Well, the IS-3DLX arrived -- finally. UPS knows how to make a day REALLY
LONG! I can't tell you how many times I hit the www.ups.com web site
checking the status of the package.
Anyway 5:55pm the unique sound of an ugly brown truck pulls up in front of
the house. I quickly hand off Allison to my wife and meet the driver
halfway down the sidewalk. Am I eager????? I have the box almost open by
the time I'm back in the house and tossing peanuts everywhere. Karen is
none too happy about the disaster area I'm creating, but she understands.
It is, after all, Christmas in February!
First impression: It's big! The IS-1 was much smaller in size and didn't
have quite the "hips." Second impression: It's heavy! I immediately
recognized that I will have to change my holding technique to keep messers
Carpel and Tunnel in line. This camera is heavier than the IS-1. Third
impression: They fixed almost every ergonomic dyficiency that the IS-1
had. They moved a lot of buttons around. I really like the shift knob
surrounding the shutter release. I just wish they would have put a
backlight in the LCD display...
Focusing: It is faster and accurate. I quickly learned how to turn the
obnoxious beep off though. The beep has its place, just not during wedding
shoots! : (
Remote Control: Slick. Especially for "bulb" exposures. Just click open,
click close. The angle and distance for the remote to work is putrid. I'll
have to go buy one of those IR Repeaters at Radio Shack so I can use this
"upstage" at weddings. I noticed that the instructions said 5 years of
normal service life and no replacable battery inside. This stinks. Any
idea if one can "hot-wire" a replacement battery, just in case. I doubt
Olympus will be selling replacement remotes in five years. Hmm, the remote
is almost the perfect size to open battery covers on OM bodies.
Viewfinder: I'm glad I got another 0, -2 diopter. The IS-1 focus screens
are set optically a bit more distant than the OM cameras. Instead of five
feet, it appears to be about seven feet. Brightness is fantastic. Is this
what the new 2-series screens are like? If so, my order is going in this
week! The screen is sharper and less "lazer-etched" than in the IS-1.
Program-mode features: What happened to the auto-sizing portrait mode? I
really liked that, believe it or not. I haven't seen both shutter priority
and aperature priority modes since the Canon A-1! Nice touch.
Power-focus: Much better location for the button.
Power-zoom: Two-speed zoom. I love it, except high-speed is too slow.
Almost as bad as my Sony camcorder.
If somebody wants to know what Olympus is capable of doing with an OM-5
should look at the IS-3(000). The only major items missing is the OM lens
mount and OTF metering. This camera is a serious shooting machine and
cannot be classified as a p&s, although that is how I will use it 750f
the time.
Big problem: I have to fight Karen over usage rights. Maybe I can pick up
a real p&s for her.
Ken Norton
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