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Olympus EVOLT E-330

Digital Camera Review

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Testing / Performance

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Components
June 09, 2006 By Patrick Singleton
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Front (7.0)
The EVOLT E-330 is wide, compared to other DSLRs, and its lens mount is set well off to the right of the camera. That geometry makes room for a thick hand grip as well as a wide gap between the grip and the lens mount. An infrared receiver window sits flush on the front of the grip, which is otherwise covered with leather-textured rubber. The lens release button is at about 4 o'clock on the mount. Like other modern mounts, the Four Thirds flange is large compared to the optics’ diameter. The small mirror, which swings horizontally, looks even smaller in the wide mount.
 
The Olympus logo is on the face of the pop-up flash, which is just about centered on the top of the camera to the left of the lens axis. "EVOLT E-330" is screened on the upper right corner of the camera, and the Four Thirds logo is below that.
 
Back (8.25)
A  2.5-inch, 215,250-pixel LCD dominates the back of the EVOLT E-330. It's big and bright, but more notably, it sticks out: the LCD sits on a swinging armature that allows it to tilt up and down. The viewfinder is on the far left of the back, surrounded by a large, soft, rubber eyecup, with a small diopter dial on the left side. Its control is large and prominent on the right side of the eyepiece. Using the live view LCD requires shutting the viewfinder. The live view control button, which cycles through the LCD’s various information display formats, is to the right of the viewfinder control, as  is the button for text display and the pop-up flash control button. Further to the right  is a button that activates the built-in flash.
 
Like many DSLRs, the E-330 has a column of buttons along the left side of the LCD. These control Playback, Image deletion, Menu display, and shooting information display. To the right of the display there are buttons for autofocus and exposure lock and the burst mode button, which can be switched to control custom white balance. The four-way controller is below that: clockwise from the top, its buttons control white balance, autofocus mode, ISO, and meter pattern.
 
The right side of the E-330’s back forms a thumb rest. A media card door makes up the lower part of the right edge, and a notch in  forms the finger hold for opening the door.
 
Left Side (8.0)
The improved styling of the E-330 shows up on the left side, which is more curved than that of its predecessor. Its USB and video jacks are under a rubber flap on the side, which provides a good seal against dust and moisture, and should be pretty durable. The shoulder strap lug is a heavy metal stamping, one of many examples of Olympus's robust construction standards.

 

Right Side (7.5)
The right side of the EVOLT E-330 falls under the user's palm in the typical grip, so it’s appropriate that Olympus left the surface relatively smooth. While the media card door makes up a large part of the side, it's flush with the surface. The right strap lug is near the top, and won't get in the way of holding the camera securely.

Top (7.0)
The EVOLT E-330's viewfinder optical path is folded about the same way the E-300's is, so there is no need for a viewfinder hump. Olympus relieved the top’s flat expanse with a curve on the left side. The hot shot is at far left, over the viewfinder, but, unfortunately, off-center from the lens. The pop-up flash is to the right of the lens axis. Controls that fall under the user's index finger and thumb on the right side of the camera include a large mode dial, a power switch, a thick control dial that extends over the back edge, and a blue status light that indicates the function of the SSWF – the dust removal device that runs when the camera is powered up.
 
A large chrome shutter release is on top of the hand grip. The exposure compensation button is close to it,  toward the mode dial.

Bottom (7.5)
The EVOLT E-330's tripod socket is directly under the lens axis, which facilitates lining up the camera on a tripod. The battery compartment door is under the grip. It has a solid latch, which should make it more durable than the battery doors on many competing cameras. We find that doors that simply snap closed are prone to loosen up with age.

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Olympus EVOLT E-330
Digital Camera Review
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Previous: Page 1

Testing / Performance

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Components