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First Exposure:
Olympus E-10 Fully Featured Digital SLR Camera

About 18 months ago the best prosumer digital camera cost around $1000 while the least expensive pro camera was about $15,000. At the end of 1999, Nikon narrowed the gap with the pro D1 hitting the market at $5000. Now you can buy the Canon D30 SLR digital camera body for about $3000.

Ironically, things have suddenly changed at the prosumer level with the newest Olympus camera upping the ante, as it costs $2000, which is considerably more expensive than other non-pro cameras on the market. What’s going on?

Supply and demand are partly to blame. As the quality obtained from point-and-shoot digital cameras has improved tremendously, buyers are looking for more professional features. Buyers of these so-called prosumer cameras are pushing for more versatility while buyers of high-end pro camera bodies are looking for lower prices.

As many have predicted, the two styles of cameras are meeting in the middle. Leading to the inevitable question being asked by professionals and serious amateurs—which type of camera is better? A prosumer camera with a built-in lens designed from the ground up as a complete digital camera or a pro-digital SLR camera body designed to utilize the full range of current 35mm lenses and accessories?

There are two schools of thought. One is that professional users want to use the lenses they already own with a digital camera body. Without a doubt this makes a lot of sense, although the multiplying effect of the digital camera bodies changes the effective focal length of lenses, which often leads to the need to buy new lenses.

	Santa Barbara Harbor. Image was saved as a JPEG Fine file in the camera and has been unaltered after capture.

The other school of thought suggests it is better to use a digital camera with lenses that were designed from the outset to work with a digital imaging system. Olympus engineers say that an image sensor requires a different lens that bends light so that it reaches the CCD chip straight on across the whole surface of the sensor. A regular lens lets light hit the film at an angle near the edges in a film camera. This situation is not of much concern in today’s digital 35mm camera bodies as they only utilize the center of a lens because of the smaller surface area of a CCD chip, compared to a full frame of 35mm film. But once sensors are introduced that are full-frame in size, the optical design might begin to make a difference. We shall have to wait and see if Olympus is correct in its philosophy.

For some time Olympus has been the only camera manufacturer to have a line of prosumer SLR digital cameras as well as point-and-shoot type cameras. However none of these cameras have really been effective for professional use. That has now changed with the introduction of the E-10 camera.

Its specifications are so good that it has to be considered as a professional camera, even if it does not have interchangeable lenses. It has certainly created a lot of interest among professional photographers since it went on the market at the end of last year.

For starters the E-10 sports a 2/3-inch CCD with 4.1 million pixels, which is the largest number of pixels in any digital camera under $10,000. The camera is made from a one-piece all-aluminum body and feels quite substantial. It tips the scales at 37 ounces, without batteries, so it is no lightweight. It is nicely finished with a black crackle coating with a rubber cover on the decent-sized handgrip. Likewise the manual focusing ring and zoom control are also finished in an easy to grip rubber cover.

	New Volvo S60 handheld photograph taken at daybreak, 1ž100 at f/3.2

The multi-coated optical zoom lens has a zoom range of 4X with a 35mm equivalency of 35–140mm, which is better than most cameras in this price range at both the wide-angle and telephoto end of the scale. What’s more, it has a decent maximum aperture of f/2 at the wide end and f/2.4 when fully extended. Unlike most prosumer digital cameras, the zoom is adjusted manually rather than electronically, making it more pleasing for professional users. Likewise, the focusing is accomplished by turning the lens barrel when set to manual focusing. No fiddling around with buttons, even though the focus activation is actually “drive by wire” rather than purely mechanical.

In operation the camera is nice to use as long as you’re not in a hurry! The camera takes about four seconds to boot up after turning on. It’s then ready for action and it’s possible to take up to four shots in just over one second. But then one has to wait while images are written to the card. In regular use one has to allow 1.2 seconds between each shot for the image to be written to the card, which is too slow for sports action or photojournalism. For wedding or portraiture photography it is fine. One potential shortcoming is that the camera has a top speed of only 1ž640 of a second. However, the ISO rating can be set as low as 50 so the lack of higher shutter speeds should not be of concern in most situations. There is just one automatic metering mode along with the regular aperture, shutter speed or fully manual modes.

More disappointing is the slow speed of the camera in playback mode. It takes all of three seconds for each image to load, which is inexcusable, as it makes easy reviewing of images a chore. What’s more, one has to wait for each image to be displayed before going on to the next. Most cameras show a quick low-resolution image allowing one to scroll through images quickly. It does allow viewing of up to 16 thumbnail frames at a time. Individual frames can be enlarged 4X for reviewing image details.

Unlike other SLR digital cameras, the E-10 is able to display an image on its 1.8-inch color LCD screen before capture as it does not use a mirror. Instead, a beam splitter allows light to be split as it passes through the camera to provide an optical image or a digital image. In case users miss the sound of a slapping mirror, Olympus has thoughtfully included the sound on a chip, which can be programmed to make the appropriately “reassuring” noise when an image is captured. The image reproduced on the 114,000 pixel LCD screen is very clear making it an ideal set up for studio use. Unfortunately the LCD screen is not as useful as it should be, as it does not move more than 90° upwards or 20° in the downward direction. This limits its versatility when holding the camera away from one’s face. Other cameras have a fully revolving hinged screen so the camera can be held up high or even be used for previewing self-portraits.

Indoor shot taken with studio flash. Image of Evelyn Alexander heavily cropped and adjusted in Photoshop.

Captured images can be stored on either a Compact Flash card or a SmartMedia card as there are two slots. This useful design also allows one to copy images from one card to another. Unfortunately, Olympus has not approved the use of the 340MB or 1 GB Microdrives, which means a prolific photographer needs to stock up on expensive memory cards. Images can be transferred to a computer via a USB cable and a video- out plug allows images to be viewed on a TV monitor. The camera is powered by two CR-V3 lithium batteries or an optional external AC adapter power supply. And unlike so many other manufactures the plug is a standard one rather than a unique one that ends up costing buyers an outrageous amount for adapters.

Unlike so many digital cameras which rely on menu selections to change parameters, the E-10 has a full complement of buttons dotted around the body to set things such as white balance. Manual settings for shutter speed and aperture are adjusted via two small thumbwheels. The whole camera is much more akin to a high end SLR film camera. For studio photographers the E-10 should work well as it has a regular flash sync and a hot shoe as well as a built-in flash. The camera also includes an infrared remote control for working the camera. This is a worthwhile accessory that costs plenty extra with other cameras.

Olympus has added optional accessories to make the camera part of a larger system. Currently there are three screw-on lenses extenders that increase the focal length or provide a wider angle. An optional battery pack can be screwed in to the base of the camera to provide more juice and a vertical grip shutter release. Olympus also sells an external flash head, the FL-40, that is tailor-made for the camera and works in concert with the camera’s meter.
As one would expect, the camera comes bundled with some useful accessories and software. The kit includes a 32MB SmartMedia storage card, infrared remote control, lens hood, two lithium batteries, USB cable, video cable, strap and lens cap. The software includes Olympus’ own image-transfer program, a plug-in for opening the RAW files in Photoshop and a copy of Photoshop LE for both Windows and Mac.

Of course, the big question I nearly forgot to answer is: how good are the images captured by this camera? Pretty good. Despite the larger number of pixels I could not honestly notice any big difference over the images captured by the Nikon D1, Canon D30 or many other 3-megapixel cameras. The E-10 is perfectly capable of producing very acceptable 8x10 prints with good neutral colors. Although the images are a little soft, they can be sharpened automatically in the camera or preferably later in Photoshop. .

Overall, the E-10 is a digital camera well worth owning. It offers much more camera than cameras costing $1000 and it feels and acts like a “real” camera. There are several scenarios where this camera should prove ideal. If you own medium format cameras but want to produce some digital images for their immediacy or for clients, the E-10 is a cost-effective way of entering the market without spending a ton of money on a digital back. If you use 35mm equipment and still have to shoot film but want to explore digital without spending over $2000,º the E-10 could be the answer. If you’re switching over to digital and want to use all the lenses you already own it still make sense to spring for the extra money and buy a digital camera body. If you don’t already own Canon or Nikon lenses buying an Olympus E-10 is probably a really smart decision. You’ll spend a lot less money and end up with a camera/lens combination that works almost as well, if not better than as those costing several thousand of dollars more.

John Rettie is a photojournalist who resides in Santa Barbara, CA. He has been using a camera as a professional for 31 years, a computer for 21 years, and has combined his knowledge of both for the past eight years. Readers can contact him by e-mail at john@johnrettie.com or by snail-mail c/o Rangefinder.

Further Information:
Olympus America Inc.
2 Corporate Center Drive
Melville, NY 11747
(800) 622 6372
website: http:e10.olympus.com