Olympus goes head-to-head with Canon for entry-level DSLR customers

Related story: E-300/Evolt samples online

Olympus UK has confirmed the price of their new eight megapixel E-300 DSLR (Evolt E-300 in the US market) at £699.99, including VAT, supplied with the new 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 Digital Zuiko standard zoom lens.

This confirms our assumption that Olympus is targeting the entry-level mass market for digital SLR cameras, currently monopolised by Canon and the EOS-300D. When the E-300 hits the shops in late December, the sub-£700 DSLR-with-lens choice for buyers will be exclusively between the Olympus E-300 and the Canon EOS-300D.

We recently compared four leading budget-priced DSLRs. With the Olympus E-300 you get eight megapixels, design distinctiveness, a supersonic wave CCD cleaner and metal-chassis build quality. The Canon EOS-300D is a rather ageing design with a plastic body, but Canon is pushing the 300D very hard with some very tempting incentives starting this month and it has the key advantage of the Canon EOS system behind it.