Autofocus
An improved 35-point AF system covers a large central area of the frame, making it pretty handy in tracking AF mode. It is easy to select any of these points individually in spot AF via the control wheel.
As we explained in our test of the Olympus E-P3 (AP 13 August), the claim of having the world’s fastest AF does not cover every situation. In good light, the AF is close to instant using the full-time AF mode and a compatible lens. This works on the basis that the camera will often be close to the focus point already. Even so, the system is still impressive.
In lower-contrast light, however, like many AF systems, the contrast-detection AF often needs to hunt back and forth to find the point of focus. In this case, the E-PL3 cannot match the speed of an AF system from a current mid-range DSLR.
