Olympus EVOLT E-330

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EVOLT E-330 Prices

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The EVOLT E-330 is a refinement on the E-300. It's still wide, thick and clunky, but the straight lines that make the E-300 so brick-like have been softened with some gentle curves.  It's still more of a heifer than a gazelle, but not in a bad way.

 

Even when folded, the E-330's fat LCD assembly juts way out. At first blush, it looks as though it isn't folded all the way. That's an example of Olympus styling – the designers aren't shy about making important features big. The mode and control dials are thick-edged and sturdy-looking, following a similar aesthetic impulse.

 

The EVOLT E-330's flat top is distinctive. When it first appeared on the E-300, some shoppers were put off; the assumption was that Olympus went back to the viewfinder hump on the EVOLT E-500 as a concession to the norms of camera styling. Apparently not –it seems as though the flat top appeared on the E-300 as Olympus was gearing up for the optics involved in the live preview.

 

Size / Portability (7.0) 

The EVOLT E-330 is wide and thick. Exploded views of the camera suggest that the dust removal system takes up a lot of internal space – more than the live view sensor, for instance. Without a viewfinder hump, the E-330 isn't as tall as other entry-level DSLRs, such as the Pentax *ist DL, the Canon Rebel XT and the Nikon D50, but it's about a half-inch wider.

 

Good seals against dust and moisture make the E-330 relatively well prepared for carrying in less-than-pristine bags or unprotected in dusty environments.

Handling Ability (7.25)

Increased curves in the gripping areas and the loss of the hard front rectangle make the EVOLT E-330 much more comfortable to use than the E-300. The live preview works well, and is a major benefit to handling. Olympus labels and places controls prominently and logically, for the most part, though we find their menus needlessly complex. The LCD pivot is a big advantage only for horizontal shots – it doesn't turn to the sides, as it would have to for shooting verticals from overhead, or from low angles.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.5)

Olympus buttons and dials are typically large and tough, and the ones on the EVOLT E-330 don't disappoint. The mode and control dial are both large and easy to use with the user's right hand in shooting position. It would be better, however, if the EVOLT E-330 had two control dials: on high-end DSLRs, the front dial handles aperture and the back handles shutter speed, but the E-330 requires the user to press a button to switch its single dial between functions.  The EVOLT E-330's shutter release is a large chrome button with a very good feel.

Menu (5.5)

The EVOLT E-330's menus seem to be laid out for camera engineers or marketers – unusual and intriguing features are too prominent and basics are inconveniently buried. For example, there is no reason “Custom Reset Setting” should appear before quality/size, burst mode, etc. This case is particularly important, because the Burst mode button has to be disabled to enable the EVOLT E-330 to take white balance measurements. That said, the E-330 display uses a clear, readable font and uncrowded screens.

 

Even with its enormous number of top-level entries – which are listed below – the E-330's menus often lead to extensive submenus. Picture mode's monochrome submenus include settings for contrast, sharpening, black-and-white filter emulation, and image tone.

 

 

 

A separate menu comes up in Playback mode.

 

 
Ease of Use (5.5)

The Olympus E-330 offers a depth of control that rivals more advanced DSLRs – focus bracketing is a new one on us – but we find that interface to reach many controls is clunky and slow.

 

For instance, the only way to set a custom white balance – the kind that the user sets by shooting a white object – is by switching the burst mode button to control “one touch” white balance. That  the burst mode, self-timer, and remote control to menu control only. All should be available without digging through the very complex and deep menu system. (Olympus uses “custom” white balance to refer to directly setting degrees Kelvin. To us, and the rest of the digital photography world, that's “Kelvin” and shooting a white target is “custom.”)

 

The menu system is not hierarchical enough – there are too many choices in the top level of the menu, and they aren't arranged in order of importance or how frequently they'll be accessed. “Custom Reset Setting” has no business being the second entry on the top menu – it should be used rarely.