Olympus E-620 review

There doesn't, however, seem to be any completely noise-free ISO sensitivity -- even at ISO 100 you can see stippling in some shadows -- and, while there's little sharpness drop-off by ISO 400, some contouring begins to appear in dark areas and the colour noise becomes more pronounced. Still, for its class, photos remain generally acceptable up to ISO 800 and usable up to ISO 3,200, depending upon scene content.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Raw shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim light)

Shutter lag (typical)

Canon EOS 500D

0.2 

0.4 

0.6 

0.3 

Sony Alpha DSLR-A350

0.6 

0.9 

0.6 

0.3 

Nikon D5000

0.2 

0.5 

0.7 

0.3 

Olympus E-620

1.4 

0.5 

0.8 

0.4 

Nikon D90

0.2 

0.6 

0.9 

0.4 

Conclusion
Although it's a solid, serviceable dSLR, if you're looking for an easy-to-learn, entry-level camera, we'd steer clear of the Olympus E-620. It's got numerous semi-advanced features that most beginner dSLR users don't need or want, and a more complex design and user interface than necessary. Factor in the lack of video capture, and good, but not best-in-class, performance and it just can't measure up to models like the D5000 and 500D. But, for the more advanced user simply looking for an inexpensive, compact Four Thirds body, it delivers high-quality photos in a budget-friendly package.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet