Last Updated: 5th June 2026 (I added more Olympus E-3 image quality)
While building an image database from Kodak film simulations, my thoughts wandered to photography with the Olympus E-3. It's a professional DSLR from 2007 and known for its high image quality. Being from South Africa, I have a heightened awareness of the African color nuances. While visiting family and friends in South Africa, I made a habit of visiting places that shaped my color preferences. My childhood connection with South Africa's wildlife and nature, plus the refined Kodak image look of the Olympus E-3, guided my digital color palette over the years. Do you have a similar color connection to the country or continent you call home? For instance, I always associated Switzerland with flowers, happy colors, and deep blue skies. That said, I know the E-3 has a Live MOS sensor and not the "Kodak" CCD version found in cameras like the E-1, the E-300, the E400, and the E-500.
The Olympus E-3 with the Zuiko 50-200 mm f/2.8-3.5 lens. I converted the RAW+ file in Workspace.
I recall having exposure difficulties taking my E-3 to South Africa for the first time. I never found the cause and filed the incident as unsolved. It felt strange to spot the problem so many years later in Workspace. Olympus added a new AUTO option to the gradation function of the E-3. I seemingly used the AUTO option without resetting it when done. Having worked with many versions of Photoshop, I never verified my camera settings as we do with RAW+ and Workspace. Everything changed as I set the gradation option back to "normal" 15 years later. See the portrait examples below.
Subsequently, I converted other RAW+ files from various Olympus DSLRs. In most cases, the changes were noteworthy after updating camera settings like picture mode, sharpness, noise filter, color space options, and tonal adjustments like curves & gradation. I also found several exposure-related mistakes I made in the past. Imagine tweaking or updating your camera settings 15+ years later.
The images in this article are from the E-3, the Zuiko 50-200 mm f/2.8-3.5, the 14-54 mm f/2.8-3.5, and the 25 mm f/2.8 compact lens. I converted and edited my RAW+ files from 2009/10 in Workspace. The following images represent an image look I selected for my YouTube videos. These images and my new film stock database function as an inspirational collection consisting of different colors and visual characteristics. I edited the tonal and exposure values but kept the colors the same. I'd like to invite you to practice evaluating the colors in your scenes or subjects as you do with layers, framing, and foreground objects. For instance, would you add more cyan to blue skies, adjust for more "natural" greens, or any other color preferences? My next video discusses personalized color palettes.
E-3 with the Zuiko 50-200 mm f/2.8-3.5 lens. RAW+ converted & edited in Workspace.
Olympus cameras and Workspace never stop surprising me. I prefer keeping my photography simple, which is what Olympus did with their cameras, lenses, and Workspace. It's a simple process of basic photography and image editing principles, which allow us to get excellent results with Workspace, RAW+, and 10MP Olympus DSLR cameras. Imagine the possibilities when we add experience to this basic mix. What would your advice be if you got the chance to highlight one aspect of digital photography? My advice would be to step away from social media influencers and free your digital photography from advertising. Imagine having Olympus DSLRs, 4/3rds Zuiko lenses, and Workspace...
PS: I converted and edited all the images in this article with Workspace.
Monaco - here are a few more E-3 photos
