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Dual does it for Olympus E-450

Olympus' latest consumer dSLR comes in an aggressively priced dual-lens kit.

Lori Grunin Senior Editor / Advice
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
Expertise Photography, PCs and laptops, gaming and gaming accessories
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Lori Grunin
2 min read

Olympus E-450 photos

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Olympus follows up its E-420 compact dSLR with the similarly small and aggressively priced E-450. At launch, at least, Olympus plans to offer the camera solely as a 2-lens kit, with its f3.5-5.6 14-42mm and f4.0-5.6 40-150mm lenses (for 35mm-equivalent focal range coverage of 28 to 300mm in total).

As you can see from the following brief spec comparison, the guts of the camera are essentially the same as the E-420's:

  Olympus E-420 (with 14-42mm lens) Olympus E-450 (with 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses) Nikon D60 (with 18mm-55mm lens) Canon EOS Rebel XS (with 18-55mm IS lens)
Sensor 10-megapixel Live MOS 10-megapixel Live MOS 10.2-megapixel CCD 10.1-megapixel CCD
Sensitivity range ISO 100 - ISO 1,600 ISO 100 - ISO 1,600 ISO 100 - ISO 1,600/3,200 (expanded) ISO 100 - ISO 800/1,600 (expanded)
Focal-length multiplier 2x 2x 1.5x 1.6x
Continuous shooting 3.5 fps
6 raw		 3.5 fps
8 raw		 3 fps
n/a		 3 fps
5 raw
Viewfinder 95 percent coverage
0.92x magnification
 95 percent coverage
0.92x magnification
 95 percent coverage
0.8x magnification		 95 percent coverage
0.81x magnification
Autofocus 3-pt AF 3-pt AF 3-pt AF 7-pt AF
Live View Yes Yes No Yes
LCD size 2.7 inches fixed 2.7 inches fixed 2.5 inches fixed 2.5 inches fixed
Dimensions (WHD) 5.1 in x 3.6 in x 2.1 5.1 in x 3.1 in x 2.1 5.1 in x 3.7 in x 2.5 4.5 in x 3.8 in x 2.4
Weight 13.4 oz. 13.4 oz. 16.1 oz. 15.9 oz.
Mfr. price $499.99 $699.99 $599.99 $599.99

Olympus does add a limited selection of its special effect Art Filters--Pop Art, Soft Focus, and Pinhole--as well as a variety of enhancements to autofocus in Live View, and integration of its Shadow Adjustment Technology dynamic-range booster. It also incorporates LCD-based preview, but in general dSLR LCDs aren't accurate enough to make exposure or white balance decisions based on previews.

The E-450 is slated to ship in June, though it makes its public debut on Mother's Day on QVC.