Olympus CAMEDIA E 20 Digital camera

rating: 4.40

The E-20 breaks new ground as Olympus' foray into the 5-megapixel digital SLR market. The camera continues the tradition started by the E-10 by offering great pictures along with excellent features, but also expands upon these capabilities with some new technology and improved functions.

Manufacturer Overview
Olympus continues to be one of the real powerhouses of the digital photography world, with on of the broadest lines of camera models in the industry. Their products range from rock-bottom entry level models to the 5 megapixel "Pro" SLR that's the subject of this review.

The E-20N is clearly intended to compete at the highest image quality levels of the digital SLR field, thanks to its true 5.24-megapixel CCD resolution. This review is based on a full-production model of the E-20N, and the results are impressive indeed. With an initial selling price of $1,999 US, the E-20 is thousands cheaper than most competing models, and actually outperforms them in some areas. After spending a week or so with the camera, I found myself liking it quite a bit, although there are a few quirks in its design that I'd change if I could: The combination of high image quality, good optics, excellent low light capability, and a relatively compact design (smaller than many film-based SLRs) added up to quite a package. I suspect there will be a lot of people for whom $4,000 plus for one of the competing SLR models (including a lens) would be an uncomfortable stretch, but who can happily find the $2,000 for an E-20. Olympus' earlier E-10 digital SLR was very popular, the new E-20 looks like it will continue in the same vein. Read on for the details...

High Points

5.24-megapixel CCD delivering up to 2,560 x 1,920 pixel resolution images.
4x professional ED (Extra Dispersion) glass 9-36mm lens (35-140mm equivalent on a 35mm camera).
Optical, SLR viewfinder with focusing screen and full information display.
1.8 inch (4.5cm) LCD monitor that tilts upwards.
Auto and manual focus.
Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, and Bulb exposure modes.
Aperture adjustable from f/2.0 to f/11.0.
Shutter speeds from 1/18,000 to 120 seconds.
Adjustable white balance with three operating modes.
Built-in, popup flash with five modes.
Hot shoe and PC sync terminal for mounting an external flash unit.
Sequence, Time-Lapse, and Auto Bracketing shooting modes.
Adjustable ISO and metering modes.
Infrared and wired remote control capabilities.
Sturdy, cast aluminum body.
Uncompressed TIFF, Olympus RAW data, and JPEG file formats (Olympus RAW Photoshop plug-in included).
Images stored on SmartMedia or CompactFlash Type II memory cards, with a 16-megabyte SmartMedia card included.
32-megabyte buffer built-in for quick burst photography.
Video output for image playback (NTSC in US, Japan on the -N model, PAL in Europe, on the -P version).
DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatibility.
Power from two lithium CR-V3 batteries, four AA alkaline, NiCd, or NiMH, or optional lithium polymer battery.
USB cable for high speed connection to a computer.

Olympus CAMEDIA E 20 Digital camera user reviews

"I have had this camera for a year it is superb. The features are easy to use and you can slowly become adept with the camera, by virtue of a completly automatic feature set up, next is the ability to set the apperture or shutter manually (the rest is done by the camera) finally the fully manual setting allows you to really make the most of every single photo opportunity. It's only slight downer, is a little noise on the top end settings, but this is a minor thing. Dont be put off by 'only' 5 mega-pixels either. Everyone is obsessed with mega-pixels, but unless you intened to enlarge your photos to A2/A1 upwards, 5mp's is more than enough, especially as being an SLR, you can take camera raw images, which have more clarity than any point & Shoot, even if it had 50mps!!

I work in marketing and regualy use the e20 for our projects. If your full time job is not behind the lens and you want to be a photographer, rather than pose around with a £1,000+ camera, I cant think off a better option than the e20 "

--- Mr. Kieran Bell rated: 5

"The Olympus CAMEDIA E 20 Digital camera is of course now end of line replaced by the EP1 however do not let this stop you buying one. The prices have tumbled and for the price of a portable you get the power of a professional camera. Great device. "

--- kevincgee rated: 4

"For - Handles well, very well specified, great results up to A4, pro quality build, excellent quality accessories, can be superb value.
Against - Slow storing pictures - particularly shooting RAW format, not very compact or light, end of line so no new accessories or software updates likely, RRP for camera and accessories grosely over infalted.
Sum up - If you can get it cheap, it will produce great results and is a great camera to learn on whilst you wait for developments in the Digital SLR market to slow down.

"

--- M. Perrins rated: 4

"I've had two digital cameras prior to this one and after reading all the reviews decided to purchase an Olympus E20p. Without doubt this is an excellent piece of equipment, all the controls fall easily to hand and take very little time to remember. The camera is packed with features and is ideal for both the serious amateur or professional photographer. Highly recommended. "

--- ronbaines rated: 5

"I have used this Olympus CAMEDIA E 20 Digital camera for 2 years now and find it almost perfect for my line of work.
As a Portrait & Wedding Photographer the ultra bright optics, hadling and viewfinder are superb,as is the manual overrides for every thing including flash compensation,white balance,resoloution,bracketing,burst mode and many more,the built in flash is als excellent with no blow out of highlights .

In the studio the 38-140 equivelent lens is perfect as well as being very fast with f/2 max apeture at the 38 mm end.

It is very ruggedly built and the fixed lens means no dust to clean from images as it cannot get onto the chip so expensive repair & cleaning bills are not encountered.

The 1gb cards I use will store 102 images in raw mode and 227 in hi-res jpeg mode ,almost enough for anybody even for a 2 week holiday.

The only downsides are that when the buffer is full it takes around a minute to transfer the images to the card, and the limited no of iso settings,80,160,320,auto .the only other niggle is the noise at the higher settings ,but these are very minor points.
I have shot around 10,000 Photos on mine and would recommend it to anyone, as i have printed images for clients to 60x40 inches from this camera with no problem at all.

"

--- tony rated: 4

$1049.99@unblockprox

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