What do you want to know about the E-420?

[alert_bri]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the final stages of securing an E-420 and 25mm f2.8 pancake lens for one of our lucky Safari Group members to take away from our next event... first details here :
Next Olympus UK Photo Safari... 29th March 2008: Olympus SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

We're getting such strong interest in the North of the UK, and further afield, that we may be organising a meal and get together on the Friday evening - this would be a fantastic opportunity to relax and discuss some of our more ambitious future projects - and maybe to practice some street photography with the new E-420


I realise that most people are living fast paced, stressful lifestyles with lots of commitments - when we plan these events, I take great care to poll the Safari Group members for their availability, and suggest an event which gives most people a chance to make it. This will be a great escape, and family friendly too...


For those who can't make this event, but have a keen interest in the new E-420 package, would you please list any questions that you would like our members to answer? We already have Safari group members with hundreds of years of combined experience in shooting with Olympus cameras! lol so you can be sure you will be getting unique insights here.


I am so excited about this event, it's amazing how fragmented and isolated Olympus users have been around the UK, this is a fantastic opportunity to build lifelong friendships with inspirational photographers! And we are developing a huge vision for the future... we really appreciate your support, engagement and encouragement!

Here's a summary of questions so far... hopefully this will stimulate further questions we may have missed.

General Handling

1. How loud is the mirror slap on the E-420 relative to the E-1?
2. Overall impression; build, handling, etc.
3. How comfortable is it to hold with the left hand clutching the pancake?
4. Is it comfortable to hold the camera with 25mm lens single handed?
5. Does it fit in the same (E400,410) UW housing
6. Does it improve on the E410's trunncated menu otuions

7. Does it re-introduce the cursor diamond direct functions we(?) wish the E410/410 (and the E-3 for that matter!) had.
8. How big/small the viewfinder is
9. Will it actually fit in a coat pocket with the 25mm pancake attached
10. How is the handling with the Olympus Leather case
11. How are the strap lugs attached? can they be unscrewed?
12. Take a comparison shot with other cameras to give an idea of size.


Focusing

15. How easy can the back screen be viewed from an angle? How useful from different angles is live view? Is the new LCD as good as it sounds?
16. What is the battery life with lifeview?
17. Describe LiveView behaviour
18. How quick it focuses when using live view
19. How fast is contrast-detect or hybrid AF relative to a compact / bridge?
20. How does contrast-detect AF work with lenses other than the 25/14-42/40-150mm kit lenses?

21. In Live view contrast detection AF, after you pre-focus, is there a mirror slap when the shutter is fully depressed?

Performance

25. How does the 25mm's build compare to other zuiko lenses? I s it worth what the asking price?
26. Explore the 25mm pancake behaviour in direct light? Is it prone to flare?
27. Show the lens hood in place, Will the lens cap fit it when extended?
26. Describe general handling in jpeg
27. What penalties are paid in terms of handling and speed versus the E3?
28. How does the wired remote work
29. Is the wireless flash as versatile as on the E-3?

30. How does it cope with older vintage lenses? Will contrast detect give focus confirmation?

Image Quality

35. Is it the E3 or E410/510 sensor?

36. Lots of Sample shots with 25mm lens on E-400, E-410, E-510, E-3 as well as E-420
37. How similar iq/files look to previous models
38. Compare Image Quality to that of E-3... DR. in Raw, not JPG.
39. Does it have the same rich colour characteristics of the E-3
40. 25mm f2.8 lens sharpness, destortion, contast, AF.
41. High ISO performance (noise, banding with NF off) in jpeg and RAW
42. How is the noise performance in general (NF on and off)
43. Assess Fine detail / AA filter
44. Dynamic range
45. Shadow detail
46. Highlight clipping

47. Demonstrate out of camera JPG quality (LSF preferably)
48. Is there any banding in low light with a light source and dark area in the frame.. Note : Ideally, the entire left or right side of the image (in landscape) needs to be in shadow, while having the other side of the image well-exposed, and the shutter speed needs to be low (e.g., 1/20th).

55. How does it differ from E410 exposure metering in its behaviour, clipping etc
56. Test auto white balance performance in a variety of lighting situations

Have we missed anything?

Kind Regards

Brian