Olympus E-3 Review

Overall Score

54

Main Features

  • 10 MP Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • 100 - 3200 ISO
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 2" Articulated Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) Viewfinder
  • 5 fps continuous shooting
  • Built-In Wireless
  • 142 x 116 x 75 mm, 890g.
  • Price Category:
  • Replaced: E-1
  • Replaced by: E-5

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Olympus E-3 Overview


First introduced in February, 2008, Olympus E-3 is a 10 MP DSLR with a Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sized CMOS sensor. Olympus replaced the older Olympus E-1 with E-3. Follow the link to read our detailed comparison of these models:

Compare Olympus E-3 with Olympus E-1

Olympus replaced E-3 with Olympus E-5. Follow the link to read our detailed comparison of these models:

Compare Olympus E-3 with Olympus E-5


Olympus E-3 comes with a 17.3 x 13 mm CMOS sensor, which has a diagonal of 21.64 mm (0.84").

- Full Frame
- Olympus E-3

Sensor resolution of Olympus E-3 ~ 3646 x 2742 pixels.

Olympus E-3 has Crop Factor: 2.0

The sensor has a surface area of 224.9 mm².

There are approximate 9,997,332 photosites (pixels) on this area.


Proc and Cons of Olympus E-3


Get to know this camera closer. Let's look at the features and characteristics of this model. Compare Olympus E-3 with competitors in semi-pro dslr cameras.

Pros
Built-in Wireless
Articulating Screen
Optical Viewfinder
5.0 fps Continuous Shooting
Manual Focus
Environmental Sealing
±5 AE Bracketing Range
Selfie Friendly Screen
Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
External Flash
RAW Support
1/8000s Max Shutter Speed
Manual Exposure Mode
11 Focus Points
Flash Sync Port
Cons
No Bluetooth
No Touch Screen
No AF Face Detection
Low Screen Resolution: 230k dots
No Articulating Screen
No Full HD Video
Small LCD Screen: 2"
Weight: 890g
Type Scores

Olympus E-3 has an Overall Score of 54/100 and ranked #134 out of 206 in DSLR cameras, and ranked #444 out of 1222 in all cameras.

Olympus E-3 Scores
Imaging score
45
Features score
55
Value for money score
69
Portability score
68
Overall score
54
Average Scores in Semi-Pro DSLR
Imaging Score
55
Features Score
58
Value For Money Score
73
Portability Score
70
Overall score
61

Physical Dimensions of Olympus E-3


Olympus E-3 weighs 890g and has external dimensions of 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.59 x 4.57 x 2.95"). Considering that the average weight of Semi-Pro DSLR cameras is 783g, Olympus E-3 is 107 grams more than the average weight of cameras in this category.

Weight Comparison
Semi-Pro DSLR Cameras


Olympus E-3
890g
Average weight
783g
Min weight
479g
Max weight
1074g

Thickness Comparison
Semi-Pro DSLR Cameras


Olympus E-3
75mm
Average Thickness
75mm
Min Thickness
64mm
Max Thickness
86mm

Here is the front and top view image of Olympus E-3 with the dimensions:

Olympus E-3

Size Compared to Major Competitors


Model Weight E-3 Dimensions E-3
Olympus E-5 Olympus E-5 800 g 890 g 143 x 117 x 75 mm 142 x 116 x 75 mm
Olympus E-1 Olympus E-1 735 g 890 g 141 x 104 x 81 mm 142 x 116 x 75 mm
Nikon D7100 Nikon D7100 765 g 890 g 136 x 107 x 76 mm 142 x 116 x 75 mm
Nikon D750 Nikon D750 840 g 890 g 141 x 113 x 78 mm 142 x 116 x 75 mm
Nikon D3 1300 g 890 g 160 x 157 x 88 mm 142 x 116 x 75 mm
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus E-M1 497 g 890 g 130 x 94 x 63 mm 142 x 116 x 75 mm
Olympus E-620 Olympus E-620 500 g 890 g 130 x 94 x 60 mm 142 x 116 x 75 mm
Canon EOS 70D Canon 70D 755 g 890 g 139 x 104 x 79 mm 142 x 116 x 75 mm

Specifications of Olympus E-3


General
Brand Olympus
Model E-3
Announced February, 2008
Body Type Mid-size SLR
Lens
Lens Mount Four Thirds
Manual Focus
Focal Lens Multiplier 2
Number of Lenses 45
Macro Focus Range n/a
Screen
Screen Size 2"
Screen Type Articulated
Screen Resolution 230k pixels
Touch Screen
Live View
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.58
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 11
Number of Cross Focus Points 0
Photography Features
RAW Support
Min Shutter Speed 1/60 sec
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000 sec
Continuous Shooting 5.0 fps
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Exposure Compensation
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 13.00
Flash Modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye
External Flash
AE Bracketing
AE Bracketing Range ±5 EV
WB Bracketing
Sensor
Sensor Size Four Thirds
Sensor Type CMOS
Sensor Dimensions 17.3 x 13 mm
Sensor Area 224.9 mm²
Sensor Resolution 10 MP
Max Image Resolution 3648 x 2736
Max Native ISO 3200
Min Native ISO 100
Max Boosted ISO 0
Min Boosted ISO 0
Video Features
4K
Max Video Resolution None
Video Formats
Timelapse Recording
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Exposure Modes
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
Connectivity
GPS None
Wireless Connectivity Built-In
Bluetooth
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
Battery
Battery Life 0 shots
Battery Type
Battery Model
Physical
Weight 890 g
Physical Dimensions 142 x 116 x 75 mm
Environmental Sealing
Water Proof
Dust Proof
Shock Proof
Crush Proof
Freeze Proof
Shock Proof
Storage
Storage Type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card
Storage Slots 1
Other Features
Self Timer
Selfie Friendly

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