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Olympus E-10 A 4 megapixel sensor and unique SLR optics make for a major coup for Olympus! (Final review, based on full-production model.) Select a topic Reference: Datasheet E10 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Video, Power, Software :(Previous) | (Next): Reference: Datasheet>> Page 12:Test Results & Conclusion Review First Posted: 1/26/2001

Test Results
In keeping with our standard policy, our comments here are rather condensed, summarizing our key findings. For a full commentary on each of the test images, see the Olympus E-10 SLR's "pictures" page.

As with all Imaging Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how well the devices performed. Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how well the Olympus E-10 performed, and how its images compare to other cameras you may be considering buying.

First, we should note that the E-10 evaluation unit we worked with was a prototype, so we won't over-examine the camera's color performance. Olympus told us that they figured there'd be about two rounds of further tweaking on the color between the unit we worked with and the final production models. Despite the early status of the unit we tested though, we felt the E-10 actually showed pretty good color.

Overall, the E-10 did an excellent job, handling some of our most difficult light sources very well. We shot with the manual and Kelvin white balance options during most of our testing, which did a very nice job of interpreting the light source and producing an accurate white value. Despite the camera's prototype status, the E10 reproduced the large color blocks in the Davebox test target reasonably well, and tonal handling looked very good, as the subtle tonal variations of the Q60 target were visible up to the "B" range, and shadow detail was excellent as well. The tonal gradations of the gray scales on our test target were clearly visible quite far into the extreme shadow end, the E-10 barely managing to discriminate between the two darkest steps in the large Kodak gray scale. (This is fairly unusual, most digicams stop a step or two short of the very bottom of that scale.)

As you'd expect, given its 4 megapixel sensor, the E-10 did very well on our resolution test. For now, we took just a single shot in wide-angle mode (generally the best focal length for a zoom lens, we'll fill in with a full resolution series once we get our hands on the production model). The results were very impressive: In the horizontal direction, the E-10 resolved a good 850 lines per picture height before showing any trace of aliasing, and detail was clearly visible well beyond 1000 lines. Vertically the numbers were a bit lower, but still very good, with the first indication of aliasing appearing at about 770 lines per picture height, and good detail visible out to around 950.

The E-10 offers a full range of exposure control, with Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual exposure modes available. The user also has control over flash mode, metering, exposure compensation, ISO, AE Lock, sharpness, contrast, and white balance. The E-10's low-light performance was outstanding, as we obtained bright, useable images as low as 1/16 of a foot candle (0.67 lux). Noise levels stayed very low at all three ISO settings, although the 320 ISO setting did produce a slightly higher noise level (but it's very fine-grained and surprisingly minimal). (We direct readers to Mike Chaney's excellent Qimage Pro program, for a tool with an amazing ability to remove image noise without significantly affecting detail.) We also noticed that the 160 and 320 ISO settings produced slightly warm images, but the 80 ISO setting resulted in a more true color balance. To put the E-10's low light performance into perspective, an average city night scene under modern street lighting corresponds to a light level of about one foot candle. Out of curiosity, we also shot with the camera's Bulb setting, using a 30 second shutter speed under the light of a full moon: We were absolutely amazed with the results, which looked like the image was shot in daylight, although noise was rather high in the 30 second ISO 320 exposure.

We found the E-10's SLR optical viewfinder to be just a little tight, with the frame accuracy varying slightly with image size. At the 2240 x 1680 resolution size, the optical viewfinder showed about 92.9 percent of the final image area at wide angle, and about 94.7 percent at telephoto. At the smaller 1280 x 960 resolution size, the optical viewfinder showed about 93.7 percent of the final image area at wide angle, and about 95.5 percent at telephoto. We found similar results with the LCD monitor, which also varied in accuracy with the resolution size. The 2240 x 1680 size resulted in approximately 92.9 percent accuracy at wide angle, and about 94.5 percent at telephoto. The 1280 x 960 image size resulted in about 93.6 percent accuracy at wide angle, and about 95.4 percent at telephoto. Since we generally like to see LCD monitors as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, the E-10 does a pretty good job, and overall performs about as well as most 35mm film-based SLRs.

The E-10 did an excellent job in the macro category, capturing a minimum area of just 2.88 x 2.16 inches (73.03 x 54.77mm). Detail and resolution both look great, though the printing detail on the dollar bill is just a little soft, which we think was because we got a little too close to the subject for the lens to focus. The E-10's built-in flash does a good job of throttling down for the macro area, though it's tricked by the shiny coin just a little.

Overall, we were very impressed with the performance of our prototype model of the Olympus E-10 SLR. Color balance was surprisingly good for a model this early in its development cycle, and the camera's white balance system does a good job with most light sources. The manual white balance option in particular was very effective at dealing with tough lighting conditions. The camera's low-light performance is very commendable, especially with the very low noise levels the camera achieves for very long exposures. Add to this the E-10's great macro performance and extensive exposure controls, and you have a very worthy pro-level digicam.


Conclusion
With its true 4.0 megapixel CCD, extensive exposure control, SLR format, and advanced lens design, the Olympus E-10 carves out new territory on the boundary between the professional and advanced-amateur digicam markets. With a selling price thousands less than all of its competitors in the professional SLR world, it also offers higher resolution than anything within five times its cost. As an added bonus, Olympus' use of metal castings and other metal components to heat-sink the CCD appears to have paid real dividends in the form of reduced CCD noise on long exposures. Our review of the production model confirmed our early experience with a prototype: The E-10 has all the earmarks of a world-beater. Very highly recommended!