The new Olympus E-3 is the flagship of its Digital SLR line and provides the high-precision performance demanded by professional and enthusiastic photographers. It combines speed and weatherproof durability for capturing exceptional images in any situation. Olympus pioneered Full Time Live View and Dust Reduction technologies for digital SLR cameras, leading where others have followed. Now, the new E-3 enhances those technical innovations and raises the performance bar with the fastest autofocus in the world. Body-Integrated Mechanical Image Stabilization to stabilize every lens, a 10-megapixel Live MOS image sensor to capture beautiful images, and a magnesium alloy body for dust-proof and splash-proof durability join the impressive innovations developed for the E-3.

Evolt E-3 DSLR Highlights

SPEED. The world’s fastest Auto Focus system when combined with Zuiko Digital Specific SWD 12-60mm lens.

The E-3’s AF system works in the blink of an eye to ensure you never miss a shot. When combined with the Zuiko Digital SWD ED 12-60mm lens, the E-3’s AF technology works at speeds unmatched by any other camera in the world. An 11-point full twin-cross AF sensor system produces tack sharp images. Dual sensing arrays on horizontal and vertical axes are arranged in a unique half pitch shifted pattern for ultimate precision. Critical auto focus functions are faster: processing speed, object capturing, and tracking performance. A dedicated data processing engine and a new AF algorithm rapidly handle sensor information. New pixel multiplication technologies gives the E-3 an AF luminescence range of -2 to 19 EV for better low light shooting.

Enhanced SWD Technology. The ultra-fast auto focus speed of the E-3 is partly due to the sophisticated Supersonic WaveDrive motors in our new Zuiko Digital lenses. Combined with an ultra-compact encoder for detecting rotational movement with 5 µm precision, these lenses work smoothly, quietly and

Technical Details

-10-megapixel Live MOS image sensor captures enough detail for photo-quality 18 x 24-inch prints
-2.5-inch Live View LCD display; magnify directly on the LCD by 5, 7, or 10x
-Mechanical Image Stabilization with Supersonic Wave Drive
-Exclusive dust-free technology for spot-free photos
-Capture images to CompactFlash Type I/II, Microdrive, xD-Picture Card (Dual-Slot)
See more technical details

 "e-3" 2010-01-23
By Scott Saiz (miami, fl)
great camera, easy to use, amazing picture quality. super fast focus with 12-60 olympus lens.


 "Great colors, rugged camera, a workhorse, ideal for travel" 2009-12-21
By Luca P.C.P. (Mountain View, CA)
I have had my E-3 for two years now. It is a fantastic camera, and a real workhorse.
The E-3 has an external white balance sensor, and in part due to that, in part due to the famed Olympus color processing, the photos it takes have wonderful color -- both natural, and incredibly pleasing.
The low-light sensitivity is perhaps not on par with other cameras: I find it acceptable up to ISO 1250 only. On the other hand, the image stabilization system (in-camera, works with every lens) works very well, and I can take sharp pictures (even when viewed at 1:1 magnification) with shutter speeds down to 1/10s.
The camera is fast and responsive, the viewfinder is large, and provides full information.
I bought this camera with the Olympus 12-60 lens, but lately, I prefer the 14-54 on it as my standard lens: it is lighter, it gives more working distance for macro photos, and it balances a bit better.
The camera, and the lens, are sealed against rain, dust, and humidity. I think this combo is an ideal travel camera. The lens is equivalent to 28-108 in 35mm format, it is bright (f/2.8-3.5), and it has excellent macro capabilities. The overall set is resistant to weather -- it is something you can put into your backpack, and be able to rely upon regardless of the conditions in which you will be shooting.
I use mostly the RAW format, processing RAW files with Olympus Studio or Capture One (LightRoom is not as good with respects to color rendering, for the Olympus E-3).
However, even the out-of-camera JPGs are very good.
Overall, I highly recommend this camera: a dependable workhorse, with high-quality versatile lenses, that just keeps delivering outstanding results.



 "Takes some learning if you're coming from the E-1" 2009-09-27
By R. Sarma (New York)
I love Olympus DSLRs and currently own the E-1, E-500, E-510 & E-520, I had been holding out on the E-3 due to it's high price, but I eventually caved in and got one as I was finding my E-1 trailing in terms of resolution and missed the IS on the newer bodies.

My first impression as I picked up and used the E-3 was very alien....I just didn't feel at home, especially after having used an E-1 all this time. The button layout is also very different from what's on the E-510/520, so I found myself on uncharted territory as this camera needed some "re-learning". Also, the grip didn't feel awfully right as the front control wheel didn't fall naturally on my index finger as it did with the E-1 and I couldn't help but wonder why Olympus had changed the E-3 so much?? Wouldn't it have been easier for E-1 users, considering they've used it for so long, to move to a camera which looked and behaved similarly?? But all this became moot after one weekend of shooting with the E-3. This is a very easy to use camera and the reason why the re-design was necessary was because this was a whole new camera!

The biggest improvements for me were:

1. Incorporating in-body stabilization.
2. On-board flash, this can be a life-saver when you require fill flash without a bulky FL-50.
3. Bigger and brighter LCD, big step from the E-1!
4. Lastly, twice the resolution offered by the E-1.

Build quality of the camera is excellent, although the battery door and the swivel LCD seemed like the weakest points of this body and I remain sceptical about these two areas of the body to date.

In terms of IQ, this camera goes head to head with any APS-C DSLR out there and can produce stunning images up to about ISO 1250. Once you go beyond this, the IQ degrades substantially and it's no longer on par with its APS-C rivals. As such I would recommend using this camera below ISO 1250 to get the best possible IQ out of it. In terms of JPEG quality with regards to colours and tones, the E-3 is simply stunning! In case you do wish to use higher ISOs, I would recommend shooting RAW and carefully processing as there is visible banding in the shadows when you go to ISO 1600 and upwards. At lower ISOs sometimes I saw noise in the skies, but this seemed very inconsistent and I'm not sure why it appeared in some images and and wasn't visible in others.

Overall, this is an excellent pro-level four-thirds camera and balances very well with the SHG Zuiko lenses. If you have the money and are willing to work within its limitations, this camera can offer some stunning images and I would highly recommend it.

Personally, I kept my E-1 and gave my E-3 to my brother as I'm still able to pull the same IQ from the E-1 as I can from the E-3 (apart from resolution).


 "Seems to be a great camera." 2009-09-02
By GSD101 (Detroit)
I have not had the opportunity to used my new camera very much. Most my time so far has been spent reading the camera manual. Boy, this is a complex machine! I am sure that I will learn to appreciate all the possibilities, however, fair warning expect to do some learnin'.


 "Beware of caps falling" 2009-07-07
By Sofia
On my first day of field use the lens cap fell and broke. The second day of field use, the flash hotshoe cover was missing. On the third day, the remote cable cap was missing. The only cap that stayed on so far is the flash remote cap. When I googled online to replace these caps, I found out many users like me have problem about caps falling. Olympus caps is not covered by the warranty, so they referred me to their parts store. Check comments for the links.

Be careful about these caps because the weatherproof feature,the main reason I purchased the camera, is only good when these caps are on. When I unknowingly lost my remote cable cap, my camera malfunctioned when it got splashed on. My camera won't stop shooting and non of the buttons and screen worked. I have to prematurely end my picture taking for the day. When the camera dried off the next day, it worked normal again. Without E-3's weatherproof feature, I would settle with half the price DSLRs that can take just as good photos. I think Olympus need to improve their caps from falling off.

Other improvements I would like to suggest is first, auto focus capability for lcd screen use. The worlds fastest auto focus will only work when optical view is used. Without it, I have to look back and forth from my optical view and lcd screen. Or I can use the lcd screen all the way, but do everything manually. I aim through my optical view and see the results on my lcd to make sure there's no overexposure, underexposure or out of focused pictures. It would really be easier if I can use the lcd screen all the way just like point-and-shoot cameras. Second , the optical view does not work when the lcd screen is being used. I think it would be great if I have the option to use both optical view and lcd screen simultaneously, so I can use the live view facing to my subject while I use the optical view just like a video camera with articulating screen. Third, I think it would also great if the buttons were bigger for users wearing thick gloves. Fourth, many people say it is heavy and bulky but I don't think it is a major draw back. If olympus can make this camera smaller without compromising its features that would be great. But if not, this disadvantage won't stop me from puchasing this item.
Last, capability of taking a video like Canon Mark II and Nikon D90 would be a great option.

I gave E-3 four stars because I love the weatherproof feature, articulating screen (you can take photos of the eifel tower with you in it! Place this camera closest to the ground, zoom out, and use the articulating screen to aim), fast auto focus when paired with 12-60mm, and the lens options. If the recommendations are addressed mentioned above or at least have better caps and have an auto focus capability when lcd is used like the point and shoot cameras, I'd give this camera a 5 star.





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