Name: Olympus E-P3 Pen Mirrorless Digital Camera, Silver with M.Zuiko 17mm f/2.8 Silver Lens
Brand: Olympus
SKU: IOMEP3S17
Price: 599.00 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.6 (32 reviews)

Olympus E-P3 Pen Mirrorless Digital Camera, Silver with M.Zuiko 17mm f/2.8 Silver Lens

Olympus E-P3

Olympus

Olympus E-P3 Pen Camera, Silver w/17mm F2.8 Silver Lens

Adorama

Photography

Cameras

Mirrorless Cameras

Olympus Mirrorless Cameras

Olympus E-P3 

Top Rated Gear: Olympus E-P3 Pen Mirrorless Digital Camera, Silver with M.Zuiko 17mm f/2.8 Silver Lens Color: Gray, Resolution: 12 MP

 PEN E-P3   Designed for the hobbyist or advanced photographer who desires superior image quality, FAST (Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology) Autofocus Tracking System and total creative control in a body portable enough to travel the world:the PEN E-P3.  The powerful Olympus PEn E-P3 is the ultimate PEN camera for visual expression,delivering professional image quality, the World's Fastest AF** speed, a huge selection of built-in creative features and an easy-to-use interface, all elegantly packaged in a classic, all-metal body with full-advanced controls. Twonew M. Zuiko prime lenses also join the family of six MICRO Four Thirds lenses,to expand the broad options offered to imaging enthusiasts.  Look what you can do with the new Olympus PEN E-P3. It blends high-quality still images expected of a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera with high-definition (HD) video, AC3 Dolby Digital audio (comparable to studio recordings) and In-Camera Creativity in an ultra-portable body. The PEN E-P3 hasit all.  Superior Image Quality  A large 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Image Sensor delivers the highest quality images. Take great photos in low-light environments thanksto the camera's built-in flash, AF illuminator and ISO up to 12,800. To improve color and speed, the Olympus PEN E-P3 features the new TruePic VI Image Processing Engine. Photos and HD videos taken with the PEN E-P3 will be crisp and clear thanks to three modes of in-body image stabilization. Image stabilization built into the camera's body enables photographers to take advantage of this feature with every lens. The camera's award-winning Supersonic Wave Filter patented Dust Reduction System vibrates to remove dust and other particles from the front of the image sensor, capturing it on an adhesive membrane every time the camera is turned on.  Blazing Speed  The Olympus PEN E-P3 uses a variety of features to achieve speed rivaling that of the professional Olympus E-5 DSLR. Focus and shoot faster with the camera's new 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Image Sensor, TruePic VI Image Processor and new FAST AF Tracking System. The Olympus PEN E-P3 offers 35 separate focus points spread over nearly the entire sensor, enabling the camera to pin-point focus accuracy on small subjects wherever they appear in the frame. Selectable 3x3 groups within the 35-point area are especially effective when shooting active subjects. The camera's fast shutter response time ensures that you will never miss the shot, even in the toughest shooting environments. Creative Freedom  Olympus PEN series cameras put you in the director's chair, offering a new level of freedom to the creative shooting experience and enabling instant experimentation, feedback and gratification. For the first time, the Olympus PEN E-P3 features full 1080 60i HD Video. Push the direct HD video button to instantly start filming your HD video with a choice between ACVHD and AVI formats with uncompressed CD-quality 16 bit/44.1kHz Linear PCM stereo recording or AC3 Dolby Digital Audio.  In-camera features such as Art Filters, Multiple Exposure and In-Camera Editing enable photographers to capture the world as they see it. The Olympus PEN E-P3 features 10 Art Filters: Diorama, Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Cross Process, Gentle Sepia and Dramatic Tone. The camera also features nine Art Filter variations and enhancements, including new Pale & Light Color II, and five Art Filter Effects, including new Star Light and White Edge. The new Art Filter Bracketing function helps you develop multiple pictures utilizing different Art Filters with a single shot, making it possible to experiment with several different photographic effects at the same time. Photographers can use Art Filters in all shooting modes: shutter priority, aperture priority, manual and program auto modes for expanded control. All Art Filters can be applied to both still shots and Standard Definition or HD movies. Art Filters set the Olympus PEN E-P3's images and videos apart from the pack. Since they're built into the camera, Art Filters can help you achieve dramatic results on the go without the need for a computer or editing software.  The Olympus PEN E-P3 adds a new dimension to photographs by shooting dynamic 3D photos in any situation from macro to landscape. Recreate a sense of depth like that of the original scene. Simply select the 3D Photo Mode, release the shutter, and slowly pan until the camera automatically takes a second image from a slightly different perspective. The 3D data is processed in-camera resulting in an .MPO file, the universal industry 3D format for easy display on 3D televisions or laptops  Expanded Control Combined with Ease of Use  Controlling the Olympus PEN E-P3 is simple with its next-generation, three-inch, touch-sensitive 614,000 pixel OLED display. Consuming much less energy than the traditional LCD, this display has a wide 176-degree angle of view and is bright enough to compose images even in harsh midday light. With the camera's new intuitive graphic user interface and touchscreen, it is easy to capture a picture, change camera settings or navigate the Live Guide controls by simply touching the screen. Going through a day's photos is easy by scrolling through and enlarging photos with the tap of a finger.  The Olympus PEN E-P3's built-in, pop-up flash makes it easy to illuminate low-light subjects, reduce red-eye and fill in dark areas.The camera is compatible with SDHC, SDXC and UHS-1 memory cards for greater speed and capacity and can be utilized with the Olympus PENPAL® or various Eye-Fi cards for instant wireless uploads to your favorite social or photo sharing websites.

This camera has the features I want and takes decent picture. It is especially good at taking close up picture. The view of depth is nice. I also like its touch screen focus feature. I am happy to use it to travel, especially when I don't want to use my DSLR. However, it is still too big to bring it along daily. IN addition, it takes a long time to save the pic after each take.

Nice Camera

I am a casual user and occasionally take photos of friends and events or when traveling. For that reason, this is not a technical review, but rather my views about this camera. I will be brief about my observations -

1. Packs a heft - Not so much as unneeded weight, but feels really nice to hold
2. Looks great on or off. Very well designed and polished look
3. OLED touchscreen is a breakthrough feature. Don't know how many cameras in this class features it, but the screen is very good to look at or use, especially in Natural setting.
4. Nice set of automated scene settings covering a variety of picture settings.
5. No vignetting using the kit lens at any focal length.
6. Fantastic low-light performance.
7. Need a prime lens if nicer bokeh is desired.
8. Flickr features some great shots taken by this camera and the 45mm 1.8 lens.
9. On a recent camping trip, all my friends were surprised at the features of this camera, one even calling it "a little devil". I suppose it was a compliment.

The little devil

Great camera at a great price! I was looking for a good camera that was not too bulky and takes great pictures and I found it! I couldn't be any happier with my purchase.

Excellent Camera!!

I use this to take good pictures of my family and scenes from vacation and, well, just life. I really like the dual dials and the ability to quickly do exposure compensation. It fits in my coat pocket so I have it with me more than my big Rebel. Some of the default settings are a bit goofy, so it takes a while to set things up really well. It feels like a photographer's camera.

Nice, small, flexible camera

I have replaced all my DSLR equipment with micro four-thirds (MFT) gear. I purchased this camera two weeks ago and have taken almost 1000 shots with it. The Olympus E-P3 is an amazing camera, rich with features. high quality and fun to shoot! However, I have noticed that the kit lens is not up to the sensor. Though it focuses fast and does a pretty good job, it's when you put on real good glass that you realize how wonderful this camera is. Anyone thinking about downsizing the bulk and weight of their equipment, without sacrificing quality should look at this camera and the Olympus system. You will not be disappointed as long as you include good glass such as the Olympus 45mm f/1.8, 75mm f/1.8, the Lumix 25mm f/.1.4 or fixed 2.8 zooms. I have been so happy with this camera and talking about it so much that my professional photographer brother is seriously looking at it now. By the way, Adorama's price and service couldn't be beat by anyone else retail or online. I highly recommend them!

The great Olympus E=P3

I must say I was impressed with this little camera, this is my second M43 cam and it is a delight using it. It is not perfect, it does miss focus and has a bit too much noise reduction, but for this price, it is very hard to beat! The colors are vibrant and punchy, when perfectly in focus it is sharp.

Excellent Little Camera

This is my first camera beyond a point and click.  My sister is a photographer, and she recommended this as an affordable starter.  It is allowing my to shoot manually, and I'm taking some fantastic photos.  I'm impressed.  And for the price...

Fantastic Camera

We bought this camera as a starter camera that would take sharper and quicker pictures compared to our point and shoot. Pictures have looked great, love how it takes night time pictures.

Excellent

First, this is excellent value for the dollar though it is one generation older than the current E-P5, which  is a significant upgrade as it has many of the features of the OM-D. The E-P3 stabilizes well, has nice IQ, is small enough to handle well. (I have small hands and couldn't comfortably use even a small DSLR.) The kit lens is no big deal though adequate. However, by adding the 40-150mm f/4.0 - 5.6 and the superb Oly 60mm f/2.8 Macro, the camera works well in almost all situations. I did add a viewfinder, the EVF-3. The EVF-2 is better, but $100 more. I find that with the viewfinder I take far better pictures both in terms of composition and in reducing camera movement. Highly recommended if you don't want to pay for the E-P5.

Only negative is that there is a lot of customization available (a good thing) but Oly did not include a printed manual. There is a PDF on line and for another $ you can buy a paper copy from Oly. Pathetic on the part of Olympus as it probably saved them $.

Great small camera with excellent IQ at a reasonable price.

Excellent small format camera

This is my first micro 4/3 camera.  So far, the camera has been great.  The menu is confusing at first but once I figured out how to trigger the super control setting, everything got simpler.  No evf, but I've been fine just using the LCD so far.  I will probably order the EVF3 though.

Very excited about this camera.  It is compact, stylish; kind of reminds me of one of those old retro looking SLR's.. I'll probably add on more accessories and buy the 45mm 1.8..

Overall, thrilled with this camera.  If you're contemplating buying this, do it.  It's a fun capable little camera!

Easy to use once you figure it out

I bought this camera and I am very happy with it, is the best camera I've ever had, thanks for the offer Adorama!

excellent camera

I keep this camera with me for taking family photos and candids when we are out.  This camera has been awesome for that! It's much more portable than my SLR and that makes me want to take it everywhere.  Plus, it's just fun to shoot.  It takes a bit more work to get great looking pictures out of it than my D7000 but it's doing with a little practice.

Great portable camera!!

Bought this because it was the most camera I could buy for the price. Excellent out of camera JPEG quality. Very user friendly  with many ways to customize camera to your shooting preferences. Nice  camera to get acquainted with the micro 4/3 system for little money.

Great deal

I am an avid amateur  and enjoy city scenes,landscape and child photography .I have taken many spectacular photos with the E-PM1 , as good in general as my Nikon D7000; I wanted however the convenience of the dials and additional controls to simplify and expedite the shooting experience, specially when travelling .All of it is available with the E-P3 with the added bonus of a built in flash, better and larger screen. I use it with  the EV3 finder and have not found any faults with the camera . Totally satisfied. *****stars.

The missing link of the e-pm line

First of all, the camera is absolutely stunning with the shiny silver finish. Everything about it feels premium (except maybe the battery/memory card door). Performance is a giant upgrade over the E-PL1, and I do notice a tiny improvement in IQ, but it's not substantial. For me, it was worth the upgrade for the body, the speed, and the pretty awesome touchscreen. Yeah - I do have a lot of fun using the touchscreen to snap photos. Oh - and those photos, not bad at all. 

The only negative, but one that I am more than willing to live with, is that the camera could probably be a little more compact and also a little lighter. It's just a tad bulky. 

OK, there'a another negative. Despite the AF light, it can still struggle to focus in low light with low contrast. But that's in very challenging circumstances. Otherwise, anyone looking for an upgrade from point and shoots should get a Olympus PEN.

Stunning camera and great photos too!

good camera

This is my first camera of this type, and while I'm a still a relatively casual user it has exceeded all my expectations.

Love everything about it

This is a great compromise between a point and shoot and DSLR, at an attractive price point.  For someone who enjoys being able to switch between auto settings and full manual, I enjoy the options the camera offers.  I don't normally shoot pics with built-in 'art' settings, but this camera does have a pinhole setting that actually works pretty well if you like vignetting in your images (I selectively add it in Photoshop and Lightroom).  The faux tilt-shift, though, is not the best, again better achieved with software external to the camera.  If getting the camera as a gift for someone who likes using built-in artistic functions (or if you like them yourself), the camera will do a good job.  Overall, though, the camera excels in standard photography whether in manual or auto.  Write speeds are good with a class 10 card.  The touch screen is great with the fast focus.  Just tap where you want to focus and capture the picture in a single motion.  I have had a number of random shots when the camera is accidentally brushed against a hand.  Overall, I was very, very happy with the camera.

Very happy

Adorama is a great company to work with.
The camera is exceptional as is the service!

Excellent camera-price-shipping!!!

Perfect, showed up with out a scratch!

Nice upgrade from my EP-2 which has never ever failed me (however buy two extra batteries), I use it with either the 14mm f2.5 or 20mm f1.7 which for me are perfect street lenses. I always have loved the Olympus color rendition only Fuji is in the same class IMHO.

Pen EP-3

I studied a lot before making this purchase. The purchase was driven by the passionate reviews about this product as much as the technological features. I love this camera

Amazing

I purchased this camera mainly to replace a point and shoot for my travels, and one that takes much better photos in low light.  The Olypus PEN E-P3 fit this category as well as allow me to get a feel for real photography.  It does not have all the bells and whistles of a full DSLR, but with the included settings and amount of control, it does allow me to take high quality shots (rivals some full sized DSLR's) at a very reasonable price.

great starter camera for next step up

I had the Pen1 & Pen2 and the Pen3 is what those cameras gave birth to. I'm a streetshooter so I need a camera that gets out of the way quickly. The Pen3 does that with ease. It's very responsive and accurate. After 50 years I can faithfully say, my photography shall not know another day without a Pen Camera.....

For the Street, Perfect Intuitive Camera

I don't have much to compare this camera to, but I've been impressed with the value of the image quality.  Yes, the m43 system is a little lacking for low light situations, but overall the photos I'm taking with this camera are of startlingly good quality.

First m43

Other than point-and-shoot, I have not had a nice camera in 30 years.  Getting back into this with the new technology is exciting!

Excellent purchase

Many use this camera for nature photos. I had a EPL-1 and sold it and brought P3 from adorama. I have several lenses and this makes for a light system. At my age I need a light system. Workmanship is excelent and picture quality is surperb.

Excellent camera for system.

What an upgrade from a point & shoot!  Great images, no shutter lag, in camera art and scene filters, beautiful touch screen OLED, excellent build quality and the versatility of interchangeable lenses.  I've owned this camera for about three weeks and cannot put it down.  It's the perfect size camera for my needs without moving all the way to a bulky DSLR.

What's Not to Like?

I outgrew my Canon G11 and wanted to advance to a system with interchangeable lenses and a compact design.  I found it in the E-P3!  Very versatile and intuitive camera with features and image quality that will make a DSLR user think twice.  I may have been satisfied with the PL3, however I preferred the built in flash, higher resoultion screen and hotshoe availability when using a flash.  I have shyed away from Olympus products in the past, favoring Nikon and Canon, but am glad I gave this serious consideration particularly with Olympus' experience in the mirrorless category.  It's a keeper!

Fantastic Camera!

This bundle is somewhat a no-brainer when it's the same price as the camera/lens by itself. Though it's a slightly mis-matched bundle. 

1) The bag is a bit big for this kind of camera (though with a zoom lens, yea it'd probably make more sense). 
2) The Card reader is a bit too wide to be practical in a USB slot next to a used slot (particularly with laptops). But it does work rather nicely.
3) The provided ADATA SD card is oddly 'thicker' than either my sandisk extreme or PNY Optima and Pro cards. You pretty much have to 'pull' it out of the card slot in the E-P3 as well as my Pentax K10D DSLR, so I'm not using it. 
4) Haven't tested the software that's included, and given the target audience of the Pen series it seems kind of silly to include software that requires Photoshop CS5. 

I only bought this bundle because I wanted the spare battery, which would have cost me an extra 20 to 30$ anyways. 

The E-P3 itself is very nice, I like the aluminum body over the plastic (as used in the E-PL3 and E-PM3), the add on grip is nice for my hand size and the images appear to be very sharp. The live view plus screen zoom is a godsend for manual focusing. 

My biggest gripe is that when using the 17/2.8 with Video, is the autofocus is very loud and grinding in the video. The other normal "kit lens" is the 14-42 which has the MSC autofocus (movie-still-compaitble). My next purchase will likely be the 45/1.8 which also has the MSC autofocus. I mainly opted for the 17/2.8 because I wanted a decent low light lens and I prefer prime lens over zoom lens. 

If you intend to use this camera for the HD video capabilities I strongly suggest getting the 14-42 lens as well for that purpose (or any other of Olympus MSC capable lens). 

While I don't normally like built in filters, the art filters are very nice, grainy film and dramatic tones being two of my favorite (if you shoot with Raw + Jpeg, only the jpeg will have the art filter effect applied, so be sure to save with large jpeg if you want to print that effect).