by Ian Burley
Olympus' new E-450 is a refreshed E-420 featuring Creative Art Filters
- Read the official Olympus E-450 press release
- Ships in May
- UK price: £450 with 14-42 kit lens.
- US price: $699 with 14-42 and 40-150 twin lens kit (QVC exclusive until summer 2009).
- Euro prices: EU 550 with the 14-42 kit lens and EU 650 for a 14-42 and 40-150 twin lens kit. Body only EU 450.
Olympus has given its E-420 entry-level E-System DSLR a minor refresh and the result is the new E-450, launched today. It's also the third new Olympus DSLR to be launched in less than six months.
The main new features of the E-450 include a sub-set of the creative Art Filters, which have proven surprisingly popular with the E-30 and E-620, implementation of the latest Olympus image processor; an upgrade from TruePic III to TruePic III+, and an increase in RAW buffer capacity from 6 frames to 8 frames. The Bulb mode long exposure shooting time limit has also been extended from 8 minutes to 30 minutes.Externally, there are no differences to the E-450 compared to the E-420, apart from the E-450 logo. The AF system remains largely as before, with only 3 AF points, though spote mode has been reclassified from 1% frame area coverage on the E-420 to 2% on the E-450.
The E-450, which is the fourth E-400-series model continuing Olympus' claim to offer one of the smallest and lightest DSLRs, slots in between the E-420, which remains on sale for now, and the E-520. The UK guide price for the E-450, with its Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, is - coincidentally - £450, and is expected to be available during May.
Art Filters
Buoyed by a positive response to creative Art Filters first introduced with the E-30, Olympus has included three of the six Art Filters found on the E-420 and the E-620; Pop Art, which produces a subtle psychedelic colour effect, Pin Hole, which softens the image and adds a vignette, and Soft Focus. The three filters not include are Pale and Light, Grainy Film, and Light Tone. Art filters are accessible from a revised mode selection knob on the top plate of the E-450. Olympus believes Art Filters are one of the latest pillars of the E-System, following on from Olympus innovations like Supersonic Wave sensor dust protection, and sensor-shift image stabilisation.
'Only' 10MP but the E-450 gets TruePic III+
There is no change to the pixel count compared to the E-420, remaining at ten megapixels. It will be interesting to see if the change from TruePic III to III+ image processor for the E-450 solves the E-420's high ISO banding problem.
One core feature that E-4xx fans will continue to miss is integrated image stabilisation. From a mechanical point of view, the E-450 appears to be identical to the E-420. If you want a small and light E-System model with IS, the new E-620 is aimed at you.
Below you can peruse some E-450 product images released by Olympus. Don't forget to let us know what you think of the new E-450!:
Check the latest price or purchase options for the Olympus E-450 via
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New Olympus E-450 previewed
Four Thirds User editorial team New Olympus E-450 previewed
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Olympus' third new DSLR in four months is the E-450, an enhanced version of the popular compact ... (more)
Ian Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
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Bet you weren't expecting a third new Oly DSLR in almost as many months? *LOL
Ian... (more)
Wickster Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
ok!? let me take a crack at this. Oly will be phasing out the E-5XX and the current line-up will be ... (more)
Ian Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
The E-520, I feel, is the best bang for the buck model in the range and I doubt it, or its positi... (more)
Dummy00001 Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
I have E-520 (purchased in Aug'08) and it seems that E-620 right now costs only slightly more tha... (more)
wahlau Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
i will not really want to see so many "small" changes too often :) it confuses me while making me ov... (more)
thestickman Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
While I understand minor refreshes and how they help the bottom line (and also re-tooling costs), I ... (more)
Ian Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
I think 100 Euros for the extra external controls and IS of the E-520, plus a bigger battery, is wor... (more)
roentarre Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
This one looks so cute with the white leathery case
I am very keen in E620 myself :)... (more)
MikkoH Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
I wonder if it has the sensor of e-3 with less banding? In that case it would have superior IQ again... (more)
Ian Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
I'm wondering if the banding was fixed by the TruePic III+ introduced with the E-30?
Ian... (more)
MEDISIN Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Exactly what I was thinking. This is the only thing keeping me from picking up a cheap E-4XX on ... (more)
Archphoto Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Olympus finaly listened to their users ?
If this camera is better with banding compared to the E4... (more)
hschnee Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
I can see this as being a reasonable range. The E-450 and E-550 would be the lower priced models ... (more)
Tullio Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Oh, pleeeease....what's the big deal about (half implementation of the E-30) Art filter??? Those thr... (more)
ReggieB Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
well, the final nail was put in the coffin for my Oly lineup theory. I am still interested in seein... (more)
Wickster Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
It's really hard nowadays to decide the next upgrade path for someone coming from the E-510 like me.... (more)
RogerMac Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Ian,
Is it possible to remove one of the strap lugs completely? If so one could attach both ... (more)
Vortexartist Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Aren't they pushing it a bit to call it the E-450? E-421.5 might be more appropriate.... (more)
Archphoto Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Like they do with software......
I do not think Olympus wants to be reminded of the E420 or the E52... (more)
AndyElliott Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
I had a look at the Oly website - says the full sensor size is 11.8MP.
This makes it sound like t... (more)
Ian Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
All cameras have more effective pixels than their 'effective' pixels. The pixel count, both total... (more)
AndyElliott Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Ian
From Olympus.co.uk:
For the E-3, the total is 11.8, effective 10.1
For the E-510, the tot... (more)
Ian Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Oh, I see what you mean. The E-450 basic sensor specs. are the same for the E-420. Both the E-420... (more)
say123 Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
The next cam most prob will not be labeled as E4, should be E5.
The word '4' in japanese; when p... (more)
AndyElliott Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Good job I sold my OM-4 then ;)
Andy... (more)
Archphoto Re: New Olympus E-450 previewed
Say123: you could be right, I just checked the price of the E620 at one of the local dutch stores: €... (more)