There's now three websites talking about issues with the E-3 interface (that I know about). These AFAIK are photographers, not armchair guys.
That's Wrotniak who thought the UI was committee inspired design, Dough Brown at Luminous Landscape, and now John Foster:
biofos.com; Olympus E-3 review.
Check the "8 week update" for some interesting comments in that area.
And when I read all of these all I can do is nod in agreement. Now, I want to make one thing clear, while it's often feels nice to read a similar take on your point of view that further expands what you were thinking about - and that Olympus may start taking some notes for a post-E-3 design, I am not pretending by these comments that this will be everyone's experience.
Whoever likes the E-3 as is and works for you- big kudos, happy shooting, etc. That's great. Some people use program auto a lot, and if that works for you, well, great!
Just seems that for a segment of us a common theme on the E-3 UI is emerging. I think to me this sums up some of my recent conclusions when switching back to th e-410:
"Try as I will, the camera simply refuses to integrate with me and seems out of balance. It is nothing major, no single point that prevents this; just a few small (and to some users perhaps insignificant) things that combine to make the camera seem ill at ease with itself. In other words I have made a lot of allowances. If the E-3 simply has to be as large and bulky as it is, it should handle perfectly or else its size becomes more of an issue."
"It is also true that some of these observations/criticisms can be levelled at other E-cameras; but it is the E-3's weight and bulk that exacerbate these issues to the point when they become tiresome in regular use." (John Foster)
I am giving the E-3 a good spin this weekend.. if coming monday I still feel that way, I am selling it with reluctance because it really is a great camera. Or maybe I should wait first to confirm whatever e-410 successor (or e-510) comes along, will have the same sensor/jpeg color, etc.
To those that feel "odd" with the E-3, does this echo your experience? Is it a different "niggle" that bothers you? (interface wise, I would prefer to keep the discussion to the interface and not DR this, ISO noise that, thanks! )
- Raist
PS: This is really a post I did in dpreview, so the language is a bit more umm political in a way than I would use around Photocamel. dpreview can be nasty
