Saturday, April 21, 2007

There is something wrong with me..please, somebody stop it. I bought another DSLR camera off eBay last week and it finally came in:



The reason behind me buying something non-Canon? Well, why the hell not. I didn't feel like carrying around a smaller Canon body with a lens that cost twice as much as the camera itself. I'm stupid like that.

However, there are some advantages that I've come to like about the Olympus E-System, most notably how well the they've implemented their miniaturization process in product manufacturing. One of the best noted aspects of the E-System is the complete reduced form factor afforded by the smaller sensor. While smaller than APS-C sized photo-sensors, it's still nominally larger than smaller 1/1.8" sized CCD's that still allows a good amount of DOF control.

Having lived off of Canon CMOS sensors and having worked with Nikon/Sony CCD's, I wasn't sure what to expect of the Kodak Full Frame Transfer CCD (pn: KAF-8300CE). The full frame transfer CCD refers to the connecting circuitry (traces) being behind the actual CCD device, instead of on the peripheral. The purported advantages of having the circuitry "stacked" vertically (versus traditional interline sensors) is an increase in active pixel area of 1.5x. The unfortunate downside however, is that the actual photo-sites of the Kodak KAF-8300CE is approximately 5.4µm x 5.4µm.

Compared to the leading (as of the writing of this post) sensors from Canon and Nikon:

Canon 30D CMOS (8MP) : 6.4µm x 6.4µm
Canon 5D CMOS (13MP Full Frame) : 8.2µm x 8.2µm
Sony 10.2 MP CCD(Used in Nikon D200/D80/D40x and Sony A100): ~6µm x 6µm

The signal-to-noise ratio of the photo site is one of the determining factor of how much noise is introduced as the gain increases on the sensor. Since the Olympus E-500 has a relatively small photo site, the high-ISO performance can take a hit. At 800-1600, the amount of noise (both in the shadow detail and chromatic) is much greater, but on par to my older Canon 10D. As the advances of Noise-Reduction techniques continues, most camera manufacturers should close the gap on Canon's sensor technology.

Taking a cue from Fuji, Kodak has staked a small reputation on color rendition since both they and their long-time arch-rival (the previously mentioned Fuji), were the kings of chromogenic film. Fuji's Super-CCD technology has not only some the best dynamic range latitude in digital imaging, it's color rendition is beautiful. Kodak has followed similarly, as evident in the sensors they manufacturer for not only Olympus, but Panasonic (L1) and their higher end Medium Format backs. Some of the images taken with the Olympus E-500 in 'Natural' color mode look very similar in tones to some of Kodak's Portra films. And that's a good thing.

Another fine point about Olympus gear is the quality of their kit lenses. The Zuiko Digital 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 is a very well made lens, with a nice feel to it. Optical verdicts will have to wait, but I've been impressed with the quality (although the aperture speed is quite limiting). All (most?) E-System cameras have full time manual focusing available, but the manual focus of E-System lenses are done by electronic wire. While this differs slightly from traditional, manual coupled SLR lenses, in practice it's not that bad (certainly not as bad as some pro-sumer cameras with focus-by-wire systems).

The camera is crafted with high-impact plastic, with a metal frame. A lot of people on the net will claim how well made it is (and it is), but I've felt that just about every major camera maker makes solid, rugged equipment (pick up a Pentax next time you get a chance). It stands up very well compared to the magnesium-alloy of the Canon 10D and 1D Mark II, but the price differences between each camera bellies the construction quality.

There are a few things I don't like about the E-500, most notably the small viewfinder and the vertically stacked viewfinder information. While it isn't terrible to use, compared to APS-C, APS-H and Full-Frame Viewfinders, it's downright tiny. All camera functions are in the viewfinder, but instead of traditionally displayed horizontally below the frame, it's stacked vertically, reducing the effective frame.

While it has a Phase-Detection system for the Auto-Focus system, it's a bit antiquated compared to modern SLR's of the last 5 years. Not to say that the AF points (1 cross, 2 sensitive to vertical contrast) are inaccurate (they are), but a spatial placement more in-line with the rule of thirds would be more acceptable. Having been spoiled by the 45-Point AF System in the Canon 1D Mark II and Canon's AF technology in general, Olympus needs to bolster their AF system in future iterations.

Pros:

• Small form-factor (that doesn't sacrifice in image quality)
• Features that other SLR Systems don't have at this price point (Built-in Pixel-Mapping, Sensor Dust Cleaning System, Shading Compensation, Spot Metering)
  
• Very good Multi-Segment Metering
• Great Digital Zuiko Kit lenses (Yes, they're not L lenses, but they're cheap and good)
• Construction Quality
• Nice 2.5" Screen (has a wide viewing angle and good brightness in daylight)
  

Cons:

• Small viewfinder
• ISO 800-1600 performance not as good as competition
• No wide angle prime lenses (except for the Leica-Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 & Sigma 30mm f/1.4)
• AF system (while accurate) needs work.

In conclusion, one great camera for the price. Would I trade in all my Canon equipment and go Olympus? Um, no. Canon (and Nikon for that matter) has such a complete system, that's be hard for me to give that up.
posted by HZA | 12:06 AM | email | archive