Olympus E-3 User manual

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OL LY YM MP PU US S
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PO OW WE ER R U US SE ER R’ ’S S G GU UI ID DE E
M
Ma ar rk k D D. . Y Yo ou un ng g
A Southern Shutterbug Book

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OLYMPUS E-3 POWER USER’S GUIDE
2008 MARK D. YOUNG
First published 2008 by Southern Shutterbug Books, an imprint of
Laminar Publishing Associates, Suite 9, Private Bag Bag X7005, Hillcrest, 3560,
Republic of South Africa.
The moral right of Mark D Young has been asserted. No part of this publication
may reproduced, in any format or by any means, mechanical, electronic or
otherwise without the express, written permission of the author and publisher
having first been obtained. Short extracts may be quoted in reviews provided
full credit is given as to the source of the material so used.
By the same author from Laminar Publishing Associates:
Shutterbug’s Digital Jargon Buster
A Firm Resolve – A History of SAA Accidents 934- 987
The Magic Christmas Beetle
The Great Grunklewhiska Adventure
Text prepared in Open Office Writer
Text set in Tahoma
Origination in Open PDF writer
www.openoffice.org
Frontispiece image of E-3 courtesy of Olympus Corporation
Close- up images of camera controls taken with Olympus 040SW on Super-macro mode.
The input, comments and assistance of Brian Grey (UK), Noel Hammond (SA),
Karl Ludik (Aus), Carl Dionisio (NZ) plus many other E-3 users in addition to
JEL Corporation South Africa, agents for Olympus in Southern Africa,
In the preparation of this book is gratefully acknowledged.

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OLYMPUS E-3 POWER USER’S GUIDE
The Olympus E-3 was one of the most eagerly awaited D-SLR
cameras to arrive on the market in 2007. The existence of a
successor to the highly regarded E- – which was the Olympus
Corporation’s first four-thirds standard D-SLR launched in 2003 –
had long been rumoured. Olympus enthusiasts, however, had to
exercise patience as the engineers fine-tuned many aspects of
the camera’s performance. They tested – and rejected – many
components until they had a design which they felt would place
the camera in a class of its own.
Indeed, upon launch the E-3 heralded many “firsts” or class-
leading features in a professional level D-SLR. Some of these
were:
• First high-end professional D-SLR with built-in in-body
stabilisation
• First professional D-SLR with live-view
• First professional D-SLR with swivel-screen display
• First professional D-SLR with direct-access menu for
setting changes
• World’s fastest auto-focus when teamed with the
Zuiko 2-60mm SWD lens
• Class-leading environmental sealing against moisture
and dust
• Most effective sensor dust-reduction system
• Multi-group wireless remote flash system
Many of these aspects have now been added to competitor
products in this class of camera. However, the overall package, of
ergonomics, ruggedness and user-friendly layout of the E-3
camera itself, does place the E-3 in a niche of its own.
While many detractors may point to the “low megapixel sensor”
of the E-3 in comparison to later competitor’s higher megapixel
counts, to do so diminishes the depth and prowess of the

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engineering inherent in the four-thirds system and the sensor
used in the E-3. The apparently low megapixel count offers the
bonus of larger individual photo-sites than those found in higher-
density sensors. This benefits the dynamic range of the E-3
images as well as providing impressive low-noise performance at
speeds up to ISO 600.
In addition, when viewed within the Olympus E-system – and the
wider four-thirds product range – the E-3 does, indeed, stand
alone amongst other cameras on the market in providing a
unique blend of portability, professional ruggedness, image
quality, user-friendliness and a whole bundle of “do anything”
capabilities. For many happy owners it was “worth the wait” and
it is a camera that they hold in high regard.
Indeed, nearly a year after its launch the E-3 was awarded the
“Best Advanced Camera in Europe 2008/2009” award by EISA – a
European consortium of more than 50 magazine editors in the
imaging and sound industries. When viewed in light of the fact
that other brands had all launched cameras with higher
megapixel counts and “more features” subsequent to the E-3’s
introduction, this is an indication of the depth of sophistication
that is the Olympus E-3 camera. There is absolutely no reason
why it cannot do all any user could possibly ask of it.
This booklet aims to help you to understand your Olympus E-3 D-
SLR camera a bit better and explain the many features which
have been designed into it that other users have found useful. In
so doing we hope to help you realise your vision for photography.
It is, however, assumed that you understand the principles of
photography and have read the manufacturer’s handbook.
Please refer to both this guide and the appropriate page in the camera’s
English user manual (Printed in Germany in 2007 item OIME-7.0 -
0/2007. Hab-E04602 2) as indicated by the (UMPgxx) notation as you
progress through the text.

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THE AUTHOR
Mark D. Young is an award-winning South
African photojournalist, writer and
photographic mentor. He was born in the city
of Pretoria in 962 and educated at
Rietondale and Clapham schools in the city
of his birth.
He has been taking photographs
professionally since the age of 8 and has
given basic, intermediate and advanced
tuition in photography to more than 3 000
camera owners during his career which has
included “shutter-finger” time spent on newspapers, magazines and as
a consultant in retail outlets.
He is well acquainted with the Olympus camera family having owned
and used various Olympus products since 974. He has also counted
amongst his camera gear various Canon, Nikon, Yashica and Contax
equipment and retains an “interesting” collection of classic
photographica of all brands and vintages.
He was the founding editor of Great Photography and Video , SA Photo
and Digital Photofocus magazines and has worked and/or photographed
in locations all around the world, gaining useful experience in the usage
of camera equipment in climates ranging from Arctic cold to desert
heat. He has taught numerous South African National Antarctic
Expedition teams “the ropes” in regard to photography, has inducted
numerous “Street Freelancers” (Self-employed social photographers
working in all centres of South Africa) into the business and is a regular
guest lecturer at various Universities of Technology and at the South
African National College of Photography.
He currently resides in Durban, South Africa where he was recently
appointed the Founding Chair of the Whysall’s Photographic Academy ,
an arm of a famous photographic supply group which is wholly
dedicated to educating all camera owners in the joys of photography.

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IF YOU THINK THE E-3 IS A GREAT CAMERA,
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
As at date of writing, the E-3 had been honoured with the following awards
from photographic magazines, web-sites and professional organisations. Aside
from gaining praise for overall design, there are awards for top image quality
and one for robustness and build quality.
Arguably the most prestigious award to date is the EISA Award as “ Best
Advanced Camera in Europe 2008/9
” awarded nearly a year after the
introduction of the model and well after competitors had launched an array of
models in the same sector of the market.
All logos and trademarks are recognised as the property of their respective owners and are used with permission.

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INTRODUCTION
OLYMPUS CAMERAS – ALWAYS INTERESTING
The Olympus company (founded in 9 9) is among the oldest
optics and camera companies in the world.
As a camera manufacturer, Olympus branded products have been
changing the direction of worldwide camera design since the
950s. The Olympus Pen-F and Pen-EE half-frame cameras with
interchangeable lenses were commercial hits in the 950s and
960s and offered a cost-effective alternative to the compact
35mm pro-grade equipment available from Europe at the time.
Perhaps the most outstanding aspect of these cameras were their
Zuiko (pronounced Zwee-ko ) lenses which have earned an
enviable reputation for sharpness, durability and their relatively
fast maximum apertures despite their compact size.
The 960s saw the launch of the Olympus Trip 35 camera which
did more to place a 35mm camera in households around the
planet than any other design before or since. The camera was
ruggedly made from metal and boasted a simple-to-understand
automatic light metering system that set speeds and apertures.
The camera could “not take a
bad photo” as the mechanism
locked if the picture was over or
underexposed. In addition, it did
not require batteries as the light
metering system was powered
by the very same light used to
capture the image via Cds cells.
The lead designer of these two products, Maitani Yoshihisa, led
the team that stunned the world in 973 with the smallest – at
the time – professional SLR with full system backup: The OM-1.

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In the world of SLR camera design and marketing there are two
distinct periods of history: Pre OM-1 and post OM-1.
The OM system changed the course of SLR camera design and
helped to popularise the concept of an affordable, portable and
reliable SLR system camera.
Olympus followed this up
with the OM-2 which
heralded many firsts. It was
the first camera that
provided TTL (through the
lens) flash exposure
metering. This system is
used on every D-SLR
camera today. In addition,
the TTL metering (Known as Off The Film or OTF ) was also used
during the actual exposure during normal daylight. This provided
an accurate and infallible exposure system. A legacy feature of
that system is still incorporated in modern E-series cameras today
– peep under the mirror and you will see that the first shutter
curtain is coated in a neutral grey colour – this permits accurate
metering and flash exposure after the mirror has lifted, right up
to the moment when the actual exposure begins. No other digital
SLR has such a system with competitors relying on a “memory”
circuit that locks in the value measured just before the mirror
flips-up.
In 986 Olympus introduced
the OM-4Ti. This camera was
the first in the world to offer
“full-synchro flash” at all
shutter speeds via the FP flash
mode. This is another system
now used by every D-SLR
manufacturer. In addition to

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this, it was also the first SLR camera to offer multi-spot metering
with Highlight and Shadow bias which is still used on top-line
professional cameras today – most notably the ubiquitous EOS-
series from Canon.
The year 985 saw the introduction of the OM-40 with ESP
(Electro Selective Pattern) metering. This was the forerunner of
the multi-pattern light metering systems in use by every major
camera manufacturer today.
With the change to digital sensors, Olympus continued to
innovate and the company was the first to offer in-camera sensor
cleaning systems when it launched the E-1 in 2003. This
pioneering and vital technology is only now being used on a
wider scale by other manufacturers while it has been standard on
every Olympus four-thirds D-SLR ever since the launch of the
venerable E-1 – giving Olympus a 5 year head-start in this
particular field which is why it is widely proclaimed as the most
effective system of its kind on the market.
The Olympus E-330 introduced the concept of “live view” to the
realm of D-SLR photography in 2005 and this is yet another
feature being provided by more and more manufacturers as the
first decade of the new century heads to a close.
Overall, Olympus cameras have quietly heralded many now
commonplace features and so while the company is not
commonly seen as one of the “big players” in the market, it is in
fact big on ideas and innovation and without Olympus cameras
and the new technologies the company is constantly introducing
to the market, the world of photography would be the poorer.
OLYMPUS CAMERAS DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Overall the design philosophy of Olympus cameras is to try and
make the camera – and the technology around which the