Olympus E-1

£1,850 (with a 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 lens) BUY FROM HERE

The lowdown
Olympus's new top-end consumer digital camera is its first model with a removable lens system designed for digital photography. Thanks to a standard called Four Thirds, introduced in collaboration with Kodak, which regulates the type and diameter of the lens mount, E-1 owners can choose from different lenses.

What’s good?
The camera is a dream to handle, courtesy of an ergonomically sound design. The 1.8in 134k pixel LCD viewfinder is superb, while the control and the menu system can be mastered fairly swiftly. Images are saved on to either a CompactFlash card or an IBM Microdrive (top storage capacity of 4GB). The five megapixel images are generally superb, with excellent colour resolution.

What’s bad?
While Four Thirds offers unrivalled flexibility, it also locks owners into a system that is far from universal. There's no flash (an external one costs £350) and the autofocus was not as speedy as we'd expect from a camera in this range.

Do you need it?
While there’s lots to appreciate about the E1, the price is high and competition may come from the cheaper Canon EOS 300D and Sony's Cybershot DSC-F828.
7/10

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Olympus