Olympus E-620 announced and previewed

[andylawcc]

MSRP at $700 body only

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/olympuse620/
http://www.dcresource.com/revi...620-review/index.shtml

good to know Olympus is still hanging on there.

 

[996GT2]

If it ends up retailing for $500-600 then I could see it being a decent seller. At $700 it's really creeping up on D90 and EOS 40D territory though...

 

[Heidfirst]

if it's competitive with them in terms of build, IQ etc. then that's not a problem.
I'm glad to see this as for a while I've thought that Olympus were ignoring imo 1 of the main benefits of 4/3 which was the ability to make a smaller body. Yes, you could get an E-4xx but then you did without IS & if you wanted IS then you were being offered a body that wasn't noticeaby smaller than an A700/40D etc. but of course had a smaller sensor.
Of course micro 4/3 may make even this redundant.

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
if it's competitive with them in terms of build, IQ etc. then that's not a problem.
I'm glad to see this as for a while I've thought that Olympus were ignoring imo 1 of the main benefits of 4/3 which was the ability to make a smaller body. Yes, you could get an E-4xx but then you did without IS & if you wanted IS then you were being offered a body that wasn't noticeaby smaller than an A700/40D etc. but of course had a smaller sensor.
Of course micro 4/3 may make even this redundant.

There's no way the E-620 can compete with the high-ISO image quality of cameras like the D90 and EOS 40D because of its smaller 4/3 sensor, which only has about 2/3 of the physical size of a Canon or Nikon APS-C sensor. The E-620 may have more features than the entry level cameras like the Rebel XSi, but in terms of image quality it's a notch down.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
If it ends up retailing for $500-600 then I could see it being a decent seller. At $700 it's really creeping up on D90 and EOS 40D territory though...

40D is $900 without lens. d90 is $900 without lens. xsi is $650 without lens. so it's only $50 more than the xsi. and that's before the retailer discounts. i don't see the price as a problem.

olympus can't win by competing with canikony's core competencies. the industrial design of this camera looks way better than anything those three have put out. small size, comfortable grip, swivel lcd, etc. look compelling.

the viewfinder size is pretty good for a 4/3 camera:

620: 212
d60: 226
xs: 204
xsi: 236
d90: 330
50d: 285
a300/350: 194
a200: 244


the thing that it is clearly missing is movie mode. you'd think for a company that pioneered live view and currently has one of the better implementations they'd have figured that out already.

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
if it's competitive with them in terms of build, IQ etc. then that's not a problem.
I'm glad to see this as for a while I've thought that Olympus were ignoring imo 1 of the main benefits of 4/3 which was the ability to make a smaller body. Yes, you could get an E-4xx but then you did without IS & if you wanted IS then you were being offered a body that wasn't noticeaby smaller than an A700/40D etc. but of course had a smaller sensor.
Of course micro 4/3 may make even this redundant.

the ridiculous thing is that there is just about nothing stopping canikony from making bodies about as small as the e-420. ergonomic concerns arise before any issues relating to camera functionality. the mount specifications are slightly larger for canikony, but that's it. (4/3 throat diameter actually matches F at 44 mm. EF is 54 mm.) with IS in the lens rather than the body, an EF body may actually be thinner than a 4/3 IS body (flange is less than 6 mm deeper on EF).

 

[jpeyton]

I'm hoping this is just the appetizer. A small, interchangeable lens MFT camera is what Olympus needs to turn their fortunes around.

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
There's no way the E-620 can compete with the high-ISO image quality of cameras like the D90 and EOS 40D because of its smaller 4/3 sensor, which only has about 2/3 of the physical size of a Canon or Nikon APS-C sensor. The E-620 may have more features than the entry level cameras like the Rebel XSi, but in terms of image quality it's a notch down.

I bet you it can get close enough for the majority of people not to care. & whilst we are at it I bet that the majority of people don't use ISO1600+ anyway ...

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst

Originally posted by: 996GT2
There's no way the E-620 can compete with the high-ISO image quality of cameras like the D90 and EOS 40D because of its smaller 4/3 sensor, which only has about 2/3 of the physical size of a Canon or Nikon APS-C sensor. The E-620 may have more features than the entry level cameras like the Rebel XSi, but in terms of image quality it's a notch down.

I bet you it can get close enough for the majority of people not to care. & whilst we are at it I bet that the majority of people don't use ISO1600+ anyway ...

I would appreciate a body that can produce acceptable image at ISO1600 since i do a lot of indoors shoots with no flash. However, percentage wise, i would say those type of shot will be less than 20% of my shootings. However, and in this sense, I would much prefer IS than "high-ISO-ability".

 

[ElFenix]

sensor 1/3 stop more sensitive than indicated?

that makes little sense as it'd make for 1/3 stop more noise