Home > Consumer Reviews > Olympus E-620 Digital SLR Camera (14-42mm & 40-150mm Lens Kit)

I am mainly a Nikon shooter. About 2 years ago I decided to purchase an Olympus E-410 as a travel camera, mainly because I liked it size factor and feature set over that of the D40 (which delivers great image quality but soon becomes burdensome to handle, as almost everything has to be done via menu). I loved the way the E-410 handled and its incredible level of customization for an entry level model, but the image quality was dreadful. Not only was noise objectionable at almost every level (I shoot mainly B&W and could never apply a red filter because the sky would be filled with very distracting botches), but the images were smudged and lacked detail. In the end, I could not produce a single picture I was satisfied with from that camera and end up selling it very quickly.

As I always remained in love with the Olympus form factor, I decided to try again with the E-620, since I do not really like the D40 (or the D5000 for that matter) at all and the D700 is too heavy to carry around all the time. While testing, I was blown away almost immediately by the level of crispiness that came in the LCD screen, which was latter confirmed by my scrutinizing of images on the computer after downloading. Even with the kit lens (which is very good), the image quality out of this camera is way ahead of the E-410/510 era. Although there is more noise that what you would expect from an APS-C camera of the current flock, I did not find it particularly objectionable. At ISO-100/200 I would say that the level of noise I am getting is not too far from that of the D300 at ISO-200 (the D300 would probably retain a one-stop advantage over the E-620 at high ISO levels, though). Images remain usable up to about ISO 1600, which is about one stop better than what I used to get from the E-410.

Although image quality is for many the first consideration, if quality is roughly comparable with the competition the feature set is not. Olympus has always given me the impression of providing better value for money, but in the case of the E-620 it surpassed my expectations by a wide margin: outside controls for all the basic functions, such as white balance, metering, ISO, autofocus, focus point selection, all of which can be manipulated through a bottom and a dial, just like in a professional DSLR (and without taking your eye out of the viewfinder!). An outstanding level of customization, including two custom reset banks, custom white balance and autofocus fine tuning. Effective body image stabilization and a crisp articulated LCD screen. A very good live view system which is less cumbersome to use than most of what is offered by the competition. Wireless flash...and all that in a body which is smaller and lighter than most of the other entry level cameras in the market.

I know that some photography magazines have given mediocre ratings to this camera. My advise is to go to your local camera shop and give it a try, just like I did. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Olympus have unraveled a new gem in the fleet of 'four thirds' DSLRs. Many of the features on the older E400 models have been brought up and revamped for the E620. It features a 12.3 mega pixel live MOS system which is essentially a step up in technology from the standard charge-coupled device, which is gradually being phased out from most digital SLRs.

I would like to get straight to the auto focus system. The E620 offers seven AF areas, which is justifiably less than the E30's 11 areas. What was very pleasing bout the AF system however was that it responded very well whilst in live view mode and there is a range of bracketing and metering options.

The E620 prioritises on mid tones, meaning that there is no particular leniency towards shadows unlike my Sony a350 which seems to accentuate shadows more than anything else. As with all higher-end cameras these days, the E620 has a vari-angle screen which means you can tilt it out and rotate it to get a more comfortable shot in harder-to-reach areas. All the buttons are easy to reach and back-lit which I have found to be very useful during night shots. What I found quite interesting about this camera was that it has stuck with the 95% coverage viewfinder, albeit the magnification is now at 0.96x as opposed to the previous 0.92x on earlier models.

The Olympus E620 is definitely good value. Being that it is £300 less than the next model up (E30), the E620 seemed a better buy for me. As far as I am aware though, there are no major differences in image quality, which is what really counts.

Over all, I would definitely recommend the E620; it's packed with a bundle of excellent features and epitomises a DSLR with all the characteristics of a compact, versatile, quality camera.

I have been using this camera for a month and have grown to like it more and more. I have been using a canon 20D and have found it heavy, cumbersome and I have been having great difficulty getting sharp pictures. The e-620 is the opposite. Small, light, and sharp pictures even at relatively slow speeds (thanks to the built in Image Stabilisation - it works!). I appreciate some people like heavy cameras and some don't. If you don't, then get this camera. You'll love it too. The two kit lenses are probably the best kit lenses you'll likely find and together they cover the 35mm equivalent of 28mm - 300mm. This camera is as easy to use as anyone could wish and as complex and comprehensive as your photographer's heart could desire. The swivel live view is FANTASTIC. Can't be all good? Well I suppose not, but the only slight negative, depending on your photo requirements, is noise at higher speeds. 800 iso and above noise becomes more intrusive. Below this it's not a problem. For most people this will not be a problem and I believe it is a small price to pay for all the benefits of which there are a huge amount. I could gush on and on but I guess by now you might realise I LOVE IT!

I've just changed from a Fujifilm S9500 with digital viewfinder, itself a great camera to use, but that viewfinder drove me back to an SLR. I have some fast and powerful lenses from my old OM system so the E620 seemed a logical successor to the OM2s I had in celluloid days. I bought the 14-42/40-150 kit, but also an MF-1 adaptor for the OM lenses.

This is not really a review, but my first impressions and results tell me I made a good decision. It is a sophisticated camera, packed with some very smart features, yet the body and the lenses are so light and compact. I found it easy to use from day one; it has some similar features to the s9500, such as well thought out functon buttons, and has been easy to adapt to. The menu systems are clear and easy to use, and for any other old fossils out there, "it comes to hand nicely" (the late Arthur Negus). To use an optical viewfinder again is fantastic, but the live view screen is also excellent, and to have a camera that fits so comfortably in the hand makes it a pleasure every time I take it out of the bag.

One thing that irritates me is that the flash seems to default to "on" regardless of being selected to "off" in the previous session. There is probably an easy a way round this, but in low light I prefer to squeeze off a few shots before I even think about flash (often inappropriate anyway).

However, I am very upbeat about the camera.

The Olympus range of small dslrs is superb - I like the small size, light weight and small but quality lenses. A very nice package indeed. I also like the fact that it's not another bland Canon or Nikon camera - it's a bit different and individual. I hope this camera will be a big seller (I am sure the EP1 Pen will be), as Olympus is a venerable camera name and along with Pentax, I hope they can hold out against the marketing spend of the big 3 (Canon, Nikon and Sony). The fact the main UK high street camera shop has stopped selling Pentax cameras at all really worries me - it's not good for consumers to be restricted to basically 3 camera brands.

I digress. I would buy an Olympus but for 3 small niggles (if I didn't already have a Sony A700 and Sigma DP1 too!):

1. The LCD display is substandard. 900,000 pixels is the standard. The jump from 250,000 odd to 900,000 pixels is astonishing. I had a Canon 5D with about 230,000 pixels and it was hard to tell if something was sharp. The A700 has 900,000 pixels and the difference is like night and day - I love looking at my LCD on the A700 - it is super sharp and clear and I can instantly tell if something is properly in focus etc.

2. The menus look like something from 10 years ago. Olympus hasn't updated its menu system for years and years and it tells. Again, my Canon 5D had a clunky menu with just a long scrolling list of options. Nikon always had the nicest, user-friendly menus. Canon has improved theirs and the Sony menu on the A700 is a graphic design marvel - beautifully crisp, clear and intuitive. The Olympus menus are horrible - murky greys and dull yellow, mixed fonts and sizes, ugly little boxes, pictures and icons mixed with words. It's all over the place. It's a small issue, but having a clean and intuitive interface is important.

3. The viewfinder is small. I like as big a viewfinder as possible - it's better with glasses I find. The viewfinder is small, but it is crisp I should add.

The third issue is a condition of the 4/3rd system. But the first two issues should be easy to recitfy and there is no excuse for Olympus not to be producing the same level of quality LCD/menus as their competitors. The EP1 Pen has the same problems too. Given the swivelling LCD screen, small size and weight and quality glass of the E-620, Olympus should dominate the small DSLR market - improve on some of these niggles and they probably will.