Olympus PEN E-PL3

The Olympus PEN E-PL3 ($699.99 with 14-42mm kit lens) is the successor to the E-PL2 ($599.99, 4 stars), which was once the smallest camera in Olympus?s Micro Four Thirds lineup. This is no longer the case, as the company has expanded its offerings to include three more compact interchangeable lens cameras. The E-PL3 is the middle child, so to speak, fitting in between the larger PEN E-P3?($899.99, 4 stars) and the smaller PEN E-PM1; it's also the only sibling to sport a tilting LCD. The E-PL3?s body is a bit bigger than the Sony Alpha NEX-C3 ($649.95, 4.5 stars), our Editors? Choice in this category, but much more compact than an SLR. The PEN E-PL3 doesn?t deliver the image quality or the overall performance of the NEX-C3, but it?s a solid choice if you?ve already bought into the Micro Four Thirds system and are looking for an upgrade. Its autofocus system is much faster than previous-generation Olympus PEN models, and the LCD adds versatility.

Design, Features, and User Interface
The 12-megapixel E-PL3 is available in silver, red, black, or white, and features a metal exterior with a flat front that eschews the handgrip that you?ll often find on cameras in this class. The rear of the camera features a rubber thumb grip, making it easy to hold with security and comfort. The black body ships with a matching lens, while the other colors include a lens finished in silver. The camera weighs in at 9.3 ounces and measures 2.5 by 4.3 by 1.5 inches (HWD), only slightly smaller than the 2.8-by-4.5-by-1.6-inch E-PL2. ?The included 14-42mm M. Zuiko zoom lens adds about 3.9 ounces of weight and 2 inches of depth to the camera. The lens has a locking mechanism that allows you to collapse the barrel, making it a bit easier to fit into your camera bag. At 2.7 by 4.4 by 1.3 inches and 9.4 ounces, Panasonic?s most similar Micro Four Thirds camera, the Lumix DMC-GF2?($699.95, 4 stars), is a similar size and weight to the E-PL3.

A slimmer form factor comes at the expense of a built-in flash, which was a feature of the E-PL2. Olympus includes a flash attachment, which occupies the hot shoe and accessory port. Thankfully the flash doesn?t add a lot of bulk to the camera, so if you don?t use another accessory like an electronic viewfinder, or, say, Olympus?s Penpal Bluetooth module ($79.99, 3 stars), you can just leave the flash on the camera all the time. It?s easy enough to disable: Lower its position and it is off, raise it and it is active.

The bulk of the camera?s control buttons are located on the rear. You get a 4-way jog wheel with a center OK button, along with Info and Menu buttons, just below the thumb grip. The jog wheel allows you to directly adjust Exposure Compensation, Flash Mode, Drive Mode, and Autofocus Area. Running across the top of the LCD are Playback, Delete, Function, Magnify, and Movie Record buttons. The Scene Selection Dial, Shutter Release, and Power Button are located on the top of the camera.

The tilting 3-inch LCD can be adjusted to a near-perpendicular angle for waist-level shooting, or to an approximate 45-degree angle when you?d like to hold the camera over your head. Its 460,000-dot resolution is roughly half that of the Sony NEX-C3, and looking at the cameras side by side, the NEX clearly wins on sharpness. The display on the E-PL3 is very bright, but I still saw some glare in bright sunlight. Adjusting the LCD?s angle helps compensate for this.

The camera?s menu system can be a bit frustrating to use. Clicking the OK button brings up a series of options on the right side of the display. You?re only able to scroll through these using the up/down buttons on the jog wheel?scrolling clockwise or counterclockwise will adjust settings within the highlighted option. This seems a bit backward, as scrolling through menus and using the left/right buttons to select options is more intuitive. The options take about a half-second to appear after hitting the OK button, thanks in part to Olympus?s decision to use an animated transition to bring them on screen.

Olympus has integrated a series of tutorials and shooting tips into the camera?s menu system. These include very basic suggestions for framing shots in general, as well as specific advice for taking photos of children, pets, food, and flowers. Having these on hand doesn?t hurt, but the information presented is extremely basic. Want to take better pictures of your child? The camera will tell you to use continuous shooting mode and select good photos later. You just might be better off thumbing through a book or taking a photography class if you?d like to improve your craft.

There?s an in-camera Art Filter mode, which allows you to choose one of six filters to apply to your images. Unlike other cameras that require you to apply these after you?ve shot an image, the results of the filter are shown in real time on the camera?s LCD. You can choose from Pop Art, Soft Focus, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, or Dramatic Tone, each of which is meant to emulate a particular photographic technique. These can be a lot of fun to play with, especially if you want to give a unique look to your photos without laboring with filters in Photoshop or iPhoto.

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