27.01.09
Olympus E-3 Review
Words by Roger Payne
Being brutally honest, Olympus has always been a little off the pace when it comes to digital SLRs. In isolation, its models have always been well specified, neatly designed and photographically capable, but when compared to the equivalent Canon or Nikon model, they’ve consistently come off second best.
The new range-topping E-3, however, promises much, offering some innovative features, a new range of lenses and a specification that’s aimed fairly and squarely at the serious enthusiast and pro user. Whether that’s enough to lure users away from the Big Two is about to become apparent.
If you’re familiar with the latest crop of Olympus DSLRs, you’ll know they’re both compact and lightweight. In comparison the E-3 is neither. It could hardly be described as porky, but the moment you pick it up, you know you’re stepping up a grade in terms of build quality and ruggedness. As if to prove the point, Olympus has made the magnesium alloy body dust and splashproof, although quite how impervious it is to the elements is a little vague.
Olympus doesn’t actually quantify it, but demonstrated the E-3’s water repelling abilities at the press conference by pouring water over the camera body. Personally, I welcome the additional solidity – it certainly feels like a camera that will withstand the rigours of regular use.
At first glance of the spec sheet, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the E-3 uses the same sensor as the (much cheaper) E-510. After all, they’re the same physical size (17.3x13mm), use the same TruePic III processing engine and have virtually identical resolution. There are, however, subtle differences. The E-3’s Live MOS sensor is quicker to facilitate the faster frames-per-second rate and packs a total of 11.8 million pixels to deliver an effective resolution of 10.1 megapixels (compared to the E-510’s total of 10.9 and 10 effective megapixels). It also benefits from an infrared filter, in addition to the Supersonic Wave filter that suppresses dust.
While changes to the sensor may seem relatively small, the autofocusing system has seen some big improvements. Coupled with the new range of Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) lenses, the E-3 is claimed to offer the world’s fastest autofocusing speeds and, compared to the E-510 which I use in Our cameras, it certainly turns in a more spritely – and decisive – performance.
Where the E-510’s focus can be vague and sluggish in lower lighting conditions, the E-3 zips precisely into focus with minimal fuss. The E-3’s 11 focusing zones may sound sparse by modern standards (the Nikon D300, by comparison, offers 51), all 11 feature cross-type sensors – on the D300, 15 of the 51 are cross type. Naturally, you can select which of these focusing zones are active – from all 11 down to just one – but changing which one is active highlights a recurring problem with the E-3; the operation of many functions is less than intuitive.
Pick up a Nikon or Canon DSLR and, with five minutes fiddling, you’ll have mastered how to access most functions. Not so the Olympus. Admittedly, it’s nothing that a couple of hours with the CD instruction manual won’t solve, but I was left scratching my head trying to remember how to access functions while out taking pictures on more than one occasion.
While I’m on my focusing soapbox, I’m relieved to see that the new crop of SWD lenses have a proper manual focusing ring – no need to select manual focusing via the menu with these attached. Use a non-SWD optic, however, and you can only manual focus by first selecting it through the rear LCD menu. Whatever happened to a good old switch on the body?
One feature I am truly impressed with, however, is the 2.5in rear HyperCrystal LCD, complete with Live View. HyperCrystal sounds distinctly Marketingese, but it’s designed to make the LCD easier to view in bright sunlight – and it works. Even in low winter sunshine I could still see my pictures without doing the ‘digital photographer’s stoop’, although I wouldn’t say you could accurately assess exposures in such conditions.
I’d discovered the benefits of Live View with the E-510 and all the same functions are available on the E-3, with one crucial difference; the E-3’s LCD can be flipped out, turned round and generally manipulated into pretty much any position you desire. Initially, I thought this was rather gimmicky, but with the camera mounted on a tripod, flipping the LCD out to the side, camcorder style, made reviewing images a piece of cake. It also makes framing easier if you have the camera held over your head or down low. Not so gimmicky after all, then.
In fact, the more you get to know the E-3, and look beyond its slightly frustrating functionality, the more you realise what it has to offer. In terms of pure features, it can certainly compete with all other cameras at this competitive price point – and in some cases eclipse them.
Take, for example, the body integral image stabilisation feature, a function only available with certain lenses on both Nikon and Canon systems. In the E-3 a gyro sensor inside the camera body detects movement and then shifts the image sensor accordingly to compensate. Two modes are on offer; one that corrects vertical movement for standard shooting, the other offering both horizontal and vertical correction for sport and action. Both are claimed to give up to five stops compensation.
As well as offering plenty of features, the degree of control is in equally plentiful supply. Delve deeply and you’ll find you can create your own custom white-balance setting, use ISO bracketing and even change button functionality. The latter applies to the Fn button which lives where your right thumb comes to rest when holding the camera. Straight out of the box, the Fn button acts as a depth-of-field preview control, but it can be changed to control exposure mode, recording format or even take a test picture that isn’t saved, but is useful for checking settings.
Hands on, the E-3 feels like a quality piece of kit. The solid body fits comfortably in the hand and, coupled with an SWD 12-60mm f/2.8-4 lens, feels like a well-balanced package. The good-sized handgrip is rubberised for improved feel and the viewfinder, while being a little on the small size (a product of the Four Thirds lens mount design) is bright and offers a useful amount of information.
There’s a certain randomness to the button and switch layout, which may be necessitated by the camera’s weatherproofing, but it doesn’t make for rapid handling, initially at least. The buttons are also rather small, which could cause problems for the chunkier-fingered or glove-wearing photographer.
Also a little frustrating is the fact that the front input dial is positioned – for me at least – just a tad too far from the shutter release. I normally use my index finger to operate both shutter release and front input dial, but on the E-3, this stretch feels awkward. You’ll have to press your middle finger into input dial twiddling action, which is probably good practice, but doesn’t feel right.
Actual picture-taking performance is solid. The E-3 can rattle out images at a rate of up to five frames-per-second and is capable of capturing up to 19 Raw files in a single burst before the buffer runs out of puff. Shoot JPEGs using the HQ mode and you can keep your finger on the shutter release until the card reaches full capacity. Or the battery runs out.
I must admit to being a little dubious about exposure accuracy from the integral meter, but once I got the images on to my computer, the E-3 displayed an impressive level of accuracy. The 49-zone ESP meter is a good all-rounder, but there’s also a very handy spot meter with highlight and shadow options which can counter almost any tough metering situation. Centre-weighted is available too, but probably just for novelty value.
HIGHLIGHT /SHADOW
The E-3 offers three spot metering options; normal, highlight and shadow. The latter two can be pressed into service when you’re faced with exceptional metering conditions, like this white wall, for example.
The first shot I took was taken using Olympus' multi segment ESP metering and, unsurprisingly, it has come out grey. I then switched to Spot highlight and took a meter reading from an area of brightly lit white wall – the improvement is obvious. Naturally, I could have simply used exposure compensation, but this way is quicker and easier.
SPECIFICATION
Price: £1100 body only
Resolution: 10.1-megapixels
Lens mount: Four Thirds
Magnification: 2x
Sensor: 17.3x13mm
Autofocus: 11 points
Exposure: 49 zone multi-pattern, spot system (with highlight and shadow options), centre-weighted
Exposure modes: Auto, PASM
ISO range: 100-3200 in 1/3 or 1EV steps
Shutter speeds: 60-1/8000sec in 1/3, 1/2 or 1EV steps, plus B up to four hours
Flash sync: up to 1/250sec and 1/8000sec with specific flashguns
Viewfinder: Approx 100% of actual image
Monitor: Multi-angle HyperCrystal LCD 2.5in with 230,000 pixels, Live View
Flash: Yes, GN 13 (ISO 100/metres)
File formats: Olympus compressed Raw 12-bit, JPEG (three levels)
Image size: 3648x2736pixels
Storage media: CompactFlash Type I and II, UDMA compliant, MicroDrive, xD
Drive system: Up to five frames-per-second (for 19 frames in Raw mode or up to card capacity in HQ JPEG mode)
Self-timer: 12/2sec delay with release delay of between one and 30 seconds
DOF preview: Yes
Battery: Rechargeable Li-ion BLM-1
Dimensions: 142x116x74.5mm (wxhxd)
Weight: 800g (body only)
PROS AND CONS
Great build quality, impressive range of features and user control, fast autofocus, versatile rear LCD
Price, some functions are over-complicated to access, random button layout, handling quirks
THE VERDICT
From the outset, Olympus has pitched the E-3 at the professional user. In my opinion, that’s a mistake. Compared to the likes of the Nikon D3 and Canon EOS-1D MkIII, the E-3’s not a pro spec model – it simply isn’t in the same ballpark as these uber DSLRs.
Had it been suggested the E-3 was a camera designed for the serious enthusiast, then it would, perhaps, be an altogether more viable proposition, because that pitches it against models that it’s far more capable of challenging. Granted, it’s no Nikon D300, but it’ll certainly test the mettle of the Sony Alpha 700 and Canon EOS 40D.
In truth, there’s much to like about the camera; it has some great features and a superb amount of user control, but it also has too many niggly faults. If you’re looking to upgrade from an existing Olympus DSLR then you’ll be delighted with the E-3 and its capabilities, but I can’t see existing Canon and Nikon users being tempted away.
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