In previous blogs I’ve focused on the growing number of shrinking digital SLRs. Stroll through a camera shop (or any electronics store for that matter) and you will see shelves crammed with digital cameras of varying sizes. In the increasingly crowded marketplace of digital photo equipment, camera makers have had to distinguish themselves from their competitors in innovative ways. For Olympus that has meant reaching for a large audience with a smaller camera.
Take a look at the company’s E-410 and E-510 models and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. The Olympus E-410 is noticeably small for an SLR camera. Even with batteries, it weighs about 20% less than Canon’s Digital Rebel XTi, and about a third less than the Nikon D80. However, don’t let Olympus’ size fool you. As with the Rebel and the D80 you’re getting 10-megapixel resolution, only in a compact camera.
According to Olympus designers, they were able to shrink their product by using a digital photography creation called “Four Thirds.” Basically, it has to do with the size of the light sensor. In the E-410 the light sensor is somewhat smaller than in other SLRs, allowing for a smaller camera.
Another “smaller” feature Olympus is touting with its E-410 is its price. Since Olympus doesn’t have the same name recognition as camera giants such as Canon and Nikon it competes by underselling them. For about what you’d spend for a Canon or Nikon body Olympus gives you the body and two zoom lenses, one for wide-angle, the other, a 3x telephoto. The Olympus E-410 body with the 14-42 and 40-150mm lenses retails for about $725. You do have the option of buying just the body for under $550. And for $100 more you can get the Olympus E-510, which offers image stabilization.
For that amount of money you get a decent camera that takes shots far better than what most point-and-shoot cameras will give you, plus a creative feature not offered in most SLRs. Most SLRs are designed so that when you look through the viewfinder you see, with the help of a couple of mirrors, the image through the camera’s lens. Olympus designers added a button that you can press and up flips the mirror, and the 2.5-inch screen on the back of the camera shows you what your picture will look like.
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