Olympus PEN E-P3 12.3 MP Live MOS Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 17mm Lens - Black

by Olympus

• 3" Touch Screen OLED 614K Dots
• New TruePic VI with Fine Detail Processing
• Full 1080 60i HD Movie
• Ten In-Camera Art Filters and New Art Filter Effects and Variations
• Fully Expandable System

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 3.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00595P9RU
• Item model number: V204033BU000
• Batteries 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,947 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 30, 2011

Product Description

Color: Black

Designed for photographers who want total control over their creative vision, thepowerful PEN E-P3 delivers professionalimage quality, blazing FAST AF speed and an array of built-in creative features in aclassic, ultra-portable design.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Olympus Pen E-P3 September 27, 2011

By Byron S. Cooper MD

Color Name:Black|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an excellent camera. It is very well made. With the camera based image stabilization, you can use any micro four thirds lens, including the Panasonic lenses as well as Olympus E Series lenses with the appropriate adapter. I used this camera with a Panasonic 100-300 lens at a Redskins game and found the auto focus and image stabilization good enough to capture action in the opposite end zone late in the afternoon when the light was fading. I would not consider getting this camera without the optional electronic viewfinder. The viewfinder is an extra expense and potentially easy to lose. I think it would be great if there were a way to lock it onto the flash shoe, so it does not fall off. The technical support at Olympus was excellent when I called. The choice at this price point and format is the Panasonic GH2 and the Olympus E-P3. the advantage of the Olympus is the camera based image stabilization and build quality. The Panasonic has an LCD screen that can be moved that allows viewing from different angles and has the advantage of a built in viewfinder as well. I own both cameras but would give the edge to the Olympus because of the built in image stabilization and build quality.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a beautifully designed camera that produces excellent results November 28, 2011

By Patrick R. Ward

Color Name:Black

All photographers know: there is no such thing as the perfect camera. When you are choosing a new camera you must weigh the benefits of a given design and system against the compromises that have been made. The Olympus E-P3 is a beautiful evolution in the Olympus micro-4/3rds line. I purchased this camera with the 17mm lens kit. The 17mm is a great lens for its size, and the on-board image stabilization works well with compact lenses like this and Panasonic's 20mm and 14mm pancakes. I wanted to get back that small size, large aperture feeling that I used to enjoy from the great 35mm compact rangefinders of the 1970's, and this camera fills the bill. The flash works well, when needed. ISO 1600 RAW images processed with Adobe Camera Raw yield pleasantly grainy results. Using slower speeds generates reliably clean output.

I considered the Sony NEX series, but the weak performance of their 16mm pancake (and relative lack of other reasonably priced primes) pushed me toward micro-4/3rds.

The in-body image stabilization was a deciding factor for this model over the offerings from Panasonic, particularly because I knew that I would mostly use this camera with the compact prime lenses that lack stabilization.

An articulating screen would be nice, but I guess I'll have to wait for the perfect camera ;-)

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent value for a lightweight DSLR system January 25, 2012

By Dead Cow

Color Name:Black|Amazon Verified Purchase

i happily owned a canon xti body with 70-200 f2.8L is & 17-55 f2.8 lenses for 6 years. the size and weight finally got to my back. i'm not a pro photog, just a dad who loves taking pix of his kids playing sports. i've since sold the lenses to purchase a µ43 system. i also borrowed a panasonic gh1 with the 20mm f1.8 pancake lens before purchasing the oly e-p3.

my purchase decision came down to the panasonic gx1 vs. the olympus e-p3 ($799 with the 17mm f2.0), and went olympus because of in body stabilization.

PROS
* lightweight. your back will thank you.
* compact. i easily fit the oly e-p3, 45mm f1.7, 17mm 2.8, and panny 14-140mm, 100-300mm in a lowepro 100 sling.
* hd video in avchd or motion jpeg
* high iso, i shot my daughter's night soccer playoff game at 4000 iso with acceptable graininess (max 128,000).
* in body stabilization, great for prime lenses without is.
* acceptable built in flash, mainly for fill
* compatibility with canon external flash (with loss of some auto settings)
* acceptable battery life (but do always have 'at least 1 extra charged battery on hand)
* full aperture, shutter, and manual controls
* special settings (fireworks, portrait, night, etc.)

CONS
* focusing in low light takes some time
* if set to continuous autofocus, shutter lag is unacceptable
* menu system is disorganized / confusing, not as intuitive as the panasonic and canon systems
* occasionally exposure is off (sometimes way over exposed or under exposed)
* i'd rather have the panasonic 20mm f1.8 instead of the oly 17mm f2.8. oh well.
* when videoing, the crop factor jumps up, so you can't rely on what you see to compose. try pre-videoing to get an idea of the crop before actually videoing.
* no articulating screen

i used to lose lens caps all the time. try these lens cap leashes (hmm, used to be $3.00 for five, it's currently $7.50). cut off the adhesive "plate", it's useless and falls off easily. instead, drill a tiny hole into the lens, thread the string in, and tie a few knots to secure the string. 5 LENS CAP LEASH! LENS CAP HOLDER/SAFETY CORD FOR SONY CANON NIKON OLYMPUS PENTAX LENS CAP, SAVE!!! $$$

CONCLUSION
i agree with the above reviewers, there is no such thing as a perfect camera. but if you prefer something lightweight with in body stabilization and the flexibility of interchangeable lenses, the oly e-p3 is the way to go. happy shooting!