OM SYSTEM Olympus Pen E-P3 12.3 MP Live MOS Mirrorless Digital Camera with 14-42mm Zoom Lens (Black) (Old Model)

I purchased the E-P3 for $379 about the time the E-P5 was announced. Not because the E-P5 isn't a better camera, but because the price for what was the premium Pen in the line is amazingly low for what it offers. It offers fast AF, a nice touch screen, availability of a nice range of lenses, a much larger sensor than point and shoot cameras, great JPG engine, in-body IS, hot shoe and accessory port, good dual dial control interface, decent add on grip, and great IQ up to ISO1600 for the kind of money that doesn't make the wallet or wife/husband shreak in horror. What it doesn't offer is 1/8000 shutter max shutter speed, newest Sony sensor, 5-axis IS, or focus peaking. Of course you can get those feature now on the E-P5 for $700 more than the cost of this camera. But for what it is, this camera takes great pictures and video and offers step up features for a diminutive price. Currently, along with the GX1 is the best value around for a mirrorless sans electronic viewfinder. It would make a great first "serious" camera and is a great side kick for a larger DSLR system. It's a great time to be photographing!

I tried the other two PENs E-P1 and E-P2 and returned them but the E-P3 is a keeper. It is quick, intuitive, lightweight, a beauty, good quality and most importantly, is capable of great photos. The jpegs straight out of the camera are really impressive. The dynamic range seems very good and the histogram seems accurate in helping to avoid blown out highlights. I confess that I also bought the new 12m lens and find it pro quality when coupled with this camera body. The E-P3's touch screen is surprisingly helpful and the VF-2 also enhances the shooting experience, especially for long telephoto shots, video, bright sunlight and macro. I am amazed at all the potential settings for the camera; It seems that amateurs as well as pros are offered what they need to make good photos and to go beyond just regular shots to ones made more interesting by a wide array of available filters. I tried the body with the OM 35m macro and adapter and it works very well as does the Panasonic 45-200m. The 14-42m II is a mixed bag; its size and weight is amazingly small and light. Maybe its just my copy but its very good at the wide end and not so good at the long end. Overall, this camera and system is great for someone looking for a lightweight alternative to a DSLR system. Compared to my Nikon equipment, this system is miniaturized. It's a lot of fun to discover the potential and features of the camera. The included documentation is less than helpful so it really is a process of discovery; I'm hoping someone will put out a book on the camera's features and that Olympus will continue to support this format.

I'll start out by saying that I've had this camera for almost a year now, and I love it. I was a novice photographer and I've learned so much by using the PEN's accessible yet advanced system and have collected an amazing gallery of pro-looking photos. I have a several different lenses which have all been fantastic, and many people have commented on the quality of my photos. That being said, I really wish that Olympus was more customer-oriented. I was given this camera by my husband as a gift and he was so proud that he spent weeks and weeks researching which of the interchangeable lens cameras was the best. It was really one of the most expensive and thoughtful gifts I have ever received. Unfortunately, about five days after using the PEN, the mode dial just popped right off! For having paid $900 for this camera, it felt like a slap in the face to my husband who had been so proud of his "quality" decision. It also felt like such an expensive machine should not have such a flimsy construction for a pretty important part. I contacted Olympus shortly after and explained that I was disappointed in what had happened and asked them what they could do. I received a very dismissive email back from them implying that I should just deal with it as they can't control the quality of each machine and the tone was basically "s*** happens." They also said that if I wanted to send the camera in to get fixed, it would take three weeks plus shipping time for them to get it back to me. When I called I was told that no, I could not just glue the dial on myself because it would void the warranty. So my options were to part with my camera for a month to get a piece glued back on, or fix it myself and void the warranty. Wow. I was a little disappointed that they did not try to something more for us, like at least give us a discount on accessories or something - really, a little bit of compensation goes a long way. All this being said, I do love the camera but I really feel Olympus should do a better job keeping their clients happy and loyal because with all the competition, a pretty good product can only go so far, and you only realize how important it can be when something goes wrong. So keep this in mind when deciding to drop a large sum of money on an Olympus.

Pictures don't come out natural looking. Returned it and got a Fuji XE-1.

This camera yields a very fine image in regular manual mode and is equipped with several filter and special effect modes. The zoom lens works great for both far and close up shots. Silver finish looks fantastic and all the mechanics work fine. On-board flash works well for a basic flash. Package comes complete with battery and charger, charger cord, TV and computer hook-up cords, manual, warranty, and lanyard. About the same size as a medium film camera, but at half the weight. The focal length of the lens handicaps the camera somewhat in low light conditions, but that can be corrected with a shorter lens and tripod. One major drawback of this camera is its lack of a viewfinder; this forces the operator to use the touch screen, which guzzles the battery power like there's no tomorrow. The attachable Olympus Viewfinder is not included in the package. Other than that, this is a great intermediate SLR camera which I would recommend to any aspiring photographer who wants something between a point-and-shoot and a large professional grade camera.

I've owned several Olympus digital cameras over the years (E-1, E-330, E-3, E-PL1, and now the E-P3) and the E-P3 is by far be best Olympus digital camera to date. Not only is this camera extremely compact while still using the same DSLR-size image sensor found in Olympus DSLRs, but the new auto focus system inside this camera makes it one of the fastest focusing cameras on the market (depending on the lens you're using). The 14-42mm R II kit zoom lens focuses extremely fast and is good enough for casual/vacation use but the real advantage of a camera like the E-P3 is the ability to use interchangeable lenses. My favorite lenses to use with this camera are the Olympus 17mm f/2.8 pancake lens, the Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4, and the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lenses. I also have the 9-18mm zoom lens when I need to have a wide angle lens. I owned the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 lens for a while but it focuses slowly compared to the 17mm and 25mm lenses. One feature that I didn't expect to use was the touchscreen display. I thought I'd just use the screen to compose my images like any other camera, but I discovered that it's really nice to be able to touch the screen EXACTLY where you want to focus and have the camera instantly take the picture. In any case, the durable metal construction, built-in image stabilization, built-in wireless flash control, and decent 3fps burst shooting mode make the E-P3 a solid DSLR replacement if you're looking for DSLR quality without the bulk. I also have several Sony NEX cameras and lenses and I can tell you that as of November 2011 the Olympus system has a MUCH better selection of lenses ... and that has more impact on image quality than the differences between the Olympus image sensors and the Sony image sensors.

I ordered this on May 17th and received it May 21th, paying $40 in shipping to get it here. I'm a novice, looking to upgrade from my "point and shoot". I didn't purchase a bag so I kept the camera in the box, being very careful whenever I used it. I took approximately 3 dozen photographs, just trying to get a feel for it. To my great disappointment, today (May 28th) I picked up the camera and the mode dial fell off. I really wanted to like this camera but this kind of poor workmanship is really inexcusable. I am returning today and will research another brand of camera.

I love this camera. I know this is far from the league of a dslr (I do have a nikon dslr) but I'm using this as my walk around camera. One good thing is I can even use the pop-up flash to trigger a remote flash. And I am very happy that have taken some good shots with this camera using that set-up. Pros: small and lightweight i bought this at a reasonable price good image quality in good lighting situations can use the pop-up flash as a remote trigger Cons: not so good image quality in low light Highly suggested to people who wants a small walk around camera whenever they don't wanna bring with them their big dslrs.