Olympus E-3

Excellent image quality, good ergonomics and build, menu system, comprehensive feature set and customisability, super control panel, top plate display, responsive, good dust reduction system, great weather sealing

Fastest focus rate only available with Olympus’ Super Sonic Wave drive lenses, bulky for its class but particularly for a FourThirds Format camera! Cramped top plate buttons, not much headroom in RAW files, complex menus

Olympus’ new flagship DSLR replaces the now very long in the tooth E-1 and bridges that gap for Olympus aficionados between enthusiast and professional shooting. It’s big, heavy, and very capable but not without its flaws

Great set of features ; Very high image quality ; Good value for money

Controls take a bit of getting used to

Great image quality ; Enthusiast-level shooting features ; Solid build quality and stylish design

Zoom ring a bit hard to reach ; AWB can be fooled under artificial light ; Very expensive

The EP-3 builds considerably on the strengths of its predecessors. As such, it’s a generously featured enthusiast-level camera that offers a good degree of user customisation while remaining easy enough for the novice user to get to grips with too....

What the Olympus E3 brings to the table is excellent images, a great build quality, and a lovely user experience, but fails to match the innovation of the E-1, or even other models from the Olympus range. Instead it's taken the best bits, refined them...

To be picky, the Olympus E-3's auto white-balance performance is variable, something the manual itself acknowledges. Still, there are sufficient manual settings to correct it, and since this isn't a camera for the point-and-shoot brigade, those who...

Excellent pictures ; Easily mastered control system ; Strong implementation of live view ; Powerful burst mode

Resolution isn't as high as rivals ; Quirky flash controls ; Screen feels small

It took a lot to shake the nagging feeling that the delayed E-3 has already been left behind by other cameras like the Nikon D300 or Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 with their bigger screens and 12 megapixels, but in terms of usability and picture quality the E-3...

Worth the wait. The E-3 matches pro SLR capabilities with the ease of use of an entry-level cam

Out of all the things we like the most about the Olympus PEN EP-3, the design and build quality stand out at the top of the list. It's a stunning little camera, with a cool retro feel and the ability to switch lenses whenever you need. Quality is high,...

The Olympus PEN EP-3 is a great little camera, but it's also expensive. You'll be able to get a decent DSLR for the same price, so you'll really have to want the more compact design. The lack of viewfinder will also put serious photographers off

We really like the Olympus PEN EP-3. It looks fantastic, is stunningly well made and offers lots of fine features. It also delivers when it comes to image quality, so if the price isn't an issue, it's a great choice for those upgrading from a compact...

Great build quality, impressive range of features and user control, fast autofocus, versatile rear LCD

Price, some functions are over-complicated to access, random button layout, handling quirks

From the outset, Olympus has pitched the E-3 at the professional user. In my opinion, that's a mistake. Compared to the likes of the Nikon D3 and Canon EOS-1D MkIII, the E-3's not a pro spec model - it simply isn't in the same ballpark as these uber...