Olympus E-3

[rameshxavier]

The Olympus E-3 is the new flagship of the Four Thirds Standard-based Olympus E-System. This long-awaited replacement for the original E-1 model offers a plethora of advanced features to tempt the professional photographer away from the competition. The E-3 boasts the world's fastest auto-focusing speeds when used in conjunction with the new Supersonic Wave Drive lenses, one of which we test out in our review (the 12-60mm SWD lens). Fast shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th second and 5fps continuous shooting with a 19 image RAW buffer ensure that you'll never miss a shot. A 10 megapixel Live MOS sensor, built-in image stabiliser which stabilises all lenses, Live View on a multi-angle 2.5 inch LCD screen and the Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system complete the headline specs. Olympus have taken a long time to get the new E-3 just right, but is it a case of too little, too late? Can the Olympus E-3 compete with and even surpass the likes of the Canon EOS 40D, Nikon D300 and Sony A700? Gavin Stoker got to grips with the E-3...

[ufgravi]

Olympus has finally announced their long-awaited flagship DSLR camera, the E-3. Billed as a pure pro camera, the Olympus E-3 is really more comparable to the cameras by Olympus's competitors that we've been categorizing as semi-pro, such as the Pentax K10D, Canon 40D, and Nikon D200. Whatever you call it though, there's no question that the new E-3 represents a sizable leap forward in technology and sophistication for the Olympus SLR line.
With the E-3, Olympus introduces their first new autofocus sensor in years: an 11-point array, each point consisting of twin cross-type AF sensors. They're claiming this is the fastest AF system on the market. Combined with greater 1.15x magnification in the E-3's viewfinder, framing and focusing with this Four-Thirds camera is a lot easier than past Olympus models.
A new shutter mechanism in the Olympus E-3 delivers 1/8,000 second speed, and 1/250 flash sync, and an expected lifetime of 150,000 cycles. Mirror blackout time is also said to be low, but there are no official numbers yet. Three dedicated processors handle three separate functions: one for image stabilization, one for autofocus, and the TruePic III for image processing. A UDMA-compatible CompactFlash slot promises fast write times, and the additional xD-Picture Card slot adds extra storage.
Body-based image stabilization is built into the Olympus E-3, taking advantage of the company's Supersonic Wave Drive motor technology to drive the anti-shake system. A separate motor drives the Supersonic Wave Filter to remove dust.
Though the Olympus E-3 has a 10-megapixel sensor like the E-510 and E-410, the new sensor has been improved to support the faster read speed to help enable five-frame-per-second continuous shooting. Metering options include 49-zone ESP metering, Spot, Center-weighted, and a new Highlight/Shadow spot metering mode.
Another major highlight to the Olympus E-3 is the articulating LCD on the camera back, which makes Live View mode so much more valuable. It's not the first such design to appear on a digital SLR, that distinction goes to the Panasonic Lumix L10, Olympus's Four-Thirds partner, but it's an incredibly versatile design, with the ability to face up down, left, right, and even forward, toward the subject.
Built on a magnesium alloy frame the Olympus E-3 feels solid, and is sealed against dust and splashes. Connections include a USB 2.0 high-speed jack, an AC power jack, video out, remote control, and an x-sync terminal. The introduction also includes five new optics and two new flashes that can be remote controlled from the Olympus E-3's onboard flash in three groups. A new battery grip works with the E-3 to double capacity, and duplicate key controls for vertical shooting.

[sasajovanovic]

It almost seems pointless to talk about how the E-3 compares to its predecessor; the time gap between them is so great that they have very little in common; the E-3 is a totally new camera that has obviously been designed to go head-to-head with the likes of Nikon's D300 and Canon's 40D at the very top of the market, at the point where the distinctions between 'high end enthusiast', 'semi professional' and 'professional' get very blurred. Before we return the E-1 to the museum of digital antiquities for good let's have a (brief) look at what's changed - and what hasn't - in the in intervening years.
New sensor (10MP Live MOS vs 5MP CCD) and latest TruPic III processor
Live view
Sensor-shift image stabilization
All-new autofocus system (11-point AF, claimed to be world's fastest with certain zoom lenses)
Faster continuous shooting, bigger buffer
Higher top shutter speed (1/8000 sec) and higher flash sync speed (1/250 sec)
Improved viewfinder (bigger, brighter)
Bigger, higher resolution vari angle screen
Masses more customization options