Olympus Pen E-PL3 review

Our test photos were bursting with detail, although this was partly down to heavily boosted contrast and digital sharpening. This was after we’d selected a picture mode named Natural, so it wasn’t really what we’d hoped for. There are various other picture modes available and it’s easy enough to customise them, but we recommend spending some time experimenting with settings and evaluating the results on a PC rather than relying on the default mode.

With rich colours, lots of contrast and aggressively sharp details, photos certainly pack a punch – click to enlarge

Otherwise, image quality was excellent, with sharp focus and impressively low noise – lower than from the GF3 and J1, although not quite up to the NEX-5N’s standards. Noise reduction was relatively mild, and while this resulted in grainy shadows at fast ISO speeds, it also retained plenty of detail.

This ISO 1600 shot demonstrates some impressive detail – click to enlarge

The E-PL3 ticks all the boxes – fast performance, high image quality, compact design. However, it’s not the easiest camera to love. The screen’s smeared, slightly washed-out colours and the fact that it gets in the way of the controls mean using this camera isn’t the pleasurable experience we’d hope for at this price. Meanwhile, clicks in video soundtracks and the relatively unreliable stabilisation are significant drawbacks to its otherwise impressive photo and video quality. The Sony NEX-5N isn’t perfect but it’s a delight to use and its photos and videos look (and sound) gorgeous, so it’s well worth spending a little extra on.

However, don’t write off the E-PL3 quite yet. With lots of high-quality lenses available, the ability to take full-sized flash guns plus an enviable range of attachments and accessories, the E-PL3 is still a great CSC to buy if you plan on extending its capabilities beyond the included kit zoom.