Olympus E-330 EVOLT Review: Digital Photography Review

Compared to...

For our studio scene comparisons we have selected the Canon EOS 350D (Digital Rebel XT) and Sony DSC-R1. Note that because of aspect ratio differences between the Canon / Sony and the Olympus the vertical resolution advantage differs from the megapixel advantage.

Camera	Kit Price	Sensor	Megapixel difference	Vertical res. difference
Canon EOS 350D	$779	8 mp CMOS	+8%	-2%
Sony DSC-R1	$999	10 mp CMOS	+35%	+10%
Olympus E-330	$1099	7.4 mp NMOS	-	-

Aspect ratio advantage, aperture used

The E-330's aspect ratio difference (4:3 vs. the film normal 3:2) it gets an added vertical resolution advantage over other cameras, because as with all of our comparisons the scene is framed vertically. Note that we selected F6.3 on the Olympus as we have found this to be the optimum aperture for optimum lens sharpness (this has reduced DOF slightly - some of the crops, noticeably that of the Leica lens are outside the DOF and hence appear soft, this is no fault of the camera or the lens).

Studio scene comparison (JPEG)

This is our standard studio scene comparison shot taken from exactly the same tripod position within minutes of each other. Lighting: daylight simulation, >98% CRI. Crops are 100%. Ambient temperature was approximately 22°C (~72°F).

Olympus E-330 vs. Canon EOS 350D

Camera settings:

Olympus E-330: Olympus ED 50 mm F2.0 Macro, Aperture Priority,
ISO 100, JPEG SHQ, Manual WB, Default Parameters (Vivid), Self-Timer
Canon EOS 350D (Digital Rebel XT): Canon EF 50 mm F1.4, Aperture Priority,
ISO 100, JPEG Large/Fine, Manual WB, Default Parameters (Parameter 1), Self-Timer

Olympus E-330	Canon EOS 350D

4,562 KB JPEG (3136 x 2352)	2,882 KB JPEG (3456 x 2304)

Our comparison scene is always framed vertically, this means that the E-330 actually comes to the table with a frankly insignificant 48 pixel vertical resolution advantage. Scanning down the crops we can see slightly better detail from the EOS 350D image with better per-pixel sharpness. The other noticeable difference is where the highlights on the paperclips 'clipped', this could be down to the slightly better dynamic range from the EOS 350D. Color and tonal responses are very similar.

(Footnote: We could have framed the scene horizontally which would have handed the EOS 350D a 10% horizontal resolution advantage, however all of our scene comparisons are framed vertically).