Digital Home Thoughts: Digicam Reviews Olympus EVOLT E-420

"Announced on the 5th of March 2008, the Olympus EVOLT E-420 is Olympus' latest compact 10 megapixel Digital SLR - an update to the E-410 - it features a new live view auto focus mode, face detection focus, a new 2.7" screen, and is the world's most compact Digital SLR, especially when used with the new f2.8 25mm pancake lens. The Olympus EVOLT E-420 is available for £404 with kit lens (as tested here), £485 with twin kit lens, or £500 with 25mm/50mm pancake lens, which makes it great value for money. The camera measures approx. 129.5 x 91 x 53 mm (excluding protrusions), and weighs 380 g (body only)."

The Olympus EVOLT E-420 is available for £404 with kit lens, £485 with twin kit lens, or £500 with 25mm/50mm pancake lens, this makes it very competitively priced compared to the competition, especially as the Olympus E-420 feels like a fully featured Digital SLR. However, the article claims that if you want to move into the world of Digital SLRs and don't know where to start then the Olympus EVOLT E-420 is probably one of the best cameras to choose, and I somewhat disagree. I don't see anything in tis camera that would make me want to recommend it to someone over the Canon XSi, or even the 40D, or the Nikon D40x or D60. And I say this because of the fact that if you are new and don't quite know what to get then getting something that is more widely used with a potentially larger support base is what I would gravitate to. Beginners would have access to more articles and more accessories. Of course, this makes things harder for a company like Olympus to make a dent in the budget camera market but that's how things are IMHO.