E-P3 is a good upgrade from an E-PL1

sbrasure wrote:

Having had the E-PL 5 before getting the E OM-10, I would suggest skipping the PL-5 and pick up a good deal on the E OM-10. The built in viewfinder as well as built in flash along with the better controls make it a much better camera than the PL-5. And, adding the optional grip gives it even a better feel and balance when using a zoom lens such as the 75-300 mm lens. Don't get me wrong....the PL-5 takes really good pics, but I enjoy the OM-10 so much more than the PL-2 and PL-5 bodies that I've owned. And, I also picked up those cameras and my OM-10 used and have saved a bundle!!

Most of what I know about Olympus MFT I learned here, and the rest from Guy Parsons.:)

Olympus has made the Pen series and the OMD series of MFT cameras. Oly also made wireless MFT camera named the Olympus Air, for use with a smart phone, but for traditional cameras

The first MFT Pen was the E-P1. This was followed by the E-P2, E-P3, E-5, and the Pen F. These were "flagship", high dollar, heavy, metal construction, high grade cameras that do not have a viewfinder, except for the Pen F that has a viewfinder on the body. The EP 1,2, and 3 used the 12 mp sensor, the E-P5 used the 16mp, and the Pen F the 20mp sensor. These cameras cost about twice what the Pen Lite (PL) series cameras cost.

The cheaper line of Pen cameras started with the E-PL 1, followed by the E-PL2, E-PL3, EPL5, EPL6, EPL7, and now the E-PL8. They have less features than the flagship Pen cameras, cost about half as much, but use the same basic sensor, a 12mp for the PL 1,2, and 3, and a 16mp for the PL5,6,7, and 8. As the camera gets newer there are more features, Wifi, and flip screens.

Olympus tried a Mini line of Pen cameras, with very basic controls, in the EM-P1 and EM-P2. These were aimed at the "point and shoot" market.

The OMD series of cameras is a separate line of "professional" DSLR styled cameras, with the OMD-1 (now Mark II) OMD-5 (now Mark II), and OMD-10 (now Mark II) in descending rank of quality, features, and cost. The OMD series all have a viewfinder above the viewing screen.

Through all the years and all those models, Olympus has used three basic sensors for all their MFT cameras, the 12mp, 16mp, and the new 20mp.

Of all the MFT models Oly has ever made, the first wildly successful Olympus Pen camera was the E-PL1. It launched Guy Parsons on his never ending quest to catalog the Oly MFT Pen series, and for those of us who love them, no camera Oly has ever made since quite has the styling and charm of the original Pen Lite One (E-PL1).  I include Guy's link here for those who have lost it.

http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~parsog/olyepl1/01-epl1-menu.html

There are some of us that like a little rangefinder styled Pen camera, and others of us that want a small DSLR styled camera, and Olympus tries to find customers from both groups.  Olympus cameras are like everything else in this old sin cussed world, the more money you pay the more camera you get, but the image quality of the cameras seems to be dictated by the sensor, and not how fancy the camera is.

Oly makes and has made so many excellent models of MFT cameras that it's very difficult for some of us to chose which one to "upgrade" to.  But of the Pen series, the top end cameras were the P series and the economy series was the PL, and PML minis.

I've haunted the camera shop at Columbia, Missouri, and played with all the current models of Olympus cameras,  if I had to pick a current model of OMD series camera, that one would be the OMD-10 Mk. II.  It's smaller than the more expensive OMD-5 Mk. II, and brand new OMD-1 Mk. II.

But the flagship Pen series cameras today are the Pen F, the P-5 having been discontinued. The PL-8 is still about half the price of the Pen F flagship model, and uses a 16mp sensor.

If image quality was the last and only consideration for a camera, then the full frame DSLR would rule the world.

But any digital camera has to get up awfully early in the morning to have significantly better image quality  than the lowly E-PL1.   The current E-PL8 and OMD 16mp sensor cameras would be slightly better, and the OMD-1 Mk. II  and Pen F  20mp sensor cameras even better.

But the beauty of the MFT cameras are that I can take any MFT lens I have and mount it on a brand new Olympus or Panasonic top of the line camera and it works.  Compared to DSLRs the MFT is smaller and lighter, and image quality is about equal to the consumer level DSLR cameras, and not far below the professional full frame DSLRs.

So far all four Olympus MFT cameras I've bought have cost about $100 each, and this P-3 is by far and away the best one.  The advantage of lurking here on DP is you get to see and compare images of everybody else's cameras and learn from them.

The next step up from the 12mp sensor cameras in the flagship line of Pen cameras is the P-5.  It has five way stabilization, a bigger 16mp sensor, WiFi, and no doubt more bells and whistles hidden inside the menus.

But for now I'm learning all the new features of the P-3, and having a lot of fun doing it.

When I figure out how to run this P-5 I think I want another, better Pen series camera.

But Olympus gives me the choice of the OMD series, and I like that.