Olympus Evolt E300
Digital SLR Camera Review

Looking for an affordable digital SLR camera with great features under $1000? Well, you’ll find it in the Olympus Evolt E300 digital SLR. This camera is a full featured SLR which produces great photos and has excellent optics. While its images are not as good compared to the likes of the Canon Digital Rebel, it is still a great entry level digital SLR for those just entering this market.

Olympus Evolt E300 digital SLR camera
 

Design and Construction

The Olympus Evolt E300 measures 5.7” by 3.4” by 2.5” (WHD). Its sturdy, black body is designed to look more like an enthusiast camera (like the Canon PowerShot G6) than a digital SLR. But make no mistake – this camera is indeed a full-fledged digital SLR. It weighs a bit lighter than its competitor, the Canon Digital Rebel – tipping the scales at 26 ounces.
 

Optics and Resolution

The Olympus Evolt E300 features an excellent optical system. It employs a built-in proprietary Porroflex optical viewing system. This is in place of the traditional pentaprism setup found in many digital SLRs. The CCD is a Kodak's Four Thirds CCD, which gives a fantastic 8 megapixel resolution. Images can go up to 3,264 by 2,448 pixels at such a resolution.

The built-in flash hot shoe allows you to connect an standard flash unit to the Evolt 300. If you want to buy a flash for this camera, I recommend the the Olympus FL-36 Electronic Flash unit, It’s fully compatible with the Evolt 300 and is extremely lightweight and portable.
 

User Controls

I found the user controls in the Olympus Evolt E300 to be very friendly and intuitive. The 1.8 inch LCD screen is bright and clear, and gives access to its various menus. The menus themselves are legible and logically clustered – making navigation though controls and pictures a breeze. There is a full range of manual controls here, including shutter priority, aperture priority and full manual exposure. You can also set the exposure and white-balance bracketing, among other features.
 

Storage and Transfer

In terms of memory cards, the Olympus Evolt E300 takes in CompactFlash memory cards (both Type I and Type II). Data transfer from the camera to the PC is via a USB 1.1 port. I did find this to be a bit slow for the high resolution images the camera takes.
 

Battery Life

The battery system in the Olympus Evolt E300 is a fully rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The battery life is pretty good. I managed to going through hundreds of photos before draining the battery.
 

Shortcomings

There are some quirks about the Olympus Evolt E300 which any potential buyer should take note of:

• The built-in pop-up flash is blocked partially if you perform a full telephoto zoom. I found this to be a little irritating when photographing distant subjects in low light.
   

• The image quality from the camera is not as good as that from competing digital SLRs like the Canon Digital Rebel and the Nikon D70.
   

Conclusion

On the whole, the Olympus Evolt E300 is a very affordable digital SLR with a sub $1000 price tag. You get lots of manual controls, and wonderful features at a good price. While the image quality is not completely up to par with its competitors, I think its still a great introductory camera for those just beginning to explore the world of digital SLRs.

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