Olympus E3

The long-awaited successor to the Olympus E-1 – the E-3 – is proof that the manufacturer wants to be taken seriously at the pro end of the market.

Pitched to compete against the heavyweights currently dominating the professional DSLR market, the E-3 boasts a 10.1MP sensor, free-rotating 2.5-inch LCD with Live View capability and a faster, more responsive AF system – it certainly looks like a great package on paper.

In the hand, the E-3 feels reassuringly weighty, with a solid magnesium alloy shell that should withstand more than a few knocks. The generous front grip is complemented by a contoured thumb grip on the rear of the body. The ergonomic design – coupled with a tactile rubberised finish – makes the camera very comfortable to hold. The improved viewfinder now provides 100 per cent frame coverage and 1.15x magnification, enhancing the shooting experience.

The controls on the E-3’s body are numerous and may look a little daunting to the uninitiated, but they work extremely well in practice, with every button and dial serving the key purpose of streamlining the photographic process. On top, you’ll discover that Olympus has chosen to omit the Mode dial found on their other DSLRs. Instead, the exposure mode is set by holding down the Mode button to the left of the pentaprism on top of the camera while scrolling the front or rear E-dial – the selected mode is displayed on the top LCD panel.

Pressing the INFO button below the LCD displays your current shooting settings in a manner that’s much easier to interpret than on the top LCD panel – particularly for visually impaired photographers. The fact that you can use the four-way D-pad to highlight each setting and adjust it accordingly is the icing on the cake, as it avoids endless scrolling through the main menu system.

Existing Olympus users will feel right at home with the familiar user interface and will appreciate the E-3’s integration of the Four Thirds system, providing users with a huge choice of lenses, including the latest Zuiko Digital range, featuring a Supersonic Wave Drive AF system.

Having spent a day out in the rain with the E-3, we can vouch for the effectiveness of the weatherproofing: we – and the camera - got soaked, with the only ill effect being slightly soggy feet. You can also rest assured that your sensor is protected in dusty conditions, thanks to the E-3’s Supersonic Wave Filter, which vibrates to remove dirt from the sensor every time the camera is powered off.

Performance in less-than-ideal lighting conditions is generally good, provided you know how to tweak your camera settings to get the most out of it. The integrated image stabilisation system does make a difference, particularly under gloomy conditions, and it means that any lens you attach to your E-3 is effectively stabilised. High ISO performance is as you would expect, with some noticeable noise creeping in at ISO 800 and a significant loss of detail at ISO 3200.

Full-time Live View ability, combined with a free-rotating LCD adds a more versatile method of shooting to the camera’s arsenal. Perfect for composing shots at awkward angles, the LCD is also capable of providing a 10x magnified view, which we found really useful for ensuring our subjects were in sharp focus.

Despite the 2.5-inch LCD representing a vast improvement over the E-1’s 1.8-inch screen, the resolution and size of the E-3’s can’t compete with the high-quality three-inch LCDs featured on its competitors. That said, the fully articulated nature of the E-3’s screen is an attribute that’s worthy of note – Live View sceptics who previously questioned the usefulness of such a feature on a fixed screen should have nothing to complain about here. The LCD flips out to the left-hand side and can be rotated through 270 degrees. It can also be flipped over, revealing the protective cover on the reverse of the screen, which is ideal for when your camera is in transit or storage.

Sequential shooting at 5fps with a 19-image RAW buffer makes the E-3 a pretty handy tool for catching action, whether you’re a high-octane motorsport photographer or a paparazzo. The 11-point-full twin cross AF sensor system is a vast improvement on the performance offered by the E-1, making it quick to lock onto subjects – static or moving – under most lighting conditions.

JPEGs straight from the camera are sharp, demonstrate a good dynamic range and feature faithfully reproduced colours. The Picture Mode settings add a further way of tuning the camera to produce precisely the sort of image you envisage.

It’s not without its faults, but – if you know what you’re doing – the E-3 can be tweaked to produce outstanding results. Falling somewhere in-between the top-of-the-range professional models and the enthusiast-level, semi-pro cameras, the E-3 is a cost-effective alternative to some of the pricier options at the top of the DSLR ladder.