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The Olympus E-3 Development Story - Part 1

Written by Khen Lim

Oct 16, 2007 at 06:02 PM

Article Index
The Olympus E-3 Development Story - Part 1
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Page 5 of 9

4. Phoenix rising

The backdrop against which the E-3 would emerge could only be described as a difficult gestation. The purpose of covering its background is to better understand the tumult that forced Olympus’ hand. It’s an uncharacteristic force combining market dissent as well as shifts in buying trends including a suspect under-current movement levelled against the company’s struggles. Never has there been such a remarkable opposition seen in the industry towards one camera maker – at least the writer of this report has not seen one in his lifetime anyway.

In and amongst the mess, Olympus was soldiering with the cloaked development of the E-3 but contrary to what most might assume, there was nothing predictable about what shape it was taking. The development of the E-3 went in weaves and turns and through all that time, the face of the market was also changing. So exactly what features it had to have, what scope of performance it needed and how it should take over the reins from the E-1 were among the many questions that would have been asked about the E-3.

While the E-1 helped to establish the roots to anchor Four-Thirds in the hearts and minds of the pro market, the E-3 will have to do much more but whether it had what it took was probably one of the most contentious topics that the Internet forums have ever had to deal with. Everyone chimed in with their opinions and never has the author seen so many who opined like camera designers emerging from the woodwork much akin to termites readying to bite ankles and breed at the same time. Foisted upon by endless streams of negativity, the E-3 faced the enormity of an uphill battle in the minds of many. Never mind what it had or didn’t have, to many, the battle seemed lost even before it could begin.

But amidst all these Olympus built into the E-3 a far stronger vision – one that was put into place originally by the E-400 and blossomed into view and presence by the redoubtable E-410 and E-510. To that end, the latter two were pivotal barometers for the E-3 – an interesting windsock that blew in a direction that it was heading. Here’s what we can expect from the E-3:

	Olympus E-3 (Key Improvement Areas and New Features)	Olympus E-1 by comparison
Body Construction	Magnesium-composite alloy with all-round weatherproofing	Similar but without Thixomolding® fabrication standards
Sensor	Olympus-designed 10-megapixel high-speed LiveMOS (LMOS)	Kodak KAF-5101C 5-megapixel Full-Frame Transfer CCD
Image Processor	Olympus TruePic III with 12-bit RGB processing	Digital ESP with 12-bit RGB processing
Exposure Management	Wider and improved dynamic range now capable of -2EV at ISO 100; Advanced Shadow Adjustment Technology (SAT)
Exposure Metering	TTL centre-average, ESP, Spot, Spot+Hilight, Spot+Shadow; multispot up to eight readings, 49-zone ESP multi-metering pattern	Similar but no Hilight/Shadow function; 3-zone ESP multi-metering pattern
Noise Performance	Significantly lower at high ISO settings with advanced noise reduction algorithm
Focusing System	In-camera 11-point crosshair AF sensors; central sensors are f2 capable; phase error-detection passive AF system; AF points automatically and manually selectable; compatible in use with Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) in-lens AF lenses (fastest in class); mechanically-linked manual focusing override; modes include S-AF, S-AF+M, C-AF, C-AF+M and MF	In-camera 3-point AF sensors; phase error-detection passive AF system; AF points automatically and manually selectable; S-AF, C-AF and MF modes; focus-by-wire manual focusing; manual focus after AF Lock is available; SWD feature not optimised for use with E-1 but lenses can be used otherwise
Maximum Shutter Speed	1/8000 sec; flash sync at 1/250 sec with FL-series flash units and 1/320 sec with Olympus OM T-series and non-Olympus flash units	1/4000 sec; flash sync speed of 1/180 sec only
Image Stabilisation	In-camera two-way +5 step compensation via Supersonic Wave technology gyro sensors	Custom-delay ‘Anti-Shock’ mirror-lockup feature; no built-in Image Stabilisation gyros
Dust Removal	Improved and modified Supersonic Wave Filter (SSWF) cleans sensor at start-up (owing to in-camera I.S. mechanism)	Supersonic Wave Filter (SSWF) cleans sensor at start-up
Viewfinder	Optical with 1.0X coverage and improved 1.15X over-compensating magnification; built-in diopter enhanced by optional DE-1/DE-2 diopter-equipped eyecups for greater range	Image magnification at 0.96X only; full diopter eye correction range within finder piece; eyecups have no correction ability
Finder Type	Solid glass optical prism with more forward angle and higher refractive index and specially coated
LiveView Implementation	Side-hinge twistable arm articulating with 176^o all-round viewability; fully active-AF LiveView mode with fast mirror return response	No LiveView
Flash Management	In-camera pop-up flash at GN14 (ISO 100) with ±2 EV intensity compensation; in-camera infrared wireless transceiver for remote cable-free flash compatibility with new range of flash units (FL36R and FL50R); built-in flash modes and settings; off-camera PC-sync and TTL-Auto cable socket connector	No pop-up flash; off-camera PC-sync and TTL-Auto cable socket connector
LCD Panel	2.5-inch HyperCrystal with 170-degree viewing angle	1.8-inch 134,000 pixel LCD with anti-reflective coating
Storage Media Support	Two card slots available; CompactFlash Types I and II with very high write speeds and xD-Picture Card; internal card-to-card copy transfers possible; USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 cable support	Two card slots available; CompactFlash Types I and II with very high write speeds and xD-Picture Card; internal card-to-card copy transfers possible; USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 cable support
Battery Type	BLM-1 lithium-ion	Same

A more descriptive outline of its technical specifications is found in Appendix I at the end of this report.

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Last Updated ( Mar 08, 2009 at 06:06 PM )