Olympus to offer mid-range DSLR
By Emily Price
Olympus has announced a new camera headed to its digital SLR lineup, the E-30. The mid-level DSLR will shoot photos at 12.5 megapixels and offer some of the same features as its more expensive counterparts.
The E-30 is being called a mid-level SLR because it falls somewhere in-between the entry level consumer Olympus E-520 and the Pro Olympus E-3. The camera will be able to take photographs at a 12.5 megapixel resolution and has professional features like an 11-point autofocus as well as consumer favorites like art filters and face detection.
The mix of professional and consumer features continues throughout the spec sheet for the camera. The camera has an ISO range of 100 to 3,200 and can shoot 5-fps RAW images, but it also has a pop out swivel LCD for taking pictures in awkward situations.
The price of the camera is also going to be right smack in the middle of things. The camera body only is planned to cost around $1,300, which is pretty high for a consumer camera, but pretty low for a professional one. Olympus is also expected to offer some high-end lens options for the camera which will make it more attractive to the professional photographers out there, while they will more than likely have a few less expensive lens options for the non-professional sect.
If you’re looking to put this one on your Christmas list you’re out of luck. The E-30 isn’t expected to drop until January of next year, right AFTER the holiday season.
Are any of you interested in this one? It looks like it could be a decent option for someone who wants something a little more impressive than your traditional consumer DSLR, but isn’t quite ready to step into a full professional camera. That said, $1,300 is a pretty hefty price to pay for just the body of a camera you’re using for only consumer interests. What do you think?
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