Buy Olympus E-10 4MP Digital Camera w/ 4x Optical ZoomOlympus E-10 4MP Digital Camera w/ 4x Optical Zoom Product Description:
- 4 megapixel CCD creates 2,240 x 1,680 images for 8 x 10 prints and beyond
- 4x optical zoom with autofocus
- Included 32 MB SmartMedia card stores 16 images at default settings
- Connects with Macs and PCs via USB port
- Uses 4 AA or 2 CR-V3 batteries
Product Description
Olympus E-10 4MP Digital Camera w/ 4x Optical Zoom
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
217 of 220 people found the following review helpful.
Worth Every Penny
By A Customer
Ok - Wow.
In digital photography, all you need is good photo-editing software (the E-10 comes with Adobe Photoshop LE) and a good printer - no eye-irritating chemicals and hours alone in the dark, like with film photography! Oh ya, and a good camera!
Using the E-10 is functioning on a whole different plane than anything I've used before (digitally, Kodak and Sony in the $800 - $900 range). The control is total. The product is eye-popping. What pictures! I'm producing 13x19 inch prints of amazing clarity. And although there is still quite a bit of effort involved - the comfort level and the amount of ultimate control over the product is astounding. And it all starts with the E-10.
To the hand, the fit and feel are unmistakably that of a 35mm SLR. Of course, there is no f-ring, and no gnarled knob dedicated to shutter speed control - too bad, I thought at first. But with some adjustment to thinking, there is an easy (actually, easier!), total control of these functions - and so much more. The zoom and focus rings are the smoothest I've ever used (and I have a couple of lenses for my 35mm that cost more than this camera).
I also have the 0.8x and the 1.45x lens attachments, for wide and telephoto (or 28mm and 200mm, respectively, in a 35mm format camera). Lens extenders exaggerate chromatic aberrations, flares and distortions - and they certainly reduce the speed of the lens fairly dramatically, among other things. Regarding the Camedia extenders, though there is a reduction in speed, it's absolutely negligible. And for image quality, I performed some tests photographing newspaper (a great test pattern, believe it, or not) and found nothing to complain about - quite the opposite. This is really good stuff. Not perfect, but very, very good. The quality of the lens on the camera, on the other hand, may as well be perfect. Similar, but more precise tests performed against this lens just made me smile. There are some flares and barreling under certain circumstances, but nothing - absolutely nothing to complain about. The contrast and brightness-uniformity (condensing) of the image are as good as you can get without spending a lot, like on some of Canon's Flourite lenses.
Overall, the experience is just great. The designers thought of everything. This E-10 is easier to use, and fits the hand better than any professional grade camera I've ever used.
Just a couple more notes: The optical viewfinder is bright. The shutter release is perfect for handheld, low shutter speed shots in that it requires only a very light touch (but there is good travel to prevent premature release). The CCD is noise-free at any contrast (some owners claim noise at higher contrast settings, but I haven't experienced this. Perhaps, Olympus had dealt with this by the time I purchased mine). The LCD monitor really comes in handy with its multi-position feature - in making waist level and over-head shots.
Olympus suggests that this camera will eliminate the need to ever return to film format cameras. I definitely agree. Digital photography really is a revolution. And this particular camera really is the beginning of the revolution as far as cost/quality combination is concerned.
This is a great camera.
216 of 220 people found the following review helpful.
Film is dead --- long live digital
By digerati
I've had a Minolta SLR for the past 10 years and been very happy with it, but after buying the my "other half" a Canon Digital Elph, I found the ability to immediately review photographs compelling. So, I looked for a digital SLR.
Olympus has hit the price/performance sweet spot with this camera. Competitive digital SLRs cost 50% more than the E10 for the body alone -- i.e. before you've bought any lenses. However, I was concerned that the E-10 would be an adequate replacement for my film SLR. So, The E-10 passed with flying colors.
What's good about this camera: terrific image quality, great lens (f2.0-f2.6!), all the control you could want (white balance, focus, zoom, exposure, flash), support for compact flash and smart media, and ability to take up to 4 shots in rapid succession, easy upload of images to a PC, Adobe Photoshop LE included and good battery life on Olympus NiMH AA batteries.
I took scores of pictures every day and was generally pleased with the results. The camera functions well in program mode, but immediate image review on the camera enables you to use more control if you don't get the shot you need. And with digital, you can just keep on taking shots until you get it right without worrying about film.
The ability to take 4 shots in rapid succession is useful when trying to capture spontaneous events -- like the procession of flag throwers (a Tuscan tradition that goes back over 700 years) out for a practice early one Sunday in Siena. Other digital cameras have big problems with both "shutter lag" (time from pressing the button to capturing the image) and the interval between shots -- especially with a 4 megapixel CCD where images take longer to write to flash.
I made extensive use of a polarizing filter to cut glare under the Tuscan sun, and the images came out with strong colors as a result. The E10 seems a little "flatter" in its color balance than Canon cameras, but color saturation can be easily tweaked in Photoshop if this is a problem for any given image.
I never managed to run the Olympus AA NiMH batteries (purchased separately) flat during a day's shooting, so camera power consumption seems to be excellent -- short battery life is a killer for many digital cameras.
The lens is very impressive. It has a great zoom range, and as the camera was designed for digital from the ground up there are none of the multiplying effects of film cameras converted for digital use (e.g. Canon D30). This means that the E10 has great short-range capability as well as telephoto without having to switch lenses. This is very important if you want to travel light, as I did.
What's not-so-good: problems with IBM Microdrive, autofocus requires care to avoid misfocus errors, viewfinder image location leads to orientation errors, general operation could be a lot faster, and the optional Olypus case is poor.
The E10 requires the photographer to carefully monitor whether it has successfully locked on the subject. Early on, I got several poorly focused shots because the AF didn't focus on the subject. It's easy to miss this in the viewfinder or on the LCD image preview -- you only find out when you get home... However, once you learn to watch for mistaken AF lock, it is possible to re-focus and avoid this. Still, after Minolta's exemplary AF system, this was an unpleasant surprise.
I also used an IBM Microdrive with my E10, but discovered that it does not work properly. I would be able to take several photographs, and then the camera would suddenly complain of flash card errors. It's easy to miss candid shots when you're wondering why the camera isn't working, then realizing there's a flash error, switching to smart media... so the Microdrive went back. Get a 256MB flash card instead.
The viewfinder image is large and oddly focused -- it's easy to tilt the camera about a degree and not notice -- until you get to image review. This can be fixed in Photoshop, but it's annoying to have to fix it.
Finally, the Olympus feels slower than many point-n-shoot cameras, and this is likely down to the embedded processor used in the camera. It takes several seconds before an image can be previewed, and it is slow to move around in image preview mode. Also, it seems to take a long time to compress an image and store it to flash. The 4 image buffer dramatically reduces the impact of this, but not entirely -- especially when you want to take one photo and see how it came out straight away.
Finally, don't buy Olympus' case for the E10. It is very cumbersome and you'll end up wishing you never brought it. I left it at home or in the car most days. You cant open up the case and leave it hanging off the camera -- it gets in your way. That means you have to totally remove the camera from the case and either put it down, stuff it in a bag or squash it under your arm while you try to take photographs.
The net is that I can't see why I'd go back to a film SLR. Although the Olympus E10 has its quirks, and Microdrive incompatibility is a drawback, it is a very good digital camera at an excellent price point for the value you receive. Olympus really doesn't have any competition for the money.
108 of 109 people found the following review helpful.The good, bad but no ugly
By Melvin T. Bliss
I own several Nikon 35mms, a Kodak DC 260 and the E-10. Most of the time I carry the E-10 as my primary camera and use the DC260 for point and shoot.I've seen some criticisms about the E-10s auto focus in low light. This condition exists in most digital cameras not just the E-10. The only real negative that I can complain about is the TTL view finder. It's just a little too close to the body. To protect the LCD I use a clear Palm Pilot screen overlay. This keeps grease and dirt off of the screen and provides a scratch resistant surface.On the plus side, it feels just like my Nikon N80. The overall performance of the E-10 has exceeded all of my expectations. I've had the camera for 2 months and have already taken over 600 pictures. I love this camera. If you want the most bang for the buck in a digital camera and plan on taking a lot of pictures, then this is the camera to buy. I suggest that you keep a UV filter on the lense at all times. The only other filer that you might want is a circular polarizing filter. The camera will try to color balance pictures taken with any enhancing filters so save your money. The White Balance feature on the E-10 is great. I've had some pictures where the colors seem a little flat particulary on cloudy overcast days. By changeing the WB setting, I've been able to correct this condition most of the time. It just takes practice.I use both CF and SmartMedia in this camera and have no problems at all. Having had previous expirence with IBM microdrives, I wouldn't recommend that they be used. First of all they are delicate and don't like to be bounced around, Secondly they are power hungry. I wouldn't expect battery life to be too good using a microdrive. Besides Olympus doesn't support the microdrive on the E-10. It is supported on the new E-20.The only warning that I have for prospective internet buyers is if the price seems to be too good, it might be. Some sources are selling a European version of this camera that is not covered by the Olympus warrenty in the US. Check the Olympus web site for more info on this.Anyone interested in a great digital camera should consider this one for sure.
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