Olympus E-P3

Olympus has been releasing Micro Four-Thirds cameras with old school-styling for some years, and its latest combines a nicely retro body with a new 12 megapixel sensor, lots of creative options and a built-in flash. Could the E-P3 be the best Olympus camera to date?

Features

Built to resemble the original PEN cameras from the 70s, the E-P3 follows on from the E-P1 and E-P2 and features a compact metal body similar in size to many early-model Leicas. Its low-profile style and design works in its favour: it feels snug but substantial in the hand and, unlike full-sized DSLRs, enables greater opportunity for discreet street photography.

Under the hood is where most of the important camera business takes place, and Olympus has included its new 12.3 megapixel Micro Four-thirds CMOS sensor, with support for ISOs ranging from 100–12,800. It should be noted, however, that the Micro Four-Thirds sensor – not just on this camera, but all with the sensor and mount – is smaller than that of one on a digital SLR. Other mirror-less interchangeable cameras – such as the Samsung NX and Sony NEX series – feature sensors close to, if not, the same size as digital SLRs. While a bigger sensor can often mean better image quality, this isn’t always the case.

The rear display measures 3 inches and mixes OLED technology with a touchscreen. Unlike some touchscreen-only cameras, there are a ton of control buttons for you to work with too: a directional pad on the rear panel surrounded by a click-wheel; a tall silver wheel above this; several buttons at the bottom and top of the camera body, including two function buttons, the shutter button and the power button. An option wheel on the top of the body changes the shooting mode between the four manual modes, Movie, Scene, Intelligent Auto, and Art modes.

The single button on the front of the camera body detaches the lens. Our review sample came with the 14-42mm and 40-150mm twin lens kit, and because all Micro Four-Thirds cameras share the same mounting system, the Olympus E-P3 will also make use of lenses from other supporters of the format, including Panasonic and Leica.

Video capture is supported, with 1080i on offer. Olympus has provided a stereo microphone just above the Olympus logo for audio recording. The record button for this is located on the rear of the body and can be used when the camera is operating in any of the modes.

A door on the right side of the body hides access to a USB and AV-out in the one connection, as well as a mini HDMI port. At the bottom, you’ll find a battery door housing the SD card slot and the battery. A tripod screw mount is adjacent.

The front grip is something of a stalwart from the old Olympus PEN cameras and it’s still here, connected by an easily removed screw in case you want to customise the look and feel of the grip.

For the first time in the Olympus Micro Four-Thirds flagship models, we also find a built-in flash. It’s a long overdue inclusion, and a welcome one too.

There’s also a hot-shoe for attaching a more powerful external flash and, beneath this, a special data port for connecting the optional electronic viewfinder eyepiece.