body image stabilization, which means you buy it once and haul it around once, instead of adding weight and cost to every lens. Again, one could argue that at the extreme high end in-lens image stabilization is better, but I don't live at the extreme high end.

I had thought that the E-620's live view would be a gimmick, but it's quite useful zoomed in 10 times for manual focus on a copy stand- or tripod-mounted camera for macro work. You can easily assign the E-620's Fn button to auto white balance when you need it, and just as easily re-assign it to toggle face detect or autofocus on and off when that's what you prefer.

In the kit with the 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 and the 40-150mm f/4-5.6, the E-620 is currently priced comparably to the Nikon D60 and its kit 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens plus a Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR lens and to the Canon Rebel XS and its kit 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens plus a Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS lens.

The E-620 lacks the D60's manual focus indicator and separate autofocus assist light, while the Nikon lacks the Olympus' dedicated ISO and white balance select buttons and has only three autofocus points. Like the Olympus, the Canon has seven autofocus points, but it has a very awkwardly placed exposure compensation button. All three cameras have a viewfinder with 95 percent frame coverage, but the E-620 has a magnification of 0.96x, compared to 0.8x for the D60 and 0.81x for the Rebel XS.

The E-620; the 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6, the 40-150mm f/4-5.6, the 35mm f/3.5 Macro; and an FL-36R flash in a Domke F-3X bag weigh 6 pounds, less than the equivalent Nikon and Canon kits and far less than what I schlepped around when I was shooting film. The best camera is the one you have with you.


Olympus E-620 for fine art photography
 
Review Date: August 10, 2009
Reviewer: Moreno Tagliapietra, New York
Hello, I am a seasoned fine art photographer. Outdoors, I photograph landscapes and classic architecture, mostly European. In my studio, I do my own flower studies and reproduce original artwork for artists and crafters. My main system is a Pentax K20D with DA* and DA lenses. I use an Olympus E series as a backup system or when I want to travel light.

I have recently replaced my E-510, that had served me well for one year, with an E-620 two-lens kit. As soon as I got it, I put the camera through a set of field tests consistent with my kind of photography. My conclusion is that with the E-620, Olympus have fully met their 1999 promise to use the 4/3" format to develop small and light cameras and lenses without compromises of quality and price. I was concerned about the diminutive size of the body but I found it to fit my average-sized male hands remarkably well. The feeling is comfortingly solid and the commands are logically placed. I never had a problem with the Olympus control system and this camera is no exception.

The new 12.3Mp sensor is quite good. Depending on light conditions, noise is very low up to ISO800-1600. Dynamic range is definitively improved. Pictures taken in early July of my house and garden at noon in full sun recorded the entire tonal range with no shadow/highlights clipping. Minuscule detail is also captured remarkably well. Co-responsible for this are the two kit lenses, rightly famous for their high quality/price ratio with good corner-to-corner sharpness and low optical distortion and chromatic aberration. Very important to me, the viewfinder is larger with coverage of 95% and magnification of 96%, and allows me to focus manually.

This is my first (transmissive) LCD monitor truly usable in full sun. It is completely articulated, hinged on the side of the camera so that it does not interfere with the head of the tripod (like the Nikon 5000). Even with "only" 230,000 pixels, I still find it to be remarkably bright and sharp. It helps a lot with copy stand work and macro in the field. This is enhanced by the quality of the camera's Live View. The E-620 can use contrast-based autofocus eliminating the need for the sequence mirror down/focus/mirror up. Live View shows a lot of information, live histogram included, and allows for many key regulations. You can choose any area of the picture and enlarge it x5, x7 or x10 for fine focusing. The enlarged view is quite clear and sharp. The new 7-point phase detection autofocus has evolved and feels faster (I use spot autofocus anyway to ensure that I always know where the camera is focusing). Image stabilization on the sensor allows for smaller, less delicate and less expensive lenses. Lab tests indicate that it provides a 2 to 2.5 f/stops gain. The dust suppression system is still the best (some experts say the only one truly effective on the market). The camera offers an unparalleled wealth of manual and automatic regulations through its dedicated buttons and the LCD monitor.

Outside, I use the camera on aperture priority at f/8-11 (to minimize lens diffraction) at a setting as close to ISO200 as possible (the camera's sweet spot for noise and dynamic range). No matter how good the exposure meter is, most of my pictures have always needed compensation. I take as many test pictures as necessary (with the Fn button set to "test picture") to get the proper exposure. The half-pressed shutter button is set to lock focus only. I focus where I want (mostly with an eye on hyperfocus), recompose and take the picture. In studio, I use the Fn button to get a custom white balance and set the camera to Live View and manual focus. I enlarge the subject for fine focusing, take some test pictures to perfect the exposure, and shoot with an extension cable and the "anti-shock" function set to 3 seconds (with anti-shock on, when you press the shutter button the camera lifts the mirror and waits the number of seconds set by you - up to 30 - before shooting, letting the mirror vibrations subside). Since the camera is on a tripod, I do turn image stabilization off. I shoot Raw+jpeg, use jpeg for family emails and reserve Raw for all my professional work. Developing in Camera Raw 5.4 at 16bit/channel in the ProPhoto color space, processing in Photoshop CS4, upsizing in Genuine Fractals 5, and printing with Epson UltraChrome inks and fine art papers and canvas, I obtain impeccable prints up to at least 24x30".

I believe that the best camera is the one that gets you to carry it around and have fun photographing. Today, it is the Olympus E-620 that does it for me. If Olympus is listening, I would respectfully wish for an AC adapter.
Olympus improves E-series image quality
 
Review Date: June 26, 2009
Reviewer: Douglas Henderson, SW Montana
I bought an Olympus E-620 from Adorama a few weeks ago and took it to Yellowstone to compare performance with my other Olympus digital cameras--an E-330 and an E-510. Took along my two good Olympus lenses--a 14-54mm and an 11/22mm.

I'll leave a fuller discussion of the camera to others and just say my photo results from a day of shooting was a set of images easily acquired that were of superb quality--very sharp, very well exposed and yielding a tonal/dynamic range that was much greater than I've come to expect from Olympus digital cameras. Very easy to take photos without blowing highlights that also showed more detail in darker toned areas of an image. Olympus has greatly improved dynamic range with the E-620 over earlier E-series cameras.

One notable difference with the E-620 was the need to increase the exposure settings. My older Olympus E-330 and E-510 required setting exposure with -1/3 EV (minus 1/3), to insure most highlights weren't overexposed. With the E-620, the EV needs to be set to +1/3 or more--otherwise images initially look too underexposed. The JPG engine in the camera seems to do very well--producing warm, saturated images. I developed RAW files with Iridient Raw Developer 1.8.3. The end files saved in Photoshop or TIFF are larger than those from earlier Olympus cameras (69mb or so, vs. 42mb from the E-330 and 57mb from the E-510).

I have had some odd, variable auto-focus behavior (back-focusing, sometimes), but this only requires I pay attention to what the camera is doing while taking pictures--and only seems to happen at the wide end of my lenses. Battery life was better than I expected--shot an 8GB CF card and most of another 4GB CF card with the battery still showing to be full. I'll post a few images to demonstrate the nice results. The E-620 is highly recommended.