Olympus E-30 Review: Digital Photography Review

Custom Functions / settings

It's become something of an Olympus tradition to offer some of the most customizable cameras on the market and the E-30 takes it to new heights. Not only can you apply different functions to several of the external buttons, you can also fine-tune the autofocus system to an astonishing degree (if you're confident your testing method is good enough to outperform the engineers at Olympus.

Custom Menu 1

This is where all the fun happens - sixty settings arranged in nine sections ('A' to 'I'). They're grouped well, so that you rarely have to think too hard about where to find the setting you're searching for. Although separated into sections, once you're in the main list, those sections link together, effectively creating a 14-page list of options.

Unlike the E-3, the E-30 doesn't ever leave you stuck in the menus - pressing the shutter button always puts you back into shooting mode, which is something we're delighted to see.

A: AF/MF


Option	Values / Actions	Notes
AF Illuminat.	• Off • On	Uses the internal flash to assist autofocusing in low light.
Focus ring	• Counter clockwise • Clockwise	Defines the direction in which the manual focus ring operates.
C-AF Lock	• Off • On	Locks the focus, once attained to avoid distraction by movement.
AF area pointer	• Off • On	Dictates whether the AF point illuminates in the viewfinder.
AF sensitivity	• Normal • Small	Normal includes the area around the AF point for focusing.
AF area setup	• Off • Loop • Spiral	Defines the order in which AF points are selected when using the control wheel to move between them.
Reset lens	• Off • On	Refocuses to infinity when the camera shuts down.
Bulb focusing	• Off • On	Defines whether focus can be altered during exposure in bulb mode.
Live View AF Mode	• AF Sensor • Hybrid AF • Imager AF	Selects which focus method is used in Live View.

B: Button/Dial


Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Dial function	• P Program shift/Program shift Program shift/Exp. Comp. Program shift/Flash Comp. Exp. Comp./Program shift Exp. Comp./Exp. Comp. Exp. Comp./Flash Comp. Flash Comp./Program shift Flash Comp./Exp. Comp. Flash. Comp./Flash Comp. • A F No./F No. F No./Exp Comp. F No./Flash Comp. Exp. Comp./F No. Flash Comp./F No. • S Shutter speed/Shutter speed Shutter speed/Exp Comp. Shutter speed/Flash Comp. Exp. Comp./Shutter speed Flash Comp./Shutter speed • M Shutter speed/F No. F No./Shutter speed • Menu	Allows functions to be applied to the main and sub command dials. In each instance, any of the options can be applied to either dial to suit the operator. Menu allows the behavior of the dial while navigating menus to be swapped.
Dial direction	• Dial 1 • Dial 2	Swaps the direction in which both dials operate.
AEL/AFL	• S-AF Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 • C-AF Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 Mode 4 • MF Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3	Allows the selection of modes that dictate the behavior of exposure and focus at shutter-button half press, full press and AEL/AFL button held. (Described at the bottom of the page. Click on the focus type to jump to the correct table)
AEL/AFL MEMO	• Off • On	Toggles whether AEL/AFL button needs to be held to retain AEL.
Fn Function	• Preview • Live Preview • Set custom White Balance • Current AF point/Home point • Manual Focus • JPEG/RAW+JPEG • P/A/S/M Mode • Test picture • My mode • Level gauge • Off • Face detect	Assigns a function to the function button.
My Mode setup	• My Mode 1 Set Reset • My Mode 2 Set Reset	Normal includes the area around the AF point for focusing.
Button timer	• Off • 3 Sec • 5 Sec • 8 Sec • Hold	Sets how long the direct-access buttons remain active after they are pressed. Hold leaves the button active until pressed again.
AEL/AFL <> Fn	• Off • On	Swaps the function of the AEL/AFL and Fn buttons.
Lock	• Off • On	Locks the four-way controller to prevent unintended operation.

C: Release/Continuous


Option	Values / Actions	Notes
RLS Priority S	• Off • On	Chooses whether camera waits for focus before shooting in S-AF mode.
RLS Priority C	• Off • On	Chooses whether camera waits for focus before shooting in C-AF mode.
Seql. L mode fps	• 1 fps • 2 fps • 3 fps • 4 fps	Sets the speed of the limited-speed sequential shooting mode.

D: Disp/Beep/PC


Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Beep	• Off • On	Decides whether the camera beeps upon obtaining focus lock
Sleep	• Off • 1 Min • 3 Min • 5 Min • 10 Min	Sets the period of inactivity before sleep mode is engaged.
Backlit LCD	• 8 Sec • 30 Sec • 1 Min • Hold	Selects the period for which the LCD remains lit after a button press.
4 hr timer	• 4 Hr • Off	Auto power off after 4 hours
USB Mode	• Auto • Storage • MTP • Control • Print Easy • Print Custom	Defines the behavior of the camera when connected by USB. Auto brings up a selection menu each time a connection is made.
Live View boost	• Off • On	On brightens screen for visibility, Off mimics brightness of exposure.
LV frame rate	• Norm • High
Face detect	• Off • On
Info setting	• Play Info Image Only On/Off Overall On/Off Histogram On/Off Highlights and Shadow On/Off • LV Info Histogram On/Off Zoom On/Off Multi View On/Off Image Only On/Off Composition Grid On/Off Thirds Grid On/Off Crosshairs Grid On/Off	Enables/Disables the different playback and Live view screen modes that are found by pressing the 'Info' button.
Level gauge	• Off • On	Displays the level gauge on screen

E: Exposure/Metering/ISO


Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Ev step	• 1/3 EV • 1/2 EV • 1 EV	Sets incremental steps used for exposure
ISO step	• 1/3 EV • 1 EV	Sets incremental steps used for sensitivity.
ISO-Auto set	• High limit ISO 200 - 3200 • Default ISO 200 - 3200	Sets the upper limit and default value used by Auto ISO mode.
ISO-Auto on	• P/A/S • All	Selects which modes ISO-Auto is active in. All includes Manual mode.
AEL Metering	• Auto • Center weighted • Spot • Spot (Highlights) • Spot (Shadows)	Selects the metering mode used when the AEL button is pressed. Auto meters using the mode currently selected.
Bulb timer	• 30 Min • 25 Min • 20 Min • 15 Min • 8 Min • 4 Min • 2 Min • 1 Min	Sets maximum exposure in bulb mode.

F: Flash/Custom


Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Flash X-Sync	• 1/60 - 1/250	Sync speed of flash
Flash slow limit	• 1/30 - 1/250	Lowest shutter allowed with flash
Flash + EV comp	• Off • On
Auto pop up	• Off • On

G: Record mode/Color/WB


Option	Values / Actions	Notes
All WB comp	• All Set Amber (15 steps) Green (15 steps) • All Reset	Applies a correction to all WB presets. Or resets that correction.
Color space	• sRGB • Adobe RGB	Sets the color space used in JPEGs.
Shading comp	• Off • On	Automatically corrects light fall-off at image corners
Compression set	• JPEG size/quality 1 set Large / Compression Medium / Compression Small / Compression • JPEG size/quality 2 set Large / Compression Medium / Compression Small / Compression • JPEG size/quality 3 set Large / Compression Medium / Compression Small / Compression • JPEG size/quality 4 set Large / Compression Medium / Compression Small / Compression	Selects the image size (Large/Middle/Small) and compression settings (SuperFine/Fine/Normal/Basic), that the camera uses for shooting JPEGS.
Pixel count	• Middle 3200 x 2400 2560 x 1920 1600 x 1200 • Small 1280 x 960 1024 x 768 640 x 480	Defines the sizes of 'Middle' and 'Small' JPEGs. The actual pixel values produced are dictated by the Image aspect option (below).
Image aspect	• 4:3 • 3:2 • 16:9 • 6:6 • 5:4 • 7:6 • 6:5 • 7:5 • 3:4
Aspect shooting	• LV • All	LV mode only crops the images shot in live view mode. All crops pictures shot in live view and marks images shot with the viewfinder.

H: Record/Erase


Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Quick erase	• Off • On	Defines whether a confirmation screen appears before deletion.
RAW + JPEG erase	• JPEG • RAW • RAW + JPEG	Dictates which components of a RAW + JPEG shot are deleted when deleting images individually.
Filename	• Auto • Reset	Auto continues numbering onto new cards Reset starts again.
Priority set	• No • Yes	Sets default position on delete and format confirmation screens.
dpi settings	• Auto • Custom	Applies print resolution based on image size or a chosen output res.

I: Utility


Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Cleaning		Raises the mirror for cleaning
Ext. WB detect	• Off • On	Disables the built-in WB sensor for when the subject is differently lit.
AF Focus Adj.	• Set AF data Off Default data +20 to -20 Lens data +20 to -20 • Data list Check Delete Edit	Allows AF to be fine-tuned on either a per-lens basis (based on lens's serial number), or for all lenses. Each lens can be calibrated with a different correction value for each focus point and with different values assigned for wide-angle and telephoto.
Exposure shift	• ESP • Center weighted • Spot	Each metering mode can be fine-tuned in 1/6 EV intervals between -1 and +1 EV.
Battery type	• 1 (Alkaline) • 2 • 3	Sets the type of battery being used in the optional HLD-4 battery grip.
Warning level	•+2 to -2	Adjusts whether the battery warning lights up sooner or later than usual.
Level adjust	• Reset • Adjust	Calibrates the on-screen level indicator or resets to defaults.

AEL/AFL modes (S-AF & MF)

Mode	Shutter half-press	Shutter full-press	AEL/AFL button
mode 1	AEL & AFL	Exposure	AEL
mode 2	AFL only	AEL & Exposure	AEL
mode 3	AEL only	Exposure	AFL

AEL/AFL modes (C-AF)

Mode	Shutter half-press	Shutter full-press	AEL/AFL button
mode 1	AEL & AF Start	AFL & Exposure	AEL
mode 2	AF Start	AEL & AFL & Exposure	AEL
mode 3	AEL only	AFL & Exposure	AF Start
mode 4	No action	AEL & AFL & Exposure	AF Start