Micro 4/3 With apologies to the GAS-adverse: EP3 touch screen for action ROCKS

I have to say that touch screen focus with action shots is very cool - and your daughter is awfully cute, too!:D I'm excited for you and can easily see why this could really be a huge seller.

One thing, since I haven't been following the Mu43 cameras that much - how does this touch screen compare to the Panasonic G3's (I think it's the G3, right?)? Does the Panasonic offer exposure lock in the touch screen, and/or anything that this wonderful new Olympus doesn't or visa versa?
 
I don't favor the Panny's, so I've not tested them at all. From what I've read (so it's all second hand): The Pannys do AE on the focus point (+1 for Panny), but the touch screen is pressure sensitive, vs. the Oly which is capacitive. In short, you have to push harder on the Panny, the Oly you just graze. For fast action, I think capacitive will be better. But, this is based on guess work. Maybe someone else knows more?

(Not that you asked, but I don't buy Panny's because a) I don't like what their noise pattern looks like, b) I generally don't like their colors, c) I don't like that they never have stock available, d) I don't like their games with batteries -- new batteries everytime, and their chipped, so no generics, e) I prefer IBIS, f) I really like the EPx styling. So, they might be a better camera, but for me they are a no-go)

edit: Thinking a bit more about it, I would think a GH3 with a capacitive touch screen might be the pinnacle of an m43 camera. I'll bet with the EP3 out, look to Oly to switch to a different touch screen type, and include it on the GH3. Just a guess.
 
Having had a GH2 for awhile and now an EP3, I've tried both touch screens. As noted above, the Pany requires an actual press, whereas the new Olympus is more like an iphone and just requires a touch. I almost never used the Pany touch screen - I just didn't like it. I like the Oly touch screen a lot, but I'm not sure if that's gonna equate into using it much more or not. Its a bit of a paradigm shift in the way I shoot and I might be too old to adapt... :D But to the extent I've used it, its felt very very good and easier to know you're hitting the right spot at the right moment and the lack of pressure means you don't have to think about steadying the camera anymore than you do just to hold it.

That said, people who've had the Pany's for a while (GF2, GH2, G3), they tend to like it and for changing settings as much as for selecting focus point and firing the exposure. So I may not have given it enough chance - I just never bonded with that camera as anything other than an adequate DSLR substitute for shooting action with a long lens. The EP3 does every bit as well at that, but then you take the long lens and EVF off, stick a pancake on, and you've got a really compact and unobtrusive little camera that just feels right to me to shoot with. Its all personal preference - they're both great and fully capable cameras, but the EP3 just fits me better. And there's a chance I'll actually USE this touch screen. If over the next couple of months I find that I don't, I'll likely get an EPL3 and, assuming it checks out, will sell the EP3. If I find myself using the touchscreen and liking it, I'll just stick with the EP3.

-Ray
 
That's one thing the Oly could really do well with -- if their super control panel also responded to touch. They you could have all your settings right there, ready to be changed. Though, I suppose you might later that it's TOO easy then to change settings.
 
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