Dual does it for Olympus E-450
Photos of Olympus E-450 entry-level dSLR. Olympus E-450 photos
Olympus follows up its E-420 compact dSLR with the similarly small and aggressively priced E-450. At launch, at least, Olympus plans to offer the camera solely as a 2-lens kit, with its f3.5-5.6 14-42mm and f4.0-5.6 40-150mm lenses (for 35mm-equivalent focal range coverage of 28 to 300mm in total).
As you can see from the following brief spec comparison, the guts of the camera are essentially the same as the E-420's:
| Olympus E-420 (with 14-42mm lens) | Olympus E-450 (with 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses) | Nikon D60 (with 18mm-55mm lens) | Canon EOS Rebel XS (with 18-55mm IS lens) | |
| Sensor | 10-megapixel Live MOS | 10-megapixel Live MOS | 10.2-megapixel CCD | 10.1-megapixel CCD |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 100 - ISO 1,600 | ISO 100 - ISO 1,600 | ISO 100 - ISO 1,600/3,200 (expanded) | ISO 100 - ISO 800/1,600 (expanded) |
| Focal-length multiplier | 2x | 2x | 1.5x | 1.6x |
| Continuous shooting | 3.5 fps 6 raw |
3.5 fps 8 raw |
3 fps n/a |
3 fps 5 raw |
| Viewfinder | 95 percent coverage 0.92x magnification |
95 percent coverage 0.92x magnification |
95 percent coverage 0.8x magnification |
95 percent coverage 0.81x magnification |
| Autofocus | 3-pt AF | 3-pt AF | 3-pt AF | 7-pt AF |
| Live View | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| LCD size | 2.7 inches fixed | 2.7 inches fixed | 2.5 inches fixed | 2.5 inches fixed |
| Dimensions (WHD) | 5.1 in x 3.6 in x 2.1 | 5.1 in x 3.1 in x 2.1 | 5.1 in x 3.7 in x 2.5 | 4.5 in x 3.8 in x 2.4 |
| Weight | 13.4 oz. | 13.4 oz. | 16.1 oz. | 15.9 oz. |
| Mfr. price | $499.99 | $699.99 | $599.99 | $599.99 |
Olympus does add a limited selection of its special effect Art Filters--Pop Art, Soft Focus, and Pinhole--as well as a variety of enhancements to autofocus in Live View, and integration of its Shadow Adjustment Technology dynamic-range booster. It also incorporates LCD-based preview, but in general dSLR LCDs aren't accurate enough to make exposure or white balance decisions based on previews.
The E-450 is slated to ship in June, though it makes its public debut on Mother's Day on QVC.
Senior Editor Lori Grunin has been covering digital imaging for two decades, but her memory's kind of sketchy on the details. You can hear about it every week on Indecent Exposure, the podcast she co-hosts with Matt Fitzgerald. 
