Canon and Nikon APS-C DSLRs have 1.6x and 1.5x multipliers, respectively. Therefore, the supplied 14-42mm kit lens is actually 28-84mm, and so on. With the Four Thirds system, there’s a 2x digital factor, so the equivalent 35mm spec is doubled. Compared to Canon and Nikon, you’ll find far fewer lenses available (25 versus 60 plus) but most of the key focal lengths are covered. The front is dominated by lens mount, which accepts all Four Thirds format glass. By comparison, the new 15.1MP Canon EOS T1i is 26.2 fully loaded, so they’re pretty darn close. The body alone tips the scales at 16.8 ounces, but with the battery, which is how you’ll use it, it weighs 26 ounces.

The camera measures 5.1 inches wide, 3.7 tall and 2.4 deep. But hey, you want fast response, tons of lens options, and a larger imaging sensor, you have to deal with the tradeoffs compared to slick-looking digicams like the Sony T900 or Panasonic DMC-G1. DSLRs are basically locked into this bulky style due to the mirror-pentaprism-interchangeable lens setup. We hate to say it, but if you covered the front logos, you’d be hard pressed to tell the E-620 from its competitors. Let’s see if it holds it own with the big boys. Amazingly, these creatures still exist! A new model designed for this crew is the new E-620, a lightweight, mid-range 12.3-megapixel DSLR that pulls some very cool tricks. While the top two continue to cram things like HD video in their new models, competitors like Olympus, Pentax and Sony introduce cameras for people who just want to shoot high-quality stills. But give the devils their due, since they account for over 75 percent of the approximately 3 million DLSRs sold annually. Yes, there are DSLRs available from companies other than Canon and Nikon.

Olympus master batch resize