By Dr. Gonzo

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Software

The package comes with a CD containing the USB drivers, Camedia Utility software and a PDF software manual. It also contains a copy of Photoshop LE. Incidentally, the box comes with THREE full-size camera manuals in three different languages. Anyway I can't comment on the Camedia software because I don't use it. Apparently, it contains some image viewer/cataloging/editing tools. If you have Photoshop and an image organizer utility, I'd suggest skipping the Camedia stuff and just installing the USB drivers.

The E-10 is recognized as a "bulk only USB drive" when drivers are installed, and shows up as a "removable disk" when connected in sync mode and turned on. The transfer rate through the USB, I would estimate, is between 1MB and 2MB/sec.

I am not going to go into detail about the basics of using this camera or its features. I could never hope to touch the thoroughness of Phil Askey's E-10 review at DPReview.com. So go read that if you want those gory details. What I will do, however, is list the E-10's pros and cons, as I see it.

PROS:

• Build Quality -- This is one area where the E-10 stands out. The build is rock solid. There is no other way to describe it. Most lesser cameras feel like toys by comparison. The tolerances are tight, no squeaks and rattles, smooth movement of all controls, positive stops on the dials, well-located buttons that click sharply. The zoom control is very smooth but will not change setting unless you move it.
• Ergonomics -- This camera is pure joy to hold. The grip is a friendly rubberized material, and it is well-coutoured and although it is thick, those with small hands do not seem to have a problem holding it. Most controls that have to do with shooting and image review can be reached easily and naturally while holding the camera. No awkward positions that tempt droppage.
• Image quality -- The 4 megapixel CCD provides quite a bit of detail as one might expect, and the lens is surely up to the task. The colors are faithfully reproduced, no false oversaturation. There is considerable dynamic range in the photos (more than just about everything else out there besides the Fuji S1) and as a result, some tweaking in Photoshop can bring details and color out of almost pitch blackness in some low-light photos.
• Photographic speed/quality
-- In terms of shooting actual pictures, the E-10 handles like a film SLR. The zoom is excellent, the AF is fast and sharp in just about all situations, the shutter lag almost imperceptible. The drive mode is fast up until you hit the buffer limit.
• Heat -- There is nearly none, literally. At least that I can feel, even after shooting heavily in drive mode, the CF card is barely hotter than room temperature. At no time do you ever feel heat anywhere that you hold the camera.
• Lens -- The E-10's lens is of extremely high quality, multicoated ED glass and fast -- it's 62mm with a F/2.0 large aperture. The lens is fixed and sealed, which may seem like a drawback, but with the number of D1 and D30 users complaining about sensor dust -- I'm not so sure.
• Viewfinder/LCD -- The E-10 uses a true optical viewfinder which allows for faster framing and potentially sharper focusing than an EVF. The split prism design allows the LCD to be used concurrently with the viewfinder -- which means the TV-out port is live during capture mode -- you can take shots using a TV as a viewfinder. The LCD also flips out from the body allowing framing while holding the camera at different angles.
• Weight -- The E-10 body is built primarily of metal and as such has a solid mass to it. Pros have long favored heft in their cameras for extra stability while handholding.
• Accessories -- The E-10 has quite a few accessories available including a macro lens, wide-angle lens, teleconverters that can take focal length past 600mm, myriad accessories for the standard hot shoe, portrait grip and battery pack options, etc. Cheaper cams do not have nearly the range of accessories available.
• User support base -- The E-10 has been around quite some time at this point, and it has gained quite a following. There are many places information can be gleaned from other users, the best of which is the DPReview Olympus SLR forum. I'll post other links at the end of this article.
• Dual SM/CF support -- You can run both a SM card and a CF card at the same time and swap images between the two. This is cool because you don't have to take out the 32MB card the camera comes with when you add your CF on. Who couldn't use 32MB of extra memory?
• Price -- At $1,799 MSRP at the time of this writing, this camera is in a price class by itself. When you consider that actual street price runs closer to $1,500-$1,600, the picture is that much sweeter. The next competitor below right now is the Minolta Dimage 7, which is not nearly as film SLR-like, and above it is the Canon D-30, which runs close to $1,500 more, similarly equipped.

• Digital processing speed -- While the photography features of the E-10 are quick, the digital operations of the camera are relatively slow. It takes almost 5 secs. to take a picture once the camera is off/in powersave; I can't even begin to say how many pictures I've missed because of this. A larger battery pack and leaving the camera on all the time would solve this. It takes almost 7-8 sec. per meg of image data written to card, etc. The buffer helps this somewhat. On the upside, this slow processor apparently doesn't generate much heat (see above).
• No AF follow-focus -- The AF has no continuous mode, making the camera difficult to use for fast-moving sports and less than ideal for action shooting. It is possible, just not as easy as with a true continuous AF.
• No focusing screen -- The lack of a true focusing screen for the viewfinder means that the point of absolute focus is harder to notice on the E-10 than on other cameras with a focusing screen. As a result, it can take a longer to focus manually and in low light, it can be harder to see the critical focus point.
• Grainy LCD -- While the live-preview LCD is generally a positive thing, the quality of that preview is relatively low and you won't be able to see the finest gradations of focus on it, so you'll be relying on the AF when using the LCD. After the shot, the review mode is sharper.
• Limited wide-angle options -- With a native wide angle equivalent of 35mm, the WCON 0.7x wide-angle converter only brings the effective length to 28mm. No one has found a way to get a fisheye-type effect out of an E-10.
• Buffer could be larger -- Or preprocessing could be run on the shots. It's 4 frames regardless of quality (even RAW). With the quick "motor drive" mode this camera has, it could certainly make use of a larger buffer.
• Weight -- Yes, it's a pro and a con. Although weight means stability, it also means you will be getting that much more of a workout carrying the darn thing around. It's about the weight of an all-metal SLR with an equivalent lens, maybe a tad less. It's not for the faint of heart or the limp of wrist.
• Price -- Another pro and con. Although it is a tremendous value for the money, in absolute terms, $1,500, $1,600 or $1,700 is a LOT of green. A top-notch film setup can be had for that much.