Archive 2011 · Got my EP3

carstenw
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Got my EP3

Yes!

Jul 26, 2011 at 05:43 PM

millsart
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Got my EP3

Probably because DPR just goes out and shoots the camera at random scenes like the average reader would do, and they just post them straight out of camera.

When you view peoples shots here they are usually post processed and quite a number of people are not only great photographers but have some really amazing skills in PS as well that can make most any lens/camera look great.

I honestly prefer DPR, Photography Blog etc for judging images because I know I'm seeing just what comes out of the camera and I'm not being swayed by things like incredible composition,processing etc

AhamB wrote:
I believe it was said on this forum that the sample pictures often seen on dpreview can make any lens look bad. I tend to agree with that -- I have not really seen a single picture in their sample pics that impressed me.

Jul 26, 2011 at 08:12 PM

freaklikeme
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Got my EP3

Thanks for posting this, Chris. It's good to hear that an E-P1 user finds it a worthy upgrade.

However, I do think it should be a rule that, if you're going to post about your new toys, you should have to post samples. Otherwise, our jealousy won't be fully inflamed and your job will only be half-done.

Jul 26, 2011 at 10:03 PM

millsart
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Got my EP3

freaklikeme wrote:
Thanks for posting this, Chris. It's good to hear that an E-P1 user finds it a worthy upgrade.

However, I do think it should be a rule that, if you're going to post about your new toys, you should have to post samples. Otherwise, our jealousy won't be fully inflamed and your job will only be half-done.

I think thats a pretty silly rule. What does a web sized image really tell you about a camera ? Tells more about the photographer than anything if you ask me.

What matters about a camera is how a person thinks it handles, if the ergonomics feel better than the old one, if it feels more responsive etc.

Image quality is pretty meaningless if the interface sucks, if you need to press 3 buttons to adjust something etc. Your just not going to want to shoot that camera.

I think 99% of members of this forum can produce a great looking image with even an iPhone. I respect their images and like to view them for aesthetic reasons but what I care more about is their impressions of how a camera works, how it handles.

The photo is the end result, I care about the process of using the tool to create it.

If an EP3 shows slghtly less noise in its 12 meg image than the EP2 in its 12 meg image when showing a 100% crop, who really cares ? Anyone going to upgrade because of a trivial difference on a 100% crop ? No

But if the user talks about how he notices a huge diference in AF, how it focuses in light that made it used to hunt, if they find the touch screen useful, if they can see the LCD in the sun, if the new button arrangement works better or worse, well then those are things that might be worth upgrading.

Pixel peeping is all well and good at the right time, but true photographers who go out and use their cameras care more about handling I'd say.

There are plenty of websites where people seemingly buy new equip for the one and only purpose of shooting household shots just to share at 100% with others who also shoot nothing but brick walls

Thats not photography in my book

Jul 26, 2011 at 10:37 PM

CKrueger
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Got my EP3

I guess to reframe what Millsart said, I've definitely got a lot better pictures with my EP1 or GH1 than I have taken yet with the EP3. Not because the EP3 is worse, but because I haven't really spent much time with the EP3 yet. I can show you a few mediocre pictures of some turkeys I encountered or a couple typical flower pics, but I don't have any pictures that would enflame anyone's jealousy.

Moreover, I don't think the improvement in the EP3 has much to do about image quality. At least not for me. For me the improvement is in its usability. I don't know how I can show that improvement in a picture; the improvement in the autofocus system merely means more shots are in focus, and there are a trillion uninteresting in-focus photos out there!

I don't mean to be flippant or dismissive, but I don't think posting pictures will really say anything about the camera in this particular case. It's difficult for me to overcome my innate laziness to post a boring photo. Perhaps if we were comparing two different lenses or systems a photo might be useful.

Incidentally, I did compare my 5D2 and 24-70 to my EP3 and 14-42 shooting a few studio-lit shots this weekend... the 5D2 has noticeably more resolution as you might expect, but Olympus' JPEG colors are nicer to my eye, and the touch AF is AWESOME in a studio setting. I was using my FL-36 bounced off the ceiling at 1/128 power to trigger my optical slave flashes, and the touch AF made shooting a lot faster.

Also I had the lights low in the house tonight and shot the EP3+14-42. The AF had a very tough time picking out focus. I grabbed my 5D2+24-70 and its center point immediately locked focus. I played around a bit, and I think I can say for sure the 5D2 is superior in low light, but take that with a qualification that the 5D2 has a two-stop faster lens. (I don't have any f/5.6 Canon lenses to test aside from my 100-400.) The EP3 has difficulty pulling off heroics, but if the light level is reasonable it really is excellent.

Jul 27, 2011 at 12:01 AM

you2
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Got my EP3

The problem with the 5dmk2 isn't image quality. It is weight/bulk

If canon knew how to make small cameras like contax (aria for example) life would be golden.

Jul 27, 2011 at 08:06 AM

you2
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Got my EP3

Yea; it sounds like the ep3 is pretty much the same as the ep1 (image quality) and the gh2 has a newer (better) sensor. For me I'm looking for something very small and I like the idea of inbody is as well as olympus jpeg engine. Kind of wished the ep3 had gone with the gh2 sensor; but I guess it won't be so till the ep4.

Jul 27, 2011 at 11:29 AM

freaklikeme
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Got my EP3

millsart wrote:
I think thats a pretty silly rule. What does a web sized image really tell you about a camera ? Tells more about the photographer than anything if you ask me.

What matters about a camera is how a person thinks it handles, if the ergonomics feel better than the old one, if it feels more responsive etc.

Image quality is pretty meaningless if the interface sucks, if you need to press 3 buttons to adjust something etc. Your just not going to want to shoot that camera.

I think 99% of members of this forum can produce a great looking image with...Show more →

That's a very long response for a relatively short joke, one that was intended to be at the expense of the people begging for samples. So, just to clarify, I am not in support of said rule or of anyone intentionally inflaming the jealousy of others, nor do I believe that's anyone's job.

Jul 27, 2011 at 02:08 PM

CKrueger
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Got my EP3

Just a footnote in case anyone is interested, re: low light autofocus.

The EP3 definitely has less ability in low light than the 5D2. The EP3's AF starts to hunt frequently around the light level where you'd get an exposure of f/1.7, 1/50, ISO1600. It's possible to get a focus lock if you find an area of very high contrast, but with light any lower than that AF is essentially useless. Moreover--and shocking to me--the camera doesn't seem to perform any better with my 20/1.7 than my 14-42. It's very strange that a lens more than two stops faster doesn't improve the camera's ability to AF. Aperture plays a huge role in AF for all my PDAF cameras.

The 5D2, on the other hand, can manage the same task at ISO6400 before I start to have problems with AF. At that point I have to use the center AF point only, and be careful where I place it.

Long story short, the EP3's single-shot AF is superior to my 5D2 in daylight all the way down to bright indoor conditions, but as the light level gets low the EP3 degrades much more quickly than the 5D2, to the point where you would't want to AF the EP3 in a dimly-lit room.

(This is all in warm CFL lighting with the AF assist bulb off, FWIW.)

Jul 30, 2011 at 07:33 AM

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