I called this "the perfect camera" – so I put my money where my mouth is and bought one

"The perfect camera… for me." That was the headline to my OM System OM-3 review.

I'm aware that I can be a bit hyperbolic at times, but that's because I truly love taking pictures and using great gear. So when I'm reviewing cameras and lenses, I'm not evaluating them empirically and dispassionately like a scientist with a clipboard. And I'm not testing them solely for the purpose of telling other people whether they're good or not.

What I'm also doing is test driving them for myself. Because I buy a lot of cameras, and I'm a jammy bastard in that I get to review them for a living. So every camera that lands on my desk is something I might potentially purchase. Which means that I look at every one of them from the perspective of, "Would I buy this?"

So, the headline wasn't just hyperbole; after reviewing the OM-3, I was so impressed that I went out and spent my own money on one. As, in fact, did a number of other journalists who reviewed it – because it really is that good.

What makes the OM-3 the perfect camera (for me)

The other day, a friend of mine asked me when and why I use the kit that I use – bearing in mind that I juggle OM, Canon and Hasselblad cameras. My answer was that my OM kit – and the OM-3 specifically – is the most agile and creative camera that I own.

Being nimble is important in the way I shoot – both in terms of physical size and performance. To the first point, I'm a portrait photographer and I use primes 90% of the time. And once I've got the images on my shot list, I start to freestyle – which means hot-swapping my four favorite primes (the M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8, 25mm f/1.8, 45mm f/1.8 and 75mm f/1.8).

I can literally have all four of these primes in my pockets, because Micro Four Thirds lenses are so small. I can't do that with RF lenses or Hasselblad lenses. I can whack them on and off the camera without looking, almost one-handed, so I can go, "Right, 90mm isn't working – let's try 50mm").

Obviously these lenses all pair perfectly with the compact OM-3 (even though it's large for a Micro Four Thirds camera, and I wouldn't want one that was any bigger). But the way they perform on it is just smooth as silk.

My favorite portrait camera was always the Olympus PEN-F, for one simple reason: the Creative Dial. When I'm shooting spontaneously, I flick between the various color profiles and filters to get the look I want in-camera. But the PEN-F has a contrast-based autofocus system that, while perfectly usable, just isn't as fast as the algorithmic AF on modern cameras.

So the OM-3 gives me all the creative juice of the PEN-F with the autofocus and performance and image quality of the flagship OM-1 Mark II, with which it shares the same technology. And it supercharges those little lenses, making them more responsive than ever before.

It also suits my needs incredibly well for everyday video when I don't want to settle for my smartphone – not least because I can easily dial in a preset or profile if I'm pushed for time.

When I need to shoot guns-blazing video for client work, I'll go for my Canon EOS R5. But for most of the video I shoot day-to-day – TikTok nonsense, behind-the-scenes footage, something quick for a Story or Reel – the OM-3 takes great video whether I'm slumming it in 1080p or I want something 10-bit and 4K.

On top of that, I can take the OM-3 out in the rain because it's properly IP53 certified (unlike the nondescript "weather sealing" on other cameras that I wouldn't trust in a hundred years), the battery life is great and it's so good-looking that it becomes a conversation-starter – I've already had a handful of people start chatting to me because they thought it was an analog camera.

So, $2,000 later, is this still the perfect camera for me? Absolutely. No matter what I ask of this camera, it can do it – whether it's resolution (80MP High Res Shot), shallow depth of field (with my 75mm or f/0.95 lenses), wildlife (unbelievably accurate subject detection) or even just looking pretty on my shelf. It was the best two grand I've ever spent on a camera.

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