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Olympus E1 SLR

The first "Four Thirds" system (almost) sees the light of day!

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Page 10:Image Storage & Interface

Review First Posted: 06/24/2003, Updated: 03/16/2004

Image Storage and Interface

The E-1 stores images on CompactFlash Type I or II memory cards, and is also compatible with the IBM MicroDrive. A range of image resolutions are available, including 2,560 x 1,920; 1,600 x 1,200; 1,280 x 960; 1,024 x 768, and 640 x 480 pixels. File formats include uncompressed TIFF, RAW data, and two JPEG compression levels. Through the camera's settings menu, you can specify whether a RAW image is recorded on its own, or with a JPEG copy in addition to it.

Image Capacity vs
Resolution/Quality
128 MB Memory Card
TIFF
RAW
Fine
Normal
2,560 x 1,920 Images
(Avg size)
7
16.0 MB
12
10.7 MB
32
4.0 MB
100
1.28 MB
Approx.
Compression
0.9:1
(?)
1.4:1 4:1 12:1
1,600 x 1,200
pixels
Images
(Avg size)
- - 87
1.5 MB
244
524 KB
Approx.
Compression
- - 4:1 12:1
1,280 x 960
pixels
Images
(Avg size)
- -
134
950 KB
372
344 KB
Approx.
Compression
- -
4:1
11:1
1,024 x 768
pixels
Images
(Avg size)
- -
205
622 KB
528
242 KB
Approx.
Compression
- -
4:1
11:1
640x480
pixels
Images
(Avg size)
- -
488
262 KB
1128
113 KB
Approx.
Compression
- -
4:1
10:1

 

The one thing that was odd about the E-1's file sizes is that its TIFF formatted files were actually larger than 3x the number of pixels. All I can guess is that the E-1's TIFF format must include some fairly extensive additional information in the file headers. (Pure speculation, but perhaps a moderately large JPEG preview image?)

The E-1 supports both IEEE 1394 ("FireWire") and USB 2.0 interfaces, and the camera comes with both cables. When I plugged the E-1 into my Sony VAIO Windows XP machine (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz, 512 MB RAM), I was amazed (!) by its download speed. I clocked it at 3.04 megabytes/second, connected via the USB 2.0 interface. - Yes, that's right, over 3 megabytes per second. This makes it by far the fastest-downloading camera I've tested to date. (For reference, most USB-connected cameras max out at around 600 KB/second, with an occasional USB 2.0-compatible model hitting 1 MB/sec or slightly higher.) Obviously, to achieve these speeds, you'll need to be using a high-speed CF card. (I used a Lexar 24x WA-enabled card for these tests.)

As mentioned earlier, the E-1 also allows direct camera control from a host computer, using Olympus' new Studio software, although I haven't as yet tested this capability

Lost Images? - Download this image-recovery program so you'll have it when you need it...
Since we're talking about memory and image storage, this would be a good time to mention the following: I get a ton of email from readers who've lost photos due to a corrupted memory card. It's tragic when it happens, there are few things more precious than photo memories. Corrupted memory cards can happen with any card type and any camera manufacturer, nobody's immune. "Stuff happens," as they say. A surprising number of "lost" images can be recovered with an inexpensive, easy to use piece of software though. Given the amount of email I've gotten on the topic, I now include this paragraph in all my digicam reviews. The program you need is called PhotoRescue, by DataRescue SA. Read our review of it if you'd like, but download the program now, so you'll have it. It doesn't cost a penny until you need it, and even then it's only $29, with a money back guarantee. So download PhotoRescue for Windows or PhotoRescue for Mac while you're thinking of it. (While you're at it, download the PDF manual and quickstart guide as well.) Stash the file in a safe place and it'll be there when you need it. Trust me, needing this is not a matter of if, but when... PhotoRescue is about the best and easiest tool for recovering digital photos I've seen. (Disclosure: IR gets a small commission from sales of the product, but I'd highly recommend the program even if we didn't.) OK, now back to our regularly scheduled review...

 

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