| As you may remember from our Olympus E300 review in February
2005, we regularly experienced exposure problems in certain lighting
situations during our test. To find out what caused this further testing
was carried out. This revealed that when a subject that was significantly
darker or lighter than its surroundings, occupied the centre of the
viewfinder, the exposure was so strongly influenced by this dark or light
object, that the image became severely over- or underexposed. This problem
occurred when centre-weighted or ESP metering were selected. We even
suggested that it seemed as if spot metering was applied in all metering
modes, since a slight shift in camera position resulted in completely
different exposure values, which is of course characteristic of spot
metering. A second camera which was duly delivered by Olympus exhibited
exactly the same problem.
With the introduction of firmware version 1.3 last month, Olympus state
that stability of digital ESP and centre-weighted metering has been
improved. As we were curious to find out if the exposure problems we
experienced with earlier firmware versions would now be eliminated, we
repeated the test we did with the Olympus lens cap. Placing the cap in the
centre of the viewfinder and selecting all three metering modes
consecutively now resulted in markedly different exposures from last time.
If you look at our series of test images below you can see that, when
using centre-weighted or ESP metering, the camera now behaves more in line
with what other cameras "see" when determining correct exposure.
After taking some more images in day to day photo situations, we are
pleased to conclude that the E-300 now delivers much better results in
tricky lighting situations resulting in correctly exposed images.
Should you want to update the firmware on your own E-300 to version
1.3, the procedure is actually quite simple. Make sure you have a full
battery and are connected to the internet before you start. Connect your
camera to a PC through the USB cable. Start Olympus Master; select image
browser and click "online service" in the top menu bar followed
by "update camera". Now switch on your camera and follow the
steps in the menu. Everything is self explanatory and the menu will guide
you through all the steps with clear pictograms and instructions while
automatically installing the new firmware. Make sure you do not turn off
the camera before the camera LCD screen flashes "OK" and the
update is completed. The whole procedure should take no more than five to
ten minutes.
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