Excellent value for money, December 8, 2005
Reviewer: Thomas J. Haslam "orcat"

Before buying the Evolt 300, I read numerous reviews on it and D-SLR cameras from Nikon, Canon, Sigma and Fujifilm with similar features.

Bottom line consensus: The Evolt 300 is a technically sound and accomplished D-SLR which delivers quality photographs comparable to the Nikon D70 and superior to the Canon Digital Rebel XT.

So far, so good.

I then visited various dealers--from dedicated photoshops to Best Buy and Circut City--so that I could see and handle each of the cameras in my price / feature range: ~$800 to ~$1400, 6+ megapixels, decent selection of lenses. (I purchased the camera @ Adorama Camera via Amazon).

Unlike the similarly priced Nikon D50 and the Canon XT, the Evolt 300 does not feel or handle like a cheap plastic toy. Score 1. if I'm spending a considerable amount of money on a D-SLR, I want a certain degree of ruggedness. This is a well-made camera.

I narrowed my choices down to the Nikon D70, the Evolt 300 and the Canon EOS 20D. If money were no object, I'd say buy the Canon EOS 20D.

Likewise, the Nikon D70 makes good sense if you have compatible Nikon lenses. But otherwise it simply doesn't outperform the Evolt 300 to justify the cost difference.

I went with the Evolt 300 with the dual Zuiko lenses. (The package listed above). Even with the FL-36 Flash and extra battery, I still kept the entire package price under $1000.

I've been using the camera consistently for the past two months since relocating to Senegal. No problems.

If I can take the word of others, the photos --not in terms of art but image quality-- are outstanding.

I generally shot in RAW and can go through 4+ gigs before worrying about the battery. To date, I've used most of the programmable features--including autobracketing for exposure and white balance. All work as advertised. Likewise, the different scence modes also very good. (One exception noted below).

Three compliants, the last minor.

1. Although this camera does allow both manual focus and auto focus with manual fine-tuning, the Zuiko lenses simply don't respond well to manual focus. For certain macro shots (those with tricky backgrounds), you have play around a good bit just to get the subject in focus. Dialing to manual and handtuning -- which should solve the problem-- almost a waste of time.

2. Olympus has it's own version of RAW-- .orf. ORF requires a plugin for Photoshop 7 and lower (I don't know about Photoshp CS). Although RAW offers great editing options, the ORF version is a pain to work with, loads much slower, and can't be previewed except by using Olympus Master software. Given the amount of photos I shot, ORF has added hours of processing time over what the standard RAW files would. This I'm less than thrilled with.

3. You'll either love or hate the sunset mode. I really don't care for the way it turns the horizon Martian orange. I want the deep blues, reds and purples that I see -- and not bad postcard melodrama. When I now shoot sunsets or oceanscapes at dusk, I do so NOT using the sunset mode.

Bottom line:
No regrets whatsoever about this purchase. I am very happy with my Evolt 300 which has already seen a great deal of use under less than ideal conditions. The camera is technically solid, easy-to-use, and comes with many strong basic and advanced features. Just excellent value for price. So far, great fun too.
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Poor Design , October 31, 2005
Reviewer: Robert E. Hall
This is a heads up to Amazon customers interested in purchasing an Olympus E Volt 300. It could be a great camera but it has a serious design flaw that should make you pause and consider the competition before buying. The remote release (RM-CB 1) will not plug into the camera body. You have to buy this HLD-3 "adapter" for almost $100 just to "adapt" the remote release to the camera body. Couple that "surpise" with the $75 or so for the RM-CB 1 remote release and one is faced with $175+ just for a remote shutter release. What adds insult to injury is that the "adapter" is really "clunky" on top of that. Check out what the competition has to offer before you purchase the Olympus E Volt 300.
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Love it!, October 30, 2005
Reviewer: C. Thomas

New to the digital SLR world, even a novice like me has figured out what all the little buttons & doo-dads are for. I have uploaded our pictures from our vacation & was amazed at the quality and how beautiful they came out. The little screen on the camera has great quality & detail for the size. Can't wait to become a pro with this little pint-sized powerhouse!
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