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.
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I just thought I would provide an update for anyone who runs across one of these now ancient cameras. The bottom line is that though I have two other Oly dslr's (E-510m, and E-330) I continue to have serious attachment to this camera, which is now my 'car camera' sitting in a bag through heat and cold, with a set of 'backup' lenses. With some tweaking of the camera's color settings --slight increases in contrast and saturation -the colors are amazing, the best I think of any of my cameras. There's just something about the sensor. My favorite combo is the camera and the very small and light Oly 14-42. It focuses quickly and accurately, and just feels great in the hand. Of course, some caveats. No image stabilization. Don't get too serious above ISO 400. But sometimes we get too, too spoiled by the latest and greatest. This isn't one of those cameras, but it keeps one thinking seriously about photography, reminds me that for generations pros used cameras much more simple than this to create great images.
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