Evolt E-3,12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 Lens and FL-50R Flash

Olympus Evolt E-3 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with Mechanical Image Stabilization with ED 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 Lens and FL-50R Flash

Publisher : Olympus Company : Olympus

Features

• Experience the World's Fastest Auto Focus* with the Olympus exclusive 11-point biaxial auto focus system coupled with the new (SWD) Supersonic Wave Drive lenses. It provides exacting auto focus precision at exceptional speeds.
• Continuous shooting, up to five frames per second, means you can capture fast-moving moments in time and get amazing results. The UDMA CompactFlash compatibility enhances capture speeds for the ultimate in shooting performance.
• 1/8000-second high-speed, high-precision shutter enables you to freeze even the fastest subjects. Or, set shutter speeds as long as 60 seconds in Manual or Automatic settings.
• Effectively reduce blur with Olympus' exclusive Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) in-body Image Stabilization System. Get up to a five-step EV stabilization effect with all Zuiko Digital Lenses, and all Four Thirds Format Lenses
• A newly developed high-performance 10.1-megapixel Live MOS Sensor provides the high resolution you need to accurately reproduce subject details with rich tones and natural colors as well as lower power consumption. Increased reading speed supports 5 fps continuous shooting

Product Description

E3 Body / 12-60mm Olympus Zoom Lens / Olympus FL-50R Electronic Flash / Imager shift image stabilizer / 2.5" LCD / CompactFlash Card Slot TruePic III digital image processing system produces superior image quality and shadow detail Focusing screen Changeable at a service center (Neo Lumi-Micro Mat screen supplied, possible to change to grid mat type) / Eyepiece shutter Built-in type Eyecup Interchangeable type EP-5/6/7, EP-7 is supplied (Magnifier Eyecup ME-1 is available) AF system TTL phase-difference detection system; Focus mode Single AF (S-AF) / Continuous AF (C-AF) / Manual Focus (MF) / S-AF + MF / C-AF + MF; Focusing 11 points full-twin cross AF sensor TTL open-aperture metering system - Digital ESP metering (49-point multi pattern metering); Center weighted average metering; Spot metering (approx. 2% for the viewfinder screen. Highlight / shadow bases are available) Shutter speed P(Ps), S, A, M mode - 60 - 1/8000 second / Bulb - 1/3, 1/2, or 1EV steps selectable Built-in Retractable flash, GN=13 (ISO 100.m) Flash control mode TTL Auto (TTL pre-flash mode), Auto, Manual, FP TTL Auto, FP Manual Body Dimensions 5.6 in. (W) x 4.58 in. (H) x 2.9 in. (D /(142.5 mm (W) x 116.5 mm (H) x 74.5 mm (D) (excluding protrusions); Weight 1.79 lbs./810 g (body only)

Customer reviews

Bulk Vs. Quality by .. Ana M. Whittembury ()
After a lot of research and considering the 40d and the d300, who claim to perform a little better (?), this camera has something they don't have: Image Stabilization! This means lighter and smaller lenses. And if you add the excelent quality of Zuiko lenses, you got a winner by far. Just think about carrying canon's and nikon's huge, fancy and heavy lenses (if you want Image Stabilization) around in a trip, on long walks, and you'll know what I mean. If you want to get great shots and still enjoy your ride, this is the gear.


Playing with the buttons and the menus is just a matter of getting used to, and taking shots with iso over 800 is not a daily thing.

All in all, outstanding quality, lighter gear and top of the notch optics, makes this camera the one to beat!

Superb state of the art Olympus E-3 by .. J. Iribarren (USA)
WOW... finally a camera that gives you the sharpness and quality you were always looking for. Five stars to Olympus, well done. The camera is a little bit bigger that previous E-series, a little bit heavier too, well built, very compact and robust, but most importantly feels very comfortable in hands. I'm very impressed by the results, great vivid colors, excellent sharpness, fast autofocus. Low light performance is superb especially with the awesome mechanical stabilization system, even with high ISO (quite a jump from previous E series). I am not a fan of LCD live viewing, but honestly it's of great help is some circumstances (like ground-level or night shots)... especially because you're able to see the changes on light and contrast as you change the values of your depth of field or aperture velocity... this feature allows you to adjust and achieve the right exposure before every shot (although the results are not quite accurate... the pre-shooting live image is pretty close to the actual result). Strongly recommended if you take photography seriously. Money well invested.



Disavantages: strap is of poor quality... other than that very impressive camera.

Buyer's Remorse? Not here! by .. Christopher L. Tedin (chicago, IL USA)
After purchasing the great 8080, the not-so-good E-300, and the amazing E-510, I thought I had finally finished purchasing my last camera for a while. I was completely wrong. After walking into the Calumet store in Oakbrook, Illinois, I simply couldn't help myself. I picked up the camera, attached my venerable 11-22mm wide angle, and completely fell in love. The feel was perfect. The ergonomics and control layout was a step above the 510, and the magnesium body felt solid as a tank. I had honestly thought about stepping up to the Canon 5D, but couldn't bring myself to put this camera down. It now goes with me wherever I go. Plus, I will never have to worry about a dirty sensor. Nuff said.




I got a beautiful Leica/Panasonic 14-50mm lens from a guy on eBay, and that has become my lens of choice for most of my work. Although it is not weather-sealed like the 12-60mm, the price was right and the quality is outstanding. One thing I need to point out. This lens has image stabilization built in. I did a side-by side comparison with this system, and Olympus' own in-body stabilization. No comparison! The Oly system completely blows Leica's away. So much for "lens specific" IS systems being superior. I turn it off and keep it off. Bravo, Olympus! I see the other systems adopting your leadership in this regard.



Thanks for a great system!

A wonderful camera by .. Philip A. Carr (NJ USA)
I LOVE this camera! The first thing I noticed about this camera was the feel of it in my hand. It was so comfortable, in spite of the weight, that I felt I could easily take pictures all day long in superb comfort. I have tried Canon and Nikon (obviously) and the grip felt compromised compared to the Olympus which was rugged and balanced. It felt like I was never going to drop it either - quite important.

Soon after I bought it though, I noticed that the autofocus was getting less and less reliable until it packed up ALTOGETHER. I was upset as I wanted to take it with me to England but I had to get it fixed for another date soon after I returned from my trip. The people at Olympus were VERY helpful with 'diagnostics' via email and all that stuff. I had to send the camera back to their factory BUT I have to say that I was VERY impressed with the speed and efficiency that it was repaired (from first sending it to receiving it all took less than a week!) and it has performed flawlessly ever since (as you would expect I guess).

I love the 'naturalness' and depth of the colours my E3 produces. The three different displays (veiwfinder, rear and top LEDs) are very clear and once used to, are quite logical and easy to understand. The focus time of the lenses is so fast and so reliable you sometimes have to be careful of using continual focus mode as it zooms in and out at such amazing speed it's quite bewilering. Single mode takes care of it so easily (or of course manual).

I love the auto bracketing adjustments, and that it also does the same with flash too! The built in flash is great but the remote is even better!!

I'm not experienced enough to go into details for the 'techhies' but the quality of photos speak for themselves and if it makes MY picures look great, then this has to be one TERRIFFIC camera! I would totally recommend it.

If there was any criticism it would be the weight with the larger zoom lenses and the flash attached. It is quite heavy to say the least, but then that's why you have a strap to give your arms and wrists a break, right?

Solid build, solid feel and superb results (anything less is MY fault!) give this a 10/10 for me!!

Underrated, yet outstanding! by .. T. Haines (NY)
I upgraded to the E3 from my e500. Some of the things that enticed me were the additional focus points, and articulated screen. Everything else about the camera was just added niceness.


The camera is pretty great. It's an obvious step up from the e500 in terms of quality, and performance. Images look beautiful, focus is a lot faster and more accurate. The tilting screen and live view are things that I wonder how I ever lived without....a HUGE boost to my shooting and the types of shots I can get.

I think Olympus is underrated in the DSLR business. Because it uses a 4/3 sensor people talk a lot of bad trash about the system. But in real-world shooting, the E3 really stands tall. And I say this as someone who also shoots with a Nikon D300. Another great thing about the Olympus system is the availability of Olympus lenses. And the lens is what it's all about. Olympus lenses are second to none. I actually find that the Olympus lens lineup makes me frustrated about Nikon's comparably dinky lineup--and Nikon has A TON of lenses, but none that can match the quality/speed of Olympus lenses. Good luck finding an f2.8 telephoto lens of the same price or quality as Olympus' 50-200. Olympus beats Nikon in terms of lens quality, easily.



Having said that, the things I don't like about the E3 are its low-light performance (the E3 is better than the e500 or e510 in low-light shooting but it still falls behind the competition) and its tendency to clip highlights. In low-light situations the E3 tends to produce noisy shots at higher ISOs or during long exposures--considerably noisier than many other cameras (but I wouldn't say they're unusable). Highlight clipping speaks for itself....overall the dynamic range of the E3 isn't as good as some cameras, but it's on par with others. Depends on the camera you compare it to. Those are the only two negatives I can think of. In terms of metering, it's very good, in fact I prefer how it meters to how the D300 meters (though the D300 doesn't clip highlights like the E3 does) because the tones are closer to the mood I want to get. More moody, tones whereas the D300 is a little too LOUD in its tones. Some of you may dig loud tones. Your mileage my vary.



All around this camera is as good as my D300, and in many ways its better. In just those two areas (low-light, and highlight reproduction/dynamic range) its a little disappointing. But, for whatever it's worth, I do all of my "serious" or "important" shooting with my E3, not my D300. My E3 lenses are better, the articulated screen of the E3 is a life-saver, I like how it meters better...it's just a really great camera that I love shooting with.



The E3 is an excellent camera, and easily on par with anything that Canon offers--and even better than a lot of what Canon offers. And its on par or better than everything Nikon offers, with the exception of the D300 (in my opinion). Nikons D300 is ever so VERY SLIGHTLY superior in some ways but then you don't get the same lens quality with Nikon, and that's the deal maker or deal breaker for me...lenses. If I could only keep one camera, I'd keep the E3...in a heartbeat. Get this camera!