Olympus has announced the E-3, the new flagship of the Olympus E-system D-SLR cameras for professionals and advanced photography enthusiasts.

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The E-3 has been carefully designed to offer demanding professionals the highest possible levels of picture quality, mobility and reliability.  Ruggedly constructed from lightweight, rigid thixomold magnesium alloy to withstand the most extreme operating conditions, the dust- and splashproof E-3 boasts substantial breakthroughs in performance that include the world’s fastest AF with an 11-point-full twin cross sensor system, high speed sequential shooting capability at 5 frames/sec and a high speed shutter up to 1/8000 sec, says Olympus.

Image capturing performance is supported by an industry-leading built-in image stabilisation mechanism. This mechanism has been further advanced to effectively eliminate blur with a camera shake compensation effect of up to 5 EV steps.  Picture quality is further assured by a powerful 10.1 megapixel High Speed Live MOS Sensor and the high speed TruePic III image processing engine, while increased data reading speed enables high speed sequential shooting. 

The Olympus E-3 is also incorporates Live View technology, pioneered by Olympus, allowing photographers to compose their shots on a rear-panel LCD monitor.  Now made even more versatile with a dual-axis flexible-angle HyperCrystal panel that can be rotated for easier vertical shooting, Live View promises to expand the world of photographic expression into new and unchartered territory.

Traditional shooting styles are also supported with a larger optical viewfinder that provides a brighter, more comfortable view with a 100% field of view and 1.15x magnification.

The E-3 also offers:
– Loss-less compression of RAW data without image degradation
– High precision 49 zone metering system
– Secure grip to enhance mobility
– Instant response control system
– Super Control Panel with excellent readability and controllability
– Built-in flash with commander function
– Dual slots for multiple storage media.

The Olympus E-3 (body) has an RRP of $2499.

See: www.olympus.com.au