OM-3 D-pad

[MNE]

Firstly, I should confess that I never had a camera with a joystick, but I intended to have one on my next new camera. Here’s why:

D-pad on my E-M10 II is very hard to use for me. I guess I have fat thumbs and hit the OK button when I want a directional arrow. I have much less of an issue with my E-M1 II. I want an OM-3 for it’s built-in highly customizable profiles, live ND, better AF, etc. I am moving more and more into B&W and want to reduce my time spent post-processing.

I won’t be able to handle an OM-3 because the only stores within commuting distance deal mainly with used equipment.

What are your experiences using the D-pad on the OM-3?

My other worry is the placement of the color profile dial, and the possibility of irritation of my fingers rubbing against it. Comments on that would be helpful.

--
Mark

 

[Sam Bennett]

Firstly, I should confess that I never had a camera with a joystick, but I intended to have one on my next new camera. Here’s why:

D-pad on my E-M10 II is very hard to use for me. I guess I have fat thumbs and hit the OK button when I want a directional arrow. I have much less of an issue with my E-M1 II. I want an OM-3 for it’s built-in highly customizable profiles, live ND, better AF, etc. I am moving more and more into B&W and want to reduce my time spent post-processing.

I won’t be able to handle an OM-3 because the only stores within commuting distance deal mainly with used equipment.

What are your experiences using the D-pad on the OM-3?

Well, a couple things:

1. I don't find I miss the joystick of the OM-1 most of the time. This is because I use the Subject Detection modes and typically can use "All Area" mode and don't have to worry about settings particular AF Point.
2. The D-Pad on the OM-3 isn't dramatically smaller than the OM-1's but it definitely is smaller. I haven't found it problematic in general, but I haven't tried it with gloves and suspect that if I did, or had larger fingers it could be fiddly.

My other worry is the placement of the color profile dial, and the possibility of irritation of my fingers rubbing against it. Comments on that would be helpful.

I personally do not find this problematic except with some grips. If I'm not using a grip, it's actually just another point of "purchase" and helps with handling. If you sometimes want to use an accessory grip, I would look at getting the Haoge or SmallRig grips, since they provide the most space between the grip and the dial - IMO, the Leofoto grip places it too close to the dial, so if you're really trying to hold the grip like you would on the E-M1 II, you'll likely find it frustrating.

That said, the Leofoto is still my preferred grip in instances where I just want it for a bit more purchase/stability when pulling it in/out of my Spider Holster. It is my defacto setup for hiking so I have a bit more confidence I'm not going to drop it off the side of a cliff, fire tower, etc.

 

[David5833]

Firstly, I should confess that I never had a camera with a joystick, but I intended to have one on my next new camera.

FWIW, I sometimes struggle to use the joystick on my OM-1. It shouldn't be hard to find, it looks like a good location for it, it's distinctly tactile, there is just no reason for it to be hard for me to find but sometimes it is. In contrast, the D-pad is easy for me to find and use, I never have a problem with it. I do use the joystick, but if the OM-1 didn't have one I wouldn't reject it for that reason.

...I want an OM-3 for it’s built-in highly customizable profiles, live ND, better AF, etc. I am moving more and more into B&W and want to reduce my time spent post-processing.

If reduced mass or styling isn't the major appeal, maybe an OM-1.2 for about the same cost would be a good choice, there are fewer compromises and you could use the joystick or not. Do you really care about the "Creative Dial"?

 

[Sam Bennett]

Firstly, I should confess that I never had a camera with a joystick, but I intended to have one on my next new camera.

FWIW, I sometimes struggle to use the joystick on my OM-1. It shouldn't be hard to find, it looks like a good location for it, it's distinctly tactile, there is just no reason for it to be hard for me to find but sometimes it is. In contrast, the D-pad is easy for me to find and use, I never have a problem with it. I do use the joystick, but if the OM-1 didn't have one I wouldn't reject it for that reason.

...I want an OM-3 for it’s built-in highly customizable profiles, live ND, better AF, etc. I am moving more and more into B&W and want to reduce my time spent post-processing.

If reduced mass or styling isn't the major appeal, maybe an OM-1.2 for about the same cost would be a good choice, there are fewer compromises and you could use the joystick or not. Do you really care about the "Creative Dial"?

Keep in mind that it's not just a dial, it's a different level of customizability. Crucially, the OM-1 doesn't have the same Color Filter options for it's Monochrome mode. The OM-1 has 5 fixed Color Filter levels - you can choose which type you want to use, but the OM-3 goes one step further and allows you to control the strength of the filter (add adds 3 more colors to filter by). The OM-3 also provides the Shading Control (vignetting) and Grain Effect.

 

[Michael Meissner]

Firstly, I should confess that I never had a camera with a joystick, but I intended to have one on my next new camera. Here’s why:

D-pad on my E-M10 II is very hard to use for me. I guess I have fat thumbs and hit the OK button when I want a directional arrow. I have much less of an issue with my E-M1 II. I want an OM-3 for it’s built-in highly customizable profiles, live ND, better AF, etc. I am moving more and more into B&W and want to reduce my time spent post-processing.

I won’t be able to handle an OM-3 because the only stores within commuting distance deal mainly with used equipment.

What are your experiences using the D-pad on the OM-3?

My other worry is the placement of the color profile dial, and the possibility of irritation of my fingers rubbing against it. Comments on that would be helpful.

I found I hated the joystick when I got my OM-1, and I only use the direction arrows on the OM-1, just like I do on the OM-3, and the other Olympus cameras in the past. Part of the issue is with the d-pad, I'm used to each time I press an arrow key, it moves a finite amount of distance whereas with the joystick, it moves while you press the joystick and the amount of movement is variable.

With the newer cameras (IIRC, starting with the E-m5 mark II), you have the option of enabling the touch screen while using the viewfinder. I personally hate this option in part because my nose tends move the focus point, but a lot of people like it. You might want to experiment with the E-m1 mark II to see if you like this option.

I do wish the color dial was placed in a different location, such as on the left side of the camera. I realize the film OM-1/2/3/4 had some sort of control in that location in which the color dial for the Pen-F and OM-3 pays homage to. However, from the pictures, the film OM's control lever does not stick out as much.

I find that using either an add-on grip (such as the Lefoto grip or the 3D printed grip from the ebay seller shutterspeedblog) or the new generation of leather 1/2 cases that include a grip (such as from the ebay seller cam-in-leather) that I generally don't notice the color wheel at all.

Even without the grips/cases, over time I notice the color wheel less. I guess I grip the camera differently to avoid the color wheel.

Given you are coming from the E-m10 mark II or E-m1 mark II, navigating the menu is a little different in the OM-1 mark I/II, OM-3, and OM-5 mark II than it was for the OM-5 mark I and the Olympus cameras. I prefer the new menu over the old menu, and one of the reasons for me buying the OM-3 is so I could retire the E-m5 mark III as my second camera and have only one menu system.

If you use shutter releases, note that the OM-3 does not have a port for a wired shutter releases. I found a way to use a film camera shutter release to press the shutter button if you want me to post it.

The OM-3 and OM-5 mark II will not use the old generation of bluetooth shutter releases (RM-WR1). They can use the new generation (RM-WR2), but unfortunately the RM-WR2 is very hard to find.

 

[David5833]

Firstly, I should confess that I never had a camera with a joystick, but I intended to have one on my next new camera.

FWIW, I sometimes struggle to use the joystick on my OM-1. It shouldn't be hard to find, it looks like a good location for it, it's distinctly tactile, there is just no reason for it to be hard for me to find but sometimes it is. In contrast, the D-pad is easy for me to find and use, I never have a problem with it. I do use the joystick, but if the OM-1 didn't have one I wouldn't reject it for that reason.

...I want an OM-3 for it’s built-in highly customizable profiles, live ND, better AF, etc. I am moving more and more into B&W and want to reduce my time spent post-processing.

If reduced mass or styling isn't the major appeal, maybe an OM-1.2 for about the same cost would be a good choice, there are fewer compromises and you could use the joystick or not. Do you really care about the "Creative Dial"?

Keep in mind that it's not just a dial, it's a different level of customizability. Crucially, the OM-1 doesn't have the same Color Filter options for it's Monochrome mode. The OM-1 has 5 fixed Color Filter levels - you can choose which type you want to use, but the OM-3 goes one step further and allows you to control the strength of the filter (add adds 3 more colors to filter by). The OM-3 also provides the Shading Control (vignetting) and Grain Effect.

Maybe the OM-3 is just the right camera for the OP. It doesn't have a joystick like the OP thought was important, but maybe that really doesn't matter in the end. There are a lot of things it doesn't have compared to the OM-1.2 but the special features of the OM-3 are appealing too. Anyway, if the concern is about ergonomics, the only way to decide about that is to get hands on one and see.

 

[MNE]

Thank you for all your excellent responses.

I should explain that I am interested in the OM-3 primarily due to its creative dial. If I had access to those color profiles and the same level of customizability, I would go for the OM-1 II. Size and handling are secondary concerns.

I found a place in my state where I can rent an OM-3 for a few days for a reasonable cost.

 

[Emerald Slick]

When I had the E-M1 II, which doesn't have the joystick, I used the front and back wheels to move the focus point. I found this to be much affective the the Arrow-Pad. Some may disagree but it was difficult while my eye was on the EVF the had to sneak my thumb into the pad. I got used to using the front and back wheels that moving the focus point became natural. I have never handled the OM-3, but I think the front and back wheels work the same way for moving focus point. It will be worthwhile to check it out.