A helpless E-3 owner
Some background about me
First of all I have to let you know that I'm not an anti-Olympus guy, on the contrary I'm
an Olympus fan and Olympus user since 1987.
In 1987 I purchased an OM-10, afterward a used OM2n and then later a brand new OM4Ti, 16mm fisheye, auto-bellows...
Since then I have colloected over 30 OM Zuikos, 8 OM bodies, some Pen items, classic compact cameras and lots of
accessories. Then of course the Olympus DCs and DSLR system. Here is part of my collection:
Not only Olympus cameras and lenses, I have an Olympus microscope, Olympus Deltis 230MB MO (almost US$900 at that time),
microcassette tape recorders, WS-321M digital recorder, 20MB MP3/photo player.... I'm not showing off here, the items are
outdated and not worth much money, I just want to let people know they are true and the story below are also true!
My digital Camera Story
At the end of 1999, I purchased my first digital camera, it was a Olympus C2000, a US$750 2MP digital camera.
Of course it was expensive in today's standard.
With a non-SLR, you always miss something. In early 2001, I purchased a E-10 at US$1600, to me a huge investment.
In April 2004, I purchase a real digital SLR with lens switching capability, it was the E-1 with 14-54mm lens.
Ok, another US$1900. At the mean time I retired the C2000 and purchased a new C5050.
After that I have purchased a 11-22, 50/2, 40-150, 50-200, 1.4x, 8mm fisheye, 18-180, two flashes and a E-300...
While other digital camera manufacturer had new capable DSLR come out almost every year, olympus was filling
their line with some consumer grade cameras like the E330, 410 and 510. Until end of 2007, the E-3 was announced!
A very attractive camera with up-to-date specification, a large viewfinder and a multi-angle LCD. When I was
expecting a light body (as the E-system should be), the weight of E-3 is almost the same as other maker's full
frame digital camera. But I still put my investment on it.
Nightmare with E-3....
The nightmare began since I purcahsed the camera in January this year, I found it has serious focus problem (S-AF) with my 11-22 and 50-200 at the
wide end, the problem is also related to the target contrast, I'm not talking about a critical one, just some normal
targets which the E-300 has no problem to focus on. The camera report focus ok but actually the focus point is far in
front.
Below are some test shots, with tripod, MF done on viewfinder. S-AF with AEL/AFL button, focus to a close distance
first and then the real object.
50-200mm at 50mm F2.8, S-AF, actual pixel (center cropped)
50-200mm at 50mm F2.8, MF, actual pixel (center cropped)
11-22mm at 11mm F2.8, S-AF, actual pixel (center cropped)
11-22mm at 11mm F2.8, MF, actual pixel (center cropped)
11-22mm at 11mm F2.8, S-AF, actual pixel (center cropped)
11-22mm at 11mm F2.8, MF, actual pixel (center cropped)
This is not the worse case situation for 11-22, in real application, the focus error was even higher.
I have reported the problem to www.fourthirdsphoto.com to see if people have similar experience, of course
many people there did (The link is here)
They recommended me to report to Olympus. I did and then sent the camera to
Olympus HK on Jan 17 for checking, after inspection they said there was no problem with my camera!
I have no choice, just get back the camera and see if new firmware can solve the problem, as some people mentioned
there would be a new firmware come out end of January, it could solve the problem. I just put all my hope
on that! Finally, on Jan 29 a new firmware 1.1 came out and I updated my camera immediately... very disappointed...
the problem is still here.
What can I do with this un-reliable camera? Ok, I sold the 8mm (also had
AF problem) and 11-22mm then try to use the lens with less problem (14-45 and 18-180). I need the 50-200 for stage shot,
I will Manual Focus if necessary. Unfortunately MF with the wide angle on 4/3 is almost impossible, I liked the 11-22
very much, it is sharp when you get it focus right!
This didn't end the story....
While I tried to continue to use the E-3, I found the viewfinder is tilt by 0.4 deg. Similar
problem was reported on the "Olympus Mailing List". I report the problem to Olympus HK, they told me 0.4 deg. is within
Olympus' standard!
Ok, here are the samples, OM 50/2 (not DZ), tripod. The top one aligned with top line of the viewfinder, bottom one aligned with
bottom line of the viewfinder.
Oh, my... why so many problems with a top of the line Olympus DSLR?!
Ok, I tried to see if I can accept it (you must say I'm a fool but it is not easy to find another camera system that I like).
I was going to make some real shoots to see if it is really visable or can myself always get a good horizon during framing?
If not why bother with this "small" problem?
Ok, here are some shots I got today at Disneyland, they are all handheld:
So, what do you think? My eyes are too good? All images shifted a small degree to the same direction! I don't think
it can be accepted. I'll discuss with Olympus HK and see if they are willing to help!
The E-3 will not bring any problem to me anymore, I SOLD it and changed to Canon 40D but I'm still using my OM lenses!
(Updated status on: 15-Mar-08)
C.H.Ling (chling@accura.com.hk)