Olympus E-620 vs. Canon Rebel XSi

[Updated: February 27, 2009 @ 1:17 pm] The newly announced Olympus E-620, slips into the company's consumer dSLR line between the $599.99 E-520 and the $1,299.99 E-30, filling in a gap that pits it directly against the popular Canon Rebel XSi. The E-620 out-specs the year-old Rebel XSi with its sensor-shift image stabilization, built-in wireless flash controller, greater sensitivity range, and a fully articulated (though slightly smaller) LCD,

but has only seven autofocus points (vs. the Canon's nine). Add to that some of the interesting special-effects "Art Filters" that Olympus introduced in the E-30 (e.g., Warhol-esque pop art, grainy high-contrast black and white film, and a pinhole camera effect among others), in a package that's closer in size to the very compact E-420 than the E-520, and you've got a pretty interesting package that should give the XSi a run for its money.

A quick comparison of the specs:

	Olympus E-620	Canon EOS Rebel XSi
Price	$799.99 (with 14-42mm lens)	$799.99 (with 18-55mm lens)
Sensor	12.3 megapixels, 17.3x13mm Live MOS	12.2 megapixels, 14.8x22.2mm CMOS
Continuous Shooting Speed	4 fps	3.5 fps
LCD	2.7-inch, 230,000 pixels (articulated)	3-inch, 230,000 pixels (fixed)
Autofocus	7-point	9-point
Sensitivity	ISO 100-3200	ISO 100-1600
Live View	Yes	Yes
Storage Media	Compact Flash Type I/II (UDMA), Microdrive, xD-Picture Card	SD memory card, SDHC memory card
Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift	Optical (in lens)
Dimensions	5.11x3.7x2.36 inches	5.1x3.8x2.4 inches
Weight (body)	16.6 oz	16.8 oz

[Table updated to reflect XSi's in-lens optical image stabilization.]

DPReview has a good hands-on preview of the E-620 (pre-production) here, including a specs comparison with the E-520 and E-30.