 First impressions! |
| Review Date: November 30, 2007 |
| Reviewer: S. Dang, Los Angeles, CA |
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R19LN5NYRRBNM3 I uploaded an improved review, my previous one turned out to be not all that helpful, maybe this one is better. Let me know by clicking Yes! :)
A quick summary:
Olympus made major improvements to their pro line in almost every facet-- structural, design, robustness, lens and imaging performance.
The SWD lens performance paired with this body is outstanding, as you'll see in my video demo. The imaging sensor and processor are very good also. Noise levels are on par with the Digic3 processors from Canon. A fantastic buy, I highly recommend this camera for both professional and serious photo enthusiasts. There are plenty of very good ind-depth, technical reviews available. Here are a few I recommend:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E3/E3A.HTM
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Olympus-E-3
http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/17474/olympus-e3-review/ |
The 4/3 System Finally Delivers On Its Promise
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| Review Date: December 19, 2007 |
| Reviewer: W. Fink, Rochester, NY |
I have toyed with the 4/3 digital SLR system several times since it was introduced in 2003, shrugged my shoulders and gone back to Nikon or Canon. Frankly, I had about given up on 4/3, but Olympus dropped the E-3 on us a few weeks ago and showed us it could be all they promised with 4/3 when it was first introduced over 4 years ago.
ANY DSLR system is about lenses in the end, and Olympus 4/3 is blessed with superb optics. To get an idea of how really great the new Olympus glass is you need to use some of the top lenses, or read a few of the big photo sites like dpreview, imaging-resource, or DCRP. They have all finally acknowledged in reviews of the E-420/410 and E-520/510 that Olympus has the best quality kit lenses of any camera maker, and that the Olympus claim that lenses designed for digital produce better quality images is proving to be true. www.slrgear.com even went so far as to test most of the current Olympus lens line after being so impressed with the kit lenses on the 510/410.
Olympus 4/3 is also by design an all-electronic lens mount - like Canon. Reviewers on the web tend to be so Canon and Nikon biased that they often forget really basic things like this. The 4/3 system has all motor driven lenses, and the lenses were ALL designed for digital photography. I am frankly tired of seeing reviews that talk of Canon as if they are the only company with all motor lenses. There are actually 3 - Canon, 4/3, and Sigma - although some of Sigma's other features are archaic and sales are very low so most just ignore them. Sony/Minolta and Nikon are not similarly blessed with an all-electronic lens mount, and many lenses are still noisily driven by screws on the lens mount in both systems. In fairness, Nikon has been moving rapidly to motor-driven lenses, but Sony seems stuck in their noisy and slower screw-drive AF even though they have used lens motors in a rare few long telephotos. The point here is that the 4/3 mount at least matches the best, and it is better than most.
The Olympus issue has never been glass or lens mount , it has really been the options you had (or rather didn't have) in camera bodies to use with this excellent Olympus glass on an all electronic mount. As great as the current E-410 and E-510 really are, they are still saddled with an ancient and not particularly low-light sensitive 3-point autofocus system. Shooting in truly low light was all but impossible and your Olympus searched for focus while Canon, Nikon, and Sony locked on focus. There just wasn't a choice of anything better from Olympus. That is until the E-3.
The E-3 takes Olympus AF from Sigma territory to state-of-the-art, and as soon as the new 11-point, all cross sensor, dual-plane AF module makes its way down the food chain, no one will ignore Olympus any more. I hope Olympus can also find a way to move the terrific E-3 feature of AF with manual touch-up down the food chain as well - because the other big Olympus issue is that stupid "Manual focus by wire" feature and Manual Focus select by menu - and it is mostly fixed in the E-3.
This time around I bought an E-3 and a 12-60mm - and the tiny little excellent-quality kit lenses for when the 12-60mm weighs too much and I can compromise just a little on quality. I have added other Olympus equipment to my E-3 system quickly, like the unique 70-300mm (140 to 600mm equivalent with 1:1 Macro), the superbly sharp little 35mm f3.5 Macro that does equivalent TWICE life-size macro right out of the box, and the E-3 grip.
I am completely and totally impressed with the E-3. All the lenses are designed for 4/3 mount and for best performance on a 4/3 camera - they aren't 35mm film designs. No other camera offers the combination of effective live-view, built-in image stabilization, the best auto sensor cleaning you can buy, an articulating LCD that can fold away for protection (AND a top LCD for basic data), a built-in pop-up flash, effective dust and splash sealing of the camera AND the lenses, a popularly-priced zoom that covers the equivalent of 140mm to 600mm and does Macro up to equivalent life size (70-300mm), MUCH improved noise reduction that goes to ISO 3200, user-programmable Auto ISO that can cover the full ISO range (Canon still stubbornly refuses to fully offer this option), and the best range of available lenses DESIGNED FOR a digital camera system.
The E-3 is a bargain for a true PRO grade camera - and it is easily built as well as the Nikon D3 or the top Canons which are $5000 or more. You will get real value for the $1699 you spend on the E-3 body compared to any competing system from any company. However, most will find the E-3 expensive unless they are serious photo hobbyists or Pros, and Olympus needs to move the E-3 refinements down to E-510 price levels as fast as they can.
The E-3 is a great piece of creative engineering, an area Olympus is known for. After all they invented auto-sensor cleaning and live view - which is now finding its way to every DSLR. This is the best Olympus camera EVER, and once you have used it you will be hooked.
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Olympus Digital E-3 is a Superstar!
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| Review Date: December 27, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Raymond S. Iorio, |
Although I have been a Nikon f4s & Contax G2 User (35mm) for years, I have switched over to digital - and I am glad I choose the Olympus E-3 as my dslr. The camera is just a great piece of Photographic Equipment - providing me with a great way to transition from Pro 35mm to Pro Digital SLR. It is much lighter and compact than my workhorse f4s with all the same features plus many extras.
Impressive metal body frame, water and air tight as a drum, progressive electronics and intuitive controls the camera rates a 5 star from me - would give it a 6 star if available. The camera cleans itself electronically - end of dust problems which is the plague of digital slr's. The auto focus is spot on perfect and really NASCAR fast! The meter is very good and can be set to matrix, center weighted average, spot, and a few others to experiment with. I have used the matrix which is very good, but prefer the center weighted metering strictly out of years of habit. For very akward lighting I prefer spot metering or manual to get the job done correctly. The camera for all practical purposes (except frame size) is a 35mm slr. One can choose aperature priority, shutter priority, programed auto, or manual exposure modes. There is plus and minus ev compensation up to 5. Bracketing, bulb, just about any shutter speed one could want are all included. There are numerous other features that can be turned on if one prefers.
The 'noise' most people hear about in digital cameras (which is nothing different than grain on 35mm print film) is not present at 100-200 ASA. It is only minutely present at 200-400 ASA if you use a microscope to examine it - or for the rest of the world not present at all. At 400 - 800 ASA it is hardly noticable. As a matter of fact, there is less noise from ASA 400-800 than I have ever seen in the same ASA color print film, that is saying something for this digital.
As I said, you can use this just as you would a 35mm slr and with a 2gig memory card you can have about 200 photos using the super fine mode which I prefer. For most shooting the fine mode would be perfect - super fine is just my preference.
From what I have read the Sandisk 2gig III memory card is about the best you can buy. Most reviews say to stay away from every manufactures 4 or higher gig memory card, I listen to the reviewers on this aspect.
The photos already taken with it have been exposed predominately in aperature priority and printed directly without the need for touching up through photo shop - a lengthy way to take photos, in my opinion - call me old fashioned. To me that is very impressive - almost back to using 35mm without spending hours on touch up for a '24 exposure roll' of film. However, I have cropped in photo shop and have changed some of the photos to experiment with it (e.g. from super sharp focus to soft focus for effect) and it is useful and may even be necessary for that one complicated lighting condition that only photo shop could improve upon. For the most part though, the camera photos are pretty near perfect right out of the memory card.
The Olympus 12-60mm lens I purchased is superb, the optics are as good if not better than my Contax G2 lens (previously my sharpest lens, even over costly Leica's) and to have the proverbial 'cake and eat it too', it is a zoom lens! The lens offers me 35mm equivelant of 24-120mm in one lens - perfect for wide angle to telephoto which is the range most pros and 'civilians' use anyway.
I have not experimented with the raw feature yet to the chagrin of my photographer friends. I understand from them that it basically produces a negative which is refined and printed through a program such as Photo Shop. For the professionals doing magazine layouts and covers, this gives them the ability to produce a job-set print without shooting hundreds of photos to get that one or two elusive top notch photo. I will try this, albeit I still like the old fashioned way of taking photos without photoshop or raw programs.
Digital Camera Pros:
A great thing about a digital is you can look at your photos and decide if they are good enough to keep, or you can delete them right then and there and re-shoot.....a definate advantage over film! Imagine going to Europe, Tahiti, Australia, China, Japan or somewhere else far away and not having to bring 30 rolls of film! You never have to worry if your photos will come out good either. No more worry about airport x-ray security ruining your high speed film either.
Comparing Nikon D300 to Olympus E-3:
While I was planning all along to get the Nikon D300, when holding both the Oly and Nikon in person and going through the motions with both, I picked the Olympus. The lens was exactly what I was looking for as an all purpose lens, the feel was great and I was very impressed with the camera feel and function.
My only suggestion to Olympus and Nikon and the rest of the group is put the Aperature setting on the lens, not the camera body and put the speed on top of the body like the 'good old intuitive days of 35mm'.
Cons of the E-3:
So far I have not any cons to speak of, the camera performs perfectly doing what a camera should do..... allowing the photographer to be creative and concentrate on composition. While the Nikon does offer the D300 with 12MP and the Olympus E-3 offers 10MP, the difference is minimal, actually 8MP is all one really needs. Of course if you plan on blowing every photo up to poster size then wait for heavy, clunky, medium format digitals to come way down in price and when resting use the camera as a dumbell, if you can still lift your arms!
Good Shooting.
-Ray |
A Perfect Natural Photography Camera
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| Review Date: February 8, 2008 |
| Reviewer: James D. DeWitt, Fairbanks, AK United States |
I mostly photograph wild birds, usually with a Zuiko 300mm f2.8 lens, often combined with a 2.0X teleconverter. It's a lot of lens, but the E-3 handles it superbly. Quick, accurate focus. Terrific exposure control, even in automatic settings. Enough pixels that you can crop in post-processing without compromising quality. Rapid shooting, even in RAW mode. I'm a fairly serious photographer and this camera does everything I need. It even feels good in the hand. All this an in-camera image stabilization as well. The IS alone allows you to shoot hand-held with a long lens down to 1/250 second.
It's sturdy, too. The camera and lens set up spend most days clamped to a tripod, balanced on my shoulder, banging into shrubbery, or perched on rocks or in swamps. It's amazingly solid.
Unlike the E-500, the E-3 sports a true USB-2 connection, so downloads of photos are much quicker.
Other reviewers have said that some earlier Olympus accessories don't work with the E-3. That's inaccurate. Some older lenses and flashes can't take advantage of some of the advanced features in the E-3, but they still work just fine. My Zuiko 300mm f2.8 is proof of that. And yes, it does focus more quickly on the E-3 than on the E-1 or the E-500.
If you are a nature photographer, I strongly recommend the Olympus E-3. It's a terrific example of a state of the art digital single lens reflex camera. |
E-3 is a winner!
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| Review Date: December 23, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Thomas J. Glover, Anchorage, AK USA |
Long time E-1 fan but moved to Nikon D-200 when Olympus didn't release a 10mp body for years. The E-3 is fantastic and will keep it and the D-200!
1.Extremely fast focus
2.Low light focus blows away any camera I have ever used
3.Waterproof
4.Olympus Pro glass is wonderful...don't scrimp, get the Olympus Pro lenses with SWD, you won't regret the extra cost.
5.Love the dual chip setup...cf and XD...you choose which chip to write to
6.One very minor negative...when using the live view feature, autofocus does not function. Autofocus only works through the view finder. HOWEVER, manual focus does work with the live view. Now that I have played with this for a bit, I actually like it better the way it is. It's really nice to be able to use the live view for closeup shots and be able to manual focus. It would be nice to be able to turn the autofocus on and off for the live view just like you can through the viewfinder.
7.High ISO produces some amazingly good images. You can easily shoot 400 and 800 with little grain. Just starting to work with the 1600-3200.
8.Controls are a little different than the Nikon but easy to learn and easy to switch off using one camera or the other.
9.Built in flash is pretty good but not over about 20 feet
I can't speak highly enough of this camera, it is outstanding.
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