Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Olympus E-PL3 Pen Lite

Olympus E-PL3 Pen Lite with Franier grip and the brand new 45mm F:1.8 portrait lens. Beautiful.
It's the littlest portrait lens I've ever seen. The lens cap is barely larger than a 2-£ coin.



Bokeh test at full opening. Very promising, though I have yet to test it in daylight.
Top image with noise reduction in software, lower one without. ISO 1600. Good result for a M4/3 sensor, the first full frame Canon 5D didn't do it all that much better. And nice soft bokeh (background blur).





Update: 
By request, a comparison between Olympus 45mm F:1.8 and the great little Pentax 70mm F2.4. (For different formats, so the use is roughly the same.) Similar in bulk, the Pentax is shorter, but fatter. Slightly heavier (all metal), but in this class it hardly matters. The Pentax sits on a bigger camera (a DSLR), but also a more capable one, ultimately. 



21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you cum in your pants when you first saw it?

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Don't you have some blogs and people you actually respect, where you'd enjoy hanging out?

Alex said...

So does that thing have a viewfinder?

I'm fed up trying to guess what I'm shooting. Sure I've got the SLR for real stuff, but in a couple of weeks I'm off on a trip where a pocket friendly camera would be beneficial, and I so want a viewfinder.

emptyspaces said...

Thanks for the report - I love how these small cameras are getting better and better.

Rich said...

Better than the 5D (!) Have to see that to believe it. My 5D is a low light monster but I really enjoy my EPL2 and GF2 for walkabouts at lunch.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

I wouldn't state "better than 5D", I haven't tested, but it's in the same class about, at an estimate.

It only has the screen. I think the big brother has a viewfinder. (but then no tiltable screen, which I like.)

Anonymous said...

Don't you have some blogs and people you actually respect, where you'd enjoy hanging out?

Is that a yes? Are you embarrassed? I bet you weren't the only one, don't worry!

Miserere said...

I think the big brother has a viewfinder.

None of the Oly Pens have a viewfinder. There are rumours that Oly is preparing a digital Pen with a viewfinder...but these rumours started the day after Oly introduced their first E-P1 some 3 years ago, so who knows? :-)

Eo, could you take a photo of the Oly 45mm next to the Pentax DA 70 Ltd? I'd like to see how they compare in size given they both give a similar FoV and DoF on their respective bodies.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

OK, done, post updated.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

The Panasonic GH2 has a viewfinder, electronic, and is overall a very powerful camera for the size. (Suffers a bit on high ISO, though.)

Miserere said...

Thanks, Eo, although I think you meant "f/2.4", not "F1.4" in the Pentax description. I don't think the lens would be that small or cheap if it were f/1.4! :-)

So is the Oly lens not metal? I thought it was. And it's cheaper than the Pentax 70mm, right?

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Thanks. Stupid mistake. I know I was *thinking* F:2.4, but I guess I've written 1.4 more times.

The focusing ring on the Oly lens feels like plastic at least. But the rest of the outside, including the mount, is metal, so I'm sure it's sturdy enough. And the light weight is nice.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Yes, the Oly is very economical indeed. Right now I see prices of 280 Sterling for that one, and 480 Sterling for the Pentax.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

The new Olympus 12mm F:2.0 is more high-end, it is 680 Sterling right now!

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

But I already have good wideangle lenses, for M4/3, for Pentax, and the 35mm-e on the X100. So I'll take one of these, and the Pen Lite with the 45mm, out for street shoots.

emptyspaces said...

Concur about the GH2. I am shooting one for the time being, and it can be noisy for sure. However, the viewfinder is nice (does take some getting used to - the one on the X100 is better for me) and when paired with the 20/1.7 pancake it's extremely small & lightweight.

Looking forward to trying out the X10 soon. And Fuji has just announced it'll be coming out with a mirrorless system in the Spring. Can't wait for that.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Aha, I hadn't heard of that announcement, interesting.

Anonymous said...

But I already have good wideangle lenses

For taking self portraits?

Emily @ nochemistrydesign.com said...

Franier grip?

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Here you go:


http://www.kleptography.com/rf/

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

I live to serve.

Richard does excellent work.