Oly E3 - First thoughts and impressions.
I had a wee play with the E3 and Panaleica L10 at Cameraworld after work today. I went into Jacobs and jesops but they had none in stcok or could say when they would. I had the 35-100F2 with me and took a few shots with the E3 + 12-60 and my 35-100F2 at various ISO's from 100-3200.
1. Size and weight - its bigger than the E1 in size which is noticable. I'd say it even looks taller than the Nikon D300 that I played with a couple of weeks ago. The increase in weight is also noticeable compared to the E1 and again it felt slightly heavier than the D300. definetly not as discreet as the E1.
2. Ergonomics - very good. Feels as good as my E1 in the hand and possibly slightly better due to the deeper grip. Not sure on some of the button placement compared to the E1's as i was having to look at the camera to make the adjustments while the E1's is just right there (if you have the E1 you'll know what I mean).
3. Build quality - its excellent feels as solid as the E1 which is a very good thing. All th ebuttons and switches have that same feel as on the E1 - as if MB had made it. Very nice.
4. Viewfinder - As big as the one found on the D300, which impressed me a huge amount and makes the E1's VF look small. Its clear and bright and the LCD Info at the bottom aka E1 is good too.
5. Focusing - with the 12-60 it was very fast as good as the D300 from memory. I'd say the 35-100F2 was nearly as fast as the 12-60 on the E3 near instant lock on. I like the fact that the AF point lights up to confirm focus and the spacing of the 11 AF points is good.
6. LCD - A lot clearer and larger than I thought it would be. Not D300 class but very good esp compared to the poxy 180k 1.8" LCD on my E1 ! Articulated screen - tilt swivel was cool and is somethign taht I;d use. Although I didn;t in the store as the VF was just way to tempting.
7. Shutter sound - definetly not as super smooth as the e1's but its a lot quieter than the D300's.
8. 12-60 ZD - quiet a bit bigger than the 14-54, but you do notice the difference that SWD makes, having 24mm wide is very nice and also that extra reach to 120mm is good.
9. High ISO - I took about 10 shots, all jpeg from 100 to 3200 ISO. i forgot to shoot RAW (
) and I'll post the pics on line as soon as I can.
Summary:
I wasn;t sure about the E3 - it looked as if Oly had slapped it with the ugly brush, that it was bigger and heavier than the E1 kind of counted against it in my book but after todays hands on my thoughts are very different. In the felsh it looks very good - more handsome than the pics do it justice, it is slightly bigger and heavier than I'd like but with the 35-100F2 the two seem to be made for each other. The balance with the bigger lens is better than on the E1 and thats good. The Viewfinder was the show stealer - after I had a look at the E3's VF and then the L10 i put the L10 back down - its that much better. Build quality is superb and I can see myself not worrying about dropping it and is as good as the E1's. Focusing definetly seems as good as the D300's in my eyes but i could be wrong but Oly have done a very good job with the AF system on the E3. I've not checked the IQ of the files just yet but will share those with you all so that you can make our own judgment. From what I've seen of ISO1000 - seems to be very good in my eyes.
Thoughts on the L10 - much better build quality and size compared to the E510. very nice button layout, excellent ergonmics, and the LCD is nice and bright - same as the E3's. However, after I looked through the VF - I had to put it down and return the camera. I know I should have taken some shots but I just couldnt see myself ever using the L10.
As a back up to the E3 - i would get the L10 over the E510 but once you've tried the E3 all the other 4/3 cam's just don't seem up to par. I look forward to see what PanaLeica's Pro camera will be like - as good as the E3 or may be even better who knows ? In the meantime, I'm going to have to be good and not splurge out on the E3, well until Jan 2008 at least.
Cheers
Harj
:thumb
1. Size and weight - its bigger than the E1 in size which is noticable. I'd say it even looks taller than the Nikon D300 that I played with a couple of weeks ago. The increase in weight is also noticeable compared to the E1 and again it felt slightly heavier than the D300. definetly not as discreet as the E1.
2. Ergonomics - very good. Feels as good as my E1 in the hand and possibly slightly better due to the deeper grip. Not sure on some of the button placement compared to the E1's as i was having to look at the camera to make the adjustments while the E1's is just right there (if you have the E1 you'll know what I mean).
3. Build quality - its excellent feels as solid as the E1 which is a very good thing. All th ebuttons and switches have that same feel as on the E1 - as if MB had made it. Very nice.
4. Viewfinder - As big as the one found on the D300, which impressed me a huge amount and makes the E1's VF look small. Its clear and bright and the LCD Info at the bottom aka E1 is good too.
5. Focusing - with the 12-60 it was very fast as good as the D300 from memory. I'd say the 35-100F2 was nearly as fast as the 12-60 on the E3 near instant lock on. I like the fact that the AF point lights up to confirm focus and the spacing of the 11 AF points is good.
6. LCD - A lot clearer and larger than I thought it would be. Not D300 class but very good esp compared to the poxy 180k 1.8" LCD on my E1 ! Articulated screen - tilt swivel was cool and is somethign taht I;d use. Although I didn;t in the store as the VF was just way to tempting.
7. Shutter sound - definetly not as super smooth as the e1's but its a lot quieter than the D300's.
8. 12-60 ZD - quiet a bit bigger than the 14-54, but you do notice the difference that SWD makes, having 24mm wide is very nice and also that extra reach to 120mm is good.
9. High ISO - I took about 10 shots, all jpeg from 100 to 3200 ISO. i forgot to shoot RAW (
) and I'll post the pics on line as soon as I can.Summary:
I wasn;t sure about the E3 - it looked as if Oly had slapped it with the ugly brush, that it was bigger and heavier than the E1 kind of counted against it in my book but after todays hands on my thoughts are very different. In the felsh it looks very good - more handsome than the pics do it justice, it is slightly bigger and heavier than I'd like but with the 35-100F2 the two seem to be made for each other. The balance with the bigger lens is better than on the E1 and thats good. The Viewfinder was the show stealer - after I had a look at the E3's VF and then the L10 i put the L10 back down - its that much better. Build quality is superb and I can see myself not worrying about dropping it and is as good as the E1's. Focusing definetly seems as good as the D300's in my eyes but i could be wrong but Oly have done a very good job with the AF system on the E3. I've not checked the IQ of the files just yet but will share those with you all so that you can make our own judgment. From what I've seen of ISO1000 - seems to be very good in my eyes.
Thoughts on the L10 - much better build quality and size compared to the E510. very nice button layout, excellent ergonmics, and the LCD is nice and bright - same as the E3's. However, after I looked through the VF - I had to put it down and return the camera. I know I should have taken some shots but I just couldnt see myself ever using the L10.
As a back up to the E3 - i would get the L10 over the E510 but once you've tried the E3 all the other 4/3 cam's just don't seem up to par. I look forward to see what PanaLeica's Pro camera will be like - as good as the E3 or may be even better who knows ? In the meantime, I'm going to have to be good and not splurge out on the E3, well until Jan 2008 at least.
Cheers
Harj
:thumb
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Comments
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Hi Ziggy
I didn't think I'd be so taken in by the - from the online sample images of it, I thought it looked just pig ugly. Its very different in the flesh and it looks quiet imposing too, so its not a streetshooters cam like the E1 can be. Personally, I think its a major improvemnet in terms of core areas where 4/3rds was really lacking - AF speed, View Finder size and high ISO's. The first two from initial use they have licked but I can;t comment on the high ISO's just yet but from first peeks at jpegs out of cam at ISO 3200 ->ISO1000 looks really promising. ISO1000 is very clean and I think with RAW files you'd getter even better detail. All of the shots I took were in available light, auto WB and in aperture priority (although I always shoot in manual mode). How close to a D300 or a 40D the E3 is I've no idea but I think with the F2 lenses IQ, the new AF system and 100% VF it'll be pretty close.
the shots taken from the store - ISo 100 to 3200. Auto WB, in cam jpeg, no PP. Lenses used 35-100F2 and the 12-60mm SWD f2.8-4
http://harjtt.smugmug.com/gallery/3985943#231720845
Cheers
HarjTT
I have the 510 and I am pretty happy with it so far. Next year, if the money is there, I am hoping to be able to get one. Or an E4/5 or 6 depending
aktpics.smugmug.com
Thanks for posting this information.
I have had an E-1 for a year now and really like it. Before that I had an E-10 and it also gave me some great results and was a bit lighter for the hiking trips.
I am considering going to a higher resolution (> 7 Mpix) DSLR, but I like the "build" of the E-1 for dirty and wet (I live in the NW) landscape work.
The E-3 looks great, though maybe a bit bigger, heavier and pricy for me now.
I would like to get some comments on the advantages to moving to a higher resolution camera.
Thanks, ........... Dave
.... a road less traveled
Hi Dave
I've had my E1 for just under 18months now and it is a wonderful camera. The main advantage of going to say the E3 with its higher resolution are greater detail and the ability to crop an image heavily and still be able to get a good print out of it. I hardly crop any of my shots, unless I really screwed up and I don't plan to change that at all. I think the real other benefit for studio or landscape work will be the Liveview and articulated LCD - thats going to be a must have feature for those shooters.
What the E3 does give, is the same benefits of the E1 but newer faster AF system, 11 AF points (for portrait/fashion work that is going to be really useful), IS with every lens and a newer sensor with very good ISO100-1000 and good ISO1600/ISO3200. Pricewise, I'm hoping to see a wee drop in price in a couple of months but that might not happen esp from the way the E3 is selling.
Cheers
Harj