SLR Digital Cameras

5 Responses to “Olympus E30 12.3MP Digital SLR with Image Stabilization”

1. Keith M. Burkard on December 17th, 2009 at 8:52 am

   I have reasearched this item and was very impressed with the camera being able to do just what it was advertised to do. I have had another Olympus E series camera and was very happy with it. I love the Image Stalbleization built into the camera and not the lens. This camera has a good feel to it, not like some where you can not tell that you have something in your hand. I love the adjustable viewing screen and going from live image to eye piece with just a touch of a button. I can find nothing not to like about this camera!
   Rating: 5 / 5

2. ubat on December 17th, 2009 at 9:41 am

   After easing my way into the world of dSLR for almost a year with an Olympus E-520, I thought I had evolved enough to earn an upgrade. At the time, I had three Olympus choices (as I had no intention of building my lens collection all over again): the E-620, the E-30 and the top-of-the-line E-3. I chose the E-30, and my reasoning is as follows:
   * E-620. A not-so-radical upgrade from the camera I already owned, although there were important improvements.
   * E-3. Too heavy, too expensive, too much (besides, I, like every other Olympus owner out there, am waiting to see what this model’s successor will be like).
   * E-30. On paper, and from the information I gathered on photo forums and other places, it seemed like the ideal camera for me, in terms of image quality, fast autofocus, weight and build. So I went for it.

   After several months and many thousands of photos, I am completely satisfied with it. My main subject are birds — in natural light –, so the well-known Olympus limitations with high ISO and low light were of no concern to me. What matters to me is having a responsive camera that is easy and intuitive to handle (of course the E-520 broke me in), that is accurate, well thought out, solidly built and ergonomic, totally customizable and renders high quality images. Furthermore, a camera that I can carry for hours at a time without breaking my back.

   The E-30 has given me all that. It has suffered some (involuntary) abuse, some rain, salt water and a few weeks of below freezing conditions without missing a beat. Initially I had to do a bit of user manual reading because some configurations were different from the E-520, and there were loads of new options in the menus. But it took me very little time to figure out the optimal settings for me, and from then on it was just the occasional tweak according to momentary shooting conditions.

   The camera has performed beautifully with everything I have thrown at it, giving me some of my best shots yet. Autofocus (especially in combination with the 50-200 mm SWD) is extremely quick and accurate, which is a huge matter when you are photographing moving subjects.

   The images I take with the E-30 require minimal post-processing; normally cropping and eventual light/shadow fiddling and noise removal. This means I can spend more time outside chasing birds and less in front of the computer fixing bad photos. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

   Rating: 5 / 5

3. bdgilfry@wildchildpublishing.com on December 17th, 2009 at 9:44 am

   This camera is beautiful to regard and so easy to hold. It is well-built; nothing cheesy or flimsy about it. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty big and heavy as far as DSLRs go these days. If it were weatherproof (and sported a titanium chassis), this would be the replacement for Olympus’s flagship, the E-3.

   What takes Olympus cameras from the “good” category to the “great” is the glass: Zuiko Digital (ZD) lenses rate amongst the best in the solar system. Also, because the Olympus DSLR line is in the 4/3 format (the sensor is about one-quarter the size of the exposed plane on 35mm film and is shaped into a rectangle 4 wide to 3 height), ZD lenses can be made lighter and smaller than traditional lenses.

   Upon its release, the E-30 was one of the world’s best DSLRs under $1000. But times change quickly in the digital camera market. While the E-30 comes with professional features (top-reading display, infinitely customizable menu, reasonable FPS, multiple exposure, excellent lenses), it also boasts a few knickknacks that might appeal to the highly-competent amateur, including “art filters”, a means to alter the end result of the photographs while they are still in the camera.

   But the E-30 is missing a vital element. What is that big drawback? Why did I rate this wonderful camera four stars instead of five?

   Nearly every DSLR on the market today is capable of shooting HD video. . . except for those DSLRs from Olympus.

   In the case of the E-30, already a bigger-than-average DSLR, it is unlikely that Olympus will find room to add the circuitry required for HD video; so, don’t expect an upgrade from Olympus any time soon. Research and re-tooling require lots of time and money.

   The E-30 is a stellar performer and a delight to (be)hold, but it is already a dinosaur in the digital world.

   Rating: 4 / 5

4. Chan Teng Heng on December 17th, 2009 at 9:58 am

   Owned this camera for few months now. Have been an Olympus user for sometime (3-4 years). My views therefore compare with other cameras available.

   What I like:
   *fast focus with the 14-54Mk II lens. Wow. . first time I used it, it was fast, compared to the older 14-54mm lens and the older 510 & 520, the latter two which I subsequently sold.
   *light weight, compared to E3, but heavy compared to e510 and e520.
   *Olympus colours
   *The range of ISO up to 3200 however is much much better than the previous ISO 1600 limitation.

   What I can do without:
   *Has Olympus done its research? The art filters are out of place . . really, why would one use art filters if one buys the e30! art filter on point and shoot okay. . but on the e30. Market positioning seems to be wrong.
   *flexible LCD monitor: not really useful.

   What I dislike:
   * small electronic view finder: having used the Nikon D700, Olympus viewfinder need to be improved!
   * LCD screen: at 2. 7inch and 250,000 dots. . . this is appalling. 3 inch should be minimum, and at least 900,000 dots like competitors.
   *low light performance: better than e510/e520, but still lags behind competitors.
   *Auto white balance: totally out indoor lighting. I sold my e520 because of this. The e510 auto B is the best.
   High ISO: good up to ISO 800. . after that there is noise. Olympus has ot improve on this.
   * xD card: its time to change to SD. xD is S. L. . O. . . . W. . . on downloading!

   I have corresponded with Olympus before on their features and the new launches, which makes olympus owners lose high investment as the prices depreciate quite fast upon post launch.

   Seems like Olympus do make changes, but slow. . .

   Overall:
   *Olympus e30: if you do not like Olympus colors in the images, then this camera is not suitable, as there are other products that may meet your needs. I stick with Olympus only because of the colors; tried Nikon and Canon, but still revert back to Olympus,
   *ate its low light performance (although much better than the e5XX series!),which Olympus could seriously improve.

   *Yesterday tried low light shooting. . . quite disappointed.

   I have used the e30 for a model shooting showing. . . more keepers images than previously compared to e510, which however, had better accurate white balance.

   Rating: 4 / 5

5. Middle age tech freak on December 17th, 2009 at 11:50 am

   I’m not going to add much in terms of content – much has already been written about the camera in terms of the technical details. But if you have an earlier E-series Oly DSLR, it’s time to move up. I’ve really enjoyed my E-500 and have to say I learned a lot on that camera and needed that time to get used to digital SLR photography and all the controls you have at your disposal. I didn’t think the E-510 or E-520 were quite worth the jump even though they are both improvements in many ways to the E-500 (and it’s predecessor E-300/330). The E-620 is out and looks to be a fantastic addition to Oly’s line, but the E-30 really caught my eye as a logical next step. I did weeks of comparisons to include the E-3 as well, but in the end, the E-30 appeared to be the best upgrade for this experienced amateur.

   I am fabulously happy with my choice and the improvements over my beloved E-500 are very apparent. The better metering and better autofocus sensors really show in the pictures. The better viewfinder is a VERY welcome change for my well-over-40-year-old eyes. The rearrangement of the data in the viewfinder is much better than the E-500’s side version, which was hard to see.

   I also have larger hands, which is another reason for getting a bigger camera, rather than a smaller one as the E-620 is. The feel is – to me – very close to a film SLR in terms of weight and size, which is a very comfortable fit for me (having done film work for 30 years before digital).

   If you have an earlier E-series and have been thinking about an upgrade, this is the one for you. It’s a logical step up in Oly’s current progression. I could not be happier.

   Sidenote: it’s only fair to note that 17th St. Camera was an excellent seller in my case, since Amazon was out of stock when I purchased my E-30
   Rating: 5 / 5