Olympus E-420: Smokin’ Good Times

You’re going to have to forgive me, because today’s post is not about a fashion item, or is it? A new camera, the E-420 DSLR from Japanese optics specialist Olympus, has just been released and I feel compelled to say a thing or two about this awesome piece of hardware!

Ever wonder why your compact digital camera never seems to produce professional looking images — the kind you often see and ogle over on Flickr? The reason is not so much to do with the megapixels your camera offers as it is with the size of its image sensor. Digital SLR cameras, the ones used by the pros and by people who take their hobby a little too seriously, have comparatively massive image sensors to that of regular point and shoot cameras. This allows these cameras to ‘see’ more light. The result is cleaner and sharper photographs, and vastly superior images taken in low light settings.

Now there’s obviously some drawbacks to owning a DSLR. For starters, even the cheapest models tend to cost twice as much as decent all-in-one cameras. Also, shooting with a DSLR can be difficult and time consuming, and getting just the right shot may exercise your patience more than you would care for. Finally, DSLR’s tend to be quite a bit larger than the average pocket-sized camera, which makes them somewhat cumbersome to lug around. Fortunately, the supremely engineered Olympus E-420 tries to find solutions for just these problems.

The E-420 is remarkably small for a DSLR camera – in fact, Olympus advertises it as the world’s smallest. The camera also weighs less than a pound, so unless you’re an anemic dwarf, carrying the E-420 around all day shouldn’t be an issue. Furthermore, it’s often sold with a specially developed pancake lens to keep its profile from growing outwards too much (although this may inadvertently tip off the ladies, if you know what I mean). The result is a camera that can fit in your jacket pocket, and one that can take stunning pictures wherever you go. The Olympus E-420 is also priced near the cheaper end of the DSLR market, so it’s quite affordable considering its unique attributes. Toss in a kickass live preview mode and a Ron Jeremy worthy “Perfect Shot” feature, and the E-420 becomes an excellent choice for the average Joe wishing to take his photography to the next level.

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