Back in May 2001 Olympus began to make noises about a professional five megapixel Four Thirds format digital SLR, two years after that in June 2003 they revealed the E-1. After much hinting, several ‘accidental’ leaks and some four and a half years, Olympus has today announced the ten megapixel E-3 professional digital SLR. We had been promised an E-3 before embargo to enable us to produce a preview but that for reasons best known to Olympus this fell through so all we can provide you with is a press release, specs and a couple of images. Body only price will be £1099 in the UK.
Olympus E-3 digital camera specifications:
| Format | SLR |
| Price (street) |
$1427.86
|
| Also known as | |
| Release Status | |
 Max resolution |
3648 x 2736 |
| Low resolution |
3200 x 2400, 2560 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 |
| Image ratio w:h |
4:3 |
| Effective pixels |
10.1 million |
| Sensor photo detectors |
11.8 million |
| Sensor size |
4/3 ” (18.00 x 13.50 mm, 2.43 cm²) |
| Pixel density |
4.2 MP/cm² |
| Sensor type |
NMOS |
| Sensor manufacturer |
Matsushita |
| ISO rating |
Auto, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 1000, 1250, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200 |
| Zoom wide (W) |
|
| Zoom tele (T) |
|
| Digital zoom |
No |
| Image stabilization |
Yes, Sensor |
| Auto Focus |
11-point TTL Phase Diff |
| Manual Focus |
Yes, lens focus by wire, direct Focus with SWD Lens |
| Normal focus range |
|
| Macro focus range |
|
| White balance override |
8 positions, 4 manual, Kelvin |
| Aperture range |
|
| Min shutter |
60 sec |
| Max shutter |
1/8000 sec |
| Built-in Flash | Yes, pop-up |
| Flash range | 13 m |
| External flash | Yes, Olympus hot-shoe, PC Sync |
| Flash modes | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye |
| Exposure compensation |
-5 to +5 EV in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps |
| Metering |
ESP multi-pattern, Center-Weighted, Spot, Highlight based spot, Shadow based spot |
| Aperture priority |
Yes |
| Shutter priority |
Yes |
| Focal length multiplier |
2 |
| Lens thread | 4/3 System Lens Mount |
| Continuous Drive |
Yes, 5.0 fps, limit depends on size |
| Movie Clips | No |
| Remote control | Yes, Wire/ InfraRed |
| Self-timer | Yes, 2 or 12 sec |
| Timelapse recording |
No |
| Orientation sensor | Yes |
| Storage types |
Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card |
| Storage included |
None |
| Uncompressed format |
Yes, RAW |
| Quality Levels |
Standard, High, Super High |
| Viewfinder |
Optical (Pentaprism, 100% coverage, 1.15x magnification) |
| LCD |
2.5 “ |
| LCD Dots |
230,000 |
| Live View |
Yes |
| USB |
USB 2.0 (480Mbit/sec) |
| HDMI |
No |
| Wireless |
No |
| Environmentally sealed | No |
| Battery |
Lithium-Ion rechargeable |
| Weight (inc. batteries) | 890 g (31.4 oz) |
| Dimensions | 142 x 116 x 75 mm (5.6 x 4.6 x 3 in) |
| Notes | Interchangeable lens digital SLR, Live View |
| Resolution Chart | |
| Colour Patches |
[Source]