Review on Olympus PEN E-PL3 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens, 12.3 MP CMOS Sensor, 3x Optical Zoom - Silver (Old Model) by Cesar Danger

Updated 19 February 2013: 2 things to mention. 1. I recently bought an Olympus FL-600R flash which gives you more control over the light despite the bulkiness of this camera. . In addition, the FL-600R flash recycles very quickly, allowing you to quickly take multiple shots with the flash, unlike the included slow flash. Definitely a recommended add-on that gives you much more flexibility in using your camera. I've definitely found that I get better pictures (especially indoors) much faster with the FL-600R than with the standard flash (or simply because the standard flash is too slow when used without a flash).2 - Me too all i am wanting this camera to do better. at high ISO settings, for example at 1600 (even 800+). I take a lot of shots at night or in low light where flash is not desirable, but since the camera sensor doesn't handle ISO 1600 well these shots suffer (ie I can't use a decent shutter speed without ISO 1600). too much underexposure). For the most part I'm happy with the shots I'm getting, but would still like a higher ISO. I knew this when I bought this camera, but at least the E-PL5 and OM-D have it now, which should have more than enough capability to handle high ISO settings. In the meantime I am reluctant to upgrade, especially now that the new flash has helped improve the situation, but if you are buying now and choosing between E-PL3 and E-PL5 I would choose 5 as the extra ISO Options that will make camera better. a more versatile performer with a kit lens and in low light. One more thing: if I'm taking a picture at night and want the effect of darkness to be noticeable, the flash will over-illuminate the area making it look like it's daytime, while using a high ISO can help capture that feeling of the night, but at the same time delivers a clear picture with good color reproduction. Original review 1st August 2012: I bought this camera about a month ago before I went on holiday. I also bought a 20mm Panasonic Prime lens, a 45mm Olympus Prime lens, an Olympus 40-150mm zoom lens and a VF-2 viewfinder. I wanted to take it a step further than my previous point and shoot (Panasonic Lumix camera) as I was very disappointed with how they performed indoors and in low light. In well-lit places, each camera produces a decent image, so this wasn't a huge issue for me who wasn't interested in peeking through pixels. After a month of using the camera, my dislikes are as follows: With a fixed focal length lens in low light, you run the risk of bumping the ISO up for good shots. This camera's ISO should probably be capped at 400. I think you can get by with 800 ISO, but if you want to boost or crop, the noise will already be noticeable. If you want a micro 4/3 and are willing to spend a little more, the OM-D E-M5 should be a lot better at it. Alternatively, the Sony NEX cameras have much better ISOs, but I feel like the lenses on them are too big, making the camera too bulky for what I was looking for. For the most part, the camera works well in low light even with the stock lens, it just won't be perfect. It's still better than any shot (perhaps the new Sony RX-100 would work better if you just got it with a standard lens). When using prime lenses, low light performance is excellent as the ISO remains low. The problem is that you have to keep changing lenses, but isn't that the point of ILC? 2 - No camera recording. You can buy aftermarket grips, but this camera's grip would be significantly better if a front tether loop was added. 3 - If you want to use A/S/M modes, you need to be careful to change the right settings. . Sometimes I would adjust the exposure when trying to set the aperture. There's probably not much that can be done about that, given the small size that limits space for controls. What I like about this camera: 1 - The size! That's a fraction of the size of a DSLR. With a 20mm lens, it actually fits in your pocket. You won't pack one with a standard lens, but pinpoint shots are good for that, but they lack the versatility and performance of this camera.2 - Fixed focal length lenses. This camera works really well with prime lenses. The only downside to this camera's sensor is that it doesn't work well at high ISOs. With prime lenses, the ISO value is kept low and the images are output very clear, sharp, colorful, bright, etc. With the Oly 45mm fixed focal length lens, this camera delivers excellent performance. I compared photos from a safari where I photographed animals with this and my old Point and Shoot. The pictures were taken in daylight. The images from the Oly 45mm Prime came out much sharper than the Point and Shoot. Even if point-and-shoot could be zoomed in much closer than with a 45mm prime, since shots with a 45mm prime came out much sharper, I was still able to crop and zoom in a few times what means I would get a much better result. as a super zoom point and shoot. Obviously we're talking about an image where everything is moving, a landscape where everything is still, it would be less obvious. However, a telephoto lens for the m4/3 outperforms point-and-shoot performance.3 - Shoot in RAW format and have full control over camera settings. have the opportunity. In addition, shooting in RAW format allows you to fine-tune the results on your computer better than any camera processor. Final Thoughts. If I had to make a choice today, I would still choose the m4/3 camera. For me, this is the smallest format and offers the versatility and performance I wanted. Even a camera like the Sony RX-100, which is the best point-and-shoot, is still limited once you start zooming. The M4/3 also enables a powerful zoom. In general, photography can be used to illuminate any situation well. My only dilemma is whether or not to choose the OM-D, but overall I think I prefer this camera for its small size.