Olympus PEN E-P3 photos

Though Olympus has tweaked the design and interface, there are no significant changes in usability from the E-P2 to the E-P3. We do welcome the addition of a 3-inch OLED touch-screen display.

Lori Grunin

June 30, 2011 10:51 a.m. PT

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Familiar design

With the chrome accents, the E-P3 looks a lot like the older E-PL1, at the size of the E-PL2. This time around, Olympus built in a pop-up flash. Olympus also took the opportunity to redesign all its lenses, adding touches like a cover for what used to be an exposed bayonet mount on the front.

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Optional grip

In the box is a shallow grip that screws on the camera body, for people who find the flat front unfriendly. There's also an optional bigger grip for when you're shooting with more-unwieldy lenses.

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Familiar controls, OLED display

The highlight of the E-P3 is the 3-inch OLED LCD, which you can set to display natural or vivid color. It's also a touch screen; although most of the interface uses direct-access controls, it enables conveniences like touch shutter. Plus, the simplified Live Guide mode operates entirely via the screen.

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Grip

Here you can see the big screw that attaches the optional grip to the body.

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Mode dial

The top controls are pretty simple: a basic mode dial and programmable function button. Though there's a movie option on the mode dial, you don't need to be in the mode to shoot video. Similarly, the art filters are available via the quick menus on the screen, so you don't have to use the dedicated mode.