Olympus E 3 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Olympus has been the avant-garde of a few notable DSLR trends like dust removal, live view and the articulating LCD. Initially poo pooed, the first two are now seen on nearly all the usual suspects these days. And in those three areas the big "O" ...

Pros: : The comfiest eyepiece. One-touch menu access to nearly 20 functions. The quickest focusing. Articulating LCD makes Live View a real asset, instead of an afterthought.

Cons: : The back of the camera is a jumble. The 2.5-inch LCD is smallish compared with competitors. Employs Olympus's XD memory card format, instead of SD, as the second memory card slot. Presently only two super-fast focusing lenses in the quiver.

Review summary: The Olympus E-3 (announced 16 October 2007) is the top of the line DLSR from Olympus. The E-3 features a 10.1 megapixel Live MOS image sensor (with live preview), five frames per second shooting, 2.5 inch LCD (able to be tilted and swiveled) and 11 ...

Review summary: Olympus wants to win back the serious user, but does the flagship E-3 stand up against the already established competition?

Pros: ISO improvements ; Feature-heavy ; Swivel screen ; 4/3rds compatibility ; Excellent build quality (plus weatherproofing)

Cons: Poor menu system ; Fiddly buttons make layout difficult to master ; Expensive compared to the competition ; Auto white balance inaccurate

Verdict: The Olympus E-3 balances up its pros and cons into something of an equilibrium - to the point where excellent features are weighed down by standards that ought to be higher. Primarily it's the tricky layout, interface and buttons that are off-putting. ...

Review summary: The range-topping Olympus E-3 sports a 10Mp Live MOS chip and is the most professional digital SLR camera to date to carry the Olympus branding.

Verdict: To be picky, the Olympus E-3's auto white-balance performance is variable, something the manual itself acknowledges. Still, there are sufficient manual settings to correct it, and since this isn't a camera for the point-and-shoot brigade, those who ...

Review summary: The long-awaited Olympus E-3 blasts on the dSLR scene with its feature-rich live view and a dust and splash-proof body. It bursts through shots with an unstoppable quality to its performance, and it certainly bowled us over with its professional, ...

Pros: Excellent pictures ; easily mastered control system ; strong implementation of live view ; powerful burst mode

Cons: Resolution isn't as high as rivals ; quirky flash controls ; screen feels small

Verdict: Accessible controls and multi-talented live view make the Olympus E-3 friendlier than other higher-end models, with unstinting burst mode and admirable picture quality making it worth considering for professionals. It's a little heavy and the screen ...