The Olympus Camedia E-10 has been on the market for approximately 3 years and is about to be superceeded by the E-20.Though the E-10 is packed with every feature the serious ameteur could want, it will soon be out of date with the introduction of the E-20, which is more or less an upgraded version of the E-10 (the E-20 has 5 megapixels instead of 4) for the same price around £1200.
The specifications of the E-10 speak for themselves and it is an excellent camera, with a reasonable 4x zoom lens , fully manual controls, and all the advantages of SLR photography.It is however a little slow to write to a normal CFcard ,this can be improved by using a fast CFcard of the professional type for example a 12x or even 40x CFcard. To me a set of fully manual controls is essential to the serious photographer otherwise you have no creative control over the images. The E-10 has all the manual control you could need, and of course a fully automatic setting. The only drawback, and what marks it out from being a fully proffesional SLR is the inability to change the main lens. This has been an off putting feature for professional photographers if you believe what you read in photographic review pages.
There are a limited number of accessories for this camera, the main ones being the 1.5 zoom lens and the 0.8 wide angle, neither producing a dramatic difference to the capabilities of the camera but are worth buying. The 1.5 zoom takes the zoom lens from a 4x to a 6x which is usefull as 4x is rather small for a camera of the E-10s specifications.The only other conversion lens for this camera is the 300m 12x zoom lens which very large, very heavy, and only recommended to serious nature photographers, or perhaps for sports photography as it is very cumbersome and unwieldy, and you would need to be set up somewhere with a tripod to use it.
Battery consumption seems good and can be further improved by switching off the lcd panel if not needed,the camera uses 4 AAs which are cheaper and more convenient than more expensive and heavier LI-ion batteries.
With the E-20 taking its place for the same price, buying a new E-10 would seems unwise. I have a 2nd hand E-10 and can vouch for its build quality and durability as it looks as good as when it was made.
This would be a good camera for somebody who is new to digital SLR photography, if you can get it at a good price. There is no facility for using your existing SLR lenses if you already own an film SLR as the main lens is not removable.
The E-10 is rapidly becoming more available on the 2nd hand market and being so well manufactured have retained their quality and reliability,and represent outstanding value at an average of £300 to £400 at auction sites and 2nd hand shops on the web.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Sounds rather expensive for something so close to obsolete! Sharron xxx
ElizaF 18.02.2004 15:25
This sounds like it may be a good camera for a newbie to digital SLRs to use before they fork out the full whack for the more expensive newer model, would you agree? ;) xx E.
KRISS2 18.02.2004 14:52
the same as below actually. welcome to ciao and have fun here. if you need help just ask, kriss
Advantages: 4-megapixel matrix, looks solid, convenient modification of focal length, universality, much features Disadvantages: IBM Microdrive not supported, some stripes on LCD screen
Advantages: 4-megapixel matrix, looks solid, convenient modification of focal length, universality, much features Disadvantages: IBM Microdrive not supported, some stripes on LCD screen
![Colop E/10 Stamp Pads for S120 Black Ref E/10 [Pack 2]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/95580076.jpg "Colop E/10 Stamp Pads for S120 Black Ref E/10 [Pack 2]")
Feb 18th, 2004
(Feb 27th, 2004)
very helpful by (17%):
helpful by (72%):
somewhat helpful by (11%):
