C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Olympus IS-3 is a 35mm bridge SLR camera introduced in 1992, positioned as the top-tier model in Olympus's IS (Infinity SuperZoom) line at launch. It retains the fundamental formula of its predecessor the IS-1000 - a fixed non-interchangeable zoom lens mated to a genuine SLR pentamirror viewfinder - while extending the zoom range to approximately 35-180mm. That additional telephoto reach made the IS-3 a more capable travel and wildlife companion than the 135mm-topped IS-1000.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
The flagship 1992 bridge SLR that stretched Olympus's IS line to 35-180mm.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (24x36mm) |
| Lens | ~35-180mm zoom, fixed |
| Shutter | 30s - 1/1000s, programmed electronic |
| Flash sync | ~1/125s |
| Meter | TTL multi-pattern |
| Exposure modes | Program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority |
| Viewfinder | SLR pentamirror |
| ISO range | 25 - 3200 (DX coded) |
| Battery | 4x AA |
| Flash | Built-in pop-up |
Olympus introduced the IS line in 1990 with the IS-1000 in response to the bridge SLR category that had been pioneered by the Ricoh Mirai (1988). The IS-3 arrived in 1992 as an upgraded flagship, its primary improvement being the extended 35-180mm zoom range over the IS-1000's 35-135mm. The longer reach appealed to photographers who wanted more telephoto capability without stepping up to an interchangeable-lens SLR and a separate telephoto lens.
The IS-3 was sold alongside more affordable IS models that offered shorter zoom ranges and simpler feature sets. By the mid-1990s Olympus refreshed the flagship slot with the IS-200, which brought incremental improvements in autofocus speed and ergonomics. The IS line as a whole wound down as digital bridge cameras supplanted film-based equivalents in the early 2000s.
The IS-3 represents the peak specification of the first-generation Olympus IS bridge SLR. For its time, a 35-180mm zoom on a camera with genuine through-the-lens SLR viewing was a compelling proposition at a consumer price. Competing systems required buying a body and at least two lenses to cover an equivalent range.
The camera also demonstrates Olympus's sustained investment in the fixed-lens SLR segment during the early 1990s, a niche the company held more seriously than most Japanese manufacturers. The IS line gave Olympus a distinct product that sat between its OM-series interchangeable SLRs and the compact AF cameras like the Stylus and mju lines.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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