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The Olympus E-620 is very basically put, the world’s smallest mid-level, highly functional SLR camera with built in image stabilization and 12.3 Megapixel Live MOS sensor and TruePic III+ processor. Of course the E-620 is a member of the Four Thirds camera group, enabling interchangeable lenses between other camera brands. (once again a note to remember that while the lens might fit the camera, all the cameras settings might not work well with the lense, just remember to ask about this before purchasing a new lens)
The E-620’s body is made of Glass Fibre reinforced plastic with its incredible light weight build clocking in around 490 grams.

I need to mention right away the two features that I really loved about this camera.
Firstly, the Olympus E-620 boasts my favourite type of LCD! The kind that swings out and swivels in almost any direction you can think of! (this works well in sync with live view mode, making those tricky angles easier to capture) The camera boasts a Hypercrystal III TFT LCD with a crisp, wide angle view.

Secondly: Six in-camera creative art-filters! Adding that extra spark to those special effects you want to play with during shooting. I absolutely love these creative tools. You won’t be able to add the effects after you have taken the pictures, during play back mode, but you can change the settings while taking the picture. Some of these creative features are: mirroring the look of snapping with a pin-hole camera, monochrome film (high speed), a soft focus filter and various other filters.

When first handling the Olympus E-620 you might be inclined to complain about the fact that there really is not much unoccupied surface space for your fingers to sit when gripping the camera and if you have bigger fingers you might find it a bit tricky, but once you have gotten used to the layout and where you can place your grip you will realise the button-chaos is actually a well laid out template for easy access to all of the cameras functions and modes. A rather logical layout for quick access.

As well as sporting all of these easy access buttons, the Olympus E-620 very cleverly exhibits, from what I can tell, every single one of its settings and modes on the LCD display and you can use the d-pad to navigate around these different options and change settings and modes as you wish.

Once again, this kind of flood of information at the forefront of the cameras menu might seem overwhelming and messy, but once you have learnt what is where you will realise how time saving this feature is.

The Olympus E-620 has a slim 1150 mAh lithium-ion battery pack. While Olympus states that the battery, fully charged, can support around 500 shots with Live View switched off, that is not really a real-world option as most people would be mixing around with the different features and making use of live view for some of the shots. Playing around with the camera and its multiple options I managed just over 320 shots before the battery gave in. Of course this is a minor issue which is easily solved by purchasing the HLD-5 battery grip and in effect doubling the standard camera battery life allowing all day shooting plus some!

The E-620 has attracted a number of photographers based on its allowance for multi-flash set ups. If you are one of those shooters who want to play around with multiple flash setups, then the E-620 is definitely worth the look. It has wireless control for up to three groups of Olympus Wireless Flashguns.

A few features of the Olympus E-620 include a USB 2.0 high speed connections, video out, and an IR remote control for navigating the camera while plugged into a television set or display system.

Some numbers: The E-620 manages 4.1 fps with a shutter lag, press to capture pre-focus, of a miniscule 0.02 seconds (putting it in ranking above the Canon Rebel xs and the Pentax k2000 as well as the Sony Alpha DSLR-A200.)

There is a slot for a compactFlash card and an Olympus XD-Picture card.

My Conclusion: This camera gets a four star rating for both beginners and enthusiasts alike. The cameras many easily accessible functions make photography for a professional a breeze and the option to switch the camera to “basic menu mode” allows practice time for beginners before diving into the multiple advanced options. A bonus: the camera is light weight and easy to carry around.