Olympus E-3

[Kan Win]

I am seriously thinking of buy this model here in Thailand.

Read some reviews and looks pretty good camera, as I mostly take landscape, action and would love to shoot wild life as well.

Had the Olympus 2500 L and now have the Olympus 8080 WZ.

Since this should be my last camera, I hope, I was thinking of the:-

Zuiko (Olympus) Digital 14-54 mm F2.8-3.5 Lens (35mm equivalent focal length 28mm – 108mm)

as my main lens

and

Zuiko (Olympus) Digital ED 20-200 mm F2.8-3.5 Lens (35mm equivalent focal length 100mm – 400mm)

for those extra special shots of wild life. Plenty of our feathered friends around Kan mostly all year round.

All up around 120,000 baht, with add ones not included.

Your thoughts please.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[Nordlys]

If you haven't invested in any lens yet do you have to remain loyal to Olympus brand just because your previous two cameras were Olympus?

I perosnally wouldn't go for 4/3 system cameras simply because they are among the smallest sensor dSLR (X2 crop factor) and I think size of the sensor (or pixel pitch to be more precise) matters just as much as pixel count if not more, probably the very reason why I bought dSLR and part of why I chose full frame sensor camera. Yet most 4/3 system camera bodies aren't that small when their sensor is 3.6 times smaller than fulll frame camera sensor area, except Olympus E510 and E410 (I haven't seen E-3, but E-1 was not small and reasonably heavy). If I want a smallest and lightest dSLR I'd probably go for Olympus E510/410, but if the image quality is of utmost importance (which I believe is a primary reason why anybody wants to upgrade from point-to-shoot to SLR) then I'd go for the largest possible sensor size dSLR I can afford.

[Nordlys]

Here you can download some sample pics from Japanese review site.

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/longterm...12/14/7588.html

It seems there is a significance improvement in view finder visibility over other 4/3 system cameras, almost as good as APS-C film size sensor dSLR (1.6X cropped factor), it says. One of the drawbacks why I tend to avoid cropped sensor dSLR.

Edited December 16, 2007 by Nordlys

[astral]

Unless you are really stuck on the Olympus range, then

have a look at the Canon 400D.

Your budget will buy you the camera with 17-55mm lens

plus a decent tele zoom and a good flash gun.

Even the Canon 40D + a telephoto will be within reach.

It is a wonderful camera.

Canon has a much wider range of lenses and add-ons than Olympus can offer.

[Kan Win]

Thank you both for your view and thoughts.

If you haven't invested in any lens yet do you have to remain loyal to Olympus brand just because your previous two cameras were Olympus?

Yes, as both cameras I enjoyed using.

Have ordered one from Chiang Mai, as we could not find one here in Bangkok.

Anyway should have it by this Thursday with any luck.

Review

Only have the Zuiko (Olympus) Digital 14-54 mm F2.8-3.5 Lens (35mm equivalent focal length 28mm – 108mm) as the other one is out of stock.

With Christmas Week in Kanchanaburi, my family home, will give it the full works and compare the two cameras and report back in the New Year.

Seasonal Greetings to One and All.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

P.S. “Nordlys” did you go to “Family Camp” in the end?

[Nordlys]

No, I haven't visited the family camp yet. Believe my friend still lives there, but she said she'll move out soon, so I hope to go visit the place before too long perhaps after the new year.

There are some great advantages to Olympus dSLR and 4/3 standard that makes them unique. Olympus seems to have the most effective dust reduction system (Supersonic Wave Filter) among all brands (much needed in Kanchanaburi in dry season like now I reckon) and the compatibility of lens from the other brands that has adopted 4/3 standard (I'd love to try out Leica lens from Panasonic on E-3), an advantage not available for Nikon (although some Carl Zeiss lenses can be fitted on Nikon), much less Canon. With 4/3 system camera's good telecentricity coefficient value they also enjoy much more flexibility in desining new lenses and produce them cheaply, as compared to brands that have large lens mount and/or large lens-to-flange distance. They are also the first to pioneer in "live view" technology that's available on most new dSLRs today.

Hope you'll enjoy your new camera. I'm sure you'll like it. 4/3 system camera users seem to be in minor league in photography forum. So I hope to hear some thought and review on E-3 soon.

Edited December 17, 2007 by Nordlys

[astral]

With Zuiko (Olympus) Digital ED 20-200 mm as a search pattern you are top of the list in Google!!

Surely that lens must be 50-200mm

Are either of the lenses Image Stabilised?

It is a useful facility for us oldies.

[Kan Win]

With Zuiko (Olympus) Digital ED 20-200 mm as a search pattern you are top of the list in Google!!

Surely that lens must be 50-200mm

Are either of the lenses Image Stabilised?

It is a useful facility for us oldies.

Opps, my bad, just look again, "astral" you are correct, but at least ThaiVisa is on top of the Google list.

Both should be Image Stabilised, I hope, as I am an oldie as well.

Will report back in the New Year.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[Nordlys]

Olympus incorporates body built-in stabilizer, cheaper solution than lens stabilizer but not as effective I heard.

[Kan Win]

Well had this camera now for a couple of months and have had problems with it until I read the review which only just came out on

dpreview

Most of the problems which I had where answered, silly me, as the camera manual is well … … say no more.

“Its also a camera that will only produce the best results in experienced hands; you need to be prepared to roll up your sleeves and take control of metering, exposure, focus and (unless you're shooting raw ) white balance; the automatic systems are over sensitive and sometimes go seriously awry.”

Yes another learning curve for me, but very happy after reading this review and will take note of things mentioned.

In hand it feels really Great, now I have to re-learn how to take a photo and only time will tell.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

P.S. still have my Oly 8080 at hand just in case.

[Nordlys]

I've taken a look at this camera in my hand at Olympus showroom in Japan last month.

The build quality seems superb, but I thought it's too big and heavy (almost as heavy as my 5D) for a camera with a sensor so small for an SLR.