Olympus E-620 - First Sample Photos

[Photo-John]

On Sunday, I took the Olympus E-620 out for an all day photo workout. I started with brunch, moved on to the zoo, and then took some coffee shop and cityscape photos. It was pretty much the same as shooting with the E-30 or E-520. Controls are pretty much the same, if a little smaller. And I was more comfortable shooting at ISO 400 or 800 than I was with the E-520, because I've come to expect good quality from the 12-megapixel sensor after shooting with the E-30 for a while.

I haven't had a chance to do any serious outdoor or action photos with the E-620 yet. I did ski with it all day yesterday but the conditions were too unfriendly to bother with taking pictures. On Saturday I took a few landscape photos so I do have one pretty mountain picture to include. I'm only just beginning with this camera, though. There will be lots more to come. Next up are the studio sample photos. I will be shooting those tonight or tomorrow, so you can compare the image quality in a controlled setting to the same from other digital cameras.

I will be uploading larger versions of all of these to the gallery. Check my member gallery or the Olympus E-620 gallery if you want to see them at the original resolution.

[Atomic2]

what ISO is the picture of the monkey?


edit: oh hey, I see the link to the full size now, no worries

hmm still more noise it seems than the E3. Where you shooting RAW or Jpeg?

[Photo-John]

what ISO is the picture of the monkey?


edit: oh hey, I see the link to the full size now, no worries

hmm still more noise it seems than the E3. Where you shooting RAW or Jpeg?

Everything but the mountain was shot RAW and converted with Olympus Master 2 software. I was fighting low light at the zoo and the monkey was lightened up about half a stop, I think. You may be right about more noise than the E-3, although I need to shoot the E-620 studio tests to really judge that. I think I'm less concerned with noise than you, though. I was pretty pleased with the camera at ISO 800 and even 1600. The E-3 may have less noise but I have found the E-30 to be quite usable at ISO 800. I don't often go past that. But the crappy light and wiggly critters at the zoo didn't give me any alternative.

I'll keep shooting and posting E-620 samples. And I am going to make an extra effort to shoot low light, high ISO photos. I shot some ISO 1600 and even 3200 tonight at dinner. I'll see about posting some of those tomorrow.

[Atomic2]

Everything but the mountain was shot RAW and converted with Olympus Master 2 software. I was fighting low light at the zoo and the monkey was lightened up about half a stop, I think. You may be right about more noise than the E-3, although I need to shoot the E-620 studio tests to really judge that. I think I'm less concerned with noise than you, though. I was pretty pleased with the camera at ISO 800 and even 1600. The E-3 may have less noise but I have found the E-30 to be quite usable at ISO 800. I don't often go past that. But the crappy light and wiggly critters at the zoo didn't give me any alternative.

I'll keep shooting and posting E-620 samples. And I am going to make an extra effort to shoot low light, high ISO photos. I shot some ISO 1600 and even 3200 tonight at dinner. I'll see about posting some of those tomorrow.

Thanks :thumbsup:

I still am very strongly considering the E620 even if the ISO performance is not as good as the E3s. The 620 is still considerably cheaper, and that money can go towards buying the Sigma 70-200 2.8. The only other issue I have with the camera is the small size. How does it feel in your hand compared to the 500 series? You were using the 12-60, how did that combo feel? Did you feel very secure holding? With my 510, I feel very confident holding it with one hand even with the 12-60 and flash attached. I'm worried the small grip on the 620 wont be enough for me.

[Photo-John]

I shot and posted the Olympus E-620 studio sample photos, yesterday. I added them to the preview article:

Olympus E-620 First Impressions >>

When shooting the studio tests I am reminded how much I love the adjustable LCD. It's so nice to be able to flip out and rotate the LCD display so I don't have to squat down to look at the LCD or through the viewfinder.