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The Olympus E-PL3 is the little sister of the E-P3. It has a classic camera look and a retro design. It offers 12MP resolution and a brand new AF system. Compared to the E-P3 it uses a standard LCD screen instead of an OLED system.

TIPA Camera Test Online: Olymus E-PL3

By TIPA

Cameras

18 November 2011 13:30

The Olympus E-PL3 is the little sister of the E-P3. It has a classic camera look and a retro design. It offers 12MP resolution and a brand new AF system.


Comments on Handling

The compact camera has a retro-designed body which is available in different colours. We tested the stainless steel colour which looks very stylish, but you will notice every single finger print on the body after taking the camera in your hand for the first time. The camera has a large swivel LCD on the back which allows to flip the monitor up and down. This is handy in most situations but not as flexible as swivel monitor which allows the screen to be turned in even more directions. The LCD screen is a standard TFT screen instead of the OLED system used by the E-P3.

The camera offers a large mode dial on the top to activate standard exposure settings or additional scene and ART modes. The 24 scene modes will help beginners while the ART modes create special effects like Diorama/tilt shift miniature simulation or High Key images for example. All these ART effects can be achieved by using imaging software but they are really fun and very easy to use. A combination of the 4 way cursor pad and dial on the back makes it easy to change settings. The beveled top with its additional function buttons is easily accessible in all camera positions – in standard shooting mode as well as when taking images with the LCD screen flipped upwards for example.

The camera is very fast. Just like the E-P3 it uses a new and very fast AF system which is based on contrast metering but focuses within 0.1 second.


Test shots


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Just like all test shots this portrait was shot in P-mode . The exposure settings are nearly perfect and the colours look very good. The red of the t-shirt is a little boosted by higher yellow rate, but the skin-tones are very pleasing.

 


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The standard testbox shot shows the very intense contrast of all E-PL3 images. The grey background has a slight reddish touch due to the automatic white balance settings which tend to give a warmer colour reproduction.


Comments on Image Quality

Colour:
In some situations the camera created very warm looking images with a high magenta rate. The standard testbox shot shows a reddish touch in the grey background. The test chart shows this shift into the magenta direction. In addition the camera adds a higher magenta rate to skin-tones, but nevertheless the skin-tone colour in our test shots are very good.

Sharpness:
The camera offered good resolution results in our tests. The ISO 12233 chart was reproduced with 2.686 lines per image height which is near to the nominal resolution of 3.024 lines in picture height. You will notice a lot of details in our test shots: the hairs of the model and the red fabric of her t-shirt show a good differentiation even in difficult red nuances. The standard testbox shot shows that the camera enforces sharpness by an intense filtering. Nevertheless the filtering intensity is acceptable and will create JPEG images ready to print. There is an additional advantage: The kit lens created very sharp photos even in the image corners. You will notice that in the corners of the standard testbox shot (see metal sieve in the upper left or ruler in the upper right for example).

Noise:
The camera showed very good results up to ISO 1600 settings. In images taken with ISO 3200 you will notice visible colour noise which is filtered and causes some colour clouds in areas. This effect is clearly noticeable in images taken with ISO 6400 and images taken with ISO 12800 are nearly useless. This mode can only be used for documentary photos when no additional light is applicable. Up to ISO 1600/3200 the y-factor for luminance noise will stay beneath 1.0 which is a very good result.

The camera created images with high contrast and a good performance in our dynamic range tests in lower ISO speed settings: The maximum dynamic range of 11 f-stops was reached in ISO 400 mode, in higher ISO speed settings it will decrease rapidly (8.56 f-stops to 6.29 f-stops between ISO 3200 to ISO 12,800).


 

Opinion

Pros:
     + stylish body, compact design
     + large swivel LCD
     + Full-HD video in AVCHD format
     + good resolution and colour results

Cons:
     - standard LCD instead of OLED (compared to E-P3)
     - no ELV (only optional)
     - no built-in flash, but supplied with small shoe mount flash


To download the PDF specifications sheet for the Olympus E-PL3, click HERE.


About TIPA

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) is a non-profit oranisation made up of a worldwide family of independent photo & imaging magazines with the most expert editors.

TIPA uses BetterNet GmbH in Heidelberg, Germany to perform routine digital camera tests based on an independent and objective testing method. The TIPA sponsored tests range from small compact cameras to popular DSLRs and even up to high-tech medium format models.

For more information on TIPA, its members and the annual TIPA Awards, visit www.TIPA.com.