Olympus EVOLT E-300

Viewfinder (6.0)
The E-300’S viewfinder is clear, with certain shooting information appearing in green digital letters and numbers off to the right. This status report shows the current F-stop, shutter speed, the white balance setting that is in use, whether the image is in focus, if the flash is on, battery status, and how under- or overexposed the image is in stops as fine as 0.3. The information is clear and readable, though with my glasses on, I couldn’t see both the left edge of the image and the right edge of the data. The whole image could stand a bit more magnification.

As for the eye cup itself, the rubber outline is a bit smaller and less padded than many competing models. The cup does not extend out very far and may become irritating and uncomfortable during prolonged shoots.

LCD Screen (5.5)
The LCD is 1.8 inches diagonally with 134,000 pixels, which are typical specs for cameras in this class. The menus and text data are commendably easy to read, but the image display is only fair. It’s hard to see highlight and shadow detail on the screen – areas that look blank white or solid black on the LCD may actually have detail when examined on a computer screen. Olympus touts the LCD’s "HyperCrystal" technology, but it’s not notably better than the LCDs on Canons or Nikons. Although the displayed image remains visible over a fairly wide angle of view, the color shifts when your eye is not directly in front of it.

LCD size and quality are an issue with introductory-level DSLRs – the cameras generally don’t compare well to many compact digital cameras, some of which have 235,000 pixels and better color representation on their 2.5" displays.

Flash (5.5)
The E-300’s built-in flash pops up above and to the right of the lens. The positioning of the flash is unfortunate, as it’s desirable to have the flash directly above the lens, so that any shadows cast will fall directly behind the subject and can be hidden. With the built-in flash on the right, and the hot shoe for accessory flashes to the left of the lens, the E-300’s images will be prone to unsightly shadows.

The built-in flash swings up on a multi-piece arm that slides along a pair of slots, bringing it a bit further forward than a simple hinged arm would do. Olympus’ marketing materials suggest that the change in the position makes the flash more useful for macro shooting. This may be true; however, the altered arrangement is substantially less rugged than the alternative and more feeble than many compact models.

The E-300’s built-in flash offers red-eye reduction via pre-flashes. While they can be effective against red-eye, pre-flashes are not an appealing solution. They delay the actual exposure by a second, so they can’t be used with moving subjects. Many folks find pre-flashes even more annoying than a single flash and because they take power from the main flash, they are usually too weak to be effective over anything beyond a short distance.

The E-300 offers both first- and second-curtain flash sync, meaning it can be set to activate the flash at either the beginning or the end of the shutter’s exposure. That’s a useful feature with relatively long exposures in which ambient light will play a significant role.

Zoom Lens (8.0)
The kit lens, a 14-45mm f/3.5 – f/5.6 Olympus digital-specific lens is compact (3.4 inches long) and light (10 ounces.) The Four-Thirds format is much smaller than 35mm, so the lens is comparable to a 35mm lens of twice the focal length, or a 28-90mm lens. That’s a very useful range for many kinds of photography, including portraits, candid family pictures, and a range of casual photography.

The maximum aperture ranges down to f/5.6, which is relatively dim, and severely limits the usefulness of the lens indoors without a flash. Interestingly, the lens is exactly comparable in zoom range and aperture with Canon’s Rebel XT kit lens and Nikon’s D70 and D50 kit offerings.

It’s notable that this kit lens was not the original kit lens for the more expensive EVOLT E-1. That camera was introduced with a 14-45mm f/2.8 – 3.5. With a wider aperture throughout the zoom range and premium glass for improved color correction, that lens is still available, and, at a $500 street price, costs about twice as much as the E-300’s kit lens. For anyone interested in available-light photography, buying the E-300 and the brighter lens would be worth considering. The E-300 is also available without the kit lens.