jstrawman wrote:
This is the OM ouitlet store. Several other refurbished bodies and lenses available.
Yes they have moved to eBay a year or two ago. Usually the prices are terrible, you can get mint lenses/bodies for way cheaper anywhere else. Every now and then they have a good sale, though the good stuff usually goes quick. Looks like the OM3 body and body/lens are both gone already.
Dr_Fishy wrote:
Yes they have moved to eBay a year or two ago. Usually the prices are terrible, you can get mint lenses/bodies for way cheaper anywhere else. Every now and then they have a good sale, though the good stuff usually goes quick. Looks like the OM3 body and body/lens are both gone already.
Do you happen to know if that's also the case for Canadian refurbished stock? I've been checking their refurbished section once in a while for the past year and never seen anything in stock and their ebay store only delivers to the US.
CTSPhoto wrote:
Do you happen to know if that's also the case for Canadian refurbished stock? I've been checking their refurbished section once in a while for the past year and never seen anything in stock and their ebay store only delivers to the US.
Sorry no I am not sure. Olympus US used to have a refurbished page on their website before they moved to eBay, so maybe in Canada they still do? Might be worth checking
Dr_Fishy wrote:
Sorry no I am not sure. Olympus US used to have a refurbished page on their website before they moved to eBay, so maybe in Canada they still do? Might be worth checking
They actually do still have a refurbished page but when clicking on the link it gives "error 404", which I've already reached out to them about a year ago and it was never fixed. The only way to actually get to the page is by googling "official olympus refurbished Canada" but as I've mentioned, I've never seen anything in stock for the past year.
This deal is back on the OM eBay store again right now. I got one from the first sale and it looks brand new. I am still on the fence with it compared to my EM1 ii but so far it has been really fun to shoot with.
Dr_Fishy wrote:
This deal is back on the OM eBay store again right now. I got one from the first sale and it looks brand new. I am still on the fence with it compared to my EM1 ii but so far it has been really fun to shoot with.
Doh! I'm a day too late!
@Dr_Fishy , I'd be interested in your assmt against the EM1.2, as that would probably be the camera I'd replace.
I jumped on the OM-3 deal with lens fast and got it for $1471.99. It's like new and only has 500 shutter activations. I also was able to get the 100-400 mark ii lens for $1087.99. The lens hasn't come in yet. My experience has been that you have to decide fast if you hope to get one. They go quickly!
I got the body only OM-3 during this sale. When I bought, 13 had already sold and last 5 units were available. After I got mine in the morning, by evening the listing was out of stock but the 12-45 kit was still up. In my opinion, the kit deal was sweeter than body only deal.
@Dr_Fishy@ , I'd be interested in your assmt against the EM1.2, as that would probably be the camera I'd replace.
@Braindrain232@
Here is some word vomit on my thoughts so far:
I have been using it quite a bit lately. I actually sold my x100vi as soon as I started using the OM3. I like it better so far, feels better built, and I already have a good collection of m43 lenses over the years (started with the original EM5 in 2014 or so but the shutter failed on it last year).
Compared to the EM1ii, I do miss the grip at times but I like the styling of the OM3 and it fits my use case most of the time better (travel, family/documentary style photos). I enjoy hiking, snowshoeing, landscape photos, etc and will use the OM3 for this as well but figure I can just make do without the grip or put a grip on it if I really need or want as that will probably represent maybe 10% of my use case with it.
The build quality of the OM3 is quite good, the dials feel fantastic, and it has a satisfying weight to it. I have some issues with it though too. Olympus/OM makes some weird decisions sometimes. The port covers on the side are shockingly awful in my opinion. They don't lock closed (they are just flaps) and they also don't sit very securely so I am not sure how they can give it an IP rating unless the ports are weatherproofed? I emailed OM awhile ago to ask about this, but have not heard back yet. The SD card door feels flimsy too. The build quality of my EM5 mark i felt better to me, but the OM3 is quite similar in hand just a little bigger.
The color dial is fun and the profiles look good. I really like 1 or 2 of the color and mono settings as they come stock. I really wish they let us adjust HSL in camera rather than just saturation. Maybe in a firmware update but I have little to no faith in OM System doing something like that. Same with a color grain setting. Not sure why they did not just add that. Seems like an easy firmware update but again, I highly doubt we will see any kind of substantial support or update for it. I hope they prove me wrong though!
Some other good notes:
The AF is insane compared to the EM1ii. It is night and day. It locks onto my kids or dog no problem. It is not as good as my Zf, but it is plenty good enough. I did try some bird photos using my old 14-150 and it worked really well with bird AF enabled.
The other thing I noticed is that the size is just about perfect for me and what I was looking for. I always wanted a high end digital cam that is about the same size/form as my Minolta x700 and the OM3 fits that bill perfectly! With the 20 1.7 its basically the same size as an x100 as well, maybe a little wider.
I am not sure if I will sell my EM1ii or not, I don't know that I will really use it anymore now that I have the OM-3 (maybe for some seriously bad weather or the coast) but I also feel like its an iconic camera for me and I might just want to keep it forever.
edit: I got the 12-45 kit as that was all they had left. I planned to sell the 12-45 because I already have the 12-40. That 12-45 lens is amazing though...super sharp, good bokeh when zoomed in still, and impossibly small! Its lenses like this that make m43 stand out to me. I think I will keep it. I really want to try the new 17 1.8 as well.
The AF on OM-3 is amazing. No comparison with any previous mft body I had. It finally feels like it's in the big boys league. I still have the OM-5 and compared to 3 it feels so lethargic now. While not as small as OM-5 (which is my ideal size) it's still not as big as Nikon Zf. I'm glad I made the upgrade.
Dr_Fishy wrote:
Some other good notes:
The AF is insane compared to the EM1ii. It is night and day. It locks onto my kids or dog no problem. It is not as good as my Zf, but it is plenty good enough. I did try some bird photos using my old 14-150 and it worked really well with bird AF enabled.
The other thing I noticed is that the size is just about perfect for me and what I was looking for. I always wanted a high end digital cam that is about the same size/form as my Minolta x700 and the OM3 fits that bill perfectly! With the 20 1.7 its basically the same size as an x100 as well, maybe a little wider.
I am not sure if I will sell my EM1ii or not, I don't know that I will really use it anymore now that I have the OM-3 (maybe for some seriously bad weather or the coast) but I also feel like its an iconic camera for me and I might just want to keep it forever.
edit: I got the 12-45 kit as that was all they had left. I planned to sell the 12-45 because I already have the 12-40. That 12-45 lens is amazing though...super sharp, good bokeh when zoomed in still, and impossibly small! Its lenses like this that make m43 stand out to me. I think I will keep it. I really want to try the new 17 1.8 as well. ...Show more →
That's great to hear. I pretty much use my EM1.2 exclusively on a birding gimbal while taking snaps of my little guy's soccer games. Good AF is essential and it sounds like the OM3 does that job even better.
My only gripe with the EM1.2 is it's size. I wish it were smaller, as I use my long-in-tooth Panny GX9 as an everyday camera. However, the CDAF on the Panny is nowhere near as good as the EM1.2 PDAF/CDAF and it sounds like the OM3 will just trounce it. Looks like the OM3 may also replace the GX9 as my EDC.
Braindrain232 wrote:
My only gripe with the EM1.2 is it's size. I wish it were smaller, as I use my long-in-tooth Panny GX9 as an everyday camera. However, the CDAF on the Panny is nowhere near as good as the EM1.2 PDAF/CDAF and it sounds like the OM3 will just trounce it. Looks like the OM3 may also replace the GX9 as my EDC.
While the OM-3 offers signicantly better AF, just keep in mind that it is not that much smaller than you E-M1.2. It weighs three ounces less and the dimensions are very similar. The E-M1.2 is thicker due to the grip, which the OM-3 lacks.
I have no idea why my replies show up in amber as if they are part of the post to which I am replying....Show more →
Just wanted to update this, I posted above regarding concerns about the OM-3 ports and the relatively insecure covers and weather sealing issues. I did get a reply back from OM on this:
"Regarding your question, the OM-3 is designed with internal seals against dust and moisture, including in the connection port areas. The main function of the external covers is to protect against direct ingress of water, dust and debris. However, weather protection does not depend solely on the rigidity or closing force of these covers, unlike older models with flexible rubber.
Therefore, you should keep the covers closed during normal use, checking that they are correctly aligned and fully pressed when closing.
The OM-3 is designed for use in harsh conditions, including cold and humidity, and we want to ensure that you have complete confidence in the equipment."
