Currently selling at around
$739 (drop from $799 about a month ago), the
Olympus PEN E-P1 comes with a sleek and compact body as
it uses the 4/3 sized image sensor. The internal structure eliminates
the traditional DSLR quick-return mirror allowing a radical reduction
in camera size without compromising the benefits of digital SLR
photography with its high shooting performance and high quality images.
This new camera is equipped with the Intelligent Auto (iAUTO) function
that automatically evaluates the scene and sets the optimum scene
shooting mode to take the selected shot. The imaging system uses a
4/3-inch type, 12.3-megapixel high speed Live MOS Sensor and a newly
developed TruePic V image processing engine to provide high quality
still images. This impressive processing engine also enables non-flash
shooting up to ISO 6400.
It is worth noting that the camera began
shipping the 12.3Mp Olympus PEN E-P1 in Japan on July 3
and it
quickly rise to a number 2 sales ranking position
within a few
days over the July 4 weekend, getting a total of 19.1% of sales share
in Japan. It later
dropped to #7 position the following week and now
at #6 ranking this week. PhotoZone recently posted a review of the Olympus E-P1 and here is the summary of the review:
"Finally Olympus released their first micro-four-thirds digital camera styled in the retro design of the classic Olympus PEN - a highly successful series of half frame cameras in the 60ies. Obviously they feel that the time is about right for such dwarfish, rock solid cameras and they may be right. The E-P1 inherited most of its technologies from the "normal" 4/3 system including a 12.3-megapixel Live MOS sensor, a built-in self-cleaning sensor unit and a 3-inch LCD monitor with a resolution of 230K dots as well as a built-in image stabilizer with an efficiency up to 4 f-stops. A really good news is the new AA-filter (low-pass filter) of the camera. So far Olympus used rather strong implementations here resulting in an effective resolution far below DSLRs with a similar number of megapixels. The E-P1 is finally able to deliver the finest details into the final image.
However, the Olympus E-P1 has some obvious drawbacks - the biggest one is certainly the slow and imprecise AF which is annoying especially in low-light conditions. The coarse big AF field is also a problem when trying to focus on smaller details. Furthermore, the continuous AF is completely useless for fast moving objects. The same applies to the low resolution display - it's hard to judge a scene in bright light here and the missing viewfinder adds insult to injury in such situations. The slow refresh rate doesn't make things any easier here as well. The battery life of the camera is only about average and not suitable for regions without reliable power supply. The comparatively poor dynamic range may also be a problem for some. The small lens portfolio can also be a show-stopper. However, we're naturally talking about the start of a new system - micro 4/3 has been introduced fairly recently. Although it's hard to identify the target market for the Olympus E-P1 it's obviously selling like hot cake at the moment and that's despite the fact that the Panasonic G-series is technically superior in some if not most respects (espeically AF). Olympus has obviously hit a sweet spot of the market which does obviously also desire style besides performance. On the long term classic DSLRs will be replaced by such cameras but there's still a lot to be done."... [
Source]
E-P1 Sample Photos on Flickr
| CameraLabs: "...there are some disappointments such as relatively slow focusing, a screen with average resolution and the absence of a built-in flash and viewfinder, not to mention a relatively high price for which you could buy a fairly decent DSLR which addressed all these concerns. But of course the thing wh..." - Nov 02 2009 More » | |
| PhotographyBay: "As noted earlier, I have seen other sites review the Olympus E-P1 and give boisterous recommendations to readers. I said before that I have had a hard time figuring out who this camera is for - I am still unsure. I've read that photo geeks are all about it; however, I think most photo g..." - Aug 27 2009 More » | N/A |
| LetsGoDigital: "The quality of the pictures is fine. Better than recent cameras from the E-series, and even that is an excellent achievement by Olympus. Also the lenses do not disappoint when it comes to their optics. Especially the pancake is an outright winner in my opinion. Not only because this lens is so comp..." - Aug 15 2009 More » | |
| DigitalCameraInfo: "Beyond look and feel, the strong suits of the E-P1 are superior color accuracy and very good resolution results. High image noise (typical of a small-sensor format) and limited dynamic range are problems, but the results aren't scandalous -- you just don't' want to push your luck with high ISO shoo..." - Aug 15 2009 More » | |
| DPinterface: "Image quality produced by the Olympus E-P1 ranged from good to very good, depending on what aspects you look at. I found noise levels to be low and usable till ISO 1600; photos had just the right amount of sharpness and high levels of detail. Other things like distortion and overall resolution/..." - Aug 04 2009 More » | N/A |
More E-P1 Reviews »
E-P1 Camera Recent User ReviewsA good camera, but definitely a "niche" camera..., Harry M. Shin - Dec 16 2009
1. For reference sake, I've used many cameras before (film and digital) and thus realize that there is no "perfect" camera. For most photographers who are "into" photography, they will agree with my contention that you need at least two cameras; one for "serious" work (ie typically a DSLR, but not always) and a compact camera for snapshots (which...
Olympus EP-1: The Best Compact DSLR, J. Cauchi - Dec 14 2009
I've had a 35 mm, film, Olympus camera for more than a decade which always took great pictures and still works great . After the Olympus, when digital cameras came put, I used mostly phones for digital picture taking-2 (Sony) to 5 megapixels (Nokia). So, when I decided to upgrade and found that Olympus was releasing a compact DSLR, I decided to get it to see if the quality was still there. I wa...
Love it!, carolina2834 - Nov 19 2009
Long story. My first SLR was an Olympus E-510. After using it a while I started going down this slippery slope of using and acquiring OM glass. I had no problem with the 2x conversion, but the small OM lenses were just screaming to be used on a smaller body. I then purchased an OM2 just for experimenting around and started doing the unthinkable; shooting film. (I've never shot film before.) The...
A professionals second camera, R. Mckinley - Nov 09 2009
The Olympus PEN EP-1, and its soon to be released followup the EP-2 with the added digital viewfinder, are the perfect second camera for those traveling professional photographers. Lightweight but powerful. With the optional lens adapters, from Olympus as well as secondary manufactures, the range of glass for the body is unlimited. The original PEN line of compact cameras were, and still are, c...
More E-P1 User Reviews »
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