Olympus E-620

Speed and Timing

Olympus claims a burst rate of 4 frames per second when shooting in the default Large Normal mode, and our testing confirmed their claim on the nose (actually, a hair better at an average 4.004 fps). What’s more, shooting to a fast 8-gigabyte UDMA CompactFlash card, there was no hesitation as we kept our finger on the shutter and just kept firing. Upping the quality setting to Large Fine did cause a slowdown after just seven or eight or six images, though, and shooting to the xD card caused a slowdown even in Large Normal mode after 10 shots.

The E620 isn’t a speed demon, certainly, but the true 4-shot performance puts it in line with comparable cameras.

The Olympus E-620 supports two continuous shooting modes. High shoots at 4 frames per second as long as you hold down the shutter. The Low burst mode speed can be set to 3, 2 or 1 frame per second in the custom menu. The number of sequential shots that can be taken without slowdown at current image settings is shown in the viewfinder display.

There are two self-timer modes when shooting with the shutter button (12 second and 2 second), plus two modes supporting the optional RM-1 wireless remote control ($40) or the RM-UC1 remote cable release ($57). The remotes can also be used for bulb shooting.

In addition to the self-timer options available through the drive mode menu, there is an Anti-shock option in the Custom settings menu that lets you set the delay from the moment the mirror is raised until the shutter is released from 1 to 30 seconds. This can be useful for mission-critical applications where any tiny shake at all could affect results, such as astronomical photography.

This section of the review was updated with revised results and scores on July 13, 2009. These changes did not affect the relative ratings of the reviewed cameras.

Focus Speed

The Olympus E-620 uses a seven-point autofocus system, with . There are two available modes. All-target autofocus lets the camera choose among the seven available points, while single target AF uses one focus point selected by the shooter. The focus point can be chosen by pressing the AF target button behind and to the right of the shutter, then adjusting using the control dial (pretty easy) or the four-way controller (pretty tricky if you have the viewfinder up to your face).

For an extra level of fine control, there are two settings for single-point autofocus. The default Normal setting uses an area slightly larger than the target indicated, while Small focuses only on that single tiny point.

Five focus modes are available when shooting with the viewfinder: Single, Continuous, Manual, Simultaneous Single Autofocus and Manual Autofocus (where the camera autofocuses, then you adjust manually), and Simultaneous Single Autofocus and Manual Autofocus (where you first set the focus manually, then the camera attempts to maintain that focus as the subject moves). Live View autofocus is described in the separate Live View section above.

There is no dedicated autofocus assist lamp on the Olympus E-620. Instead, the pop-up flash emits a series of quick bright pulses, effective over a greater distance than an autofocus assist light, but a bit less subtle if taking indoor candids or baby pictures were what you had in mind.

We found autofocus speed rather slow with the kit lens, especially in spot focus mode. Relatively dim indoor room lighting resulted in a notable lag in focus and, while popping up the flash did solve the problem, other SLRs do a better job dealing with similar lighting conditions. Once focus is achieved, though, the continuous autofocus system did a good job tracking all but the fastest-moving subjects.

As for manual focus, it’s available using a menu selection rather than a physical switch. As a focusing assist, the viewfinder focus indicator stops blinking when the image appears sharp. This is an area where Live View is a useful alternative, since you can magnify the on-screen image while focusing for easy-to-see instant feedback.