If you're going to purchase the Olympus E-3 advanced digital camera, you'll want to be sure your interests match with the camera's strengths. First, the E-3 works well in poor weather conditions, thanks to its waterproof body. Second, the camera's image quality is far better in outdoor and normal lighting conditions. Third, the E-3 isn't quite as versatile as some of its competitors, especially when shooting in extreme lighting conditions.

Response times with the E-3 are very good for an advanced digital camera. You can shoot your first photo about one-half second after pressing the power button. Shutter lag is not noticeable, and the E-3's autofocus mechanism works as quickly as any model's autofocus in this class, especially with newer lenses. Continuous-shot mode allows you to capture about 20 shots in four seconds, although, once you fill the buffer, the E-3 requires several seconds to clear the buffer.

Image quality is good, as you would expect with an enthusiast model that offers 10.1 megapixels of resolution. Outdoor photos were outstanding in color saturation. Low-light photos are good, too, but you might need to adjust some of the manual settings, depending on the available light, to achieve realistic colors. Compared to other enthusiast-level cameras, you might find a little softness in extremely large prints, which is a little disappointing. The E-3 offers a popup flash built into the camera body, as well as a hot shoe connection for an external flash unit.

You can swap lenses using this model's Four-Thirds System lens mount. One advantage of the E-3 is that Olympus has included image stabilization features with the camera body, meaning you don't need to buy image-stabilized lenses. The E-3's 2.5-inch LCD is bright and sharp, and the LCD automatically adjusts its brightness level to best compensate for the external lighting. However, with such an expensive model, a larger LCD would be better. The LCD does twist and swivel away from the body, allowing you to shoot from a variety of angles. A swiveling LCD is a rarity on an enthusiast model -- you'll see it more often on point-and-shoot models for taking self-portraits, for example.

As with most advanced digital cameras, the E-3 isn't designed to fit in a pocket. It has a sturdy body that we found to be easy to hold and use, with the controls and buttons in handy positions (although a few buttons are partially hidden when you use a tripod). However, if you've become used to the tiny point-and-shoot digital cameras that you can hold in one hand, the E-3 requires a whole different line of thinking.

Finally, Olympus has included a dust reduction system with the E-3, which is handy for an advanced digital camera where you're swapping lenses. Enthusiasts will appreciate the powerful features of the E-3, although its price could be a little lower. It's a very nice camera, but, unless you can find it at a bargain price, other advanced models give you more features and better performance -- especially for those who will shoot in extreme lighting conditions -- for only a little more money.


Pros: Good image quality, weatherproof camera body, LCD can swivel away from camera, fast auto-focus, good response times
Cons: Price is a little high, LCD could be bigger, some softness in large images, some image issues in low light and extreme light

Warranty
1 year, limited