Olympus E-300
(Olympus Evolt E-300 in the USA)
Review Date: April 13th 2005
Introduction
The Olympus E-300 / Olympus Evolt E-300 is the second digital SLR camera based on the FourThirds System. The Olympus E-300 / Olympus Evolt E-300 is an 8 megapixel DSLR that
looks a little unusual - Olympus have replaced the traditional pentaprism
with a TTL Optical Porro Finder, which uses a horizontal viewfinder with four mirrors instead of a prism and enables the camera to have a more compact flat profile.
The Olympus E-300 / Olympus Evolt E-300 is not a replacement for the older professional-level
E1, despite offering more megapixels. At a current street price around £600 / $900 / €800 with the 14-45mm kit lens (equivalent to 28-90mm on a 35mm camera), it represents Olympus' attempt to capture a slice of the entry-level DSLR market, and is subsequently competing with the likes of the Canon EOS 350D, Nikon D70 and Pentax *ist DS.
The Olympus E-300 / Olympus Evolt E-300 can be used with all of the existing E-system lenses, flashguns and accessories. It also offers built-in dust protection, often a problem for DSLR cameras, via its Supersonic Wave Filter. So is the Olympus E-300 / Olympus Evolt E-300 an attractive proposition in a sector of the market that is becoming increasingly more crowded?
Read my review to find out.
Price
The recommended retail price of the
Olympus E-300 in the UK is £699, in the
US it is $999 and in Europe it is €999.
You can buy the Olympus E-300 from PhotographyBLOG's
recommended retailer, Amazon.co.uk,
for only £569.99. Free shipping in the UK!
You can buy the Olympus E-300 from PhotographyBLOG's
recommended retailer, Amazon.com,
for only $798.94. Free shipping in the US!
PhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Olympus E-300 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.
