Olympus E-3 review

[MrPlaystationboy]

why does the switch for the memorey card door have a picture of pac-man on it ?

[petarSLO]

Great camera and nice review, thanx.

[ryotaryuu]

no HDMI port

[greekpanther1]

@meriuss fuck! i want it right now!

[MrBoat2]

yoyo

[calliographix]

Hi Gordon, I posted a video response. I hope this is OK for you. The Video I posted is part 1 of the E-3 extensive user's guide. It was basically released on DVD by Olympus and came with (almost) every camera delivered. I thought maybe this video could be interesting for you and your viewers. Cheers Calliographix

[MrGolddenboy]

all i now is that i love my e3 you dont need a nikon or canon to take a good pic all you need is the right conditions i have taken pictures were my freind have ask me if i got a new camera as they are profesional photogrphers and i laugh at them and say no still got me e3 900 with 2 lenses that all i need

[scottishrailfan123]

@MrGolddenboy yep equipment dont matter

i do use a nikon myself but i agree with u there

[binio28]

is not, Currys Digital sells it for £649 as clearance

[binio28]

Currys Digital sell E-3 body for 649.95, For that price thats bargain. I bought one as upgrade to my Canon 300D.

[Jerumiah1973]

I totally agree with richardhuckvale. This is a PROcam! And why always this bs about noise with oly camera's? Nothing but a bunch of pixelpeepers talking after one another. Remember it was not that long ago we all loved the noisy, beautiful, pictures from renowned early fotographers. All we do nowadays is b*tch about a little grain in pics. Unfortunately oly suffer a lot from the canikon nonbelievers. Go on, take the red pill and wake up! Or rather not actually, I kinda like being different : )

[RichardHuckvale]

WHY WHY WHY are people referring to this camera as Olympus semi pro range, this camera is part of the Olympus PRO RAGE read the reviews on Olympus and also digital photography magazine camera reviews. for evidence of my comment. THIS IS A PRO RANGE CAMERA!!!

[donconco]

If the E-3 is supposed to be a PRO, what about the Nikon D3 / D3x / D3s or the Canon EOS 1D / 1Ds? What would they be called - ULTRA PROs?

[RichardHuckvale]

THE E-3 IS OLYMPUS'S PRO CAMERA RANG!!!

NIKON HAVE THEIR OWN PRO CAMERA RANGE AND SO DOES CANON!!! oh you comment IS A PRO FOOTBALLER WHO PLAYS FOR STOCKPORT COUNTY NOT CLASSED THE SAME AS A PRO FOOTBALLER FROM MANCHESTER UNITED..... my point is just because Olympus pro range of camera is miles cheaper than a nikon or canon does not make it any less of a PRO CAMERA!!!

[neofx23]

Great Camera! I love my E-3

[LSMAVERICK15]

I'm in the process of selling my e410. I want to purchase either the e3 or the new e30. How would you compare these two cameras, and which on do you think is better? Thanks!

[Gatotsu2009]

Wait for 4 or E5, no sens in buying E3 is 2 years old.

[BBnose]

i think olympus is working on the new e-5.

[someguy6481]

@ BBnoise

that's what I heard is well, hopefully they will solve the high ISO noise issues.

[fvgotch]

One can still create award winning images using high ISO setting of the E-3. Picture is not all about high clean the texture is, often the grainy features can add to the overall mood. I would spend more time on the subject and composition in expressing my vision rather than nit-picking about amount of noise.

[rinceresource]

One can only hope the E5 is what a lot of people thought/hoped the E3 was going to be. They really need to step it up to compete with Canon's 7D and Nikon's D300s.

[Philscbx]

I just need to add one thing about the FLIP OUT SCREEN.

For example, my recent repeated tours to Europe, Germany Amsterdam, Sweden all have one thing in common.

INTIMIDATION, of aiming camera in crowded public areas. If it's a party event like Queens Day, that's one thing, but in general having a FLIP out screen will make it so much more stealth of people maybe paranoia of lenses pointed in their direction when it's up to your face to aim. This is a hands down Winner no questions asked option.

[Philscbx]

This review is Great, Gordon. The vid may need subtitles for those who just looked at it and still question what they just saw. Maybe split screen showing what was pressed, and the view on the screen. A lazy susan to view camera details up close vs in the hands.

I just spent all day on the website. I reviewed everything there from my 30D, 5D, and every model related in that class. I really like how one model is compared to the others. But this guy with the flip out screen like My G5, ROCKS.

[cameralabs]

Glad you found the cameralabs website useful!

[gta1172]

@cameralabs I love the cameralabs website to.

[parasina]

Hello Gordon, that's a very nice end informative review!

I'm an owner of Olympus "E-400 DZ kit" and have purchased 14-54mm, 50mm macro and 11-22mm to go with it. I've just placed an order on the E3 body and can't wait for it to arrive!:)

However, there's one question regarding the performance of the SWD lenses on older cameras. Is there any difference in the speed of focusing between 12-60mm and the 14-54mm lens on a "non-E3" body? Thanks for your reply in advance!

[cameralabs]

I tried the 12-60 on the E-420 at the same time I had the E-3 and it was still very quick at focusing. I'd say the E-3 had the edge, but the E-420 was still very quick - so I'd assume the same applies to E-5xx series too. PS - feel free to discuss this further on the cameralabs forums - there's several SWD owners there with non E-3 bodies...

[parasina]

Thank you for your reply; I might join the cameralabs forums, as well.

Best regards!

[compubomb]

I have an e-500 and love it to death. I'm not sure yous till answer these comments, but does the E-3 have any type of automatic point & shoot menu functionality that the lower level cameras have, such as the e-500 ? For me, it is the most useful feature built into the camera that i currently use. My father with his n90s older 35mm loves my olympus.

[cameralabs]

You can set it to Program mode - that's fully automatic...

[compubomb]

So does this mean it has the full functionality that the E-500 does, so you can set like a portrait mode ? type functionality ?

[cameralabs]

There aren't scene presets on the E-3. Please have a look at our full review at cameralabs . com - you'll find out everything you need to know there! And any other Qs, feel free to post in the Olympus section of the cameralabs forums...

[anticimexxx]

Olympus and Minolta always introduced the most relevant things to the SLR and DSLR market.

Why people now buy Canon and Nikon you ask? Well, because they have no real idea about photography.

[Maalevolent]

THATS RIGHT!!!

[yomi1896]

will that 12mm-60mm lens be a good companion on a olympus e-520? im not sure if that swd will work on a 520 or not. its always said to be for the E-3.

[cameralabs]

It works fine (as does the SWD) on any Four Thirds body including the E-520, although the longer barrel will cast a shadow if you use the popup flash on the E-4xx / E-5xx series bodies. To avoid this you'll need an external flash.

[Philscbx]

You can defeat that effect if you step back and zoom in.

Dragging flash heads to parties at the lake cabin just get in the way, and or jumping on the 4 wheelers out on trail. If anything, they should make hats, and helmets with built in flash.

[BTCSUK]

I hate to cast any sort of bias and I hate to be accused of being picky, but that shutter sound does sound pretty weak.

[hac129]

OMG

I think the "weaker" the shutter sound is, the more pro the camera is... for instance... Nikon D300 and Olympus E-3

Have you tried any pro camera? Probably not.

[requiemfad]

Ive read in photography ooks that in-camera image stabilization is not as effective as lens stabilization. But the demonstration in this video looks pretty good. Is it because its at 10x zoom, or has technology really improved that much

[cameralabs]

There's pros and cons to both approaches - there's several threads about this in the cameralabs forum if you would like to know more... but as you'll see in our E-3 review, it stabilised by 3-4 stops, which is as good as any optical system.

[SPINNER673]

WAIT JUST A COTTON PICKIN' MINUTE! Gordon's wearing a different shirt.

[cameralabs]

Ah come on! I've been wearing this one for the last few videos!

[SPINNER673]

*SMACKS HEAD* so you have. Anyway, how long do you get to keep cameras when they're loaned to you. Does the company give you a limited time with it or do you just send it back when you're finished?

[cameralabs]

It really varies depending on the camera and manufacturer. There's always a waiting list for test cameras though, so you don't get to keep hold of them indefinitely.

[apa101rocks]

Quite funny, I have had this camera since Feb and this video learned me how to use the IS (I didnt know how to get it to work). Thanks alot!

[themanwhoknew]

I like how Olympus makes their cameras solid.

[MandeepGadgetBoy]

Don't you think that the Sony Alpha systems are beter?!

[cameralabs]

In what respect? We can discuss this in greater detail on the Cameralabs forums if you like...

[SPINNER673]

I must ask, Gordon. Do you prefer the screen articulation on the E-3 or on the Sony Alpha A300?

[cameralabs]

The E-3 because it can turn to any angle, whereas the Sony is just vertical and can't even fully face down...

[palakaboy]

why...why do i watch these?!!!hehee...great review as usual gordon!

[midorihafu]

at 3:36-3:45 you note that it's difficult to hold buttons down while turning the dials, but please remember you can set the buttons to remain "on" after releasing them, too, making the process much easier.

[cameralabs]

Yes this is true, but I'm comparing its overall ergonomics to other semi-pro cameras. This will always be a personal thing though, and you've made a very good point. The important thing is anyone thinking of buying any of these cameras should always try them in person to see how they feel.

[funpoleece]

How does the IS work on the E3? I thought it was not possible to see the effects of IS in the viewfinder on cameras with in body IS.

[cameralabs]

The IS is based in the E-3's body, which means you can't see it through the viewfinder, but you can see it on the screen in Live View - and that's what I demonstrated here...

[icy2527]

Olympus is best Consumer DSLR producerbut nmot for Pros .IMO Some Olympus'lenses are not so resonable price like  14-54 F/2.8 ,Olympus Thailand sells it to me in the price around 1100 $ compare to closest rival EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 Canon Thailand sells about 900$ . I think many Pros who want to use Olympus'camera may consider about this and that's why Olympus DSLR not so popular in pros society like Canon .But I use Olympus (E-500) because of its pricetag and I don't have to use pro lenses .

[fastfashn]

Dealers in the US sell the 14-54 in the $300 to $400 range.

"Some Olympus'lenses are not so resonable price like 14-54 F/2.8 ,Olympus Thailand sells it to me in the price around 1100 $ compare to closest rival EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 Canon Thailand sells about 900$"

You should find another dealer.

[icy2527]

I live in Thailand and that's a truth they sell 14-54 for 36000 baht not included VAT.

[xmeda]

hah.. here in Czech Rep. Oly offers cheap E410/420/510 bodies, kits and double-zoom kits, but if you want more lenses, they are TOO EXPENSIVE if compared to other manufacturers.

My choice was Pentax K20D :)

[Qonfused]

Great review... :)

[629180]

it looks like a rely great camera but iam more into portable devises

[theroden]

nice review :)