It's been almost four and a half years since the Olympus E-1 debuted and now it's time to bring you the latest E-3, which is a ten-megapixel (High Speed Live MOS sensor) professional digital SLR. This new masterpiece of the Four Thirds Standard-based Olympus E-System represents the ultimate choice for the professional photographer. It boasts of the world's fastest auto-focusing speeds via an advanced AF system and new ZUIKO DIGITAL SWD (Supersonic Wave Drive) lenses. Highest levels of speed and image quality as well as Live View capabilities are enjoyed with this camera. With shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th sec. and 5fps sequential shooting (with a 19 image RAW buffer in burst mode), the E-3 provides the photographer a vital edge to help capture that crucial shot. The E-3 provides photographers with the convenience of a continuous Live View on its multi-angle, 2.5"/6.4cm HyperCrystal LCD. In addition to the built-in flash (GN13), the camera allows wireless control of flash units, such as the new Olympus FL-36R and FL-50R, in up to three groups. The camera also features TruePic III image processing engine.

The Olympus E-3 Body only price will be £1099 ($2237) in the UK. It will be available from end of November.

The Olympus E-3 – main features:

Speed

-World's fastest autofocus for quick and precise image capture

- Fully-biaxial high-speed 11-point AF system

- 1/8000th sec. high-speed and high-precision shutter control, X: 1/250

- 5fps sequential shooting with 19 image RAW buffer

Image Quality

- High-performance built-in image stabiliser to stabilise all lenses
(up to 5 EV steps) with two modes

- High Speed 10 Megapixel Live MOS sensor

- Qualified image processing with new TruePic III

- High image quality with a variety of bright dedicated-to-digital ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses

Live View

- 2.5"/6.4cm multi-angle HyperCrystal LCD for greatest flexibility

- Real-time effect monitoring

- Pre-control over white balance and exposure compensation

- Preview of Shadow Adjustment Technology (SAT)

- 5x/7x/10x magnified view for precise focusing – especially for macro shots

Reliability

- Large viewfinder with professional-level coverage of 100% and 1.15x magnification for accurate image control

- Spotless photography with most effective dust reduction system (Supersonic Wave Filter)

- Splashproof body and lens system

- Professional quality shutter life of 150K operations

Additional features of the Olympus E-3:

- Based on the Four Thirds Standard

- Ergonomic design of body, control buttons and GUI for easy operation

- AE/AF lock functionality for individual customization

- Second display for Super Control Panel

- ISO 100-3200 for wide-ranging sensitivity

- Accurate white balance with two sensors

- Built-in flash (GN13) and wireless flash control directly from the camera body.

- Wireless flash control in up to 3 groups (separate press release available for Olympus FL-50R and FL-36R flash units)

- High-speed USB 2.0 interface

- High-speed data writing and lossless RAW compression for quick processing

- Simultaneous writing of RAW and JPEG

- Dual memory slot for CompactFlash and xD-Picture Cards
(incl. support for UDMA High-Speed CF cards and Microdrive)

New accessories for the Olympus E-3:

- Power Grip HLD-4 for ideal portrait shooting and long battery life

- Wireless flash units FL-50R and FL-36R

- Soft rubber dioptre-correcting Eye-cups DE-P3 (+3m-1)
and DE-N3 (+3m-1)

- Focusing Screen FS-3 grid matte screen dividing image area in 4 x 6 sections. (Purchase & installation via Olympus Service Dept. only)