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Olympus PEN E-PL3

Olympus Pen E-PL3
A black Olympus PEN E-PL3 with the standard flash attachment and 14-42mm lens fitted
Overview
Type Micro Four Thirds, interchangeable lens camera
Lens
Lens Micro Four Thirds System mount
Sensor/Medium
Sensor Four Thirds System 17.30 × 13.00 mm Live MOS
Maximum resolution 4032×3024 (12.3 megapixels)
ASA/ISO range ISO 200–12800
Storage Secure Digital card; SDHC; SDXC
Focusing
Focus modes Single, continuous, manual
Focus areas 35 area contrast detect auto-focus, selectable
Exposure/Metering
Exposure modes Program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority, manual
Exposure metering Digital ESP metering, Centre weighted average metering, Spot metering
Metering modes TTL ESP multi patterned (324-area multi pattern metering), Center-weighted average, Spot (1%)
Flash
Flash No built-in flash, but has Clip-on flash included, TTL, GN 10m equivalent (ISO200 · m); hotshoe for external flash attachment
Shutter
Shutter 1/4,000 to 60 s, up to 30 minutes bulb
Continuous shooting 4.1 frames/s (5.5 frames/s in case of "I.S. OFF"
Viewfinder
Viewfinder live preview, optional electronic viewfinder VF-2; optional electronic viewfinder VF-3; optional optical viewfinder VF-1
General
Rear LCD monitor 3" 460,000 pixel TFT LCD on screen with live preview
Battery Olympus BLS-5 Lithium-ion battery
Dimensions 109.5 × 63.7 × 37.3 mm (4.31" × 2.51" × 1.47")
Weight 265 g (9.3 oz) (body only) 313 g (11.0 oz) (body, battery and SD memory card)

The Olympus PEN E-PL3 announced on June 30, 2011 is Olympus Corporation's seventh camera that adheres to the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system design standard. The E-PL3 succeeds the Olympus PEN E-PL2, and was announced in concert with two other models, the Olympus PEN E-P3 (the flagship version), and the Olympus PEN E-PM1 (a new "Mini" version of the PEN camera line with similar features to the E-PL3). The E-PL3 is commonly said to be the "Lite" (less full featured) version of the E-P3, much as the E-PL1 and E-PL2 were "Lite" versions of the E-P1 and E-P2, respectively.

The E-PL3 addresses some of the concerns that critics had about previous PEN models, notably, slow handling, due to slow autofocus speed and difficulty seeing the LCD panel under certain (e.g., bright, sunny) conditions.

The E-PL3 increases autofocus speed through use of a 120 Hz refresh rate for its sensor, similar to the technology used in the recently released Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 and G3 cameras. Olympus claims, based on in-house testing, that the E-PL3, along with its E-PM1 cousin, have similar characteristics to the flagship E-P3, which according to Olympus has the world's fastest autofocus speed of any camera as of the product announcement date. The benefits of the 120 Hz refresh rate also provides the ability for continuous autofocus tracking during bursts of exposures, a faster shutter response (less lag) and less blackout time between exposures.

The E-PL3 lacks the E-P3 capacitive touchscreen for creative camera control, and the E-P3 OLED type display that is supposed to vastly improve performance in sunny conditions, and off-angle viewing. Instead, the E-PL3 has a tiltable LCD, which allows easy above the head, waist level, or low off the ground viewing. The E-PL3 continues with the proprietary Accessory Port, a power and communication port, which allows the use of various accessories, such as an external stereo microphone for HD video recording, LED macro lights, and a bluetooth communications adapter. The accessory port continues to be compatible with the high resolution, optional hotshoe mounted VF-2 electronic viewfinder (EVF).


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