Going Live: The Olympus E-330

Rob Spray · Issue 40, Jan/Feb 2008 · pp. 22–26

Products mentioned: Olympus E-330, Olympus 14-45mm lens, Olympus 14-42mm lens, Olympus 50mm f2 macro lens, 1.4x teleconverter, Olympus 8mm fisheye, Olympus 11-22mm lens, Olympus 7-14mm lens, FL-20 strobe, FL-36 strobe, PT-E02 housing, 10bar housing, Fantasea housing, Ikelite housing, Aquamir housing, Nikon D3, Nikon D300, Canon 40D, Canon 1D MK3, Canon 400D, Olympus C-7070

There used to be a gulf between the two castes of underwater photographers - compact snappers or SLR toting ‘photographers’. That was before the E-330, which even a year after its launch remains unique. What makes it so unusual goes unnoticed when people ‘give it a go’. SLRs, as a rule, can either view or take a picture. The mirror that gives them their name routes the image to either eyepiece or sensor - thus a live view is normally impossible as no light hits the sensor. An increasing number of SLRs can hold the mirror up, allowing the sensor to be exposed for a ‘lock up live view’. This includes the Nikon D3 and 300, Canon 40D and 1D MK3 and all new Olympus SLRs. It’s OK but the mirror has to flap to focus and shoot so there’s an unwelcome delay - just like a compact - only the E-330 works as a normal SLR at the same time as providing a live view. So real, full-time SLR live view is i…