Olympus E-410

The flash pop-up too is not mechanically controlled, as the flash button gets activated only once the E-410 is switched on. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it just goes to show that the camera is dumbing things down for the end user by keeping most of its functions electronically activated instead of mechanically. Though that will work very well with a casual user, an enthusiast may take a while getting used to the lack of control.

There are quite a number of functions in the E-410 that make it very consumer-friendly. Firstly there's the Supersonic Wave Filter (SSWF) technology that removes lose dust particles from the sensor. By default the SSWF takes place as soon as you start the camera, which is why there's a slight delay on the start-up time.

Then there's the dual memory card compatibility, so you can use a CF card or an XD card on the camera.

When you put everything in place, the lowdown is that the E-410 is the closest bridge you can have from a consumer camera like a superzoom and a fully-functional D-SLR. Though you can do just about everything on the E-410, only few of those options are instantly accessible. But then, lesser mechanical parts and lesser buttons probably equal to a smaller build, which I feel was one of Olympus' bigger priorities.