Olympus PEN E-P3

In summary

A new flagship model in the PEN series of interchangeable-lens cameras provides improved functionality and support for Full HD video.The E-P3 is the flagship model of three PEN-series cameras announced by Olympus at the end of June. The 12.3-megapixel sensor from previous PEN models continues in all three cameras, which differ in body size, appearance and functionality. The E-P3 introduces a number of enhancements, among them the addition of a built-in flash and refinements to the autofocusing system, thanks largely to a new, more powerful image processor. . . [more]

Full review

The E-P3 is the flagship model of three PEN-series cameras announced by Olympus at the end of June. The 12.3-megapixel sensor from previous PEN models continues in all three cameras, which differ in body size, appearance and functionality. The E-P3 introduces a number of enhancements, among them the addition of a built-in flash and refinements to the autofocusing system, thanks largely to a new, more powerful image processor.

Build and Ergonomics
Although it retains the traditional styling and build quality of the original PEN cameras, the E-P3’s body has been further refined to improve its appearance and handling. It’s slightly longer than the E-P2 but marginally thinner, not quite as tall and weighs 14 grams less. We received a black body to review, but it’s also offered in silver.

Taking a tour around the camera body, the first noteworthy change is to the grip on the front panel, which can be unscrewed and replaced with a thicker grip. The new grip is also more comfortable to hold than the grip on the E-P2.

Front view of the PEN-EP3 in silver, showing the new grip and pop-up flash. (Source: Olympus.)

The black version with the 14-42mm kit lens fitted. (Source: Olympus.)
The second prominent feature is the pop-up flash, which is similar to the flash on the E-PL2 but sturdier, with metal mountings that click the head into position. This flash has a guide number of 10 (metres/ISO 200) and supports wireless flash control.

Best of all, the flash can be used when the VF-2 EVF is fitted, which addresses a serious flaw in the E-P2’s design. When the flash is raised (by pressing a button on the rear panel), the head sits approximately 60 mm above the optical axis of the lens and about 8 mm in front of the camera body. It’s pushed down with a fingertip.

Sitting just above the top inner corner of the grip is a tiny LED AF-assist lamp, which emits a fairly bright orange beam in dim lighting and flashes less brightly when operating as a self-timer indicator.

The pop-up flash has necessitated some shuffling of the controls on the top panel, which has a similar layout to the E-PL1. The mode dial is now on the right hand side of the raised section containing the flash, hot shoe cover and stereo microphone holes.

Top view of the PEN-EP3 in silver with the 14-42mm kit lens attached. (Source: Olympus.)

The shutter button sits immediately to its right and is slightly smaller than the button on the E-P2. The power button has been moved to the rear right hand corner of the top panel and the SSWF LED is replaced by a blue power-on lamp. A programmable Fn 2 button replaces the Exposure Compensation button in the front right hand corner.

Further shuffling of buttons has also taken place on the rear panel, although the most significant change here has been the replacement of the LED monitor on the E-P2 by a new electrostatic capacitance OLED touch-screen with 614,000 dots. It has a 3:2 aspect ratio and 176-degree angle of view and its brightness and colour are adjustable.

Rear view of PEN-EP3 in silver. (Source: Olympus.)

The pop-up flash release and the Movie button (which sports a central orange dot) are the main additions to the rear panel buttons. Below the Movie button a zoom button replaces the AE/AF Lock with and the Fn, Playback and Delete buttons further down. The Info button is now above the arrow pad and the Menu button below it, as on the E-PL2.

Similarly, a rotating Main dial surrounds the arrow pad and Flash mode adjustment replaces the E-P2’s White Balance setting. The positions of the vertical sub dial and speaker grille are unchanged from the E-P2.

The BLS-1 battery is the same as in the E-P2 but improved power management has increased its capacity from 300 to 330 shots/charge. SDXC card compatibility has also been added, along with support for UHS-I and Eye-Fi enabled cards.

The E-P3 retains the SSWF dust-suppression system of previous models, along with sensor-shift image stabilisation. However, it adds a new electronic multi-motion IS system for movie recording.

A pull-out tab above the monitor reveals the accessory port, which accepts the optional VF-2 finder, which we’ve discussed in our review of the E-P2. With a resolution of 1.44 million dots and a refresh rate of 60 frames/second, even at an RRP of $249 it’s a ‘must have’ accessory for anyone who wants to shoot in sunny conditions as the monitor is only marginally clearer than LCD screens in sunlight.
Currently, Olympus has eight lenses in its Micro Four Thirds System line-up, along with lens adapters that allow OM and Four Thirds System lenses to be fitted to PEN cameras. Fish-eye, Wide and Macro converters are also available, along with four flash units, ring and twin flashes and a macro flash controller.

Controls
Although Olympus has gone some way to make the user interface in the E-P3 more photographer-friendly, it’s still far from ideal. There’s no direct access to the ISO and white balance settings and its Live View interface requires a lot of toggling to move from one sub-menu to another.

You can get around this problem by assigning these functions to one of the customisable buttons, which include the two Fn buttons, the Movie button and the right and down buttons on the arrow pad. The arrow pad buttons can only be set to control exposure compensation, flash, drive/self-timer, ISO, white balance and movie lock so you have to choose which functions are most important to you.

Settings for the Fn buttons and Movie buttons can be selected from the following: exposure compensation, AEL/AFL, movie start/stop, electronic depth-of-field preview, custom white balance measurements, return AF target position to Home, manual focus, RAW+JPEG/JPEG toggling, test picture capture, Myset 1-4 selection, backlit LCD adjustment, IS mode, Live Guide, digital tele-converter or off.

Other customisations include determining the rotational direction for the lens focusing ring, toggling automatic magnification in manual focus on and off, choosing the AF target position, disabling the AF-Assist lamp and engaging face priority AE/AF. You can also set the release priority independently for the S-AF and C-AF modes.

The Super Control Panel display can be turned on for most shooting modes, including iAuto, P/A/S/M, Art Filter and Scene modes. You can also choose between it and the live control display for all four modes. Dedicated menu displays are also provided for the Art Filter and Scene modes.

Many frequently-used functions are accessible via both the menu and the touch-screen and you can turn off the touch-screen by tapping an icon on the left side of the screen if you’d rather not use it. The same icon is tapped to switch between touch focus/shutter release and focus framing display modes.

For point-and-press users, the touch-screen controls are fairly well implemented and provide some worthwhile features. In the iAuto mode, you can touch the tab on the right side of the screen and swipe your finger to the left to display live guides and then position the sliders with a fingertip.

In the P/A/S/M modes, the system defaults to touch focus/shutter release setting, while lets you focus on a specific area and take a shot by simply tapping on the monitor. Selecting the focus framing mode lets you use the touch-screen to set the position and size of the focus frame by sliding your finger on the screen. Shots are captured in this mode by pressing the shutter button.

In self-timer mode, the timer can be started (and stopped again) by tapping on the screen. The touch-screen can also be used in playback mode to page through displayed images and zoom in and out in shots.

Operations for which the touch-screen can’t be used include movie recording, capturing panoramas, 3D photography and in the e-portrait, multiple exposure and bulb photography modes. Multi-view display and one-touch white balance adjustments aren’t accessible via the touch-screen when buttons or dials are being used.

A number of functions have been ported across from E-PL2, including the Live Guide display in the iAuto mode; e-Portrait, Landscape + Portrait, Sunset scene presets and the Diorama, Cross Process and Dramatic Tone Art Filters. New additions are the iEnhance and Custom Picture Modes and the Gentle Sepia Art Filter, along with a new variation on the Pale & Light Colour filter and new Starlight and White Edge Art Effects.

Although you can’t fine-tune any of the Art Filters, Olympus has provides several options in some of them for combining two effects in one photo. Some examples are shown below.

Pop Art plus Starlight filters.

Gentle Sepia plus White Edge.

Pale & Light Colour plus White Edge.

The iEnhance processing option matches image processing to the scene type detected by the camera. Users can tweak contrast, sharpness, saturation, gradation and the degree to which the effect is applied in the sub-menu for this setting. In the Custom Picture Mode contrast, sharpness, saturation and gradation can be adjusted and users can register the setting for future use.

The 3D setting in the Scene pre-sets lets you record 3D photographs but it’s not a simple point-and-press operation. After you’ve recorded the first shot in the stereo pair you have to move the camera until the displayed semi-transparent image is superimposed on the scene, keeping the shutter button pressed. The camera records the shot and combines both images into an MPO file.

Unfortunately, aligning shots is almost impossible if you use the monitor for shot composition outdoors because the displayed images simply aren’t clear enough (this problem also makes the Panorama function tricky to use). Focus is locked on the centre of the frame and exposure is locked with the first shot in the pair. In addition, the image size is fixed at 1920 x 1080 pixels, which is fine for displaying on an HDTV set but otherwise pretty useless, particularly since the frame is also cropped.

Bracketing options are extensive and cover exposures, white balance (A-B and G-M), flash level and ISO settings, all across three shots. Art Filter bracketing is available for recording multiple Art Filter pictures with a single shot. Processing can take a minute or more, depending on which filters you combine.

The Digital Tele-converter function acts like a digital zoom, cropping out the centre of the image frame. Magnification is roughly doubled with this setting. The Info button can also be set up to toggle through four framing guide overlays.

Autofocusing
Olympus has revamped the AF system in the E-P3 and, although still using contrast-based detection, claims it to be the fastest of its type – and close to phase-detection systems in focusing speed. Using Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology (FAST), the E-P3’s AF system has 35 sensor points, up from 11 points in previous PEN cameras.

The sensors are arranged in a 7 x 5 array that covers nearly twice the screen area of previous PEN cameras, enabling faster and more accurate AF detection and improved AF tracking. Users can choose between employing the full set of targets, a single AF point and grouped points (3 x 3 points) and the latter settings allow the selected points to be moved around the screen, either by touch or with the arrow pad.

The E-P3 provides five selectable focusing modes: single AF, continuous AF, manual focus, simultaneous use of S-AF mode and MF mode and AF tracking. You can set one of the Fn buttons to enable toggling between AF and MF and also zoom in on a portion of the frame when adjusting focus.

Face priority AF is also available, with an option to engage pupil detection so you can determine which of the subject’s eyes the camera will focus upon. This setting is available for both AF and MF modes.

Sensor and Image Processing
The sensor in the E-P3 has the same resolution as other models in the PEN range but appears to be a new, faster chip that supports 1080i Full HD movie capabilities. Olympus also claims it has an improved dynamic range, a faster reaction time and a light sensitivity of ISO12800.

It’s coupled with a TruePic V1 image processor, a brand new chip that features the latest version of Olympus’ Real Colour Technology and promises significant improvements over its predecessor. Dual core technology provides a high data speed of 120 fps, which means faster autofocusing and reduced blackout time after each shot.

As in the E-P2, users can choose from four aspect ratios for JPEG shooting: 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 and 6:6. Olympus has reduced the range of compression settings for JPEGs from four to two – and the Fine setting is only available for Large JPEGs.

Like its siblings, the E-PL1 supports 12-bit image processing and enables users to capture ORF.RAW and JPEG files, with support for simultaneous RAW+JPEG recording. Raw files are only recorded in the 4:3 aspect ratio and losslessly compressed by 65% to yield files that are typically around 13.9MB in size. Approximate image sizes for images are shown in the table below.

Image Size	Aspect ratio	Pixels	Compression
			Fine	Normal
Raw	4:3	4032 x 3024	13.8MB
Large		4032 x 3024	6.1MB	3.2MB
Medium		2560 x 1920	n.a.	1.3MB
Small		1280 x 960	n.a.	0.4MB
Raw	3:2	4032 x 3024	13.8MB
Large		4032 x 2688	5.6MB	2.8MB
Medium		2544 x 1696	n.a.	1.1MB
Small		1296 x 864	n.a.	0.3MB
Raw	16:9	4032 x 3024	13.8MB
Large		4032 x 2272	4.8MB	2.4MB
Medium		2560 x 1440	n.a.	1.0MB
Small		1280 x 720	n.a.	0.3MB
Raw	6:6	4032 x 3024	13.8MB
Large		3024 x 3024	4.8MB	2.4MB
Medium		1920 x 1920	n.a.	1.0MB
Small		960 x 960	n.a.	0.3MB

Video recording has been improved with the introduction of 1080i Full HD movie capabilities with two video recording modes: AVCHD and Motion-JPEG. Individual AVCHD video clips can be up to 4GB in size or 29 minutes in length, while MJPEG files are restricted to 2GB. Some Art Filters can be used for shooting movies.

You can take advantage of the aperture-priority, shutter priority and manual shooting modes to control camera settings while recording movies – but only before recording starts. You can’t adjust apertures or shutter speeds or apply exposure compensation while shooting and there’s no way to control sound levels. Nor could we find a wind cut filter in the menu system.

Turning on the Movie+Still setting in the Custom Menu lets you capture a still shot at the end of a movie clip recording. This only works if you start and stop the recording with the shutter button.

If the image stabiliser is activated while recording a movie clip, the recorded image is enlarged slightly. Stabilisation won’t work if camera shake is excessive. Typical recording capacities for an 8GB card (which most users are likely to favour) are shown in the table below.

Video format	Aspect ratio	Picture Mode	Picture size (pixels)	Frame Rate	Bit rate	Recording capacity/8GB card
AVCHD	16:9	Full HD Fine/Normal	1920 x 1080	60i	20 Mbps	1 hour
		HD Fine/Normal	1280 x 720	50p	17 Mbps	1 hour
Motion JPEG		HD	1280 x 720	30 fps	n.a.	32 minutes 10 seconds
	4:3	VGA	640 x 480		n.a.	1 hour 23 minutes

Playback and Software
Aside from the touch-screen interface, nothing much has changed in PEN cameras’ playback capabilities since the E-P1. All the standard functions are offered, including single-frame and index (4, 9 or 25 frames) display, Calendar display, 2x to 14x playback zoom, slideshow with background music and 3 transition effects and picture rotation (auto mode available).

You can view thumbnails with a histogram (brightness or RGB) and shooting data. In-camera editing functions cover Raw to JPEG conversion plus the following adjustments for JPEG files: shadow adjust, red-eye fix, crop, saturation; aspect ratio, B&W and sepia conversion plus resizing and e-Portrait processing. Voice annotation (up to 30 seconds) and image overlay (up to 3 images) are also available.

The software bundle is unchanged and comprises the proprietary Olympus [ib] application that provides uploading, browsing, editing and photo-organising functions, along with Olympus Viewer 2. We’ve covered these applications in our review of the PEN E-PL1.
Performance
The most significant improvement we found with the new camera was its improved autofocusing system, which provided further improvements in capture lag, bringing the new camera close to the response times of entry-level DSLRs. Our timing tests were carried out with a 16GB Kingston 233x SDHC U1 memory card, one of the fastest commonly available, and we found improvements across the board when comparing the new model with the E-P2.

Provided the lens had been unlocked (and when a non-collapsing lens was used), the review camera took roughly two seconds on average to be ready for the first shot. Shot-to-shot times averaged one seconds without flash and five seconds with. Average capture lag was 0.28 seconds without pre-focusing, with shutter lag reducing to less than 0.1 seconds when shots were pre-focused.

Image processing times were similar to the E-P2, with Large/Super Fine JPEGs and ORF.RAW files taking approximately 2.6 seconds, although RAW+JPEG pairs were processed in just 2.8 seconds on average. Using the art filters extended processing times, often by several seconds.

In the sequential shooting (burst) mode, we recorded bursts of 10 Large/Super Fine JPEGs and also ORF.RAW files in 2.9 seconds; the same frame rates as the E-P1 and E-P2. However at three frames/second, the continuous shooting mode isn’t fast enough to ensure a high percentage of ‘keepers’ when shooting moving subjects.

Fortunately, processing times for JPEGs were marginally less as it took 2.9 seconds to process a burst of 10 Large/Super Fine JPEGs. Significant improvements in processing times were recorded for processing raw bursts, which were completed in 6.1 seconds. Only nine RAW+JPEG pairs could be recorded before capture slowed noticeably. This sequence was captured in 2.5 seconds and took 9.7 seconds to process.

Overall performance for the review camera was similar to the E-P2 unit we tested, which isn’t surprising since the sensors of both cameras are very similar. The new camera appears to have a wider dynamic range than its predecessor, although the Digital ESP metering remained slightly biased to recording shadow detail.

The incidence of blown-out highlights in JPEG shots was significantly less than we found with the E-P2 provided shadowed areas occupied less than about 30% of the frame. When this percentage was exceeded, the metering system gradually over-compensated and highlight detail was lost. The images below, taken with lenses from the twin lens kit using P mode with Digital ESP metering, show what happens when the photographer doesn’t over-ride the camera’s settings.

26mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/10.

70mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/5.6.

Contrast and saturation appeared to be relatively modest and Imatest showed colour accuracy to be generally good, with slight warming of skin hues and enhanced saturation in reds. Purples were shifted towards blue and greens towards cyan. Other hues were close to the mark.

Our Imatest testing was carried out with the Olympus Digital 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens, which is reviewed separately. As with the E-P2, in both the optical tests and tests covering the camera’s sensitivity range, we found little difference between ORF.RAW files converted with the supplied Olympus [ib] software and JPEG files.

This being the second time we’ve had this finding, we expect it is due at least partly to the software. Unfortunately, Adobe hadn’t released a Camera Raw update with E-P3 compatibility at the time of our tests so we can’t say whether it would provide better results.

The review camera’s low-light performance was generally good with long exposures using ISO settings up to 1600, where image noise started to become apparent. However, the exposure metering system consistently under-exposed available-light shots in low light levels. The graph below shows the results of our Imatest tests at different ISO settings.

Resolution began to decline from ISO 1600 on and noise was apparent at ISO 3200, although shots remained printable up to A4 size. By ISO 6400, noise was quite obvious in long exposures and colour reproduction was noticeably affected, with images becoming increasingly blotchy and unsharp as sensitivity increased.

Flash shots fared quite a bit better, although they were under-exposed up to ISO 1600, leading us to expect the GN 10 rating is somewhat optimistic. Slight over-exposure occurred at ISO 12800 and, although image softening was apparent at the highest sensitivity setting, very little noise could be seen in flash shots at ISO 6400 and below.

White balance performance was similar to previous. The auto setting failed to completely correct the inherent cast in incandescent lighting, although only a slight warm cast remained. It over-corrected very slightly with fluorescent lighting, leaving a slight blue cast.

Both pre-sets over-corrected slightly, although the second of the Fluorescent light pre-sets came close to neutral colour rendition. Neutral colours were obtained lighting with both the manual white balance measurements (Custom and One Touch) and plenty of in-camera adjustments provided for tweaking colour balance, if required.

The built-in stabilisation system provides three modes: Auto, Vertical and Horizontal (for panning with the camera in portrait orientation). It proved quite effective for low-light shooting and we estimate it provided at least two f-stops of equivalent shutter speed advantage, regardless of the camera’s orientation.

Video quality has been improved with the swap to the AVCHD recording format and the upgrade to Full HD quality. Clips shot at top resolution with the MSC-compatible 9-18mm lens were sharp and smooth with adequate audio presence, although the built-in microphones were quite susceptible to wind noise.

On the downside, although the image you see on the monitor screen has the same aspect ratio as the clip format, the frame itself is slightly cropped once recording starts. This makes precise framing of clips impossible and is particularly challenging when shooting clips of close subjects.

In addition, the autofocusing system was unable to keep up with changes in focal length and pans, even if they were relatively slow. It was also easily confused by bright, high-contrast subjects moving across the foregrounds in shots. But, on the plus side, most of the art Filters are available for shooting video clips.

Buy this camera if:
– You want a compact digital camera with interchangeable lenses, raw file capture plus in-camera image stabilisation and effective dust reduction technology.
– You require a built-in flash.
– You’d like Full HD video recording with stereophonic sound.
– You’d appreciate relatively fast autofocusing.
– You could benefit from effective in-camera
Don’t buy this camera if:
– You’re not comfortable with Olympus’s relatively convoluted user interface.
– You require a wide dynamic range in JPEG shots.
– You require longer focal lengths than the system currently offers and don’t want to use the larger Four Thirds System lenses, which may upset the overall shooting balance on the small E-P3 body.
IMATEST GRAPHS
JPEG image files

Raw image files converted into 16-bit TIFF format with Olympus [ib].

SAMPLE IMAGES

Auto white balance with incandescent lighting.

Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting.

25-second exposure at ISO 200; 18mm focal length, f/5.6.

10-second exposure at ISO 1600; 18mm focal length, f/8.

6-second exposure at ISO 3200; 18mm focal length, f/8.

3.2-second exposure at ISO 12800; 18mm focal length, f/8.

Flash exposure at ISO 200;1/60 second at f/5.6.

Flash exposure at ISO 1600; 1/60 second at f/5.6.

Flash exposure at ISO 3200; 1/60 second at f/5.6.

Flash exposure at ISO 12800; 1/125 second at f/8.

Olympus 14-42mm kit lens at 18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/160 second at f/9.

Olympus 14-42mm kit lens at 18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/11.

Olympus 14-42mm kit lens at 18mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/320 second at f/9.

Olympus 40-150mm kit lens at 100mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/400 second at f/7.1.

Olympus 9-18mm lens at 9mm focal length, ISO 500, 1/60 second at f/4.

Olympus 9-18mm lens at 18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/60 second at f/5.6.

Still frame from Full HD video clip recorded in AVCHD format with the highest quality setting.

Still frame from 720p HD video clip recorded in AVCHD format with the highest quality setting.

Still frame from HD video clip recorded in M.JPEG format with the highest quality setting.

Still frame from VGA video clip recorded in M.JPEG format with the highest quality setting.

Additional sample images can be found with our review of the Olympus 9-18mm f/4-5.6 ED lens.

 

Specifications

Image sensor: 17.3 x 13.0 mm Live MOS sensor with 13.06 million photosites (12.3 megapixels effective)
Image processor: TruePic VI
A/D processing: 12-bit lossless compression
Lens mount: Micro Four Thirds System
Focal length crop factor: 2x
Image formats: Stills – ORF.RAW, JPEG (Exif 2.2), RAW+JPEG, MPO (3D still); Movies – AVCHD/AVI M-JPEG
Image Sizes: Stills – 4:3 aspect ratio: 4032 x 3024, 2560 x 1920, 1024 x 768 (3:2, 16:9 and 6:6 aspect ratios also available); Movies: AVCHD Full HD Fine : 1920 x 1080, 60i at 20Mbps; HD: 1280 x 720 at 30fps
Image Stabilisation: Body-integrated system with four settings: IS1, IS2, IS3, OFF
Dust removal: Supersonic Wave (vibration)
Shutter speed range: 60 – 1/4000 sec. Bulb: up to 30 min. Flash synch. 1/60-1/180 sec. (Super FP mode: 1/125-1/4000 with external flash)
Exposure Compensation: +/- 3EV in 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV steps
Exposure bracketing: 2, 3, 5 frames in 0.3, 0.7, 1EV steps selectable, 7 frames in 0.3, 0.5, 0.7EV steps selectable
Self-timer: 2 or 12 seconds delay
Focus system: Imager Contrast Detection AF system with 35 detection points and Built-in AF illuminator
Focus modes: Single AF (S-AF) / Continuous AF (C-AF) / Manual Focus (MF) / S-AF + MF / AF tracking (C-AF + TR)
Exposure metering: TTL Image Sensor metering system with three modes: Digital ESP (324-area multi pattern metering); Centre-weighted average and Spot metering (approx. 1% of the viewfinder screen. Highlight / shadow bias spot metering are available)
Shooting modes: iAuto; Program AE (Programme shift can be performed); Aperture priority AE; Shutter priority AE; Manual; Scene select AE and Art Filter
Scene presets: Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Macro, Sport, Night Scene, Night + Portrait, Children, High Key, Low Key, DIS mode, Nature Macro, Candle, Sunset, Document, Panorama, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Fisheye Conv., Wide Conv., Macro Conv, 3D
Art Filters: Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Colour, Light Tone, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Gentle Sepia, Cross Process, Dramatic Tone
Picture modes: i-Enhance, Vivid, Muted, Portrait, Monotone, Custom
Colour space options: sRGB, Adobe RGB
ISO range: Auto, ISO 200-12800
White balance: Auto/Preset WB with 6 settings between 3000K and 7500K: Lamp (3000K), Fluorescent (4000K), Daylight (5300K), Flash (5500K), Cloudy (6000K), Shade (7500K); Custom; One-Touch; WB bracketing of 3 frames in 2, 4, 6 steps selectable in each A-B/G-M axis
Flash: Built-in flash; GN10 at ISO 200
Flash exposure adjustment: +/- 3 EV in 1/3 EV steps
Sequence shooting: Max. 3 frames/second for up to 10 ORF.RAW or approx. 12 high-resolution JPEGs
Storage Media: SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards; UHS-I and Eye-Fi compatible
Viewfinder: Optional VF-2 EVF with 1,440,000 dot resolution
LCD monitor: 3-inch OLED Touch Screen with 614,000 dots
Data LCD: No
Playback functions: Single-frame, Close-up, Index /Calendar display, Index (4, 9 or 25 frames), Enlarge (2x to 14x), Slideshow with background music and 3 transition effects, Picture rotation (auto mode available), Histogram (independent luminance/RGB available), Shooting information, In-camera editing (Raw to JPEG; JPEG-only: shadow adjust, red-eye fix, crop, aspect, B&W, sepia, saturation, resize, e-Portrait); voice annotation, image overlay (2 or 3 images merging)
Interface terminals: USB 2.0, HDMI (Type C Mini), Mic. terminal, remote controller
Power supply: BLS-1 rechargeable lithium-ion battery; CIPA rated for approx. 330 shots/charge
Dimensions (wxhxd): 122.0 x 69.1 x 34.3 mm
Weight: 321 grams (body only)

 

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Rating

 

RRP: $999

Rating (out of 10):

• Build: 9.0
• Ease of use: 8.0
• Autofocusing: 9.0
• Image quality: JPEG – 8.3; ORF.RAW – 8.5
• Video quality: 8.5
• OVERALL: 8.8

Buy