Olympus Malaysia E-410 & E-510 Media Launch
with preview of the E-3
by TV Smith, 25th April 2007

Image samples of the E-410 with new compact kit lens here
Image samples of the E-410 under various ISO settings here
Update: E-510 in action at The Japan GT
                E-510 in use at Sightings



Olympus Malaysia unveiled 2 new dSLRS to the media yesterday morning. The petite E-410 and broader cousin E-510 with in-body image stabilization. Both models incorporate "Live View" mode and the new True Pic III engine.

Unlike the earlier E-330, the "Live View" now allows immediate monitoring of changes in White Balance, Exposure Compensation and Depth-of-Field.

According to them, the LCD screen no longer needs to tilt as the new LCD has a very wide viewing angle. Which is helpful, as coming from the E-1, I found the optical viewfinders on both the new models strikingly small but fairly bright.

Also making a special appearance is the long-awaited E-1 one successor, the P-1. The name is still undecided and the demo model is still tagged as a mock-up, encased in glass. It is the same one they flaunted at the recent PMA. More about this later.

Present at the launch were:
Mr Tan Tick Boon - Managing Director, Olympus Malaysia
Mr Yong Kee Nyap - Division Manager, Olympus Malaysia
Mr Yoshiyuki Nada - Senior Manager, Product Planning, Olympus Imaging Corporation Japan
Mr Matt Kobuchi, Senior Manager, Marketing Department, Asia Middle East Business Group

Mr Tan in his speech, proudly revealed that Olympus is the leader in compact digital camera sales for the local market (Feb 07), surpassing Canon and Sony. Nikon was fourth.

The demo E-510 camera is loaded with early firmware and the the CF card slot circuitry was disabled. As such, I could not review any images just yet. I did slot my own CF card into the E-410 for some take home samples, however. (Samples on the next page). I hope to do a 'picture-review" (ala the SP-550) when they hand me the test-drive models soon.

The E-410 is expected to hit the local stores next week at a RRP of RM 2799 or USD 818 at current conversion rate. (Cameras are tax-free here in Malaysia). The E-510 will be available only in June and prices are still not finalised, though I predict the street price to be around RM 4500 (USD 1315) with the twin-kit lens package.

What struck me about the E- 410 was its lightness and compactness. When carried along with the two new 'mini' lenses it makes a great travel companion, with 28 to 300mm (35mm equivalent) coverage.

The other good news of the day (for me) is that under high ISO settings, the E-410 has the noise well-contained, by Olympus standards (see samples here). This bodes well for the upcoming pro model replacement.

Mr Nada made an interesting revelation that all future E-series cameras will emphasise on (greater) compactness. It makes sense to finally capitalise on the E-System's smaller lenses and success of the OM series of last century. Does this also mean the burly E-1 sucessor is unlikey to to retain the E moniker?

With the slimming program, there is no longer a traditional grip on the E-410. Olympus is now promoting a new method of handling known as the 'left-hand grip' whereby the lens barrel becomes the grip. After trying it, I must say it works out quite well.

It is almost May and there is still no firm release date of the aging E-1 successor except that it will be this year. I grilled Mr Nada and Mr Kobuchi about the P-1 specs but they were politely evasive and at best vague. Only additional info they gave away was that the P-1 will have more than 3 AF points and a bold claim that the noise level will be comparable to EOS (sic).

I did tell them that even hardcore Olympians are exasperated by the delays and lack of information, to which the gentlemen nodded in agreement. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh at that point.

Olympus obviously follows its own drum when it comes to product strategy. Nevertheless, 2007 looks promising with the two new models at hand and the P1 looming. By next year the system will also have a more complete line-up of 22 digital lenses. Stay tuned.

Image samples of the E-410 here & here