My first E-3 images...

OlyFlyer · 16th January 2008

No, in case you wonder, I don't have the E-3 yet, I still use the E-500, but today for the first time I had an E-3 in my hands.

This is my first image, not an image of high value and art, but just the first one.

I immediately noticed the Auto WB not much better than the E-500. I did som PP at home to correct what I could quickly. The camera was set to whatever it was set to, the clock was not runing, so the time is incorrect. Auto ISO was on, so somehow seems that Auto ISO is working the way I want, even without flash, since the image above shows ISO 800, which is good. I turned the ISO to ISO 100, since that is what I am mostly interested in. I changed to single center AF point and I also changed WB to the one I thought was more right, turned the camera to take an image of the shop manager. I did not want to take a full face, the idea is not a portrait but a test.

Skin tones, without much fuzz, are very nice, even without One touch custom WB. BTW, is that possible with the E-3?

The 100% crop of the center part shows no signes of focus problem, I am happy even there, especially considering the camera was just straight out of the box, arrived to the shop a few hours earlier today. He called me in the morning, and the image is taken late afternoon, which shows on his face, as he does not look well shaved here, which is good for me. The image is JPEG out of the camera, not raw. I assume in raw, it would be even better.

Due to the CS limits of maximum number of images, I have to divide this into two posts.

OlyFlyer · 16th January 2008

Part two.

Then I took this very 'artistic' image of the box, still at ISO 100, using the 14-54.

The 100% crop below shows very nice texture, no low ISO noise at all. The bad focus is probably caused by hand shake, the image is taken at 1/10 seconds and 54 mm focal length, which is too long for that shutter speed. I have no idea actually if IS was on or not, but even so 1/10 sec is too long time for me.

Then I switched to ISO 1600 and took the same image. This time I got a good shutter speed and nice focus. The ISO noise is nothing to talk about at this ISO according to my opinion, sharpness is nice, again, especially considering it is JPEG directly out of the camera. The image below is a 100% crop of the ISO 1600 image, very similar to the one above, which is tha ISO 100.

No post processing of any kind is done, no noise reduction software was used. NR was set to whatever Oly delivered the camera to the shop.

In general, I like the camera. No point listing what I liked, I just list the negative things.

1. What I immediately don't like is the LCD. The display is in plastic box, and even behind the display it is plastic. It feels really cheap, not really professional, more like a P&S.

2. Again, connected to the LCD, what I did not like was the LV. Yes, it may be so that I'll get use to it, but in my opinion, it does not give a nice, pro touch, because it is too slow, lagging a lot. I'd expected a faster display. Maybe that was due to the very limited knowledge I have and the shop managers lack of own experience and it is possible to set up the display better. But, to me that gives a cheap look.

3. The external power connector. Why on Earth did Oly, once again invented the weel? Why did they had to create a special plug for the power, not using the normal thing used by millions of external power supply used on this Earth? I know, it is small thing for some, but I hate special plugs.

As said in general, I liked the camera. I only used it for about 15-25 minutes, so I am not an expert, but I think it is enough for me to make up mi mind. Now I just have to wait for a few weeks, so I can really get the "I need this camera now" feeling. Actually, I plan for March.

dorts · 16th January 2008

Nice to see you prepared to get the E-3. I would still say the E-3's Auto WB is better than the E-500, depending on conditions.

And do not sell the E-500 if you are getting the E-3! I sort of miss my E-500 now.

Not that my E-3 can't do what E-500 can do.

uginz · 16th January 2008

How was the AF speed in low light conditions?
Does AF work with Live Preview?

halcy0n · 16th January 2008

OlyFlyer, the One Touch WB can be programmed to be used on the "Fn" button, but that does deprive you of other uses for the same function button.

Uginz, you can't get LV focus like the E-330 but you can press AEL/AFL to activate the mirror flip up and AF. To keep the same AF point, just press and hold AEL/AFL when you release the shutter after re-composing.

holidaydom · 16th January 2008

Congrats on you purchase OlyFlyer.

I have no doubt that you'll go crazy with Macro on Liveview...

Can wait for your next mega closeup pic!

OlyFlyer · 16th January 2008

Originally Posted by holidaydom

Congrats on you purchase OlyFlyer.

Too early. I was just having a feel of the camera, then went home to think more. I will wait some more time before I hand over my credit card.

Originally Posted by holidaydom

I have no doubt that you'll go crazy with Macro on Liveview...

In fact, that is one of my negatives about the camera, hopefully I will learn how to use it the right way and hopefully, I will fall in love with it.

Originally Posted by holidaydom

Can wait for your next mega closeup pic!

Since my English has been corrected before (last time when I spelled 'Chritmas' instead of 'Christmas'), here is one for you: You mean:

Originally Posted by holidaydom

Can't wait for your next mega closeup pic!

Cheers!

OlyFlyer · 16th January 2008

Originally Posted by uginz

How was the AF speed in low light conditions?
Does AF work with Live Preview?

I don't know about the LV, but it focuses very fast with the ED50/f2, which is a slow to focus lens. I never had problems with low light with my E-500, so I have not done any special tests for that. I suppose the E-3 is better than the E-500, which is good enough for me in that regard. Focus speed is noticably better. With the 14-54, I could not see much difference, at least not in the shop, but it is a fast lens on the E-500 as well. Considering the 50 mm is very fast focusing on the E-3, I assume even the other lenses are faster.

holidaydom · 16th January 2008

Originally Posted by OlyFlyer

Since my English has been corrected before (last time when I spelled 'Chritmas' instead of 'Christmas'), here is one for you...

Damn - you got me there!

OlyFlyer · 25th January 2008

Sorry halcy0n, I missed your post. Thank you for answering.

Originally Posted by halcy0n

OlyFlyer, the One Touch WB can be programmed to be used on the "Fn" button, but that does deprive you of other uses for the same function button.

That depends on what other functions I miss then. I have another question regarding the buttons, which I did not like. The arrow buttons. Those have two functions in the E-500, arrow and quick access to changes, like ISO, AF mode, WB and metering. I find that very convenient because I often change those. Are those buttons not usable for anything else than arrow (i.e. navigation in menus)? Are there other buttons which can do the same without going through menu selection?

Originally Posted by halcy0n

Uginz, you can't get LV focus like the E-330 but you can press AEL/AFL to activate the mirror flip up and AF. To keep the same AF point, just press and hold AEL/AFL when you release the shutter after re-composing.

I am not sure I understand this, but I'll probably learn if I had the camera. But if you can't AF using the LV, what is the LV good for? I found it shows only a blurry image like a bad movie and half pressing the shutter release did not bring the image into focus. Is there any one touch button methode to bring the image into focus when the LV is used? The manager said it only works in MF. Now, I understand the mirror must flip down for the focus because of the stupid desig, but how can one make it do that if LV is on? Does it only focus at the moment of taking the image? In that case how to inspect the image BEFORE it is taken?

Sorry for all my stupid questions, but I found the LV to be a bit strange, not specifically well designed.

OlyFlyer · 25th January 2008

Sorry halcy0n, I missed your post. Thank you for answering.

Originally Posted by halcy0n

OlyFlyer, the One Touch WB can be programmed to be used on the "Fn" button, but that does deprive you of other uses for the same function button.

That depends on what other functions I miss then. I have another question regarding the buttons, which I did not like. The arrow buttons. Those have two functions in the E-500, arrow and quick access to changes, like ISO, AF mode, WB and metering. I find that very convenient because I often change those. Are those buttons not usable for anything else than arrow (i.e. navigation in menus)? Are there other buttons which can do the same without going through menu selection?

Originally Posted by halcy0n

Uginz, you can't get LV focus like the E-330 but you can press AEL/AFL to activate the mirror flip up and AF. To keep the same AF point, just press and hold AEL/AFL when you release the shutter after re-composing.

I am not sure I understand this, but I'll probably learn if I had the camera. But if you can't AF using the LV, what is the LV good for? I found it shows only a blurry image like a bad movie and half pressing the shutter release did not bring the image into focus. Is there any one touch button method to bring the image into focus when the LV is used? The manager said it only works in MF. Now, I understand the mirror must flip down for the focus because of the stupid design, but how can one make it do that if LV is on? Does it only focus at the moment of taking the image? In that case how to inspect the image BEFORE it is taken?

Sorry for all my stupid questions, but I found the LV to be a bit strange, not specifically well designed.

ongsw · 30th January 2008

That depends on what other functions I miss then. I have another question regarding the buttons, which I did not like. The arrow buttons. Those have two functions in the E-500, arrow and quick access to changes, like ISO, AF mode, WB and metering. I find that very convenient because I often change those. Are those buttons not usable for anything else than arrow (i.e. navigation in menus)? Are there other buttons which can do the same without going through menu selection?

You can manually set a btm to the "fn" btn where you can customise the function and the rest can be set using a combination of btn and wheel or using MyModes. I found the sticky btn feature extremely useful.

I am not sure I understand this, but I'll probably learn if I had the camera. But if you can't AF using the LV, what is the LV good for? I found it shows only a blurry image like a bad movie and half pressing the shutter release did not bring the image into focus. Is there any one touch button method to bring the image into focus when the LV is used? The manager said it only works in MF. Now, I understand the mirror must flip down for the focus because of the stupid design, but how can one make it do that if LV is on? Does it only focus at the moment of taking the image? In that case how to inspect the image BEFORE it is taken?

You can press "AEL/AFL" btn for get cam to AF.

My 2 cents.

16th January 2008	#1
OlyFlyer Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Europe, Sweden, outside Lund Posts: 2,038	My first E-3 images... No, in case you wonder, I don't have the E-3 yet, I still use the E-500, but today for the first time I had an E-3 in my hands. This is my first image, not an image of high value and art, but just the first one. I immediately noticed the Auto WB not much better than the E-500. I did som PP at home to correct what I could quickly. The camera was set to whatever it was set to, the clock was not runing, so the time is incorrect. Auto ISO was on, so somehow seems that Auto ISO is working the way I want, even without flash, since the image above shows ISO 800, which is good. I turned the ISO to ISO 100, since that is what I am mostly interested in. I changed to single center AF point and I also changed WB to the one I thought was more right, turned the camera to take an image of the shop manager. I did not want to take a full face, the idea is not a portrait but a test. Skin tones, without much fuzz, are very nice, even without One touch custom WB. BTW, is that possible with the E-3? The 100% crop of the center part shows no signes of focus problem, I am happy even there, especially considering the camera was just straight out of the box, arrived to the shop a few hours earlier today. He called me in the morning, and the image is taken late afternoon, which shows on his face, as he does not look well shaved here, which is good for me. The image is JPEG out of the camera, not raw. I assume in raw, it would be even better. Due to the CS limits of maximum number of images, I have to divide this into two posts. __________________ Welcome to my Blog: http://olyflyer.blogspot.com/

16th January 2008	#2
OlyFlyer Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Europe, Sweden, outside Lund Posts: 2,038	Re: My first E-3 images... Part two. Then I took this very 'artistic' image of the box, still at ISO 100, using the 14-54. The 100% crop below shows very nice texture, no low ISO noise at all. The bad focus is probably caused by hand shake, the image is taken at 1/10 seconds and 54 mm focal length, which is too long for that shutter speed. I have no idea actually if IS was on or not, but even so 1/10 sec is too long time for me. Then I switched to ISO 1600 and took the same image. This time I got a good shutter speed and nice focus. The ISO noise is nothing to talk about at this ISO according to my opinion, sharpness is nice, again, especially considering it is JPEG directly out of the camera. The image below is a 100% crop of the ISO 1600 image, very similar to the one above, which is tha ISO 100. No post processing of any kind is done, no noise reduction software was used. NR was set to whatever Oly delivered the camera to the shop. In general, I like the camera. No point listing what I liked, I just list the negative things. 1. What I immediately don't like is the LCD. The display is in plastic box, and even behind the display it is plastic. It feels really cheap, not really professional, more like a P&S. 2. Again, connected to the LCD, what I did not like was the LV. Yes, it may be so that I'll get use to it, but in my opinion, it does not give a nice, pro touch, because it is too slow, lagging a lot. I'd expected a faster display. Maybe that was due to the very limited knowledge I have and the shop managers lack of own experience and it is possible to set up the display better. But, to me that gives a cheap look. 3. The external power connector. Why on Earth did Oly, once again invented the weel? Why did they had to create a special plug for the power, not using the normal thing used by millions of external power supply used on this Earth? I know, it is small thing for some, but I hate special plugs. As said in general, I liked the camera. I only used it for about 15-25 minutes, so I am not an expert, but I think it is enough for me to make up mi mind. Now I just have to wait for a few weeks, so I can really get the "I need this camera now" feeling. Actually, I plan for March. __________________ Welcome to my Blog: http://olyflyer.blogspot.com/ Last edited by OlyFlyer; 16th January 2008 at 03:22 PM. Reason: Spelling.

16th January 2008	#3
dorts Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Hillview Ave, SG Posts: 1,774	Re: My first E-3 images... Nice to see you prepared to get the E-3. I would still say the E-3's Auto WB is better than the E-500, depending on conditions. And do not sell the E-500 if you are getting the E-3! I sort of miss my E-500 now. Not that my E-3 can't do what E-500 can do. __________________ Keneth Tan's Flickr!

16th January 2008	#4
uginz Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 346	Re: My first E-3 images... How was the AF speed in low light conditions? Does AF work with Live Preview? __________________ Olympus E500, ZD14-45mm, ZD40-150mm, Sigma 105mm Macro Ikelite housing, Ikelite DS50 substrobe

16th January 2008	#5
halcy0n Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 443	Re: My first E-3 images... OlyFlyer, the One Touch WB can be programmed to be used on the "Fn" button, but that does deprive you of other uses for the same function button. Uginz, you can't get LV focus like the E-330 but you can press AEL/AFL to activate the mirror flip up and AF. To keep the same AF point, just press and hold AEL/AFL when you release the shutter after re-composing. __________________ www.flickr.com/photos/vurtopia

16th January 2008	#6
holidaydom Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 885	Re: My first E-3 images... Congrats on you purchase OlyFlyer. I have no doubt that you'll go crazy with Macro on Liveview... Can wait for your next mega closeup pic! __________________ Happiness is a state of mind.

30th January 2008	#12
ongsw Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 91	Re: My first E-3 images... That depends on what other functions I miss then. I have another question regarding the buttons, which I did not like. The arrow buttons. Those have two functions in the E-500, arrow and quick access to changes, like ISO, AF mode, WB and metering. I find that very convenient because I often change those. Are those buttons not usable for anything else than arrow (i.e. navigation in menus)? Are there other buttons which can do the same without going through menu selection? You can manually set a btm to the "fn" btn where you can customise the function and the rest can be set using a combination of btn and wheel or using MyModes. I found the sticky btn feature extremely useful. I am not sure I understand this, but I'll probably learn if I had the camera. But if you can't AF using the LV, what is the LV good for? I found it shows only a blurry image like a bad movie and half pressing the shutter release did not bring the image into focus. Is there any one touch button method to bring the image into focus when the LV is used? The manager said it only works in MF. Now, I understand the mirror must flip down for the focus because of the stupid design, but how can one make it do that if LV is on? Does it only focus at the moment of taking the image? In that case how to inspect the image BEFORE it is taken? You can press "AEL/AFL" btn for get cam to AF. My 2 cents.