Digital Camera News

March 04, 2007

Olympus Launches EVOLT E-410 with TruePic III

March 5, 2007 - After hinting at new DSLRs through a website teaser, Olympus officially announced the EVOLT E-410 today, in addition to the EVOLT E-510. The new E-410 carries an updated TruePic III processor, along with dust reduction and Live View capabilities, handed down from the E-330. The Olympus E-410 will retail for $899 with a 14-42mm and 40-150mm lens, $799 for the body and 14-42mm lens, and $699 for the body alone. The camera is scheduled for May availability.

"The E-410’s Live View LCD is appealing to many consumers moving up from digital point-and-shoot cameras as many of these consumers have never used an optical viewfinder," said Olympus product manager Richard Pelkowski in a company press release today.

The Olympus EVOLT E-410 follows the EVOLT E-330, introduced in January 2006. The new E-410 carries a higher 10-megapixel Live-MOS sensor over last year’s 7.5-megapixel model. Like the E-330, the E-410 offers a full Live View, allowing users to compose images using the LCD monitor, along with its optical viewfinder. However, the E-410 ditches the flip-out LCD capabilities of the older model. Instead, Olympus exchanged it for higher angle viewing, purportedly up to 176 degrees on the included 2.5-inch, 230,000 pixel HyperCrystal LCD.

Another major feature with the E-410 is the new TruePic III processor, an update from the previous generation of Olympus of TruePic Turbo processor. The camera still maintains the dust reduction system from the E-330, featuring a Supersonic Wave Filter that vibrates 35,000 times per second to shake dust from the sensor, ensuring dust-free photos, according to the release.

The DSLR contains 30 preset shooting modes, including an underwater function. With the optional DSLR housing case, the PT-E-03, users can submerge the EVOLT E-410 up to 131 feet underwater.

The compact DSLR measures 5.1 x 3.6 x 2.1 inches, slightly smaller than its predecessor. The camera is called "easy enough for the first-time user, advanced enough for the serious photographer," in the press release. It has 3-point auto focus and five metering systems (multipattern, center-weighted, spot, spot with shadow control, and spot with highlight control metering).

The EVOLT E-410 should achieve up to 400 shots per charge, according to the release, and accepts CF (type I and II), Microdrive, and xD memory cards.

Key Features:
10-megapixel resolution
New TruePic III processor
Live View
Dust reduction
Underwater mode

Spec Sheet

- Olympus EVOLT E-410