Olympus E-420 SLR Review

Bundled Software

Olympus includes a suite of software with the E-420 and E-520 called OLYMPUS Master 2. The software CD-ROM contains a full version of Olympus Master 2 (ver. 2.06) as well as a 30-day trial version of the Olympus Studio 2 (ver. 2.11). When using Windows XP Pro, this screen pops up when you connect either the E-520 or E-420 to your PC with the supplied USB cable. When you first open Master 2, this helpful Quick start menu appears. This is perfect for beginners who have never dealt with a software such as this before. Here you can see the Transfer Images window, which allows you to upload your stored images to the PC in either specific Albums or Folders. Olympus' Master 2 software is designed to help you organize, edit, and share your images, with an easy-to-use interface that offers the latest digital imaging tools and functionality. The Browser window enables you to search folders or albums for images stored on your PC, then gives you a thumbnail index view in the middle of the screen. You can also see an exposure and color (RGB) histogram, along with with Hardware, Shooting or Image information shown. Here we have the Shooting Information tab open, which shows us all of the possible exposure or EXIF information for the selected image. Double-clicking on an image from the Browser will open up the Image Edit window. Here you have a good amount of editing options for both JPEG and RAW images. Here we have a JPEG image from the E-520, and there are options for Resize, Crop, Insert text, Brightness & Contrast, Color balance, etc. You also have controls along the bottom to Zoom in/out or grab the image to move around inside of it. At the very bottom is an index view that allows you to quickly search for and select an image to edit. Here you can see the Monochrome & Sepia Edit screen Olympus' Studio 2 software provides powerful work flow support for entry-level and professional digital SLR photographers. While it looks very similar to Master 2, this multipurpose software package provides much more advanced RAW photofinishing and camera control functions - and it fully supports all Olympus E-System models, including the E-420 and E-520. Here you can see the Browser window, which is laid out very similar to Master 2. On the right you can see we have both the Hardware and Shooting information tabs open. As you can see, the Image Edit window offers a wealth of editing options from Auto Tone Correction to Tilt Adjustment. Studio 2 allows you to us "PC control". When you connect any E-series dSLR to your PC, you can use the screen above to control the camera, including capturing images, changing exposure modes, and choosing various exposure settings. All of the images will be stored directly on to your hard drive.

Continue on to
Steve's Conclusion

Visitors of Steves can visit the stores below for real-time pricing and availability. You can also find hot, soon to expire online offers on a variety of cameras and accessories at our very own Camera Deals page.