<s>
The	O
Olympus	B-Algorithm
PEN	I-Algorithm
E-P3	I-Algorithm
announced	O
on	O
30	O
June	O
2011	O
is	O
Olympus	O
Corporation	O
's	O
seventh	O
camera	O
that	O
adheres	O
to	O
the	O
Micro	B-Operating_System
Four	I-Operating_System
Thirds	I-Operating_System
(	O
MFT	O
)	O
system	O
design	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
E-P3	O
succeeds	O
the	O
Olympus	B-Algorithm
PEN	I-Algorithm
E-P2	I-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
concert	O
with	O
two	O
other	O
models	O
,	O
the	O
Olympus	B-Algorithm
PEN	I-Algorithm
E-PL3	I-Algorithm
(	O
Lite	O
version	O
of	O
E-P3	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Olympus	B-Algorithm
PEN	I-Algorithm
E-PM1	I-Algorithm
(	O
a	O
new	O
"	O
Mini	O
"	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
PEN	O
camera	O
line	O
with	O
similar	O
features	O
to	O
the	O
E-PL3	B-Algorithm
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EP-3	O
addresses	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
concerns	O
that	O
critics	O
had	O
about	O
previous	O
PEN	O
models	O
,	O
notably	O
,	O
slow	O
handling	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
slow	O
autofocus	O
speed	O
and	O
difficulty	O
seeing	O
the	O
LCD	B-Device
panel	I-Device
under	O
certain	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
bright	O
,	O
sunny	O
)	O
conditions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
E-P3	O
increases	O
autofocus	O
speed	O
through	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
120Hz	O
refresh	O
rate	O
for	O
its	O
sensor	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
technology	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
recently	O
released	O
Panasonic	B-Device
Lumix	I-Device
DMC-GH2	I-Device
and	O
G3	B-Device
cameras	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
E-P3	O
now	O
uses	O
a	O
capacitive	O
touchscreen	O
for	O
creative	O
camera	O
control	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
new	O
OLED	B-Device
type	O
display	O
that	O
is	O
supposed	O
to	O
vastly	O
improve	O
performance	O
in	O
sunny	O
conditions	O
,	O
and	O
off-angle	O
viewing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EP-3	O
continues	O
with	O
the	O
proprietary	O
Accessory	O
Port	O
,	O
a	O
power	O
and	O
communication	O
port	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
various	O
accessories	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
an	O
external	O
stereo	O
microphone	O
for	O
HD	O
video	O
recording	O
,	O
LED	O
macro	O
lights	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
bluetooth	B-Protocol
communications	O
adapter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
accessory	O
port	O
continues	O
to	O
be	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
high	O
resolution	O
,	O
optional	O
hotshoe	B-Algorithm
mounted	O
VF-2	O
electronic	B-Algorithm
viewfinder	I-Algorithm
(	O
EVF	B-Algorithm
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VF-2	O
had	O
been	O
criticized	O
for	O
being	O
very	O
expensive	O
and	O
for	O
not	O
having	O
a	O
locking	O
device	O
,	O
with	O
some	O
users	O
reporting	O
easy	O
dislodgement	O
of	O
the	O
VF-2	O
from	O
the	O
hotshoe	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
address	O
these	O
criticisms	O
,	O
in	O
July	O
2011	O
,	O
Olympus	O
announced	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
an	O
optional	O
VF-3	O
EVF	B-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
has	O
a	O
lower	O
resolution	O
,	O
a	O
locking	O
device	O
,	O
and	O
probably	O
most	O
importantly	O
a	O
US$100	O
lower	O
MSRP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
accessory	O
VF-3	O
EVF	B-Algorithm
was	O
also	O
available	O
separately	O
for	O
US	O
$180.00	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Micro	B-Operating_System
Four	I-Operating_System
Thirds	I-Operating_System
(	O
MFT	O
)	O
system	O
design	O
standard	O
was	O
jointly	O
announced	O
in	O
2008	O
by	O
Olympus	O
and	O
Panasonic	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
further	O
evolution	O
of	O
the	O
similarly	O
named	O
predecessor	O
Four	B-Architecture
Thirds	I-Architecture
System	I-Architecture
pioneered	O
by	O
Olympus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Micro	B-Operating_System
Four-Thirds	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
standard	O
uses	O
the	O
same	O
sized	O
sensor	O
(	O
nominal	O
4000	O
pixels	O
by	O
3000	O
pixels	O
)	O
as	O
the	O
original	O
Four	B-Architecture
Thirds	I-Architecture
system	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
potential	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
smaller	O
MFT	O
system	O
sensor	O
(	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
market	O
leaders	O
Canon	O
and	O
Nikon	O
APS-C	B-Algorithm
and	O
full	B-Algorithm
frame	I-Algorithm
sized	O
)	O
are	O
smaller	O
and	O
lighter	O
lenses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MFT	O
sensor	O
has	O
a	O
crop	O
factor	O
of	O
2.0	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
35mm	O
film	O
equivalent	O
full	B-Algorithm
frame	I-Algorithm
sensors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
comparison	O
,	O
the	O
more	O
popular	O
consumer	O
(	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
professional	O
)	O
DSLRs	B-Device
such	O
as	O
those	O
made	O
by	O
Canon	O
,	O
Nikon	O
and	O
Sony	O
have	O
1.5	O
to	O
1.6	O
crop	O
factor	O
APS-C	B-Algorithm
sensors	I-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
means	O
larger	O
and	O
heavier	O
lens	O
designs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
older	O
Four	B-Architecture
Thirds	I-Architecture
system	I-Architecture
design	O
standard	O
allowed	O
the	O
incorporation	O
of	O
a	O
single	B-Algorithm
lens	I-Algorithm
reflex	I-Algorithm
(	O
SLR	B-Algorithm
)	O
camera	O
design	O
including	O
a	O
mirror	O
box	O
and	O
pentaprism	O
based	O
optical	O
viewfinder	O
system	O
,	O
the	O
MFT	O
system	O
design	O
standard	O
sought	O
to	O
pursue	O
a	O
technically	O
different	O
camera	O
,	O
and	O
specifically	O
slimmed	O
down	O
the	O
key	O
physical	O
specifications	O
which	O
eliminated	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
include	O
the	O
traditional	O
complex	O
optical	O
path	O
and	O
the	O
bulky	O
mirror	O
box	O
needed	O
for	O
a	O
SLR	B-Algorithm
optical	O
viewfinder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
MFT	O
uses	O
either	O
a	O
built-in	O
(	O
Panasonic	O
)	O
or	O
optional	O
(	O
Olympus/Panasonic	O
)	O
compact	O
electronic	B-Algorithm
viewfinder	I-Algorithm
(	O
EVF	B-Algorithm
)	O
and/or	O
LCD	B-Device
back	O
panel	O
displaying	O
a	O
Live	B-Device
view	I-Device
from	O
the	O
main	O
image	O
sensor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Use	O
of	O
an	O
EVF/back	O
panel	O
LCD	B-Device
and	O
smaller	O
four	B-Architecture
thirds	I-Architecture
image	B-Algorithm
sensor	I-Algorithm
format	I-Algorithm
and	O
allows	O
for	O
smaller	O
and	O
lighter	O
camera	O
bodies	O
and	O
lenses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
many	O
theoretically	O
obsolete	O
35mm	O
film	O
camera	O
lenses	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
existing	O
current	O
lenses	O
for	O
APS-C	B-Algorithm
and	O
full	B-Algorithm
frame	I-Algorithm
DSLR	I-Algorithm
's	O
are	O
now	O
usable	O
on	O
MFT	O
cameras	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
the	O
MFT	O
system	O
design	O
allows	O
current	O
DSLR	B-Device
lenses	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
well	O
,	O
although	O
only	O
with	O
manual	O
focus	O
and	O
aperture	O
control	O
.	O
</s>
