Olympus cameras - tougher than you may think

No photos today, just some amazing stories. CaNiPeSo, take that! :p

Photo / story by Wayne Nelms

A story I call, "Little Camera Lost!" - a testament to the quality of our Olympus E-410. We purchased our camera about 5 yrs ago, to document the construction of our log home. In July 2008, our camera went missing. Our search efforts were fruitless and we pretty much resigned ourselves that the camera, and pictures it contained, may be gone forever. None the less, we kept an eye out, hoping it would one day turn up. Our winters are harsh in the Central PA mountain highlands, this past winter being mostly freezing rain, ice & bitter cold temps. The locals call this area, "Little Siberia". It's wild blueberry season here this time of year. Recently, while foraging around in one of our wild blueberry patches, my eye caught a shiny object. Yes. there was the E-410 that went missing almost a year earlier. My wife and I were amazed, when I pressd the view button, and the camera came to life, with all 174 pictures intact. Priceless pictures of grandchildren, and other family members.


Note the E-410 is not a weathersealed model; only the E-3 is. But knowing that an entry level Olympus camera can survive a year of outdoor weather, now that's amazing!

Now on to the E-3.

Story by Andrew Kornylak

That last shot was probably the camera's last shot, ever*. The E-3 is obviously not an underwater camera, and it's not meant to withstand immersion, but before it died I DID get a good number of "underwater" shots. Not many cameras would have inspired me to go for a shot like that... I think gear that can encourage you to take your craft one step further - thats money!


Olympus just released a new mini four-thirds camera, the E-P1, and its gotten a lot of attention, but with the excellent Zukio lens lineup, and the features the E-3 already has, I'm excited to see what Olympus has on deck for its next flagship DSLR.


* Note: I've learned that the camera actually survived and is happily taking pictures somewhere in Aruba. Guess it really isn't that easy.

Alright.. so far so good. How bout a more "Malaysian" context?

My Camera Fell Into A River
by TV Smith
01/05/08


I was struggling to get upclose to some dragonflies on a cliff when the camera slipped from my hand. I know. I should always wear it around my neck. It landed on a rock near my feet before bouncing into the river below. The Olympus E-3 may be a splash-proof camera but it is certainly not advertised as submersible. Although it landed on shallow waters of about 1 meter deep, I didn't expect it to survive, especially after taking the hard knock on its way down.


A lot of things ran through my mind as I rushed down the riverbank. Did I close all the rubber caps for the various connectors properly? The camera was switched on and chances of the electronics shorting out is high. To my surprise, when I reached it 20 seconds later, the flipped-out LCD was still working and visible under the clear water.


I picked it up and noticed the Hoya UV filter has leaked water into the front lens element even though it was screwed tight. There was a tiny dent under the grip and some water stuck inside the LCD bezel. Apart from that, it appeared to be alive and well. Since it was already all wet, I submerged it again for a test shot. It was eerie (and a rare honour) to hear the muffled shutter sounds of the camera firing under water.


So you see, it isn't that easy to break an Olympus E-3, even though you strike it on a rock and it lands in a muddy river.

Want more stories?

Brian Mosley's E-3 + 11-22 lens got soaked in a river. All it needed was a little wipe to get it going again.

Expert Adorama reviewer Joe Farace states : The E-3’s sealed splash-proof, dustproof chassis proved itself during a rainstorm in the El Yunque rainforest, even after I slipped on a wet rock and bloodied my elbow, proving it’s more rugged than I am. [ Yes, his E-3 did get soaked in a river, if you were wondering so]

Hmm.. perhaps you need some video proof? SteveBPhotos claims he left the E-3 with 12-60mm lens outside overnight in snowstorm which turned to rain. Outdoors for approx 15 hours, snow and rain for about 10 hours



I guess Wayne couldn't have said it any better:

Thank you Olympus for a well engineered and quality product(s)!