Olympus E-3 audio comparison

[Ian]

Originally Posted by zijon

It's a matter of taste. But I like the sound of E-3. It's a kind of classical SLR sound - short, clear, without mechanical rattles or electronic whistles. However, it's not so silent as I've expected. E-510 sounds not so clear, but the sound of E-1 is very unique - a kind of shy.

Honestly, the E-3 sound is refined in it's own way, just not as refined as the E-3. Having top operate almost twice as fast, I think Olympus' engineers were up against trying to retain the same kind of sound as the E-1.

But soon you will be able to compare it to, say, a Sony Alpha A700 - I have a review sample arriving next week

Audio aside, this will be a stern test for the E-3. The A700 I tried at the launch a few weeks ago had impressive image quality, especially at high ISOs.

Ian

[Ian]

Originally Posted by dsr1

I'm thinking of changing to a DSLR. I shoot a lot of continuous shots at the ballet witl my V-LUX 1. After hearing the sounds of these, I'm wondering if I'll be able to do that with a DSLR. Doesn't the sound disturb others at plays and ballets?

DonR

I often use an E-510 at seminars to photograph powerpoint projections (promises of a copy of the slides usually amount to nought). It's not usually a problem. If at the ballet, there will be music and that will drown out the camera noise. Theatre - not sure...

Ian

[Ian]

Originally Posted by river5

Is there a way to show us the E3 viewfinder Ian?

Working on it

Ian

[Hans]

Originally Posted by zijon

It's a matter of taste. But I like the sound of E-3. It's a kind of classical SLR sound - short, clear, without mechanical rattles or electronic whistles. However, it's not so silent as I've expected. E-510 sounds not so clear, but the sound of E-1 is very unique - a kind of shy.

Hopefully it won't get up a flock of geese at 100 yds! I guess I was surprised that with all the hype about how quiet it was going to be, it's so, well, trebly. It's definitely not a luxurious sound...

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Hans

Hopefully it won't get up a flock of geese at 100 yds! I guess I was surprised that with all the hype about how quiet it was going to be, it's so, well, trebly. It's definitely not a luxurious sound...

Yes, I commented in the article page that the characteristics of the mic weren't picking up enough of the bass - even some of the mid-range. But I was hoping that people could see (hear!) through this via reference points being the E-1 and E-510.

Ian

[Ian]

There is another clip in the article featuring the E-3 being audibly compared with the Sony A700 and Pentax istDL.

It's a better quality video than the first - do let me know if you have an comments!

Ian

[KentuckyRanger]

I've always been impressed with my E-3 and the sound is very unobtrusive, especially wen shooting weddings or in quiet situations.