Olympus E-30 Review at photographyblog

The Olympus E-30 is the new mid-range model in Olympus's E-System DSLR line-up, slotting seamlessly into the gap between the cheaper, entry-level E-520 and the more expensive, professional E-3. The E-30 borrows quite a lot of features from its big brother, including the fast 11-point auto-focus system, shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th second, 1/250th sec maximum flash sync speed, 5fps continuous shooting, built-in image stabiliser which stabilises all lenses, Live View on a multi-angle LCD screen and the Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system. Key differences include more megapixels (12.3 versus the E3's 10), a smaller and lighter body, slightly larger 2.7 inch LCD screen, smaller viewfinder, addition of Face Detection, and no dust- or weather-sealing on the camera body. The E-30 also has a number of interesting "creative" features up its sleeve, including a range of Art Filter effects which are applied as you take a photo, a Multiple Exposure mode for combining images into one, nine separate aspect ratios, and an integrated pitch and roll Level Gauge which helps to ensure that both your horizons and verticals should always be straight. Olympus have taken a long time to join the mid-range market, but is it a case of too little, too late? Priced at $1300 / £850 body only, can the Olympus E-30 compete with the likes of the Canon EOS 50D, Nikon D90 and Sony A700, and is it a viable alternative to Olympus' own E-3?

Read the full review here.