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A fully-fledged mid-range DSLR in a compact body, at an entry-level price – this is how one could distill the essence of the Olympus E-520 into one sentence. The new camera inherits the very well designed body, efficient handling and semi-professional feature set of its predecessor, and gains important capabilities such as wireless TTL flash control, Shadow Adjustment Technology and contrast-detect auto-focus in Live View. JPEG shooters will be delighted to learn that the default tone curve applied by the in-camera processing yields much more pleasing out-of-camera results, particularly with respect to the way specular highlights are rendered.

“There’s very little to criticise in the overall specification and performance of the E-420. I like it’s size - it’s ideal for travelling and is reminiscent of my old OM4 in some aspects of its handling. Images are generally good too, with excellent sharpness and detail. Colour is crisp and while exposures are slightly underexposed to my taste, they do maintain good tonality throughout the range. The Four-Thirds system is somewhat contentious amongst the more vocal geeks on the forums, but it has many benefits and is definitely worthy of consideration to anyone coming to a DSLR for the first time. The Olympus E-420 is a pleasure to use and it’s simplicity combined with the more advanced features allows the newbie to learn and grow as well as just enjoying taking good images.”

“Available in black or silver, the Mju 1030 SW is the first in the ‘Tough’ series with a 10-megapixel image sensor. Waterproof to 10 metres, it is also capable of withstanding a drop of two metres and can tolerate temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius and pressures of up to 100 kilograms, making it the ‘toughest’ in the range. The new camera’s feature set has also evolved since the original 795 SW model, making it even more attractive to photographers who enjoy water sports, skiing and similar adventurous activities.”

“The Olympus Stylus 1200 is another great addition to the Stylus line. The performance was a little slower than on previous models, but the image quality has not suffered and neither has the ease of use of the camera. This is a good deal when you consider the MSRP of US$350 or less. If you like the features of this camera and don’t mind having less than a 12-megapixel imaging sensor or you would like to have a little more zoom capabilities, check one of the other Stylus models with slightly different features and prices (like the 8-megapixel, 5x zoom Stylus 830).”

“Priced at a MSRP of $1,699, there’s a lot to like about the E-3 (and the Olympus lens and accessory system). The camera produced excellent shots and is quite responsive. Much improved shooting performance (over the E-1), superb image quality and the combination of image stabilization and anti-dust technology makes the E-3 a challenger in the heavyweight professional camera market. This is a professional dSLR, but the balanced handling and logical controls will make the E-3 attractive to any photographer ready to step up to a durable, pro-level camera system.”

“We described the Fuji S8000fd as trying to be all things to all people, but that was before we really got to grips with the Olympus SP-560UZ. The number of features and options available on the Olympus is frankly comical. You could use this camera for years without ever finding all the (often fairly pointless) things it can do, so numerous and deeply buried in menus are they. The SP-560UZ has more features than most users will ever discover, let alone want to use. This isn’t helped by the rather brief manual that glosses over much of the camera’s functionality only being included as a PDF on a CD. This kind of cost-cutting isn’t unique to Olympus but is hard to justify in a camera this feature-laden. The mysteries of “one-touch” white balance and area auto focus mode are only clarified by spending time clicking through the PDF manual.”