Side Note:
1. This is a user experience based review.
2. All images were shot in JPEG LSF (Large Super Fine).
3. General camera settings, Noise Filter = Low, Contrast/Saturation/sharpness = 0, White Balance = Auto (with an option maintain warm color), Gradation = Normal
4. Minimal post-processing applied to the images. Only exposure compensation (brightness/contrast) and cropping performed for better consistency and overall presentation. Apart from that, the images were as good as straight out of camera (color and sharpness)
This entry is the second part of my
Olympus PEN E-P3 user experience review. If you have not done so, please read the
Part 1 of the E-P3 review here.
In this review entry, I shall be discussing about Olympus’ claim of
“world’s fastest autofocus” of all digital cameras in the E-P3. When I was first being told about this claim, I actually chuckled and said “really?”
When the E-P1, the first Olympus PEN was launched, one of the drawbacks which held the camera down from being otherwise a stellar new mirrorless camera system was the use of Contrast-Detect Autofocus system (CDAF). CDAF until recently, has been marginally and noticeably slower in comparison to the superior phase-detect autofocus (PDAF) that is used in all DSLR cameras. I personally have used the E-PL1 and many times in my recent blog entries I have voiced up my concerns on how slow and at occasions, unreliable the autofocus can be. Nevertheless, Olympus has hinted that it was just the beginning of the CDAF system, and as the technology advances, the performance of CDAF will surpass the PDAF one day. The time is now. In the latest E-P3, Olympus confidently and boldly claimed to have the World’s Fastest AutoFocus.
As I was walking along the streets on one lazy Saturday late afternoon, I was passing by the Merdeka Square and I stumbled upon an open event, Kuala Lumpur Street Art Festival. It was a celebration of Malaysian tradition and culture, where music, dance and other local performances were brought in together at one central stage to be enjoyed by the public. There were many colourful and dramatic stage performances with rapid motions and fast actions, posing great challenge for any camera to keep up and properly catch the stage moments. Therefore, the opportunity to try out the autofocus performance of the E-P3 could not have been any better. Thankfully I was armed with both the M..Zuiko 40-150mm F4-5.6 and 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 telephoto lenses loaned from Olympus Malaysia.
1/250s, F/4.6, ISO800