Olympus E-P3 Optics

Zoom
Typical zoom range for a kit lens, with above average performance.

The Olympus PEN E-P3 is available bundled with an Olympus M.ZUIKO 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II R Micro Four Thirds lens. The kit lens possesses a very typical optical zoom range of 3x, and the 35mm equivalent focal range is about 28-84mm, because of the E-P3's 2x "crop factor." Results were very good at 14mm, with strong detail throughout most of the frame. Coma distortion in the trees was low, and chromatic aberration fairly well controlled, with only a hint of flare around some of the white trim. Results were also very good at the 42mm setting, with good sharpness and even less less flare and chromatic aberration. Overall, well above average performance here for an inexpensive kit lens. See below for comments on macro performance, geometric distortion, corner softness, etc.

Macro
An average sized minium area, with very good detail. Flash did a fair job throttling down, though exposure is slightly dim.

As with zoom performance, the Olympus PEN E-P3's macro performance will depend entirely on the lens in use. However, with the 14-42mm II kit lens set to 42mm, the Olympus E-P3 captured a fairly average minimum area measuring 2.76 x 2.07 inches (70 x 53 millimeters). Resolution and detail were both very good, with only a hint of softening in the extreme corners. (Most lenses have some softening in the corners at macro distances, and the Olympus E-P3's kit lens has much less than most.) Extreme corners showed a very small amount of light falloff, though that's not unusual. The built-in flash did a reasonable job of throttling down at this close distance, resulting in a slightly underexposed image. Overall, very good performance here.

Geometric Distortion
Low to moderate geometric distortion with the 14-42mm II kit lens in JPEGs, much higher than average distortion in uncorrected RAW files.

When shooting JPEGs, the Olympus PEN E-P3's 14-42mm kit lens produced about 0.5 percent barrel distortion at wide-angle, which is actually a little better than average and only slightly noticeable in some of its images. At the telephoto end, there was almost no visible distortion, only one pixel of pincushion (about 0.03%). This is the tendency for the lens to bend straight lines outward (like a barrel -- usually at wide-angle) or inward (like a pincushion -- usually at telephoto).

To see how much correction is taking place in the camera, we converted RAW files from the above shots with dcraw, which does not correct for distortion. As you can see, at wide-angle, the barrel distortion is very high at about 2.5%, though pincushion distortion at telephoto is very low, almost nil. We expect to see high distortion at wide-angle from smaller interchangeable lenses though, so it's nothing to be concerned about unless you are using a RAW converter which does not understand the embedded "opcodes" to perform distortion corrections automatically. Most RAW converters these days are capable of applying distortion correction automatically, as specified by the manufacturer. (There's going to be some loss of resolution as a result of such correction, because pixels in the corners of the frame are being "stretched" to correct for the distortion. Obviously, a lens that doesn't require such correction, and is also sharp in the corners to begin with would be preferable, but relaxing constraints on barrel and pincushion distortion likely brings other benefits in the lens design, such as cost, size and weight.)

Chromatic Aberration and Corner Sharpness
Moderate chromatic aberration at wide-angle with the 14-42mm II kit lens; lower levels at full telephoto. Some mild to moderate corner softening at wide open.

Chromatic Aberration. Chromatic aberration in the corners with the E-P3's 14-42mm II kit lens was moderate and slightly noticeable at wide-angle (14mm) when wide-open (maximum aperture). At full telephoto (42mm), C.A. was lower, and not as noticeable.  In both cases, the color fringing gradually reduces in brightness and width as it approaches the center of the image, where it is practically nonexistent.

The Olympus E-P3 does not appear to be reducing C.A. in its JPEGs, as uncorrected RAW files have similar amounts.

Corner Softness. The Olympus E-P3's 14-42mm kit lens produced some slightly soft corners at full wide angle, with the right-hand-side corners a bit softer than the left, though telephoto performance in this regard was somewhat better. The center was not as sharp as wide-angle, though softness is very slight. There's also some mild vignetting (corner shading), as indicated by the darker corner crops compared to the center.

Good performance for a kit lens here, especially considering the lens was wide-open for these shots. (Corner sharpness generally improves when a lens is "stopped-down" a couple of f-stops below full aperture. See below.)

Chromatic Aberration. With the aperture stopped down to f/8, chromatic aberration in the corners with the E-P3's 14-42mm II kit lens was moderate but fairly bright at wide-angle (14mm). At full telephoto (42mm), C.A. was less obtrusive, with dull red pixels that halo one side of the target lines and a hint of blue is just visible on the opposite sides. In both cases, color fringing gradually reduces in brightness and width as it approaches the center of the image, though a trace is noticeable at center.

Corner Softness. Corner sharpness is better at f/8, with very little deviation in sharpness from center to corner, at both wide angle and telephoto. Vignetting also improved to the point of being negligible. Again, very good performance from the kit lens.