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Olympus E-3: Front view
Olympus E-3: Back view
Key features:
- 10 megapixel sensor
- Weather-proof pro quality digital SLR
- Built-in Image Stabilization
- Sensor Dust Reduction technology
- Live View
- 2.5-inch Swivel LCD
- Pro-level SLR with pop-up flash
- All-digital lens system
Camera options:
- HLD-4 Power Battery Holder
- FL-50R wireless flash
Best suited for:
- Sports photography
- Low and available light (ISO 100 – 3200)
- Wedding photography
- Photojournalism
- Portraiture
- Landscapes
- Close-up photography
Not recommended for:
Price:
- $1,699.99 body only
- $2,499.99 with 12-60mm f/2.8-4 lens
Overview
The new Olympus E-3 is the flagship of its digital SLR line and combines speed of operation–from startup to capture—with live view and dust-reduction capabilities. It has body-integrated mechanical image stabilization that works with every Zuiko Digital lens, a 10-megapixel sensor, all housed in a dust and splash-proof magnesium alloy body.
The camera’s shutter is rated up to 150,000 cycles, so it should withstand heavy duty and professional use. I had a chance to test the camera under a wide range of challenging conditions on the island of Puerto Rico and was impressed by the E-3’s handling and image quality.
It’s fast
The E-3 has an eleven-point biaxial cross type AF system, five frames-per-second continuous shooting, and 1/8000th second top shutter speed. The target points for the eleven-point AF sensor can be selected individually or in combination with adjacent points.
The sensor has a hounds tooth pattern phase detection layout that uses micro-lamination technologies to produce what Olympus likes to think of as forty-four focus points. Whether I agree with that concept or not, the E-3’s AF is fast and crisp and I was able to get sharp, spontaneous images on the streets of Old San Juan.
The camera is available as a body or with an ED 12-60mm f/2.8-4 (24-120mm equivalent) lens that charts new territory in defining what a “kit” lens should be. This versatile lens is part of three new Digital Supersonic Wave Drive(SWD) lenses from Olympus that also includes the ED 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 SWD (100-400mm equivalent) and a ED 14-35mm f/2 SWD (28-70mm equivalent) that’s expected to be available in the first quarter of 2008.
New wave: The new Olympus Supersonic Wave Drive lenses, such as this ED 12-60mm f/2.8-4, allow fast auto focusing and quiet operation, which is important when shooting in situations where silence is truly golden, such as a wedding ceremony.
Built-in image stabilization has the advantage of providing image stabilization for every lens attached to the camera body. A gyro detects and analyzes vibrations and then uses a Supersonic Wave Drive motor to move the imaging sensor. Olympus claims this technology compensates for camera movement up to five stops! While shooting at night and without a tripod I tested the camera’s image stabilization ability and captured sharp images that would otherwise be impossible without a tripod.
Going Steady: This group of boats at the Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club was photographed handheld at 9:30 at night with an exposure of 0.6 sec at f/3.5 and ISO 2000. Is it sharp? You bet! ©2007 Joe Farace
The E-3’s optical viewfinder provides a 100 percent view and its 1.15x magnification produces a large, clear view matched only by full frame digital SLRs and Canon’s EOS D40. The 100 percent accurate 2.5-inch and swiveling Live View LCD permits creative viewing angles for capturing macro images, overhead “Hail Mary” shots, or street photography where you don’t want to be seen pointing the camera directly at a subject.
My favorite Live View function is real-time image monitoring of white balance and exposure making it useful for photojournalists and wedding photographers who have to work quickly under fast changing lighting conditions.
A balanced approach: In this photograph the E-3’s Live View function enabled me in real time to dial in one of the E-3’s White Balance presets to produce neutral colors of the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. Exposure was 0.3 seconds handheld at f/4.5 and ISO 1600, so the built-in image stabilization helped too. Lens was an Olympus Zuiko Digital 7-14mm f/4. ©2007 Joe Farace
How’s the image quality?
Image quality was excellent and what you’d expect from a 10-megapixel digital SLR. The camera’s TruePic III processing engine offers high-speed image processing, accurate color, and low noise up to ISO 1600. Noise at higher ISOs was well controlled and wasn’t objectionable until after ISO 1600. If noise at these higher ISO settings bothers you I suggest external digital noise reduction software such as Neat Image (www.neatimage.com) that’s available for Mac OS and Windows computers.
Every time you turn on the camera, the E-3’s dust reduction system uses a Supersonic Wave Filter that physically vibrates to remove dust from the sensor and capture it on an adhesive membrane. Working in El Yunque rain forest was a test of the camera’s dust reduction system eliminating spots from image files. Of the more than 1,000 images I made in Puerto Rico, only a one or two required spotting for the tiniest of specks.
Ultimate stress test: While in the rain forest, I also tested the E-3’s splash and dust-proof magnesium alloy chassis by (unintentionally) getting soaked during a rainstorm that also caused me to slip. Both the camera and I landed hard on some large rocks at the bottom of La Mina waterfall. I needed first, aid but the camera was unscathed. Exposure for this small waterfall in El Yunque was 1/125 sec at f/4.5 and ISO 400. Lens was the ED 12-60mm f/2.8-4.
The E-3 body ($1,699.99) uses a classic penta-mirror design and weighs 28.2 ounces and is hefty but not big. The camera’s menu structure is easy to understand and provides everything from full manual control to customizable settings for what seems like every imaginable photographic situation.
The camera’s twin memory card slot design accepts CompactFlash Type I and II, UDMA, Microdrives and xD-Picture Cards, and you can even copy images from one card to another with a simple button push.
Screen gems: The E-3 is seemingly infinitely customizable and while having so many options can sometimes get confusing, pushing the OK button on the camera’s back displays all of commonly accessed menu items. When you dig into the two “wrench” (aka Custom Function) settings there are submenus that let you customize the E-3 to match your shooting style.
 Along with the launch of the E-3, Olympus offers several new accessories. The HLD-4 Power Battery Holder ($199.95) holds one or two Lithium Ion batteries to extend the E-3’s shooting life and enables comfortable vertical shooting with a separate shutter button, two control dials, and dedicated Function and AF target buttons. Like the E-3 body, the battery holder is splash and dust-proof.
Grip or no grip, the E-3’s ergonomics are excellent although it’s liberally festooned with lots of buttons some of which, like Exposure Compensation, can be a bit stiff to operate. I used the camera with and without the HLD-4 and as much as I liked the convenience of the vertical shutter release, I enjoyed not having the extra weight more.
The E-3 is one of the few professional digital SLRs with a built-in flash and you can expand its versatility with the FL-50R ($429.99) wireless shoe-mount flash or its smaller sibling, the FL-36R ($229.99.) Both flashes have a swivel head that can be rotated in four directions and permit wireless multi-flash photography when used with the commander function of the E-3’s built-in flash or another FL-50R on the hot shoe. The E-3 can control up to three wireless flash groups independently and full control of each unit in a multiple flash set up is possible though the camera’s menus.
Power trip: While in Puerto Rico I was able to test the E-3 using two FL-50R flash units held off camera and have them successfully tripped by the E-3’s pop-up flash. Menus on the camera control all of the power settings for each of the three flashes.
The Bottom Line
In this day and age where some digital SLRs are rushed to market, warts and all, or–worse yet–announced but not delivered in a timely fashion, the Olympus E-3 stands alone as a camera with a build quality that exceeds its price point and a functionality that can handle whatever you throw at it.
Joe Farace is the author of a new book called “Getting Started in Digital Imaging” published by Focal Press (ISBN 024080838X.) It’s available in all the best bookstores as well as Amazon.com.
© 2007 Adorama
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