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Olympus E-620 photo samples

Images shot with the Olympus E-620 and a discussion of photo quality.

335699362440SIC1.jpg
1 of 5 Matthew Fitzgerald/CNET

Noise

There doesn't seem to be any completely noise-free ISO sensitivity--even at ISO 100 you can see stippling in some shadows--and while there's little sharpness drop-off by ISO 400 a bit of contouring begins to appear in dark areas and the color noise becomes more pronounced. Still, for its class, photos remain generally acceptable through ISO 800 and usable through ISO 3,200 depending upon scene content.
335699362440SIC5.jpg
2 of 5 Lori Grunin/CNET

Noise, ISO 800

At ISO 800, shadow areas appear a bit stippled, but the overall photos still look pretty good. Beyond that there's a visible decrease in dynamic range and increase in color mottling, but the photo quality fares quite well for the price. (1/320 sec, f5.6, ISO 800, 14-42mm lens)
335699362440SIC2.jpg
3 of 5 Lori Grunin/CNET

Sharpness

For kit lenses, both the 14-42mm and 40-150mm are pretty good, delivering relatively sharp photos with minimal aberration. I only wish they could focus closer. (1/80, f4.5, ISO 200, 40-150mm lens)
335699362440SIC3.jpg
4 of 5 Lori Grunin/CNET

Color

The E-620 renders vivid, accurate colors that are definitely crowd-pleasers.
335699362440SIC4.jpg
5 of 5 Lori Grunin/CNET

Exposure

Overall, the E-620's metering system works well and its dynamic range is sufficient to correctly handling even very difficult exposures. (1/320, f10, ISO 200, 14-42mm lens)

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