Olympus E-300 Review

[BertramImages]

Rating: 9 out of 10

At the time I bought this SLR, it was the only one on the market with kind of a self cleaning sensor. After seeing many dust-on-sensor horror pictures on Pbase.com with other cameras, I was worried if this dust shake-off feature would work. So far, it seems to work. I could not find any dust in any images I took. There is one slight problem in low light with the auto-focus. The camera needs good contrast in the center of the image, and good light, to do the auto-focus. This sometimes requires to point the camera to a well lighted, good contrast area, press the shutter button half way, hold, move back to the original direction, and press full way. Situations this action is needed are sometimes on the beach, when pointing to the horizon, and indoors with low light. The battery life is very long. I can do hundreds of RAW images per charge. Of cause, I always have a fully charged 2nd battery with me. This is required, since the battery, when it shows finally shows low, goes to empty in just a few more shots, and that's it. I tried also the external battery case, which attaches to the bottom. I did this not to run it on 2 batteries, but for the option of attaching a remote shutter button for long term exposures. That is a nice feature for night photography, so you don't cause camera shake. It can also be done by setting it to anti-shock mode, which delays the exposure after the mirror flips open. The noise in ISO 100 is nicely low, but if you need action shots, selection one of the full automatic modes with variable ISO might result in sharper pictures due to faster shutter speed. I like the 8mm lens the best for fun. It captures nearly 180 degrees all round, which is just amazing for indoor shots. For high speed I recommend a fast memory card, like sandisk extreme III, they are getting cheaper too, and with 4GB you can get 288 RAW pictures, which equals around half an hour of outdoor portrait photography. My overall rating for the Olympus E300 is 9 out of 10. I would give it one more point, if the recording speed would be even higher, the noise even lower, if it would have a built-in viefinder cover for long term exposure, a built-in remote shutter cable connecter, a built-in flash cable connector for studio flashes, and an even higher resolution sensor. Well, but for now, good enough for me. Images I took with this camera can be seen at my online gallery: www.RolfBertram.com

[googlit]

Check out the usage stats on this camera at flickr.

[jb683]

I had an E-300 until my house was robbed. They took all of my equipment. So when the insurance payed off I had to decide what to get in replacement. I had enjoyed the e300 so much, I upgraded to the E-500 with the two kit lens, and have bought another lens since. I really like the Olympus camera and I think it will do anything else these other cameras will do. Just my two cents worth. Im not a pro, but I like high quality results. Hang in there with your E-300, it will show you some great results.

[motoso]

I just got an E-330, apparently no one has done a review. Is it similar to the E-300?

[jb683]

Originally Posted by motoso

I just got an E-330, apparently no one has done a review. Is it similar to the E-300?

There have been some improvements. The biggest thing is the moveable LCD screen. I had a E-300 and enjoied it due to the high quality images it produced, and it's ease of operation. I would still have it if someone had not broke in to our home and stolen it. So I upgraded to a E-500, and I am just as satisfied.

[demonsmercy]

I had the e-300 before. it is 8mp and dust reduction. But I think the picture quility is low. High ISO is horrible noisy. One good thing is that the camera body is not big and the grip is comfortable.

[planenutz]

Originally Posted by BertramImages

Rating: 9 out of 10

At the time I bought this SLR, it was the only one on the market with kind of a self cleaning sensor. After seeing many dust-on-sensor horror pictures on Pbase.com with other cameras, I was worried if this dust shake-off feature would work. So far, it seems to work. I could not find any dust in any images I took. There is one slight problem in low light with the auto-focus. The camera needs good contrast in the center of the image, and good light, to do the auto-focus. This sometimes requires to point the camera to a well lighted, good contrast area, press the shutter button half way, hold, move back to the original direction, and press full way. Situations this action is needed are sometimes on the beach, when pointing to the horizon, and indoors with low light. The battery life is very long. I can do hundreds of RAW images per charge. Of cause, I always have a fully charged 2nd battery with me. This is required, since the battery, when it shows finally shows low, goes to empty in just a few more shots, and that's it. I tried also the external battery case, which attaches to the bottom. I did this not to run it on 2 batteries, but for the option of attaching a remote shutter button for long term exposures. That is a nice feature for night photography, so you don't cause camera shake. It can also be done by setting it to anti-shock mode, which delays the exposure after the mirror flips open. The noise in ISO 100 is nicely low, but if you need action shots, selection one of the full automatic modes with variable ISO might result in sharper pictures due to faster shutter speed. I like the 8mm lens the best for fun. It captures nearly 180 degrees all round, which is just amazing for indoor shots. For high speed I recommend a fast memory card, like sandisk extreme III, they are getting cheaper too, and with 4GB you can get 288 RAW pictures, which equals around half an hour of outdoor portrait photography. My overall rating for the Olympus E300 is 9 out of 10. I would give it one more point, if the recording speed would be even higher, the noise even lower, if it would have a built-in viefinder cover for long term exposure, a built-in remote shutter cable connecter, a built-in flash cable connector for studio flashes, and an even higher resolution sensor. Well, but for now, good enough for me. Images I took with this camera can be seen at my online gallery: www.RolfBertram.com

I've had one for about a year that I won from Olympus. After using the E-20, which took great photos, I began using the E300 and I works rgeat. But need to get a falsh for fill.

planenutz

[planenutz]

Originally Posted by BertramImages

Rating: 9 out of 10

At the time I bought this SLR, it was the only one on the market with kind of a self cleaning sensor. After seeing many dust-on-sensor horror pictures on Pbase.com with other cameras, I was worried if this dust shake-off feature would work. So far, it seems to work. I could not find any dust in any images I took. There is one slight problem in low light with the auto-focus. The camera needs good contrast in the center of the image, and good light, to do the auto-focus. This sometimes requires to point the camera to a well lighted, good contrast area, press the shutter button half way, hold, move back to the original direction, and press full way. Situations this action is needed are sometimes on the beach, when pointing to the horizon, and indoors with low light. The battery life is very long. I can do hundreds of RAW images per charge. Of cause, I always have a fully charged 2nd battery with me. This is required, since the battery, when it shows finally shows low, goes to empty in just a few more shots, and that's it. I tried also the external battery case, which attaches to the bottom. I did this not to run it on 2 batteries, but for the option of attaching a remote shutter button for long term exposures. That is a nice feature for night photography, so you don't cause camera shake. It can also be done by setting it to anti-shock mode, which delays the exposure after the mirror flips open. The noise in ISO 100 is nicely low, but if you need action shots, selection one of the full automatic modes with variable ISO might result in sharper pictures due to faster shutter speed. I like the 8mm lens the best for fun. It captures nearly 180 degrees all round, which is just amazing for indoor shots. For high speed I recommend a fast memory card, like sandisk extreme III, they are getting cheaper too, and with 4GB you can get 288 RAW pictures, which equals around half an hour of outdoor portrait photography. My overall rating for the Olympus E300 is 9 out of 10. I would give it one more point, if the recording speed would be even higher, the noise even lower, if it would have a built-in viefinder cover for long term exposure, a built-in remote shutter cable connecter, a built-in flash cable connector for studio flashes, and an even higher resolution sensor. Well, but for now, good enough for me. Images I took with this camera can be seen at my online gallery: www.RolfBertram.com

I've had one for about a year that I won from Olympus. After using the E-20, which took great photos, I began using the E300 and I works rgeat. But need to get a falsh for fill.

planenutz