Olympus E-300

12-megapixel resolution ; Low noise and high dynamic range at ISO 50 and 100 ; Lightweight, portable design ; Innovative Perfect Shot Preview for advanced point-and-shooters ; Included Shooting Guide for beginners

Poor color and white balance accuracy ; High noise levels and poor dynamic range above ISO 100 ; Painfully slow processing time ; Blurring at the edges of the frame ; Uneven flash ; Uneasy handling and flash/shutter positioning ; Scattered menu system...

2007 is the year manufacturers thrusted 12-megapixel resolutions into point-and-shoots. With hopes that the alluring high megapixel count would be enough to win over consumers, competing cameras came from every major manufacturer. But the 12-megapixel...

Well suited for enthusiasts and novices

Lens selection limited

Unfortunately, the E-300 requires specific lenses. Unlike the digital SLRs from Canon, Nikon, and Pentax, there is no massive base of existing 35mm film camera lenses to choose from. If you're starting from scratch, buying clean used lenses for these...

Though the lenses available are limited, the E-300 delivers high image quality, and its features are well suited to photographers of all skill levels.

-Solid construction -Excellent options to control white balance -Colorful menu - helps organize subsections -Innovative design (always applaud the effort) -On/off switch help organize dials and add speed -Secure port door covering USB and video...

-Limited autofocus system -Images are fraught with noise -Limited ISO range -Poor color reproduction resulting in drab, flat tones -Horribly uncomfortable right-hand grip (like sleeping on a broken futon) -Unacceptably high noise levels for near...

While there are significant design flaws and performance issues painfully apparent on the E-300, there is still a lot to value in a sub-$900 digital SLR. Foremost, the EVOLT E-300 is an inexpensive 8 megapixel camera with a solid build and durable...

Good resolution, almost as good as the more expensive Canon EOS 20D, Good color, contrasty images with consumer-appeal 'punch' (can be adjusted), Noise free images at ISO 100, Wide range of image parameter adjustment (color, tone, sharpness), Good...

Recommended sensitivity ISO 100 - 400, images at ISO 800 usable, ISO 1600 not really, Demosaic artifacts on JPEG and Olympus Master processed RAW, Images not per-pixel as 'crisp' as from other D-SLR's (image processing / low pass?), Moire artifacts can...

When Olympus first revealed the E-300 at Photokina last year it wasn't too much of a surprise, many of us had been expecting (wishing) them to introduce a 'consumer level' digital SLR with a Four Thirds system mount for some time.

Most other digital SLR cameras use traditional 35mm film lenses which deliver insufficient light at the edges of a digital camera's image sensor. This can result in reduced sharpness and color definition, particularly when shooting with wide-angle...

Very good photo quality (but see issues below) ; Great deal for an 8MP D-SLR with a lens ; Full manual controls ; Robust performance ; Many white balance options, including ability to set the color temperature ; Solid low light focusing performance ;...

Images seem a bit soft, with muddy details (shooting in RAW mode helps); high ISO performance not quite as good as competition ; Very occasional vignetting from kit lens ; No USB 2.0 High Speed ; Burst mode, startup time a little slower than D70 ; Only...

Overall the E-300 gets my recommendation. If I was buying an entry-level SLR I would probably lean toward the D70 due to its superior performance and image quality, unless having 2 million more pixels was of absolute importance. The E-300 easily bests...

Impressive resolution, pleasing color, contrast and flash effects, moderate digital noise at ISO 100-400 ; Super Sonic Wave filter highly effective in removing dust from CCD sensor ; Overall speed should satisfy most owners, although burst depth is not...

In default (fully automatic) settings, some unpredictable exposure and white balance errors as well as overexposure with flash ; Low image sharpness calls for a high level of Unsharp Masking in Photoshop ; Pronounced digital noise at ISO 800 and...

In terms of overall speed and low-light focusing, the E-300 EVOLT is a competent performer that will satisfy most photo enthusiasts. Those who often shoot sports action may need an even faster camera. As with any digital SLR, it's worth buying a...