The previous leaked Olympus viewfinder, the Olympus VF-3 has finally announced today. The new viewfinder will be smaller and lighter than previous Olympus VF-2.
Key Features:
Resolution: Approx. 920,000 dots
1.00″ (W) x 1.7″ (H) x 1.75″ (D) (25.6mm x 43.5mm x 44.7mm)
Approx. 1.0 oz (30g) without cover
100% field of view
Approx. .97x magnification (-1m¹, 50 mm Macro, at infinity)
Eye-point: Approx. 17.4mm (-1m¹)
Diopter adjustment (-3.0 to +1.0m¹)
Shoe-lock mechanism
Release Date and Price
The Olympus VF-3 will be priced at $180 and ready for shipping in August 2011
Newest Olympus’s fast and wide lens , Olympus 12mm f/2.0 now in-stock at many retailers including Amazon, B&H and Adorama. The micro four third lens available for $800 ! Not a cheap one but considering its effectiveness for low-light conditions, the lens may tempting some people.
Great news! the Olympus E-P3 (black version) is in-stock at Amazon.com now. You can order the camera for only US$899 and be quick, there’s only 4 items left in stock. There’s also a white version but the price is ridiculously high so be careful.
New Olympus electronic viewfinder, the VF-3 EVF , is leaked at Olympus website. The viewfinder is more lighter and has less magnification than previous VF-2 viewfinder but more important is that it’s compatible with all PEN cameras including the new E-P3. There’s buy button below the product but won’t go anywhere.
Electronic Viewfinder VF-3 (Silver) The VF-3 is a compact viewfinder that easily slides onto the accessory port and hot shoe of the Olympus PEN and XZ-1 to provide 100% field of view and .97x magnification. The VF-3, which is compatible with all PENs that have an accessory port, is quite useful for outdoor shooting, low-angle shooting or telephoto shooting.
Specifications:
Resolution: Approx. 920,000 dots
1.00″ (W) x 1.7″ (H) x 1.75″ (D) (25.6mm x 43.5mm x 44.7mm)
Approx. 1.0 oz (30g) without cover
100% field of view
Approx. .97x magnification (-1m¹, 50 mm Macro, at infinity)
DxOMark just finished their testing and review on Olympus E-P3 to measure its sensor performances. Interesting results ! The E-P3′s score is somewhat lower than its predecessor , E-P2 and E-P1. E-P3′s overall score is 51 while E-P2 and E-P1 are 56 and 55 respectively. According to DxOMark , they believe that E-P3 use the same sensor as its predecessor.
From Olympus Australia , contains 10 Art Filters including Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Colour, Light Tone, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Cross Process, Gentle Sepia and Dramatic Tone.
ISO 200 – 12800 sample images at LensTip.com ( there’s also sample movies download link )
Check this comparison table below to get a better view at them. Basically, They’re almost similar in specs but with some differences.
Specs
E-P3
E-PL3
E-PM1
Sensor
12.3MP
12.3MP
12.3MP
Engine
TruePic VI
TruePic VI
TruePic VI
LCD Res
3″ – 610K
3″ – 460K
3″ – 460K
LCD Tilting
Fixed
Yes
Fixed
LCD Touchscreen
Yes
No
No
AF Points
35
11
11
Continous Shooting
3fps
5.5fps
5.5fps
Built-in Flash
Yes
Removable (included)
Removable (included)
HD Video
Full HD 1080i
Full HD 1080i
Full HD 1080i
Art Filters
10 type
6 type
6 type
ISOs
100-12800
100-12800
100-12800
Image Stabilization
Yes (Sensor)
Yes (Sensor)
Yes (Sensor)
Support RAW
Yes
Yes
Yes
Lens Mount
micro four third
micro four third
micro four third
Control Buttons
2 function buttons, subdial
1 function button, simplified
button structure
Simplified button structure
Camera Grip
Included in package
No
No
Exposure Bracketing
Yes
Yes
Yes
WB Bracketing
Yes
Yes
Yes
Battery Life (CIPA)
330
300
330
Orientation Sensor
Yes
No
No
Weight
369g
313g
263g
Body Size
4.8”W x 2.72”H x 1.35”D
Smaller
Smallest
Price
$900
TBA
TBA
Pretty similar right ? Olympus E-P3 comes with better specs but also the biggest and heaviest of them all. On image quality i think they all similar because they use same sensor and engine processor. For learning purposes , i think they all great ! All cameras offers manual exposure control , bracketing functions, and plenty of in-camera editing tool (Art Filters) to boost your photo skills.
So , it’s a matter of choosing the best specs for your needs and how small/light the camera that you want ?
As predicted before, Olympus finally announces their latest addition to PEN camera lineup. They are PEN E-P3, PEN Mini and PEN lite. PEN Mini and Lite are almost similar in specifications but with smaller and lighter body. Olympus E-P3 will be ready for shipping and priced at $900 , while PEN Mini / Lite’s price will be announced soon.
Olympus PEN E-P3
Olympus PEN Lite / E-PL3
Olympus PEN Mini / E-PM1
Alongside cameras above, Olympus also has announced two new fast prime lenses for micro four third format : M. Zuiko Digital ED 12mm F2.0 and M. Zuiko Digital ED 45mm F1.8
Several Olympus E-P3 images has leaked from PhotoRumors.com source. E-P3 looks very similar to previous E-P2 except that it has built-in flash now. The attached lens is new Olympus 12mm f/2.0.
and finally some specs from 43rumors
new ‘tweaked’ 12 megapixels sensor
Truepic VI image engine
ISO 100 – 12800
Full HD video 1080i 60fps
35 AF point
OLED touchscreen LCD with 610k res
Popup live guide (?)
Dual dials
fastest AF ( even faster than GH2 with special lens )
