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Olympus Pen E-P3 Review: This Pen is mightier than your compact camera
The Olympus Pen E-P3 is one of the three cameras that were announced in Singapore at an event at end June this year, and boasts the world's fastest autofocusing (AF) via Frequency Acceleration Sensor AF system and a lens incorporating the MSC (Movie and Still Compatible) mechanism. In this review, VR-Zone have a hands-on the new micro four-thirds camera and see if it shoots as well as it looks.
When Olympus launched their first Pen series E-P1 micro four-thirds digital camera in 2009, it garnered many favorable reviews. And based on the success of their new line of micro four-third products, the camera manufacturer has unveiled the Olympus Pen E-P3 which is one of the latest models in the Pen series announced this year. The E-P3 resembles its elder siblings, the E-P2 and E-P1, though it comes with few improvements overall. The camera claims to incorporate the world's fastest autofocusing, achieved with the FAST (Frequency Acceleration Sensor) AF system, and features 12.3-megapixel High Speed Live MOS Sensor with 1080i full high definition movie compatibility and high ISO 12,800 sensitivity.
Here's a look at the E-P3 specification,
| Olympus E-P3 | |
| Lens mount | Micro Four Thirds Mount |
| Effective Pixels | 12.3 million pixels |
| Image Stabilizer | Built in (Imager shift image stabilizer) |
| Monitor | 3-inch OLED Touchscreen Display |
| Dust reduction | Supersonic Wave Filter (dust reduction system for image sensor) |
| Lens system | Micro Four Thirds interchangeable |
| Live MOS sensor | High speed Live MOS Sensor |
| Magnification ratio | x5, x7, x10 (Default), x14 |
| Filter array | Primary color filter (RGB) |
| AF system | Image Contrast Detection AF System / AF Assist |
| Metering system | TTL Image Sensor metering system |
| Metering range | EV 0 - 20 |
| Memory | SD memory card (SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I compatible), Eye-Fi |
| Aspect ratio | 1.33 (4:3) |
| Recording format | DCF, DPOF, compatible/Exif, PRINT Image Matching III |
| File format | RAW (12-bit lossless compressopm JPEG, RAW-JPEG, MPO (3D still) |
| Recording image size | [RAW] 4032x3024 pixels ; [JPEG] 4032x3024 pixels - 640x480 pixels |
| Movie recording | AVCHD / AVI Motion JPG |
| File Size | AVCHD: Max 4GB / AVI Motion-JPEG: Max 2GB |
| Scene select AE | Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Macro, Sport, |
| Night scene, Night + Portrait, Children, High key, Low key, 3D | |
| DIS mode, Nature Macro, Candle, Sunset, Document, Panorama, | |
| Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Fisheye Conv, Wide Conv, Macro Conv | |
| ISO sensitivity | AUTO: ISO 200 - 12800 (customizable, default 200 - 1600) |
| Preset white balance | 6 settings (3000K - 7500K) Lamp (3000K), Fluorescent (4000K), |
| Daylight (5300K), Flash (5500K), Cloudy (6000K), Shade (7500K) | |
| Drive mode | Single-frame shooting, Sequential shooting, Self-timer |
| Sequential shoot speed | Approximately 3 frames / sec |
| Built-in flash | Available |
| Input/Output | USB2.0, mini HDMI, video-out, dedicated multi-connector (Video: |
| NTSC/PAL selectable, Optional remote cable RM-UC1, USB) | |
| Battery | BLS-1/BLS-5 Lithium-ion battery (included) |
| Dimensions | 122x69.1x34.3 (excluding protrusions) |
| Weight | 369g (including battery and memory card) |
