Its been a week since I got the prized Olympus E-3. It was the camera I was saving for…it arrived on the 24th in pristine packing- so very Olympus like. Like an eager kid- I opened the package and carefully unwrapped the body and the 12-60 mm Lens. Quickly assembling the lens on the body- I loaded the battery into the camera…and through the view finder focused onto a picture nearby…zzzt !!! beep… and voila !!! the beast came alive in my hands.
What is it to hold one in your hand? Aah – It’s like the holding a stiletto clad in a backless Satin dress Monica Bellucci – for one-of-a-kind Tango. It’s like the sunrise I was waiting for all these years.
Dear reader- I come from a humble background of the now legendary “Olympus C8080”.Compared to the C8080, the E-3’s overall appearance is more purposeful, with a mix of aggressiveness with a likeness of a muscular athlete about to spring from his starting blocks. Slightly beneath the new look, the go-anywhere characteristics of the E-3 are both an evolution and renegade. So you get the same high level of environmental protection against dust and splash resistance, using gaskets, O-rings, seals and linings that you will find in abundance beneath its magnesium skin.
Earlier this year – I had handled Ragu’s OLY 510 and was impressed with its Dynamic range (DR) and Image Quality (IQ)…not to mention the superb ergonomics. Now ergonomics is a chapter that brings a quaint smile on my face…My favorite subject in design. Ergonomics is the simplicity of form and functionality-which pushes the envelope of acceptable design into a realm of duress under which a properly developed camera is then seen to function. In the E-3, the subject of ergonomics defines functionality as a whole or in parts.
Compared to Nikon and Canon (Deep sigh!!!), I had found the C8080’s ergonomics were simply superb. The crucial functions were so well positioned on the left hand slant. By addressing this functional aspect of ergonomics, the camera layout responded more naturally to human tendencies or at least the trained synapses of a person who has the classical approach to how cameras are handled.
In the E-3, I could see the design concentrate on two perspectives of functional ergonomics that centre on speed and rhythm. (Speed is where controls are placed that minimizes keystrokes, shortens the distance from one logic to the next in order to fulfill a task or activity or fine tuning an effect). I saw plenty of evidence with speed when I studied the E-3’s control placements.
Rhythm focuses on workflow, which is increasingly demanding in digital photography. The E-3’s relative positioning of controls and what they deal with individually and sequentially identifies the required rhythm that tunes in to the workflow efficiently. By getting the rhythm correct, I saw that my mind and fingers worked more naturally and instinctively. There was less fumbling and brain-wrecking involved as a result. I could get the job done swiftly and painlessly.
Sensual ergonomics focuses on texture and contour quality. It is this aspect of human or organic design that accentuates how controls can be felt without looking. Olympus refers to this as the ‘blind-touch.’ The C8080 was, I guess, the first that showcased this level of ergonomics. In fact, Olympus used a wide gamut of texture and contour features to highlight the sensual touch on the C8080 and the E-3 likewise. Therefore controls are rounded, squared up, concaved, bulged, dimpled or even gritty. Engineers used these to help the photographer in me to find the controls with my fingers, to ensure that their subject consciousness remains uninterrupted. The engineer in me is so ecstatic.
With so much of thought put into the design of the camera – the form and then the E-3’s button control positioning as well as the logic behind its relative locations on the body. To a casual onlooker- these might not matter. But these are quite critical while taking critical shots because working in a dearth of time demands instinctive response in the most pressing situations where thoughts are all concentrated on the subject within the confined spaces of the viewfinder. There is basically no time to waste in having to shift away from the viewfinder just to visually locate any particular button or wheel.
Lifestyle does not play an intrinsic role in the E-3 although that does not mean that the appeal of beauty is unimportant. In the rough and tumble of actual shooting conditions, control ergonomics represent the highest order of the interface between Man and Machine. Taking this into account, the ultimate design of controls for the E-3 are not regularized, inorganic (sterile or clinically) or mechanized. In that respect, the E-3 is almost purely about the ‘natural blind touch.’
In one statement, the E-3 was designed to be the extension of the photographer beyond merely a tool. It is the extension to help deliver the photographer’s expressions from thought to a digitized image. And to deliver this, the photographer moulds to the E-3 without being compelled to condition himself unnaturally. The E-3’s control placements define a level of ergonomics that allow for intuitiveness and interactive-ness to reach a new standard in contemporary DSLR design. It has become a camera that is at once easy to use regardless of its hidden charms and sophistication.
Like I mentioned earlier I have had a cursory experience with the 510. My first Digital camera was the C8080 and now the E-3. Yes there is a learning curve and by continuing to take a lot of shots in lots of different situations for different purposes I found the settings that work best for specific occasions.
Focusing:- My C8080 was plagued by slow focusing – it used a rather odd way of AF (autofocus) TTL system (contrast detection). It was so slow and cumbersome that I could make a pot of coffee come back only to find the camera still focusing. So what’s new in the E-3 you ask ? This is the time when I grin my widest grin and introduce you to the Olympus exclusive 11-point biaxial auto focus system. The folks at Oly- bumped up the uni-axial three point focusing to a 11 point bi-axial Cross type. What does it mean in layman terms? It means that earlier the sensor could only read horizontal information at three points…and now the sensor can read both horizontal , vertical and diagonal information between sensor points. Coupled with the new (SWD) Supersonic Wave Drive™ lenses – the E-3 provides exacting auto focus precision at exceptional speeds.
I have tested the 40D and the D300- they are fast…but then there is a difference between fast and Blinding fast right ? Not a lot of specifics, I know, but looking at some of the truly outstanding images I nailed with this camera -I am starting to get the feel for just how amazing the camera is and how relatively simple the set-up is most of the time.
The lens mounted on my baby deserves a separate article. I shall sing panegyrics to the lens later on…but that being said-
Let me also mention dear reader that -First and foremost the camera is intended to produce image files that should be post-processed, and more importantly, can be post-processed in almost endless ways without degrading the IQ. That said, in general if you want a camera just to take pictures of your grandma blowing her 90th birthday candles- get a SONY or any silver colored aunty’s camera. (UGGHH !!!)
But if you want to truly create images which bespeak your vision- The E-3 is THE CAMERA – nay it’s an interactive computer. An artificial Intelligence embedded organism with whom – I am learning to interact with it. It's a relationship I'll grow to treasure.
Thanks Olympus
Good shooting and Happy New Year.
