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"Great camera and excellent performance" on by harold67
Pros: Excellent viewfinder, dust & weather sealed, articluated LCD,fast AF,very well designed navigation
Cons: Not enough wide angle primes in Olympus Zuiko lens system, not as quiet as the Olympus E1
Summary: After having used many DSLR's from different brands, I have finally found the camera that meet most of my expectations.
If you can past the rather meaningless choice of marketing cameras classifications ( pro, semi-pro, prosumer) it is obvious that this camera will meet the needs of many Photographers out there.
The main difference of the Olympus system is that it use the 4/3 system, offering a 4:3 ratio that matches better the images ratio (8x10 and others) for print or magazines purposes
This sensor is slightly smaller than the APS, but in practical use , considering its more pleasant ratio ( especially in vertical shots) there is no significant quality difference with APS sensor DSLR's
Having designed lenses specifically for digital, Olympus has in its line lenses offering amazing quality from the center to the corners of the image.
The E3 also manages to offer a great viewfinder, which was not the case before with previous Olympus offerings
Some people will rejoice over the 1/8000 max shutter speed or over the 5 FPS motor capacity but for me this great viewfinder is the best sign of a pro body.
The dust system and weathersealing makes you confortable using this camera in lots of unfavorable outdoor situations
the Live view, pioneered by Olympus, takes all its significance with the 2.5" articulated screen , which will become very handy when , for instance, photographing over the crowd, or taking low angle pictures without having to sit or lay on the ground
Navigating along the different options is also pretty easy once the many buttons have been used and you have direct access to important parameters (ISO, shoot mode, WB) which is also very handy on the field
With the E3 , you will access an amazing DSLR system -
"CNET is confused knocking the lenses" on by reginalb
Pros: Great image quality, good interface, AMAZING LENSES.
Cons: low-light capabilities lag behind competitors
Summary: Only CNet would knock this system for its lenses. Saying there are 13 pro-quality lenses is a little misleading, since the Panasonic manufactured Leicas are certainly pro-level. That is another 4, plus the EX line from Sigma are good, and getting better as they sort out their QC issues.
But this also ignores the fact that Zuiko's pro lenses are some of the best on the market, and in many cases surpass Canon's L line. But the fact is there are pro lenses for everything that you need. Sure, there aren't a bunch of f/1.4 primes at slightly different focal lengths like in the L line, but do you need that? And the L line also doesn't have Leica quality. Although admittedly, Zeiss lenses are available for Canon mounts, and surpass the L line, they are in the ballpark of Zuiko/Leica, but like the Leica and Zuikos, there aren't as many options.
The bottom line is that the E-3 is a great camera. The 2x crop is helpful for nature photography, and the sensor allows for better correction of distortion in wide angles, too. As a result, in their review of the 7-14mm Zuiko, Camera Labs said the lens was so good, that if you are a landscape nut this one piece of glass should be enough to compel you to buy in to the Four Thirds system. That is quite the promotion, and I can confirm the lens produces AMAZING images.
There is a world outside CaNikon. And this camera is a great example of that. -
"Great Camera, Great Glass, Great Hardware." on by scotpeden
Pros: What amazed me most about this review, is the negative start to all features. Olympus has the features that Panasonic and others have COPIED, and she made it look like Olympus was lagging or following others. Not a single mention of the GREAT GLASS.
Cons: Software in some of the better competitors is better, but that is about it.
Summary: When Olympus releases a new Camera, it is a NEW Camera with New features, not copying others. Other camera companies Copy Olympus.
In it's price range, you cannot get better glass/lenses. IS is in the body, Weather or splash proof models and lenses. I can have IS in my Original 35 mm lenses. And it is affordable, more features per dollar then the competitors in a RUGGED BODY and TOUGH LENSES. I've never had to replace one and I'm in the woods off trail all the time. -
"excellent build quality" on by vmurko
Pros: picture quality
Cons: difficult to use
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