Olympus E 3 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: From the moment you pick up the E-3, you feel like you're holding a thoroughly well-built piece of kit

Pros: Great set of features ; Very high image quality ; Good value for money

Cons: Controls take a bit of getting used to

Verdict: But perhaps the proudest boast for Olympus is the speed of the E-3's all new 11-point biaxial auto-focus system. When used in conjunction with the brand-new Olympus Zuiko 12-60mm SWC lens, it's said to be the world's fastest AF system. There's no ...

Award: Highly Recommended!

Review summary: Four years is a very long time in the digital camera market, and four years in the digital SLR market is virtually a lifetime. In the four-odd years between the launch of the Olympus E-1 - the camera that heralded the first all-new SLR system for over ...

Pros: Excellent build quality, weatherproofing, 150,000 shot shutter life, Big, bright viewfinder with 100% view, Articulated screen, Effective sensor-shift image stabilization, Very fast focus with new SWD lenses (less impressive with other lenses, however ...

Cons: Resolution not as good as best in class (stronger AA filter?), though you won't see it in JPEGs, Poor auto white balance in artificial light, Very little resolution and not a lot of dynamic range headroom in raw files, Some ergonomic issues (control ...

Review summary: The new "flagship" of the Olympus E-System, the E-3 replaces the 5-megapixel E-1 introduced in 2003. This 10-megapixel model shares no components with its predecessor but a quick glance through the specifications may suggest that it's similar to the ...

Verdict: A 5 fps drive speed is fast enough for all but pro sports photography, in my estimation. When using a Lexar Pro 300x UDMA card, I was able to shoot 40 large/fine JPEGs in a burst before the framing rate slowed to about 4 fps; the camera kept firing ...

Review summary: The E-3 is aimed at professional and well-heeled amateurs. It is built around the Four Thirds system and has a 10 megapixel sensor. As befits a professional camera, bound to take some hard knocks, it is rugged and well sealed against dust and water. ...

Pros: Picture quality is consistently good, although we found the default saturation and contrast settings a little high. The shooting information is displayed on a body-top LCD and on the preview screen as well as in the viewfinder. The 12-60mm f2.8-4 lens ...

Cons: The only reservation we have about this camera applies to all in the Four Thirds camp - the sensor area is smaller than the more conventional APS-C cameras. This means that the photo receptors are smaller and therefore noise is slightly more ...

Verdict: The Olympus E-3 is a fine camera, but whether it will woo professionals away from their Canons and Nikons with larger sensors and bigger installed lens and accessorie bases remains to be seen. The price seems about right by comparison with the ...

Award: Best Buy!

Review summary: A successor to the Olympus pro-grade E-1, the E-3 features a 10.1-megapixel-resolution Live MOS sensor with live view and built-in image stabilization.

Pros: Solid, weatherproof construction ; effective anti-shake and anti-dust system ; fast AF operation, with new 11-point focus detection ; superb handling ; and impressive range of pro-spec lenses

Cons: Some white balance inaccuracies ; moderate noise at ISO 1600 and above

Verdict: Ultimately, the E-3 is Olympus' most convincing pro-level DSLR to date - a real alternative to the Canon EOS 40D, Alpha 700 and Nikon's D300 - and, in many cases, it's the better camera