8. Mobility

Taking strong cues from the rugged nature of the company’s offering more than thirty years ago, the OM-1, its ability to go the distance in almost any condition set a crucial benchmark for Olympus to develop one important aspect of the E-3. However mobility isn’t just about being small. After all small in itself could be self-defeating. The definition of Mobility within the company’s lingua Deus means many things but all these are inter-related by the core design principles that mould themselves together to form the camera.

Small in itself has a limit and more than any other camera maker, Olympus probably knows this best. A camera can be small but the controls still need to be oversized enough to allow the photographer’s fingers to get around. The OM SLRs were and still are a paragon of this. Smallness must also be counterbalanced by the need to strike a neater medium between lightweight and feel. Again this is Mobility from a slightly different perspective. A camera cannot be said to be entirely mobile if it feels too heavy or awkward to handle.

Alternatively it cannot be so light that it doesn’t inspire confidence in your hands. If lightness was a self-serving goal, the whole camera could have been made from plastics but then the ‘sensuality’ – Olympus’ word actually – would not be there. The ‘feel’ of a camera isn’t as subjective as some might make it up to be. Olympus has honed this to a fine art and you’d just have to hold the E-1 in your hands to know it. It is neither too light (certainly not as heavy as some of its competitors) nor too clinically removed from any feel.

In Olympus’ terms, Mobility also defines the freedom to carry with you the kinds of equipment you need to complete your outdoor assignments. If the size and weight prevent you from carrying everything you need, then the design of the camera is too far off from the ideal that the company has predefined. Furthermore it is important for a camera of this calibre to be able to handle almost any terrain or weather condition. In the ultimate sense of the word Mobility, it should be as comfortable to use indoors as it is outdoors whatever the climatic conditions.

Compared to the E-1, the E-3’s overall appearance is more purposeful, with a mix of aggressiveness with a likeness of a muscular athlete about to spring from his starting blocks. Slightly beneath the new look, the go-anywhere characteristics of the E-3 are an evolution from lessons gathered from the E-1. So you get the same high level of environmental protection against dust and splash resistance, using gaskets, O-rings, seals and linings that you will find in abundance beneath its skin. All these will enable the E-3 to function in wide open rain and other hostilities that working pro photographers find in virtually every corner of their world.

Designing a camera to look tough and mean is one thing. As mentioned earlier it cannot grow in size and weight just so it looks good. Olympus considers Mobility to be an important design hallmark of how the E-3 is versatile to use and quick to handle without the photographer having the impression of an anchor or a millstone around his neck. You certainly want to be able to carry at least two camera bodies and a swathe of lenses with you on assignment. The problem with a complex over-engineered ‘professional’ solution is to design a tank that doesn’t just look but also feels and weighs like a tank.

That is where the E-3 follows faithfully in the path well trodden by the E-1 and in so doing it’s easy to see this as another provocation aimed at mainstream conventionalism. It’s Olympus’ way of doing things differently, thinking divergently and embracing an approach that is immediately unique, interesting and effective.

8.1 Body construction

Here’s the deal – to make a camera solid, it has to be build like a tank using heavy materials, right? Wrong. Think of an American 60’s classic boulevard poser – a Cadillac if you must. Its brutishly big, breaks the limits of your weighing scale and a handful to control at speed. For your information there are still cameras built this way and they’re definitely solid. They feel as if they’re hewn from solid billets of iron. And they weigh a ton. They’re impossible to hold beyond the first ten minutes if at all. These are the antitheses of how Olympus designs any camera let alone the E-3.

Material sciences are important to Olympus. In building the E-3, the company chose to use a magnesium alloy composite to take advantage of its better weight advantages while remaining rigid and strong at the same time. A body cast in magnesium alloy feels reassuring in your hands. It exudes confidence and it expresses it very well in your hands. In designing Mobility into the E-3, Olympus not only pursued lightness with feel but also the capability to withstand light to moderate physical impact.

Using magnesium enabled the E-3 to achieve a far better balance in terms of weight and operability, a combination that more than matches the best there is in the market today and in the foreseeable future.

8.2 Higher tolerances and better finish

To achieve such a high level of mobility, engineers at Olympus revised its tooling, machining and manufacturing tolerances. While the E-1 is no slouch in this aspect, the company envisioned the E-3 to be several leagues better again. And the result was a total revamp of the manufacturing standards to improve tolerances and processing precision.

Mobility is one of those attributes that aren’t visible on paper. You hardly see it mentioned in any technical specifications. It is neither definable nor make for interesting reading but when all’s said and done, this is invariably what working pro photographers rely on to enhance and consolidate their workspace. And in the end the E-3 not only looks good on the outsider but also rugged and impervious to adverse working conditions.

In fact you don’t have to go far to see these – the E-3’s seams and joints are exemplary of this. Frankly if the E-1 was good in this regard, the E-3 was better, with tighter joints everywhere around its body. As hard to understand or perceive as it is to some, this level of quality enables the E-3 to survive better than others. So if mobility means ‘take-and-go-anywhere,’ then Olympus is in an excellent position to deliver with the results.

Beneath its external satin-smooth surface finish, the E-3’s critical technical parts came for close attention. Features like the lens mount had to be well sealed from the harsh environment in order to ensure that the entire camera is resistant to dust and splash conditions. Harsh working conditions are nothing new to working pro photographers and if the E-3 were to feel ‘at home’ here, it will also have to be completely impervious to water splashing from virtually any direction.

Perhaps the biggest proof of Mobility for Olympus was the recognition given to its OM-4 by NASA in 1985. Chosen as the camera to join astronauts onboard the ill-fated 1986 launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger mission, this was at the height of its achievements and ample proof of an exemplary design that was built to last, never needed modifications to suit (save for the replacement of its faux leatherette with silver tape), easy to handle and straightforward to use. The fact that at Olympus the mobility aspect was never in doubt is a clear indication of its ability to understand this obscure science.

End of Part #1