With so many cameras containing the same or similar functions these days it was interesting to review a camera with something new, that no other DSLR has yet… Live View.

This function has long been available on compact digital and I’m surprised this feature had not been added to any DSLR before, but Olympus are the first and can now take home the world first prize.

The E-330 out of the box looks great and feels good in your hands. It has a bit of weight to it without being heavy and has all of the main feature buttons ergonomically positioned. The shape of the camera is a little different to most of its competition with a flat surface across the top where a bump would normally be for the optical viewfinder. Olympus has theirs positioned more to the left so your nose actually sits a little down the side of the camera for a more comfortable feel.

The 2.5inch LCD is bright and has a multi angle functionality giving you more flexibility with your shooting and encouraging the photographer’s creativity. For example, in a crowd you could hold the camera well above your head shooting down and see the framing before you shoot – composing the image – then clicking away for the perfect result. It is also good to note the hinged areas of the LCD screen are secured by a metal bracket reducing the risk of any accidental damage.

Live View is a great addition and one that will most likely be followed up by every DSLR manufacture with their future releases. It works pretty much in the same way as compact digitals, but has a light boost function for the LCD which pretty much allows the photographer to see in almost near dark conditions. However, as the situation becomes very dark the screen eventually loses its colour and switches automatically to a black & white mode, something like night vision.

In boost mode, the LCD is grainer and becomes even more grainer as the situation becomes darker – although the images still retain their normal grain levels once shot and are not in any way compromised. Where you would have once struggled to frame up a group photo in a dark pub, with boost mode on it’s now an effortless task! And at the end of the day the LCD is primarily there for framing your images, so you could say Olympus have definitely created an LCD for pretty much all lighting conditions – and that’s a plus.

The images taken with the Olympus E-330 were very good. And for the RRP you should expect nothing less. Primary colours reproduced accurately and skin tones were pretty much spot on. Skin tones in sunlight, shade and flash testing all return good results.

The 7.5 mega-pixel capture allows the photographer to produce bigger than A3 images without a hitch. The 14x digital zoom, or 14-45mm (28-90mm 35mm equivalent) Zuiko lense is a very handy range and with the ISO range producing great images up to 800 ISO there will be plenty of satisfied Olympus enthusiasts.

Other than the ‘Pro’ settings of ‘Manual’, ‘Shutter’ control and ‘Aperture’ control, there is the standard ‘Program’ option and a compact camera feature ‘Scene’ mode. Here, for the lazy photographer there are 20 scene options. And Olympus have actually done a great job with providing excellent image samples as you scroll through each scene option. No need for an explanation with these pics – when a good picture tells a thousand words!

Overall, the Olympus E-330 is a very good DSLR for its price range and packed with plenty of features. Thumbs up!

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