Before, I bought the E-300,I looked at the other SLR camera's and was impressed by some of them. But, not as impressed by the E-300. The E-300 caught my eye by it's looks and it's functions. Also, all things it can do! Plus it was easy to use! When I first started using the camera I was "VERY" impressed by how well the pictures were coming out. I am pretty impressed with the E-300! I am "GLAD" I choose this camera and I would not trade it in for anythings else.

Nice pictures, good price, bring me total different feeling comparing with my other digi cameras.

I received the Olympus E-300 (EVOLT) for Christmas and I am extremely happy with the camera's performance. The look, the feel, handling, image quality and the many, many features are just what I was looking for in a DSLR. Unlike Canon and the very high-end Nikon 12 Mpixel DSLRs, the Olympus EVOLT uses a CCD focal plane chip rather than a less expensive, noisier CMOS imager chip. The imager chip used is the Kodak KAF8300CE, a high performance CCD. Since one of my intended applications is astrophotography, I am interested in the ultimate in performance from my DSLR. I would recommend this DSLR to anyone interested in having the best!

The purchase was from Adorama by way of Amazon.

I compare the Evolt to the E20, which I owned for several years. In comparison, the Evolt looks like this:
1) Very lightweight.
2) Much higher dynamic range (in RAW), contrast, sharpness, shot to shot speed. No Photoshop sharpening required.
3) The nice E20 Manual/Auto Zoom switch is missing, but can be programed on the OK button.
4) Viewfinder shutter switch missing. Instead a tiny piece of plastic has to be slid manually over the viewfinder.

Really superslow is the solution for viewfinder shutter, which was a switch on the E20. That was excellent if you use it every few second for tripod shots with wired remote. Taking 100 shots in one hour you can just use the switch 100 times to look through the viewfinder. The Evolt on the other hand requires to peel of the rubber ring from the viewfinder and slide on a tiny plastic cover, which also could drop and disappear in the sand in a millisecond. This procedure is not suitable for being done every few seconds over and over again. That limits my usuall way of shooting with a tripod and a wired remote, checking the viewfinder for every shot. This is not possible with this camera the way it comes. But I will make my own viewfinder cover which should be removable in a fraction of a second, and put on again also as quickly, without removing the rubber-eyepiece.

The lens, when fully zoomed out, can be wiggled around for about 1mm in each direction up/down/sideways on the lens hood. This is also different from the E20, where nothing would extend when zooming. Everything happend completly inside and enclosed. I did not see any picture quality issues or dust-proof problems on the Evolt related to this yet.

Olympus reduced the price compared to the E1 to half, in order to enter the amateur market. Therefore they had to reduce production cost and leave out some convenience features, like viewfinder shutter switch, manual/auto-zoom switch, basic information LCD on top of the camera. But they still have dead pixel mapping in the camera menue, which is really good.

RAW to 16bit TIFF conversion is at this point of time in December 2004 only available in the Olympus Studio Software.

Rolf Bertram
www.PhysicalSystems.com

It's got a lot going for it, but no one has seen pictures from a production model yet. See full preview here -

http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/sbryan/reviews/E300preview.htm

When I decided to go fully digital I read every review I could find. Not having $6-7000 to spend I kept it under $2500.

This is the best camera out there in this price range. It is sharper than any of the others. There are minor complaints about color acuracy, but that is a lot easier to fix than lack of sharpness.

Very powerful flash. Amazing for its size.

Nice weight and balance.

If you want a DSLR this is really the best you can get for under
$1000 and that is with 2 lenses.

The E-300 is one outstanding digital camera. I have been doing 35mm for many years, and it was nice to find a digital camera that has the look and feel of a high end 35mm. It even has the sound of the shutter clicking and the film winding sound also. A very easy to use camera, once I figured out the menus. Pictures are outstanding even at the middle of the resolution range. Good job, Olympus! But... I could mention two complaints, neither of which will make me return the camera. One, the camera does have a bit of a problem taking flash pictures in low light conditions. And the other problem, an obvious money-grubbing device (Bad Olympus!), the AC adapter that sells for $130 or so could be replaced by any $10 wall wart, except for that little proprietary connector on the camera. Come on, Olympus, what's up with that?

Hey guess who!? The sinister minister with yet another Digicam review!Well the E300 brings my camera count up to 5 and it may very well decrease it. I have by nature been very weary of the digital SLR's even though I sell tons of them every week, I have used the Canon XT and 20D, and the Nikon D70, consistantly. I have demonstrated them untill I can set one up in my sleep, and as fast and advanced as they may seem I just couldn't get past thier hefty price tags.But then here comes the E300, the first thing you notice about this camera is it looks like no other SLR on the market, it almost like a stealth camera! Size wise it compares pretty evenly with its counterparts, however it is somewhat lighter. Unlike the Rebel XT however this camera is built like a tank, with a good solid hand grip, and a textured metal body. That aside the main thing that attracted me to this camera was the fact that it uses Digital Zuiko lenses, each lens has its own processor! How cool is that! Not to mention the benefits you get when reading light or getting in focus. And to top that off they are sanely priced!! Now the most important feature of any camera my friends is what you buy it for, and that is pictures! The E-300 takes amazing pictures! It takes them fast, clear, and in just about any light situation you can think of. Oh and by the way? thats before you even start to mess around with the settings! Lets talk about a few: ISO: Neat feature the E300 has is a thing called "ISO Boost" you can switch the 2 highest ISO settings on or off (800 & 1600)! Noise in this department was pretty darn good until you shoot at 1600 then it gets a bit spooky, there aren't many cameras that don't (believe me) even the 20D you fantasize about takes a crappy shot with the ISO cranked up! Shutter speeds are about even with most other SLRs, and it even has an 8 minute "Bulb" mode (Hooray) but you have to hold the shutter button down (BOO).Menues: This camera has the coolest, and easiest to use damn menu system I have ever seen! I love it I was running thru things like I had owned the camera for years after just a few minutes, Nothing like the Canons (some things on those I still can't find!!) 8MP: my favorite resolution! I own 4 8MP cameras and I love every one of them! I well tell you now what I tell all my customers at Bestbuy anything over 8MP is a waste of money and time, I think even 8MP is more than most people need.5MP is average 6 is just stupid, 7MP is a good point and shoot. But SLRs need to be at least 8MP (hello Nikon?) The lens ranges work so well with that resolution anything less is really an injustice (I think).Scene Modes: Yes the E-300 has a ton of them (see spec's above) including the "Sunset Mode" (I love Nikon's)This is almost as good although a little too red at times. I haven't had the camera long so I haven't had the chance to run thru them all, but the ones I have used have all been right on the money. Speed: well okay this one has to go to the 20D, speed wise the E-300 is about par, but it's not gonna win any races about 4 frames at 2.5 sec for as long as the shutter is pressed.White balance features are excellent in this camera ranging from auto to 3000k all the way up to 7500k in addition to 4 spaces for custom settings (nice job Olympus).Full AF or manual focus modes as well as several combinations of the two! Flash: the E-300 probably has the best on board flash of any camera I have ever used, and without a doubt the most versitile as far as being able to control intensity, speed, etc. I actually like using it (Normally I hate flash photography). Huge selection of Image formats: this camera will save your pictures in at least 20 different files types and resolutions, not to mention you can completely edit Raw image files directly within the camera! Exsposure, contrast, sharpness the whole deal right on board. Battery life is excellent being as good as my F-828 at 230-220 minutes.Micro-drive capable, and I absolutely love the Zuiko lenses.I have to admit I never thought I would own an Olympus let alone one of thier SLRs, Olympus has a tendency to cut on quality when it comes to thier lower end models the people that own em love em. However I have always heard that Olympus high end cameras are among the best. After using the E-300 I would agree WOW!.This camera has so many other benifits and features that I can't go into here, so check your online review sources and make up your own mind. As I said I am a professional photographer and I sell cameras and aside from some bells and whistles, speed you'll never use, the E-300 is everybit as good a digital SLR camera as its Canon and Nikon counterparts (more so in some ways)The biggest being price!
I added another lens to mine and a Microdrive (4gb) and a Canon would have still cost me more, and I'd still be lost in those menus!Want my advice? Put the E-300 on your short list and decide based on picture and price, not speed. Weather its film or digital, photography has always been about the pictures, SLR's by nature take amazing photographs, is it really worth it to have to take on a second job just to pay for it!? I hope this helps somewhat, after I have used the camera a while I may offer an update, until then Happy shooting!

Well, where does one start? Ok, I am for the record not a professional. I have been shooting photos for some 45 years however. I have in the past had a Kodak Retina ( still do with every attachment ever made for the camera in mint condition), a Nikon F1, Cannon AE1, Olympus OM1. I always enjoyed existing light and time exposures, and have even won some small awards and have been published in the past ( nothing really all that noteworthy). When I shot tons of 35 mm film I enjoyed special effects using various filters, slow shutter for motion ( pan motorcycles, race cars, action sport sceens etc). A few years ago I stopped shooting 35mm as my first choice and entered the digital age. Mainly for the simplicity. I bought a hot ( for the time ) Nikon 990. Problem was, battery life and while the photos were ok it was just a point and shoot camera, all creativity was gone.
Now comes the Olympus Evotl E-300! I looked at the Cannon 20D, and the Nikon D70, and even the Sony DSC F828, (I did not like looking through a small TV screen on the F828). The Olympus won me over with some neat features on the E-300 that I really liked. First the size, and feel. It is compact while at the same time has the look and feel of a "real" camera. It's so easy to use that I bought it one day, and that night went down town to see what it would do in my old love that I had missed - existing light. Wow, is all I can say. I got shots I would have had problems with a high grade 35 mm. I used the "scenes" function and found it to be right on the money with each shot. Before sunset I got a chance to use the "portrait" scene function and got fantastic results. The back ground was in fact slightly out of focus just as I would have wanted by using the depth of field on my old 35 mm cameras. I switched the camera to fully manual and took a number of night shots, all came out fine. I found that I could hold the camera for some very long exposires by hand ( 1 sec or more). I think this may be due to the fit and feel of the camera. She just fits in your hand and holding steady is not a problem. Also all the controls are right there and easy to figure out. Please note that I bought the camera, and that night was using the darn thing in near total darkness. I did not have time to read and study the manual. It's simply that easy to use. The format of the information is simple and well placed on the camera for easy use.
The second day ( I still have not charged the battery) I took a trip around Guam. (Here for business.) There are some really gorgeous scenes on Guam if you know where to look. Beach scenes, palm trees, large green rolling hills and a multitude of other neat items like old WWII relics in the jungle came out crisp and clear. I use the B/W function and at the same time upped the saturation and contrast for some very interesting back lit dramatic subjects. I left the contrast and saturation on high for some very blue skies and some very white clouds., the prints came out looking like post cards! The shore line shots came out well with this combination as well. Then at sunset I had to try the "sunset" function. I got some very amazing sunset shots with palm trees shadowed in the foreground. I only wish Olympus would have also put a "sunrise" option on the camera, as I think it would also do well there. ( ok, guys... I'm kidding. And little humor here).
I've been running each program on the camera, using the A, S, and Program settings. I've stopped down and up for highlight and back lit subjects, used the close up function, action shot function, etc. In the old days we may shoot some 36-50 shots and have 4-5 that came out the way we wanted. In using my E-300 I have just put some 55 shots on a CD and I'd estimate at least 75% -80% of them are even better than anticipated. I'm sure this is due to the fact that during the day one can simply delete and shoot again for a better photo. I should also mention that I am shooting on a lower than highest quality due to my need to email the photos. Even with the lower setting of some 3.6 - 4.3 megs the photos are sharp, clear and detailed of likes I have never seen from a digital camera.
I've printed some of the photos out on photo paper at 8x10 inches and posted them on my office wall. More than one person has commented on the great photos... they really look great, such detail and again I am not even on the highest setting!

In short I am more than impressed with the camera. I would not dream of sending it back. She is a very high quality camera, and in the 48 hrs of its use I have come to love it! It's simply in a word........fantastic!

Some concerns ( compaints is simply to harsh a word for this camera).
I'd like to see all DSLR makers give you at least one small recording card with the camera for taking photos. For near $1000.00 we can't even be able to save one photo? Come on.
I do not like that fact that there is no way to take a time exposure with some sort of cable or electrical control. I suppose the remote takes care of this? Don't know, but I intend to get the remote and see if in fact the camera can take time exposures on a tripod for times of 2-4-8 etc seconds.

While the other cameras I looked at are also high quality cameras, and I'm sure they all take great photos. I cannot recommend the E-300 enough. It is one of the few times in life I have parted with a moderate sum $1000.00 ( +/-) and after the fact pleased by the transaction. Not unlike a fine car, or a very expensive dinner out on the town... as long as the quality is there you don't mind parting with the green at the end of the day. My purchase of this camera is a high point in my love of photo taking. Buy one, and I doubt you will be disappointed!

I'll make this very short. I really like this camera and everyone here posts many positive features so I am only going to feature the few drawbacks. I think that it should come with a faster lens, at least f/2.5, I mean come on how are you going to use the 1/4000 sec. with this lens. Coming out of sleep mode is not instant! I expected it to be and I missed a shot because of it. Whatever happened to the hour long shutter speeds? I get a max. of 8 minutes on BULB - meaning I have to hold the button down, 30 sec. by itself. Plugging the camera in through the USB corrupted images on my disk - maybe a problem with my camera only. Also the whole 800 1600 ISO thing, but who cares...

Pros-
No need for a Macro lens, with 8MP you can get as close as you want. Excellent program mode. As a matter of fact, all pre-programmed exposures are excellent. Battery life 550+ pics with around 60% flash use. Auto-white balance is of superior quality. 2.5 fps seems slow at first when compared to the 8 fps of other cameras, but in the field, it's plenty.

Additional batteries are cheap - buy from a British dealer on eBay for around 9 GBP or $16 including shipping. I got my camera on eBay for $645 brand new in box with warranty cards. Also purchased a hotshoe to PC-sync adapter for around 15 AUD or $11 including shipping. Also a step up ring adapter to use my 67mm filters on this camera with 58mm lenses.

These few drawbacks are not enough to keep you from saving $800-900 off of the Canon 20D for the same image quality!

This is the latest in my journey through Olympus Digital Cameras
(D340R, 460,560,2020z, 5060 -- some of which I have reviewed on Amazon). The choice of the E-300, used for some commerical work I do, was not so easy because I have a bag full of Pentax K lenses and was mightily tempted by the Pentax digitals. But, having batteries, familiarity with the menu system, and really very good experience with Olympus products and service over the years, I took the plunge and got the E-300 and its kit lens. Then got a K mount adapter for my Pentax lenses and set to work.

Ok, there are some quirks and I will get them out of the way:

- a slight magenta cast to some greens, easily fixed in post-processing or fiddling with WB, and the noise reduction system can just slightly dull grass in photos, also easily fixed

- now and then a bright spot will fool exposure slightly when using the full screen sensor (I've learned to use the center-weighted and spot meters to take care of this)

- I am not overly impressed by the lcd, which doesn't seem to have the brilliance of the one on my 5060.

- I wish Oly had added an xD slot for those of us with a collection of these cards, purchased for use with older models

Now to some good stuff:

- don't worry about some reviews claiming the camera is noisey and doesn't like 800/1600 ISO. I get fine results, which are easily fine tuned in Photoshop Elements, Neat Image or other programs, and which can be helped mightily by using a wide aperture prime lens at 400.

- colors are brilliant and resolution sharp

- the Oly jpg algorithms are very good, meaning that for most 'normal' shooting one can be perfectly happy using the best HQ mode -- lots of testing on my part discerns very little visible difference with SHQ. This is good to know when traveling or when you want to keep some disc space; triage carefully when you see that once in a lifetime shot coming and then use the highest modes

- Raw is very good but by all means avoid the Olympus Master converter, which is terribly unintuitive, in favor of Adobe's.

- battery life is excellent with the BLM1 battery (and yes, you can get good backups on that auction site for less than ten dollars each; and they work just fine); I've only run one battery down all the way and that was with multiple in camera editing and a download of 150 shots via USB.

- flash is fine (though watch lens hood shadowing at highest aperture); I've supplemented with the FL-36 and FL-20, both of which work flawlessly, even for the brain dead like me. Like many cameras this one will occasionally underexpose so I generally program the flash for a little extra oomph.

- the camera feels rugged and well made; a little tank that feels good in one's hand and thanks to lack of prism on top slides easily into a small bag.

- the kit lens is really quite fine

- K lenses, including a Tokina ATX telephoto zoom work easily and brilliantly, as does an OM lens with adapter.

-even for the 'advanced' among us, it is good to have the range of scene modes on this camera. They work.

-vastly improved instruction manual.

-burns very quickly, even to standard CF cards.

-finally, this thing really keeps dust off the sensor. I'm constantly fiddling between lenses in very different environmental situations and have yet to see a spec. Yes, some appear on the outer mirror, but that is easily and harmlessly cured.

Olympus does not have the cache or marketing power of Nikon and Canon. And the sensor on this 4/3d's camera is smaller than those on its main competitors. Yet, I find it to be a solid and
unflashly product in line with most Oly cameras I have owned. This company is good at miniaturization, glass, and compression algorithms. If you need it Oly service is excellent (quick and friendly as I found out when I screwed up something in my 5060, also a superb camera).

I'm sure that there are fine photos to be had with any of the major dslr's on the market and not having a lot of comparative experience with other brands probably don't know what I am missing. But if you want an elegant workhorse with high resolution and brilliant photos give this one a careful look.

While I wouldn't consider the E-300 a direct competitor to the EOS20 (much more expensive)its performance is a little behind the REBELXT in some aspects (burst capacity & images@ISO800+) IT IS ALSO HUNDRED$ LESS.
For most uses, this camera provides essentially the same performance as its pricier competitors!
I recently upgraded to the E-300 from the C-8080WZ (an incredible/versatile workhorse)and have been quite impressed with the nicer features present in the E-300.
Major noticeable differences between the C-8080 and E-300: Zoom control(mechanical ring)!!, Shutter Release speed, speedier autofocus, CF write speed!!!, speed in working with RAW files, 10+ excellent preset scene shooting modes (Sunset, Night, Fireworks, Beach/snow,...) to help even a beginner produce great looking images.

In short, this is a great camera for the money (~$800) but if you are really picky or you want lots of high ISO shots you'd be happier spending $200 more for a bit nicer camera.

They were sending out the OM system adapter (so you can use your existing OM lenses with this camera) since the release of the digital system, upon request (for free). After waiting a week for mine they called and left a message that said this adapter isn't available and will not be made any more. They said I would have to find a (non-existant as far as I know) 3rd party adapter to do the job. So I am just out of luck.

The customer service is extremely disappointing. I choose this camera because of this OM compatibility, since I have cameras, lenses, and accessories that I acquired over the past 30 years for that system. If I wanted to start over I would probably go with the Canon, since they have a longer track record on AF and digital cameras, plenty of available used equipment, and more 3rd party support.

The camera itself is nice if you don't care about the lens compatibility. I have not compared it to Canon or Nikon so I can't say which is better... but the design of the Olympus is very good. You can easily control exposure and the like without using menus at all.

I would give the camera itself 5 stars and the company 0 stars for boneheaded decisions that are not in their best interest.

I've shot extensively with my D70, which I love, but this new E300 just feels better, especially considering the fact that I have the extra battery grip which was/is sorely missed for the D70. I purchased the two lens kit, and for those of you debating between the two cameras (or the 3, if you're looking at the Canon as well) with a budget in mind you will love your purchase.

I have been shooting for 15 years now and have been through many cameras, film and digital, and I can honestly say that this Olympus is fantastic. Images are flawless.

As a long time Olympus I'm very pleased with the company's digital SLR. I own OM1, OM2 and OM4T film SLRs, but the E300 is going to cause all of these cameras to gather dust. The feel of the camera is solid, the turn on time is almost instantaneous and the focusing is lightning fast. The photos I've taken so far have been excelent in detaila nd color accuracy. I've blown one shot up to poster size with no problems.

The downloading software is nothing special, but get a card reader and don't even be bothered with the software driven downloads.

I recomend the E300 to anyone that is serious about their equipment and wants accurate and highly detailed photos. It's a steal at the current price.

Just purchased an Olympus E300 Evolt camra. I was a faithful customer of the Plympus for many yers. Own large professional digital camera produced by Olympus in cooperation with Optronix, owned E-10 and E-20, besides working professionally on Olympus microscopes. I was always very happy and satisfied with quality and reliability of Olympus products, that's why I am still in schock that E-300 Evolt was such a disappointment. In fact, it was more like a slap on the face when I opened a bag, pulled out a camera and read a reasonably large tag "Made in China". Sorry, Olympus, but you just lost a very faithful customer. I am not going to rely on Chinese-manufactured camera in the remote parts of the world and extreme conditions, where I took most of many thousands of my photos. Yes, it is a fast camera and the quality is adequate when you use ISO 100 to 400. When it comes up to 800 or 1600 it is virtually unusable. The noise pixels become annoyingly obvious and ruin the image. I hope, OLympus that you will come up with better product in Evolt E500, but, PLEASE, make and assemble it in Japan......

Excellent camera. Easy to learn and operate. Excellent picture quality. Purchased the Olympus name because of previous experience with Olympus cameras (OM10 SLR)and was not disappointed.

It has been about 2 weeks that I have received my camera. I am a novice, this camera takes great pictures,very easy to use, it is built very tough and feels great holding it. I will highly recommend it.

I had a C-3000Z Oly, good pictures and durability, but slow and you can find only 128M Smart Media Card in the market, no more, then I decided to change: Canon?, Nikon?, Konica? mmmm Olympus!
This is my first Digital SLR Camera,so I`m studying this product and benefits, in the future, I`ll have a concrete opinion about this, but is there a small, thin and lite SLR Digital Camera like the SP-350 and SP-500 UZ Oly ??
If you want to know about E300 Oly "in lab and test" visit:
[...]

i did lots of researching, internet and stores, on most of the novice friendly slrs's out there. i really wanted the canon rebel xt because it's the lightest one out there and pretty sharp looking. when i was unwilling to pay the price i took a serious look at the olympus e300. it's not as pretty as the rebel but there are still many reasons to love this camera! i actually like that it looks like the cameras of yester-year! kind of clunky but has all the great new digital features we're all yearning for now. i love that it can be completely manual, totally automatic and anywhere in between. i love the fact that you can buy just the body, the body with one lens or the body with 2 lenses. it's always been a pain even with the 35mm's that you have to get each component like the filters and flash but we should all be used to that by now! i've only owned the camera for a couple of weeks so i haven't yet explored all the possiblities but just tinkering with it i have taken some pretty good shots. it's a pretty cool camera.
ps - batteries, flashes, oem cases can all be checked out at e-bay. i got some pretty good deals on the accessories.

This is a solid camera. Feels great in the hands and takes pretty pictures. The viewfinder is a little dim and focusing can be tricky at times with the included lenses. The menus are easy to navigate and the buttons are layed out very well. It is a good camera for novice and pros alike.

The E-300 is so intuitive and easy to use. Physically it feels so much better than the Rebel or the comparative Nikon. The rubber-coated aluminum chasis and smooth-working controls make it hard to put down. I recommend buying several 1Gig cards for it though. This weekend I took some autumn portraits of my cousin and his wife at the park. Using .tif and no compression, I only got 34 pics! I had to field delete some. I love it. I am planning the next session already.

New to the digital SLR world, even a novice like me has figured out what all the little buttons & doo-dads are for. I have uploaded our pictures from our vacation & was amazed at the quality and how beautiful they came out. The little screen on the camera has great quality & detail for the size. Can't wait to become a pro with this little pint-sized powerhouse!

This is a heads up to Amazon customers interested in purchasing an Olympus E Volt 300. It could be a great camera but it has a serious design flaw that should make you pause and consider the competition before buying. The remote release (RM-CB 1) will not plug into the camera body. You have to buy this HLD-3 "adapter" for almost $100 just to "adapt" the remote release to the camera body. Couple that "surpise" with the $75 or so for the RM-CB 1 remote release and one is faced with $175+ just for a remote shutter release. What adds insult to injury is that the "adapter" is really "clunky" on top of that. Check out what the competition has to offer before you purchase the Olympus E Volt 300.

Before buying the Evolt 300, I read numerous reviews on it and D-SLR cameras from Nikon, Canon, Sigma and Fujifilm with similar features.

Bottom line consensus: The Evolt 300 is a technically sound and accomplished D-SLR which delivers quality photographs comparable to the Nikon D70 and superior to the Canon Digital Rebel XT.

So far, so good.

I then visited various dealers--from dedicated photoshops to Best Buy and Circut City--so that I could see and handle each of the cameras in my price / feature range: ~$800 to ~$1400, 6+ megapixels, decent selection of lenses. (I purchased the camera @ Adorama Camera via Amazon).

Unlike the similarly priced Nikon D50 and the Canon XT, the Evolt 300 does not feel or handle like a cheap plastic toy. Score 1. if I'm spending a considerable amount of money on a D-SLR, I want a certain degree of ruggedness. This is a well-made camera.

I narrowed my choices down to the Nikon D70, the Evolt 300 and the Canon EOS 20D. If money were no object, I'd say buy the Canon EOS 20D.

Likewise, the Nikon D70 makes good sense if you have compatible Nikon lenses. But otherwise it simply doesn't outperform the Evolt 300 to justify the cost difference.

I went with the Evolt 300 with the dual Zuiko lenses. (The package listed above). Even with the FL-36 Flash and extra battery, I still kept the entire package price under $1000.

I've been using the camera consistently for the past two months since relocating to Senegal. No problems.

If I can take the word of others, the photos --not in terms of art but image quality-- are outstanding.

I generally shot in RAW and can go through 4+ gigs before worrying about the battery. To date, I've used most of the programmable features--including autobracketing for exposure and white balance. All work as advertised. Likewise, the different scence modes also very good. (One exception noted below).

Three compliants, the last minor.

1. Although this camera does allow both manual focus and auto focus with manual fine-tuning, the Zuiko lenses simply don't respond well to manual focus. For certain macro shots (those with tricky backgrounds), you have play around a good bit just to get the subject in focus. Dialing to manual and handtuning -- which should solve the problem-- almost a waste of time.

2. Olympus has it's own version of RAW-- .orf. ORF requires a plugin for Photoshop 7 and lower (I don't know about Photoshp CS). Although RAW offers great editing options, the ORF version is a pain to work with, loads much slower, and can't be previewed except by using Olympus Master software. Given the amount of photos I shot, ORF has added hours of processing time over what the standard RAW files would. This I'm less than thrilled with.

3. You'll either love or hate the sunset mode. I really don't care for the way it turns the horizon Martian orange. I want the deep blues, reds and purples that I see -- and not bad postcard melodrama. When I now shoot sunsets or oceanscapes at dusk, I do so NOT using the sunset mode.

Bottom line:
No regrets whatsoever about this purchase. I am very happy with my Evolt 300 which has already seen a great deal of use under less than ideal conditions. The camera is technically solid, easy-to-use, and comes with many strong basic and advanced features. Just excellent value for price. So far, great fun too.

This is a great camera for someone who is getting used to a dSLR. It has a ton of features and excellent image quality without having to spend lots of money. I have bought several accessories and have been very happy with the quality of Olympus. I have taken many great pictures and got rid of my old canon after this.

What I liked about this camera is that it is fairly easy to use and has several good options, such as candle lighting, which can make for some nice low-light photos with warmer tones. If you are not a fan of the washed-out flourescent or flash bulb lighting, you might like this feature. Outdoor photos were crisp and rendered fairly accurate colors. What I did not like about the camera, though, is that the autofocus on the zoom lens is horribly slow, making it almost impossible to use in rooms that are not well lit. The regular lens is not great with this either. In low-light there is a significant amount noise, and the flash is not very powerful, so I would recommend buying a seperate one. Also, in the white areas of several photos the camera placed white dots on the brightest spots, such as the whites of eyes and teeth. This was very annoying and time- consuming to correct in photoshop. The last feature I did not like is the bulky design and weight of the camera. This is definitely not a camera to travel with.

There are fine reviews already written about this product. All of them are true from my experience. This is simply a great product and a great price.

A strong body, amazing picture quality, very less delay in transferring images to the storage. The leses come with the camera is good enough for most of the cases.

There is a lot to learn, which is same in most of the SLR cameras. But this camera gives several pre programmed options which is good for starters.

I had difficulty taking portraints indoor. That may be the only thing which worries me. But I found this is common in many cameras. It requires appropritae lighting.

Also do not buy this camers to take indoor (birthday, parties etc..) photography. Use point and shoot cameras for that.... But outdoor, this one is truly a great camera.

Being my first SLR, this camera is one heck of a good investment! Now I know why so many people talks about the difference, that robust-feeling of holding a well-made SLR compared to even the most expensive point-and-shoot cameras.

With all the reviews here a lot has been said already about this camera. I'd add to those by pointing out one of my favorite feature of this camera: 8 Mpixels!

A lot of people say that 8 MP is not a biggie compared to the 6 MP of the other more famous (pricier) SLR's, but it really helps me to hone my composition skills. How? I just took the pictures and later I study which part of the picture is better so I can learn to compose better for my future shots. If you have only 6 MP to play with, you don't have many leeways in cropping, but with 8 MP, you can do a lot of what-if crops.

Of course, I also have to affirm most of the reviews here that Olympus is as good as and in cases, superior to those big-names SLR's in the only term that matters to me: image quality.

Oh, for reference, I shoot natural landscapes, flowers, and of course, my toddler :)

I'm a photographer, i have this camera and a Rebel XT by Canon, Before switching to digital from film i did my research, i've always used PC World Magazine as my bible for purchasing any type of computer euipment, cameras or software. when i read their review of the Olumpus E300 i was impressed. so i purchased one. Again they have not let me down. Its easy to use, The photos are crisp and clear and the feel of the camera makes you aware that your holding a camera not a toy. theres one review here that bothers me, its almost as if someone from Olumpus's competetion. Neverthe less for the price this camera stands up to any of the competetion. i've compared it to my canon and my best friends Nikon d70..if your looking for an inexpensive but great quality camera..check this one out..

I love this camera, it photographs great, it has great lenses. Now the great thing about this camera is that you can pick the types of photographic scenes you'll be taking in automatic setup or you can customize scene exposures and other photography features like in the oldschool 35mm cameras did such as so you can get streak in lights and other effects that the old film cameras were able to do. The pictures come out superbly.

The only negetive I have to say is, the manual could use a little improvement and their is a sound when you photograph that's it. If you can live with those two faults, then its an awesome camera to get.

Merry x-mas

I bought this camera in September of 2005. In the last year and a half it has served me very well. I have taken 7500 pictures and the camera is going strong! I have taken pictures in all settings, light and dark, bright light and shadow, and the photos turn out nicely. Very little editing is required, if any, to have a great looking shot.

Pros:
-Solid, aluminum body
-Strong built-in flash
-Great picture quality
-Easy to use menu
-Both lenses perform well. Both focus quickly and the zoom on both is smooth and performs almost to perfection.
-Battery life is superb. Even when using the flash I have gotten over 500 shots on a single charge. Up to 850 without the flash.
-Manual mode is easy to switch to and works well.
-The many different scene modes come in handy.
-There are many different picture quality settings that allow you to fine tune to just the exact setting you want.
-ISO 100-400 provide great shots, 800 is slightly noisy, and 1600 (with noise reduction) is okay, but almost unusable unless you absolutely have to have a shot.
-I have used the camera to take 350 consecutive shots, just holding the shutter button, and I had no problems with buffering. That worked flawlessly.

Cons:
-Occasionally the camera will have problems focusing in very dark situations (almost night) and the flash will strobe to find an object to focus on. I personally turn this feature off and usually focusing is okay.
-I'm not very impressed with the Olympus Camedia software; therefore, I don't use it unless I am updating the firmware for the camera. Windows XP handles the camera just fine and that it was I use for transferring images.
-Limited availability of aftermarket lenses and flashes. They are available, but are over-priced.

Overall, I have been very impressed with the camera. You can not beat to quality of the pictures and camera for the price. I have used both the Nikon D70 and Canon 20D and I prefer the Olympus over them both. The build quality of the Olympus far outweigh both of the others. I would recommend this camera to anyone interested in a digital SLR!

I was very exctied to receive this item, as it was a valentines day gift for my wife, until she tried to use it, so far its been in twice for repair for the same problem, the lenses will not focus. I'm not sure if this is the fault of the manufaturer or not, but I am giving the store the benefit of the doubt and giving them 5 stars, this is for price of this item, and the quickness in which I received it.

Fantastic camera. I've been able to take some great shots with this baby and have had no problems. I'm using PNY Optima Pro 2GB CompactFlash 133X (20MB/Sec Read/Wrte Speed) Flash Memory Card P-CF2GB-133W-DVDC for memory (About 950 pics on HQ) and my time between shots is less than a sec. I don't even notice anytime between shots really. I've has some fun using OM1 lens with this body thanks to the Olympus OM Lens to Olympus 4/3 System Camera Body Adapter, if your interested in using an OM lens with the 4/3 body let me tell you it works beautifully. Battery last really long I've been taking between 300-600 shots a day on the one battery and still had tons of juice left. [...] Ease of use is great with only a small learning curve. I highly recommend looking at Olympus when it come time to buy a DSLR and the E-300 is def a fav of mine.