Nikon D70 vs. Olympus E-1 mini review [Warning: large post]

[mskad]

[also posted in the D70 forum]

Yes, it’s another non scientific comparison between 2 DSLRs. I just thought that this might help someone so here it is.

I own the E-1 and a friend of mine kindly let me have his D70 to play with for the weekend (for the second time this month!). I used the Nikon 18-70mm kit lens and a 50mm f/1.8 AF-D. With my Olympus, I used the Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5. All the pictures I took were RAW, converted with PS CS.

Construction

D70 is really nice (hey, I owned a DRebel, I know what I’m talking about), but it can’t compare to the E-1 which is built like a tank. E-1 is a clear winner here.

Handling

The D70 feels smaller, lighter and definitely more responsive than the E-1 but I prefer the layout of the controls on the E-1. For me, it’s a tie.

Viewfinder

The E-1 viewfinder is brighter, bigger and more accurate. And yes, you can effectively manual focus with the E-1. It’s another clear win for the E-1.





Auto focus

D70 is way faster and more accurate than E-1. Also, even without the AF assist lamp, the D70 can focus in really dim situations. E-1 auto focus hunts quite often on low contrast targets, dim scenes or when a geometric pattern is present. D70 wins big times.

Metering

The D70 matrix metering does a really nice job and is really effective in preventing blown highlights, but images are kind of underexposed when shooting low contrast or low light scenes. In the other hand, the E-1 is close to the perfection. Both offer spot metering, which is great. D70 does great, but can’t beat the E-1.

Image review and Information

Frankly, the E-1 sucks in that domain. With its instant image review and direct histogram the D70 is the logical winner.

Automatic white balance

Another exceptional feature of the E-1, even in very challenging mixed lighting situations. The D70 does an average job. E-1 wins hands down.

Image quality and noise

Color accuracy, color rendering and dynamic range are second to none with the E-1 (of all the DSLRs I have ever tried or owned). The D70 does a good (very good if you fine tune PS Raw converter parameters) job, but the result is not as pleasant as what you consistently get with the E-1.

Resolution wise, the D70 is way ahead, no matter what. I tried different sharpening techniques on the E-1 images, but there are definitively less details than what you can squeeze out of the D70 images. And I have been careful to compare what is comparable: I framed my pictures so the magnification ratio was the same between the D70 (6 mega-pixels and 3x2 aspect ratio) and the E-1 (5 mega-pixels and 4x3 aspect ratio). In other words, I cropped (not downsized, cropped) the D70 images to the size of an E-1 image.





Noise wise, the E-1 does slightly better than the D70 up to ISO 400. Above that, the D70 is much nicer. Actually, I should say that the D70 is spectacular and compares very well against the Canon 10D/DRebel. But I also noticed that the D70’s high ISO (800 and up) sensitivity is apparently overrated. Using the two cameras at ISO 800, same shutter speed and same f/stop, the D70 pictures are obviously and constantly underexposed by at less one f/stop.

Bottom line in the image quality department: E-1 wins for color and dynamic range, D70 is the winner in regards of resolution and noise levels with high ISO.

Lenses (Olympus Zuiko 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 vs. Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5)

The Olympus lens is faster, better built, aberration free and sharp from center to corners. The Nikon is incredibly sharp (center) but corners are soft wide open. Also, barrel distortion is severe at 18mm and vignetting is serious, although both are easily corrected with PS Raw converter and PT-Lens. The Olympus 14-54mm wins.

Miscellaneous features

The E-1’s anti dust system is very effective. Also, the E-1 has an in camera automatic hot pixel mapping function that I like very much.

Conclusion

Both cameras are awesome. The D70 handles very well, is super responsive and fast and has a very effective AF and metering systems. High ISO noise is very low compared to the E-1 (but might be overrated). Resolution is insane.

The E-1 is built like a tank and handles very well also. The 100% viewfinder is bright, large and very sharp. White balance and metering are second to none (of all the DSLRs I’ve ever tried or owned). Overall image quality is spectacular but I could do with more resolution. High ISO noise is very present, but you can easily deal with it with Neat Image or equivalent at ISO 800. The AF could definitely be improved.

For low light / high ISO shooting conditions, I would definitely recommend the D70 over the E-1.





--
Mskad.

 

[OzRay]

An interesting comparison. A couple of things that I noted and you might have some comment on these.

The first comparison was done with a Nikon 50mm vs the Oly zoom. Would the 50mm not pull more resolution out of the image anyway, being a prime lens (and probably very high quality)?

With all the of the shots, the D70 was usually one stop further down than the E1, which would give some improvement in resolution (don't really know how much).

Both seem to perform well regardless.

Cheers

Ray

--
There are no limits, only challenges - me (unless someone else said it first).

http://www.rkp.com.au/PhotoGallery/

 

[bill wong]

As an E-1 owner who switched over from an Canon 1D, the most obvious area of improvement required in the E-1 is the AF - clearly NOT pro spec.

I can live with the high ISO noise and non user friendly image info.

Still I am very happy using the E-1 system as the smaller form factor is great!

[also posted in the D70 forum]
Yes, it’s another non scientific comparison between 2 DSLRs. I just
thought that this might help someone so here it is.

I own the E-1 and a friend of mine kindly let me have his D70 to
play with for the weekend (for the second time this month!). I used
the Nikon 18-70mm kit lens and a 50mm f/1.8 AF-D. With my Olympus,
I used the Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5. All the pictures I took were
RAW, converted with PS CS.

Construction
D70 is really nice (hey, I owned a DRebel, I know what I’m talking
about), but it can’t compare to the E-1 which is built like a tank.
E-1 is a clear winner here.

Handling
The D70 feels smaller, lighter and definitely more responsive than
the E-1 but I prefer the layout of the controls on the E-1. For me,
it’s a tie.

Viewfinder
The E-1 viewfinder is brighter, bigger and more accurate. And yes,
you can effectively manual focus with the E-1. It’s another clear
win for the E-1.





Auto focus
D70 is way faster and more accurate than E-1. Also, even without
the AF assist lamp, the D70 can focus in really dim situations. E-1
auto focus hunts quite often on low contrast targets, dim scenes or
when a geometric pattern is present. D70 wins big times.

Metering
The D70 matrix metering does a really nice job and is really
effective in preventing blown highlights, but images are kind of
underexposed when shooting low contrast or low light scenes. In the
other hand, the E-1 is close to the perfection. Both offer spot
metering, which is great. D70 does great, but can’t beat the E-1.

Image review and Information
Frankly, the E-1 sucks in that domain. With its instant image
review and direct histogram the D70 is the logical winner.

Automatic white balance
Another exceptional feature of the E-1, even in very challenging
mixed lighting situations. The D70 does an average job. E-1 wins
hands down.

Image quality and noise
Color accuracy, color rendering and dynamic range are second to
none with the E-1 (of all the DSLRs I have ever tried or owned).
The D70 does a good (very good if you fine tune PS Raw converter
parameters) job, but the result is not as pleasant as what you
consistently get with the E-1.

Resolution wise, the D70 is way ahead, no matter what. I tried
different sharpening techniques on the E-1 images, but there are
definitively less details than what you can squeeze out of the D70
images. And I have been careful to compare what is comparable: I
framed my pictures so the magnification ratio was the same between
the D70 (6 mega-pixels and 3x2 aspect ratio) and the E-1 (5
mega-pixels and 4x3 aspect ratio). In other words, I cropped (not
downsized, cropped) the D70 images to the size of an E-1 image.





Noise wise, the E-1 does slightly better than the D70 up to ISO
400. Above that, the D70 is much nicer. Actually, I should say that
the D70 is spectacular and compares very well against the Canon
10D/DRebel. But I also noticed that the D70’s high ISO (800 and up)
sensitivity is apparently overrated. Using the two cameras at ISO
800, same shutter speed and same f/stop, the D70 pictures are
obviously and constantly underexposed by at less one f/stop.

Bottom line in the image quality department: E-1 wins for color and
dynamic range, D70 is the winner in regards of resolution and noise
levels with high ISO.

Lenses (Olympus Zuiko 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 vs. Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5)
The Olympus lens is faster, better built, aberration free and sharp
from center to corners. The Nikon is incredibly sharp (center) but
corners are soft wide open. Also, barrel distortion is severe at
18mm and vignetting is serious, although both are easily corrected
with PS Raw converter and PT-Lens. The Olympus 14-54mm wins.

Miscellaneous features
The E-1’s anti dust system is very effective. Also, the E-1 has an
in camera automatic hot pixel mapping function that I like very
much.

Conclusion
Both cameras are awesome. The D70 handles very well, is super
responsive and fast and has a very effective AF and metering
systems. High ISO noise is very low compared to the E-1 (but might
be overrated). Resolution is insane.

The E-1 is built like a tank and handles very well also. The 100%
viewfinder is bright, large and very sharp. White balance and
metering are second to none (of all the DSLRs I’ve ever tried or
owned). Overall image quality is spectacular but I could do with
more resolution. High ISO noise is very present, but you can easily
deal with it with Neat Image or equivalent at ISO 800. The AF could
definitely be improved.

For low light / high ISO shooting conditions, I would definitely
recommend the D70 over the E-1.





--
Mskad.

 

[mskad]

Ray,

Even with the kit lens and at the same f/stop, the D70 provides much more details. Having said that, the Olympus 14-54mm performs better wide open in the corners than the Nikon 18-70mm.

Here are two 1:1 crop (OK, it's not the same f/stop, but close enough)

An interesting comparison. A couple of things that I noted and you
might have some comment on these.

The first comparison was done with a Nikon 50mm vs the Oly zoom.
Would the 50mm not pull more resolution out of the image anyway,
being a prime lens (and probably very high quality)?

With all the of the shots, the D70 was usually one stop further
down than the E1, which would give some improvement in resolution
(don't really know how much).

Both seem to perform well regardless.

Cheers

Ray

--
There are no limits, only challenges - me (unless someone else said
it first).

http://www.rkp.com.au/PhotoGallery/

--
Mskad.

 

[John Mason]

I wonder in the sharpness dept how the 50mm macro on the E1 would have compared. Since once you cropped to 4:3 you virtually the same pixel count. You may have been measuring lens differences.

I find, as good as the 11-54 lens is, the 50mm macro is simply stunning in the sharpness department.

all digital cameras have their trade offs

all dslrs out there can do great work

I was at "feast of the hunters moon" today with both my 1Ds and my E1. The 1Ds color is getting closer to the E1 color now that I've purchased some custom profiles that work with Phase One's C1.

Doing a print off the 1Ds this evening, we saw the little dust goober in the sky. I never get that with the E1.

My son's friend carried the 1Ds. They kept trading the job of carrying it (about 7 lbs with 28-70L lens). I carried my E1 and never felt the need to pawn that job off to anyone (about 3 lbs with 11-54 lens (which is wider zoom coverage than the much heavier canon lens))

They both took great pics!

You can also take lousy pics with them. My son's friend let the camera determine where to focus on the 1Ds with it's 45 active spots and more often then not it picked the back of someones head or the tent off in the distance between two reenactors. I usually center spot it more like the E1 works to prevent this. (though if I was in continuous focus sports mode on an action shot, then the 45 spots are nice).

So your getting down to a truism that how good a camera do you need to get a great shot and a print? It gets down to useablity and feature set that's important for that individual.

The improvements the first adoptors get for their big bucks are going to get here out are going to be less and less.

Yes - good comments on the ergonomics and the viewfinder. They are suburb on the E1. I used to really miss the histogram (I got it so I can see it by pressing one button), but frankly on the 1Ds I have to review the histogram. On my Canon my exposure changes as I switch canon lenses. And for flash! Canon still has a lot of work to do (maybe their new stuff is better). On the E1 I'm finding the camera does such a good job at exposure I don't find as much need to review the histogram. That doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate a little firmware change to fix that.

Basically if I'm in the need for max resolution I grab my 1Ds. For everything else I grab the E1. In future models the smaller system size of the E1 will eliminate that advantage. There will be a point in the resolution race where the practical difference will be less and less real in an output print setting.

But for now, I am extensively in both systems.

Now to get out the little pocket microscope and the bright table light and my 1Ds power adaptor (you don't want to do this on batteries) and the "speck grabber" and my giant hand bulb blower and get rid of that dust that messed up my picture today.

 

[Garfish]

I agree-- nice objective, hands on, open minded review. This kind of review along with the professional ones are really useful and appreciated-- at least by me;> ).

I have an E-1 and certainly agree re the auto focus-- can't comment on other stuff though.

Thanks, and Cheers. Craig

 

[TrapperJohn]

I would add one thing I've observed, but can't really quantify - dynamic range.

A friend owns a D70, I had an E20, recently moved to an E1. When we compare shots of similar landscapes, the E1 images appear richer, more 'alive', at least to me they do. Wish I could quantify it more, but I don't know of a way to measure that. It may just be an 'eye of the beholder' thing.

Otherwise, I'd agree completely with your observations on the D70 - fast focus, better at high ISO. To me, it felt a bit flimsy in the hand, but then again, most DSLR's feel flimsy compared to the E1. That's a case of the E1 being superlative, not of the D70 being deficient.

Also agree with John Mason - the E1's shots are so well exposed that a histogram is superfluous, more often than not.

 

[OzRay]

There certainly is a difference there, but it almost looks like a focus issue. I'm not disputing the findings, as I'm only a few days acquainted with the E1, so I'm learning all of it's pros and cons at the moment.

The one thing that I have noticed is that if I'm not careful with what I focus on, it can sometimes be quite off. I'm wondering which mode users have found to be the best in different circumstances to ensure good focus.

Chers

Ray

--
There are no limits, only challenges - me (unless someone else said it first).

http://www.rkp.com.au/PhotoGallery/

 

[mskad]

I would add one thing I've observed, but can't really quantify -
dynamic range.

A friend owns a D70, I had an E20, recently moved to an E1. When we
compare shots of similar landscapes, the E1 images appear richer,
more 'alive', at least to me they do. Wish I could quantify it
more, but I don't know of a way to measure that. It may just be an
'eye of the beholder' thing.

I can only agree with you on that. But as you know, you can easily achieve the same kind of rendering with the D70 by loading a "custom curve" that would boost the dark areas and midtones while keeping the hightlights under control. But you need to buy Nikon's capture software do to that.

Otherwise, I'd agree completely with your observations on the D70 -
fast focus, better at high ISO. To me, it felt a bit flimsy in the
hand, but then again, most DSLR's feel flimsy compared to the E1.
That's a case of the E1 being superlative, not of the D70 being
deficient.

Also agree with John Mason - the E1's shots are so well exposed
that a histogram is superfluous, more often than not.

That's so true.

--
Mskad.

 

[mskad]

I have another shot of the same scene that I first discarded because it was framed differently than the one taken with the D70, and the level of details is almost the same than with the Nikon. The 1:1 crop I used to compare the two is definitly OOF.

I will perform more tests tomorrow. Thanks for your comments.

There certainly is a difference there, but it almost looks like a
focus issue. I'm not disputing the findings, as I'm only a few days
acquainted with the E1, so I'm learning all of it's pros and cons
at the moment.

The one thing that I have noticed is that if I'm not careful with
what I focus on, it can sometimes be quite off. I'm wondering which
mode users have found to be the best in different circumstances to
ensure good focus.

Chers

Ray

--
There are no limits, only challenges - me (unless someone else said
it first).

http://www.rkp.com.au/PhotoGallery/

--
Mskad.

 

[Philly]

what is the respective level of in-camera sharpening you are using on each camera? (I take it you are using the sharpening level which you've found to provide the best, respective resolution for this aspect of your comparison.)

Thanks for your review.

[also posted in the D70 forum]
Yes, it’s another non scientific comparison between 2 DSLRs. I just
thought that this might help someone so here it is.

I own the E-1 and a friend of mine kindly let me have his D70 to
play with for the weekend (for the second time this month!). I used
the Nikon 18-70mm kit lens and a 50mm f/1.8 AF-D. With my Olympus,
I used the Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5. All the pictures I took were
RAW, converted with PS CS.

Construction
D70 is really nice (hey, I owned a DRebel, I know what I’m talking
about), but it can’t compare to the E-1 which is built like a tank.
E-1 is a clear winner here.

Handling
The D70 feels smaller, lighter and definitely more responsive than
the E-1 but I prefer the layout of the controls on the E-1. For me,
it’s a tie.

Viewfinder
The E-1 viewfinder is brighter, bigger and more accurate. And yes,
you can effectively manual focus with the E-1. It’s another clear
win for the E-1.





Auto focus
D70 is way faster and more accurate than E-1. Also, even without
the AF assist lamp, the D70 can focus in really dim situations. E-1
auto focus hunts quite often on low contrast targets, dim scenes or
when a geometric pattern is present. D70 wins big times.

Metering
The D70 matrix metering does a really nice job and is really
effective in preventing blown highlights, but images are kind of
underexposed when shooting low contrast or low light scenes. In the
other hand, the E-1 is close to the perfection. Both offer spot
metering, which is great. D70 does great, but can’t beat the E-1.

Image review and Information
Frankly, the E-1 sucks in that domain. With its instant image
review and direct histogram the D70 is the logical winner.

Automatic white balance
Another exceptional feature of the E-1, even in very challenging
mixed lighting situations. The D70 does an average job. E-1 wins
hands down.

Image quality and noise
Color accuracy, color rendering and dynamic range are second to
none with the E-1 (of all the DSLRs I have ever tried or owned).
The D70 does a good (very good if you fine tune PS Raw converter
parameters) job, but the result is not as pleasant as what you
consistently get with the E-1.

Resolution wise, the D70 is way ahead, no matter what. I tried
different sharpening techniques on the E-1 images, but there are
definitively less details than what you can squeeze out of the D70
images. And I have been careful to compare what is comparable: I
framed my pictures so the magnification ratio was the same between
the D70 (6 mega-pixels and 3x2 aspect ratio) and the E-1 (5
mega-pixels and 4x3 aspect ratio). In other words, I cropped (not
downsized, cropped) the D70 images to the size of an E-1 image.





Noise wise, the E-1 does slightly better than the D70 up to ISO
400. Above that, the D70 is much nicer. Actually, I should say that
the D70 is spectacular and compares very well against the Canon
10D/DRebel. But I also noticed that the D70’s high ISO (800 and up)
sensitivity is apparently overrated. Using the two cameras at ISO
800, same shutter speed and same f/stop, the D70 pictures are
obviously and constantly underexposed by at less one f/stop.

Bottom line in the image quality department: E-1 wins for color and
dynamic range, D70 is the winner in regards of resolution and noise
levels with high ISO.

Lenses (Olympus Zuiko 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 vs. Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5)
The Olympus lens is faster, better built, aberration free and sharp
from center to corners. The Nikon is incredibly sharp (center) but
corners are soft wide open. Also, barrel distortion is severe at
18mm and vignetting is serious, although both are easily corrected
with PS Raw converter and PT-Lens. The Olympus 14-54mm wins.

Miscellaneous features
The E-1’s anti dust system is very effective. Also, the E-1 has an
in camera automatic hot pixel mapping function that I like very
much.

Conclusion
Both cameras are awesome. The D70 handles very well, is super
responsive and fast and has a very effective AF and metering
systems. High ISO noise is very low compared to the E-1 (but might
be overrated). Resolution is insane.

The E-1 is built like a tank and handles very well also. The 100%
viewfinder is bright, large and very sharp. White balance and
metering are second to none (of all the DSLRs I’ve ever tried or
owned). Overall image quality is spectacular but I could do with
more resolution. High ISO noise is very present, but you can easily
deal with it with Neat Image or equivalent at ISO 800. The AF could
definitely be improved.

For low light / high ISO shooting conditions, I would definitely
recommend the D70 over the E-1.





--
Mskad.

 

[Jorgen Bergfors]

I might add that you were lucky to find a D70 that focuses correctly. When I did the same comparison, the E-1 was much sharper than the D70, because the D70 consistently backfocused.

Jörgen

 

[Jorgen Bergfors]

That's so true.

Well, I don't agree. As much as I like my E-1, I don't think the exposure is very accurate.

It is usually spot on for certain types of subjects, like people for instance. But there are many subjects where it consistenstly overexposes or underexposes. I'm talking about the ESP now.

I find that on backlighted subjects it usually blows out the sky. If you have the sun in your back, it underexposes by 2/3 stop usually.

Certain subjects ar especially problematic. If you shoot black steam locomotives, it severly overexposes the background. I've had to use up to -2.0 steps compensation.

Here in Sweden houses are traditionally dark red. They too cause the E-1 to overexpose the background. I usually have to dial in -2/3 stops compensation.

Jörgen

 

[Atlanta-Mike]

I don't have the D70 but do have the D100 and the D2h. I am pretty sure the D70 uses the same focus system as the D100 which is pretty slow when using the 50mm f/1.8. With an AF-S lens it would be much faster, but still no where near as fast as the D2h, they are worlds apart.

I am a bit surprised you found the D70 to focus fast.

Atlanta-Mike

Auto focus
D70 is way faster and more accurate than E-1. Also, even without
the AF assist lamp, the D70 can focus in really dim situations. E-1
auto focus hunts quite often on low contrast targets, dim scenes or
when a geometric pattern is present. D70 wins big times.

 

[Terry Cioni]

Greetings,

Thank you for the review.....

I may have missed this in your "mini review", but did you have the external battery pack on the E1. It makes a significant difference to the auto focus speed of this camera. I have two bodies - only one is equipped with the battery pack - and when I need auto focus speed I use the E1 with battery pack, the body without does fine in most situations. This is not folklore but is pointed-out by Olympus. That all said, the E1 is not the fastest AF on the block, with or without the battery pack.

Cheers. Terry.

http://www.terrycioni.com

 

[Stan Powers]

I appreciate your objectivity, mskad!

Now, kindly get your hands on an E-300 ASAP and post a three-way shoot-out! ;-)

If the E-300 can best/equal the D70 in responsiveness (AF speed etc) I think we may have a hands down winner!

Still sitting the dSLR fence...
Stan

--
srp
Ochenta-Ochenta-WZ
102nd FCAS Member
http://www.pbase.com/akasrp/8080

 

[mskad]

Hi Terry,

Thanks for your inputs. No, I don't have the battery pack and I don't think that the E-1 is slow at AF, only that the D70 is definitly faster and most important to me, the D70 is more accurate.

Did you notice any difference in AF accuracy with the battery pack?

Greetings,

Thank you for the review.....

I may have missed this in your "mini review", but did you have the
external battery pack on the E1. It makes a significant difference
to the auto focus speed of this camera. I have two bodies - only
one is equipped with the battery pack - and when I need auto focus
speed I use the E1 with battery pack, the body without does fine in
most situations. This is not folklore but is pointed-out by
Olympus. That all said, the E1 is not the fastest AF on the block,
with or without the battery pack.

Cheers. Terry.

http://www.terrycioni.com

--
Mskad.

 

[Garry Schaefer]

Hmm...from your description it sounds to me like your meter is working just the way it should. Depending on how much of the image is filled with the black steam locomotives (assuming it is substanitial) the exposure indicated by the meter would tend to render those on the grey side with an overexposed bg, just as it should. To pull the locomotives down to true black a negative exposre compensations would be just the ticket. Same for the red houses but to a lesser degree. After all, the meter's aim is to provide an appropriate exposre assuming the subject is mid grey in its reflectivity. I'm wondering if centre-weighted metering might be superior to matrix metering for the sorts of subjects you have just mentioned. It's what I tend to use on the E-10.

That's so true.

Well, I don't agree. As much as I like my E-1, I don't think the
exposure is very accurate.
It is usually spot on for certain types of subjects, like people
for instance. But there are many subjects where it consistenstly
overexposes or underexposes. I'm talking about the ESP now.
I find that on backlighted subjects it usually blows out the sky.
If you have the sun in your back, it underexposes by 2/3 stop
usually.
Certain subjects ar especially problematic. If you shoot black
steam locomotives, it severly overexposes the background. I've had
to use up to -2.0 steps compensation.
Here in Sweden houses are traditionally dark red. They too cause
the E-1 to overexpose the background. I usually have to dial in
-2/3 stops compensation.

Jörgen

--
Garry

Garry's Page: http://www3.mb.sympatico.ca/~gschaef

 

[mskad]

That's so true.

Well, I don't agree. As much as I like my E-1, I don't think the
exposure is very accurate.
It is usually spot on for certain types of subjects, like people
for instance. But there are many subjects where it consistenstly
overexposes or underexposes. I'm talking about the ESP now.

I only use center weighted metering or spot with the E-1. I don't understand how ESP works and therefore don't use it ;-)

I found that center weighted does a fantastic job of preserving shadow details while avoiding blown highlights with "average" subjects like landscape or portrait.

I find that on backlighted subjects it usually blows out the sky.
If you have the sun in your back, it underexposes by 2/3 stop
usually.
Certain subjects ar especially problematic. If you shoot black
steam locomotives, it severly overexposes the background. I've had
to use up to -2.0 steps compensation.

This is when I use spot metering and/or exposure compensation.

Here in Sweden houses are traditionally dark red. They too cause
the E-1 to overexpose the background. I usually have to dial in
-2/3 stops compensation.

Jörgen

--
Mskad.

 

[Jon Ragnarsson]

I always wanted to do a review like that, good excuse to try out more cameras!

But I wouldn't bet on E-300 having faster focus than the E-1, I think it uses the same focus engine. However, I have found the E-1 focus to be very accurate, either it focuses, or it doesn't.

Today I put the 50-200 to the test, while shooting flying birds, and I was quite surprised how well it followed the birds in AF-C mode under a cloudy skies, I always thought the 50-200 were more sluggish than the 14-54.

Olympus has much to catch up to, Canon and Nikon have so much more exeperience building AF systems, and Nikon focusing system is supposed to be the best anyware.
IMHO, E-1 AF accuracy is good, but it could be faster.

It took some while for me to choose between Fuji S2 and Olympus E-1, it wasn't until I saw the prices in the DX lenses, I crossed the S2 off my list!
J.

I appreciate your objectivity, mskad!

Now, kindly get your hands on an E-300 ASAP and post a three-way
shoot-out! ;-)

If the E-300 can best/equal the D70 in responsiveness (AF speed
etc) I think we may have a hands down winner!

Still sitting the dSLR fence...
Stan

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