Olympus E-420 digital SLR

Sample shots
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The E-420 doesn’t start showing traces of noise until ISO 400 and, even then, it’s not that bad

Our camera came with a 3.2x lens that allowed us to see the three people standing in front of the cathedral at the telephoto setting

Just scroll to the function you want, press OK and then make the adjustment. In other words, it's very easy to change a large number of parameters without wading through a series of fiddly menus. That said, the menu system isn’t bad. You can use the Info button for the Live Shot preview function, which presents you with four thumbnails of the same scene using different white balance and exposure settings.

Select the one you want, and the the E-420 does the rest. In other words, this is a very friendly camera to use and is aimed more at the beginner to DSLR photography than the seasoned pro. In terms of performance, the E-420 switches on quickly (about one second) and shutter lag isn't a problem. We struggled to see what difference the Four-Thirds system made to image quality, and the E-420 is no better or worse than other camera’s we’ve tested without the system.

Colour reproduction was subtle and detail was generally sharp. This is a tweaker’s camera and there are certainly plenty of options for subtly (or not so subtly) adjusting parameters such as colour saturation, contrast and exposure. You might want to use the latter a fair bit because there are times when the auto exposure system presented us with disappointing results.

Verdict

The focus systems worked well, although close-up shooting in the macro mode was a struggle at times, with the E-420 taking quite a while to lock onto the subject. In fact, we weren’t terribly convinced by many of the pre-set modes on offer. Night mode, for instance, produced disappointing results - you’d be better off adjusting the ISO setting than leaving things to the E-420. On the plus side, the continuous shooting mode was fast, responsive and kept fast-moving subjects in focus. And despite the E-420’s small image sensor, noise didn’t start making a noticeable impact until ISO 400, but even then, it was at an acceptable level.