[shuttertalk]

And you thought you'd never see the day... Olympus has announced the E330 - a world first DSLR with a live preview on the LCD monitor. All DSLRs to date only allow you to view image through an optical through-the-lens viewfinder, making some shots such as macros, and above the head/below the waist shooting kinda awkward.

The seven-point-five megapixel E-330 is the first digital SLR designed to provide a full-time live view on its LCD monitor while still providing a usable through-the-lens viewfinder. It provides two live view modes, the first uses a small CCD sensor integrated into the viewfinder chamber, the second mode uses the main sensor but this blocks the viewfinder and disables auto-focus.

Dpreview have a hands on preview of it here:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/060126...0evolt.asp

I wonder why no one thought of it sooner...

[XeoX]

I just read the review in Estonian and thought that I'd come here and make a new thread about it, but Shuttertalk was faster.
I think that live view is a very useful think, you no longer have to look the object through a small hole called viewfinder.

Any information about the price?

I wonder, when will Canon work out their own live-view camera.

[noisynoodle]

Can't help thinking this is of very limited value. It may be useful to tempt P&S users to make the jump to DSLR as I gather many cite the lack of live preview as a reason for not doing so. But in real world use, an SLR is much larger and heavier than any P&S and with anything bigger than a 50mm lens on it I can't see how you'd hold it still enough to take a picture while holding at arms length in order to view your composition on an LCD. It may have some value on occasions for overhead shots and macro. Personally, I wouldn't like to see this spread to all DSLRs, but maybe see it on entry level offerings only as an encouragement to new users. It apparently also results in less light in the OVF which in Olympus' case is pretty disastrous as their viewfinder wasn't great to begin with.

[adam]

sounds good for waste shooting!
oops, I meant waist!

[matthew]

In 'normal' use, with the live LCD and OVF, the LCD shows only 92% of the image (worse than most budget dslrs?) and is using a separate sensor, so the information it presents isn't necessarily the way the imaging chip sees it. This might be a nice option to have, but I don't see it changing how someone who is familiar with an OVF will take pictures.

But then, I also expected the iPod to be a flop.

In "macro" mode, the E-330 flips the mirror out of the way and uses the imaging sensor to preview the image. This gives accurate information about framing, focus, and DOF. This will be awesome for use on a tripod, when the composition is more studied and seeing changing or fine detail through an OVF isn't necessary. Compared to my E-1, my F828 with its flipped-up LCD is a dream to use on its tripod.

I'm frequently told to use a tripod whenever possible; it's the best tool for improving sharpness and composition.

Overall, the E-330 looks like an excellent camera, even before it adds the feature that most upgrading P&S / digicam users will miss the most. Hopefully the live preview will give people a reason to look beyond the 40+ lenses (designed over 40+ years...) that a few systems boast, and see just how good a camera can be.

More here: http://www.myfourthirds.com/document.php?id=19820

[shuttertalk]

But in real world use, an SLR is much larger and heavier than any P&S and with anything bigger than a 50mm lens on it I can't see how you'd hold it still enough to take a picture while holding at arms length in order to view your composition on an LCD.
It may have some value on occasions for overhead shots and macro.

I think you're sort of right there - there would be no point using a live preview when the camera's around your neck - the viewfinder is way better and probably one of the reasons why shooting with a SLR is much more comfortable. However, as you say - I think the best use would be when the camera is not on your neck - i.e. on a tripod. Not having to stoop when setting up macro shots, or awkward angled shots is a very attractive proposition in my books...

It apparently also results in less light in the OVF which in Olympus' case is pretty disastrous as their viewfinder wasn't great to begin with.

Yeah, that's a bit of a bummer...