Olympus E3

Photo answers review

Photo answers rating

Features and handling

The list of key features on the E-3 really does tick all the right boxes. The body is weather-sealed to keep out moisture, dust and dirt. This was one of the unique selling points of its predecessor, the E-1, which found favour with many photojournalists and extreme photographers. There’s also sensor-shift image stabilisation built-in too, so all your lenses effectively become IS lenses. And let’s not forget the familiar Supersonic Wave Filter that we’ve come to expect from all Olympus D-SLRs. Plus, the E-3’s Live View allows you to rotate the screen to suit the viewing angle in some of the crazy, contorted positions you can end up in.

Resolution is a respectable 10MP which will allow the images to be used much bigger or to be cropped a little more than before. But it could be argued this pixel count is a little behind the game for a pro spec camera. The E-3 now uses a Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) system that results in a much faster autofocus lock-on (with compatible lenses). The number of AF points has also been boosted to 11.

Olympus has certainly done a good job of making the E-3 a robust camera with excellent weather sealing. Take a look at our video verdict below if you want to see this in action. All of the controls are in logical places, with all of the functions on the right side of the body being in easy reach of your thumb while still in the standard shooting position. The other controls are split between below the LCD panel on the back and on the top right next to the pop-up flash.

Performance

The E-3’s viewfinder is clear and bright, offering a 100% view along with a 1.15x magnification to correct the tunnelling effect that many users complain is a common fault with FourThirds cameras. Even with the vari-angle LCD monitor, the Live View (LV) system isn’t quite up to the standard of the Panasonic L10, which is perhaps the most complete LV system on the market.

At around 1.5 seconds to write either a RAW or a JPEG, the E-3 is right up there with most of the latest D-SLRs we’ve tested when it comes to write speed. The built-in image stabilisation works really well in low light situations on all lenses, ruling out the need to invest in expensive IS lenses as well. Then there’s the autofocus, which is one of the big selling points of the E-3. It’s good enough now to compete with the likes of Nikon and Canon in terms of accuracy and speed when using the new SWD (Supersonic Wave Drive) lenses.

In terms of image quality the E-3 produces strong vibrant colours with a superb level of sharpness. The trouble is that the latest cameras from Canon and particularly Sony and Nikon, have moved the bar up in terms of noiseless results at high ISO settings and left the Olympus slightly behind.

Verdict

The E-3 offers a more solid build than most D-SLRs and this alone makes it a solid option for those who shoot in extreme situations. There’s no doubt it’s the best Olympus D-SLR yet and will certainly prove a serious competitor to Canon and Nikon’s semi-pro models.