Olympus claims the E-420 is the smallest and lightest (only its predecessor is a few grams lighter) DSLR on the market and there is no doubt that this is true. The E-420 - especially in combination with the new 25mm F2.8 pancake lens - makes an extremely compact package. If you want a truly pocketable camera without losing DSLR image quality the E-420 should be right at the top of your shortlist.
Despite its small dimensions the camera is surprisingly well specified; even more so when considering its price point. You won't find live view and the E-420's level of customization on other manufacturers' entry level offerings (at least not if they're in the same price bracket). In fact, the E-420's spec sheet looks more like something we'd expect from a mid-range SLR. Apart from live view you get bracketing, customizable mirror lock-up, wireless flash control, a dust reduction system, control over high ISO noise reduction and a highly customizable user interface - an awful lot of camera for your money.
Live view on the E-420 sports a new feature - Contrast detect Auto Focus. This was clearly designed for former compact camera users and in contrast detect AF mode the E-420 actually behaves very much like a compact. AF in this mode is very slow though and for general shooting you would probably want to stick to using the viewfinder. Having said that we found the E-420's live view implementation very useful for macros and shooting in the studio on a tripod. You can magnify the live view image up to 10x which allows for very accurate control of the focus (something that is very difficult to achieve with the E-420's comparatively small viewfinder).
The Control Panel Display let's you quickly change the most important shooting parameters and the user interface is in general well designed and logically structured. It is also highly customizable and while that is certainly a good thing it's sometimes quite easy to get lost in the 'mazy' settings menus, especially if you're new to the E-420.
Lars Rehm
more : dpreview
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