The

Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Le ...

E-1, introduced in 2003, was the first

DSLR A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between a ...

system camera A system camera or camera body is a camera with interchangeable components that constitutes the core of a system. Early representatives include Leica I Schraubgewinde (1930), Exakta (1936) and the Nikon F (1959). System cameras are often sin ...

designed from the ground up for

digital photography Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image ...

This contrasts with its contemporaries which offered systems based on reused parts from previous

135 film 135 film, more popularly referred to as 35 mm film or 35 mm, is a format of photographic film used for still photography. It is a film with a film gauge of loaded into a standardized type of magazine – also referred to as a cas ...

systems, modified to fit with a sensor size of

APS-C Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System film negative in its C ("Classic") format, of 25.1×16.7 mm, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and Ø 31.15 mm field ...

Features

The E-1 uses the

Four Thirds System The Four Thirds System is a standard created by Olympus and Eastman Kodak for digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) and mirrorless camera design and development. The system provides a standard that, with digital cameras and lenses availabl ...

lens mount and imaging system. This design choice means that because the CCD is smaller than a 35 mm negative, Four Thirds System lenses and camera bodies can be made smaller and lighter than those of preceding SLRs. Characteristics: *Lighter/more compact than contemporary

bodies *5

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...

CCD *Good dynamic range and exposure *Magnesium-alloy body *Environmental sealing (splash proof) *"Supersonic Wave Filter"

dust reduction system A dust reduction system, or dust removal system, is used in several makes of digital cameras to remove dust from the image sensor. Every time lenses are changed, dust may enter the camera body and settle on the image sensor. Digital single-l ...

cleans CCD at each camera start-up (dust is shaken off the CCD) * USB 2.0 and

FireWire IEEE 1394 is an interface standard for a serial bus for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer. It was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Apple in cooperation with a number of companies, primarily Sony an ...

connectivity *Continuous shooting 3

frames per second A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

up to 12 frames *Hybrid white balance sensor (on external surface of camera and using CCD) *User upgradeable

firmware In computing, firmware is a specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware. Firmware, such as the BIOS of a personal computer, may contain basic functions of a device, and may provide h ...

Sometimes the user experiences bright spots in long (greater than a few seconds) exposures. This is called long exposure noise. By turning on the "Noise Removal" (not "Noise Filter"), the E-1 will do a “ dark frame subtraction” to get rid of these erroneous bright spots. The development of the E-1 involved the revitalization of Olympus' old Zuiko lens brand, through a new range named "Zuiko Digital" with the

Four Thirds system The Four Thirds System is a standard created by Olympus and Eastman Kodak for digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) and mirrorless camera design and development. The system provides a standard that, with digital cameras and lenses availabl ...

lens mount A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder camera, sin ...

. The E-1 was usually sold bundled with a splash proof Zuiko Digital 14–54 mm 1:2.8–3.5 zoom lens. Olympus initially gave away free adapters to connect OM lenses to the new Four Thirds System mount. This adapter allowed a wide range of OM lenses to be used with the new Olympus DSLRs. The adapter is no longer given away for free, but is still available for purchase from authorised Olympus resellers.

References

External links

E-1 photos and review

Olympus E-1 Specifications
{{Olympus DSLR cameras E-1 Four Thirds System Cameras introduced in 2003