Olympus E-30 - easy-to-use digital SLR camera

Olympus this announced the launch of the E-30. Designed with the creative photographer in mind, the E-30 boasts a comprehensive feature set that will appeal to the experienced SLR enthusiast, and at the same time, is easy to use even for a first time DSLR user.

Positioned between the mainstream E-520 and the professional E-3 models, the new 12.3 megapixel E-30 incorporates the outstanding imaging quality and high-speed performance of the E-3, as well as sophisticated new features designed to expand the enthusiast photographer’s range of creative and artistic expression. Capturing the shot is fast and easy with the E-30’s direct and intuitive user interface, live preview of both exposure and white-balance, Perfect Shot Preview, Face Detection and Shadow Adjustment functions.

The camera’s key features include:

Live pre-viewable Art Filters and convenient multi-exposure capability with image overlay and non-linear multi-exposure compositing for creative photography
High speed sensor-based autofocus for responsive Live View AF shooting
Choice of nine aspect ratios
Dual axis, variable-angle 2.7 inch HyperCrystal II LCD monitor
Newly developed 12.3 megapixel high speed Live MOS sensor, new TruePic III+ image processing engine, built in image stabilisation to 5EV steps for outstanding image quality
High speed, 11-point full twin cross AF, 5 five frames per second (fps) continuous shooting, 1/8000 sec. maximum shutter speed, 1/250th flash synchronization speed, with Super FP mode flash capability.

Creative photography previously requiring the use of special lenses, optical filters, or the use of complex computer-based editing techniques, can now be easily achieved at the moment of capture. The “Art Filter” shooting mode in the E-30 provides real-time digital simulation of traditional film processing or optical filter effects that can be previewed in Live View, providing the photographer with a powerful tool for creative expression. The set of six “Art Filters” consist of a colour intensifying filter, a grainy black and white film filter, two filters that simulate soft lighting effects, a soft focus filter, and a pinhole camera effect filter.

Multi-exposure film photography is often tedious and challenging, requiring careful pre-capture planning by the photographer and a rigid, linear process in execution. The E-30’s intuitive multi-exposure function simplifies multi-exposure photography by providing an overlay of a previous image onto a live preview of the current scene. A separate non-linear compositing function enables the photographer to combine previously captured raw pictures in playback review mode, providing the photographer with the flexibility to create multi-exposures of scenes that can be far separated in time and location, without the use of a computer and time-intensive editing software. With powerful software algorithms programmed into the camera, the E-30 makes highly detailed, multi-exposure photography very simple to achieve.

The E-30 offers a choice of nine aspect ratios for image capture, including the popular wide-screen 16:9 and medium-format film 6:6 ratio formats. Live View photography with the High-Speed Imager AF enables auto-focusing with compact digital camera ease. The versatile flip-out variable-angle LCD screen makes both horizontal and vertically oriented Live View shooting easy displaying the live scene in the format chosen.

A new digital level-gauge provides real-time display of camera pitch and roll, displaying information in the optical viewfinder, on the LCD screen in the Live View mode and on the top LCD display. This feature provides the convenience and accuracy of a mechanical bubble-level, only a button press away when required.

The E-30 delivers the highest standard of image quality with a newly developed 12.3-megapixel, high-speed Live MOS Sensor and a new TruePic III+ image processing engine. With built-in image stabilisation that provides up to an outstanding 5EV steps of shake-compensation, the E-30 offers image-stabilised photography across the entire range of Four Thirds System lenses, from ultra wide-angle to super-telephoto, as well as macro and fish-eye lenses.

High-speed operational performance on par with the professional E-3 model is achieved with an 11-point AF sensor system featuring class-leading 11 point full twin-cross sensors with AF sensitivity as low as -2 EV*, 5 fps continuous shooting, and 1/8000 sec. maximum shutter speed.