Olympus E-620

Focal length: 14mm
Aperture: f/4.5
Shutter: f/125
ISO: 200

Shot in Times Square looking downtown on a rainy afternoon, with spot metering and the exposure cranked up 0.7 stops to combat the gloomy lighting.

Even in subdued lighting the color reproduction is both bright and accurate, and there’s good sharpness from curb to curb.

Focal length: 28mm
Aperture: f/125
Shutter: 1/125
ISO: 100

We experimented with the six Art Filters by shooting the elaborately painted delivery van of our favorite local rib joint using each filter in turn. The image shown at right was shot in straight program mode for comparison purposes.

Focal length: 42mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter: 1/50
ISO: 1600

To explore the relationship between noise reduction setting and image detail, we shot this clock on a tripod, with indoor incandescent lighting, at a consistent ISO. Each close-up slice below indicates the noise filter setting used.

Focal length: 14mm
Aperture: f/10
Shutter: 1/320
ISO: 200

Shot on the south shore of Long Island on a cloudy day, with evaluative metering in aperture priority mode, to achieve the depth of field we wanted and white balance set to auto.

There’s some softness along the edges here, but overall it’s a well-balanced, nicely detailed shot.

Focal length: 42mm
Aperture: f/11
Shutter: 1/160
ISO: 100

We shot our subject in indirect sunlight using Portrait mode to bring out her lovely skin tones, in shutter priority mode to balance handheld shooting stillness with a deep enough aperture to capture details cleanly.

We’re impressed by the fine gradation in the cheek coloring captured here, and the level of detail, which reveals the fabric texture and wear and tear on the plastic eyeball.

Focal length: 18mm
Aperture: f/3.9
Shutter: 2 seconds
ISO: 800

To explore the camera’s long exposure performance we shot this still life in a dimly lit room, illuminated by moderate sunlight through closed shades, after taking a manual white balance reading. We maintained a 2-second exposure time and changed ISO to 800, 1600 and 3200 in turn, shooting in Program mode, with noise reduction set at standard level.

As expected, image noise rises quickly in this dark location, and detail suffers because of the aggressive noise reduction setting, but colors shifted very little across the ISO range, producing an image at ISO 800 that’s usable at small sizes.