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List price as of Jul 16, 2009:
S$1298
S$1298
Product Summary
Excellent
The good: Refreshing retro and petite design; incorporates Art Filters in HD video mode; good picture and video quality; wide range of adapters for other lenses available. 8
out of 10View score
The bad: No onboard flash; writing time can be faster; confusing menu interface.
The bottom line: The E-P1's good looks and large sensor will appeal to enthusiasts, but general consumers may find some features lacking in this camera.
Read full review of the Olympus E-P1 »
Average User Rating
from 4 users
Excellent
8.3
out of 10CNET Asia Review
The Olympus E-P1 is probably one of the most anticipated cameras this year. Ever since the Japanese company displayed a mock unit at the Photokina tradeshow in Germany last year, professional photographers and enthusiasts alike have been looking forward to its launch. Although the Micro Four Thirds-based E-P1 essentially encompasses the needs of most serious shutterbugs by packing a large image sensor in a small body, Olympus told us this shooter is really targeted at current compact camera users.
While Panasonic already has the Lumix DMC-G1 and GH1, these two snappers retain the traditional dSLR-like aesthetics. On the other hand, Olympus has reverted to the past and borrowed from its Pen-series for a retro flair. Although the E-P1's small footprint and good looks had us hooked, we wished it had more consumer-friendly features such as an onboard flash.
The E-P1 is available in either silver (with black leather grip) or white (with tan leather grip). We prefer the former because it exudes a more classic look and we don't have to worry about dirtying the exterior as we did for the white version. Also, the 14-42mm zoom lens is offered in either black or silver to suit the look of the shooter's body.
We like the overall build of the snapper. In our hands, it felt solidly built, and even though it doesn't have a handgrip, the leathered portion offered added assurance when we were holding the camera. The shooter was well-balanced when we attached either lens to it, but this cannot be said if you choose to use a third-party adapter and fit heavier optics on the Micro Four Thirds snapper.
The command dial can be turned only via the rear of the camera because it is recessed into the body. We had occasional difficulties in operating the dial due to the silver trimmings on the back of the camera, which obstructed our fingers when we tried to turn the dial.
The E-P1 has two scroll wheels on the back, which facilitates navigating menus or making changes to exposure settings. This means you cannot tweak both the aperture and shutter speed at the same time with one hand. Then again, considering that this shooter is targeted at users who are upgrading from a compact camera, this shouldn't be much of an issue.
The major gripe we have with the Olympus snapper is its menu which is imported from its Four Thirds dSLRs. First-time users may not know that in Live View mode, you can press the Info button to toggle between different settings such as adjusting the focus points and histogram. In some of these modes, the four-way navigation buttons may not function until, again, you press the Info button to get to another view mode.
If you look at the main menu, there are initially four default tabs. But if you turn on the Menu Display under the Settings tab, more useful features will be made available. From there, you can map functions to certain buttons. For us, we chose to use the Fn button to turn the LCD on and off.
Click for larger image:
Tags: DSLR, Dial, Women, Adapter, Camera
While Panasonic already has the Lumix DMC-G1 and GH1, these two snappers retain the traditional dSLR-like aesthetics. On the other hand, Olympus has reverted to the past and borrowed from its Pen-series for a retro flair. Although the E-P1's small footprint and good looks had us hooked, we wished it had more consumer-friendly features such as an onboard flash.
Design
At first glance, you may mistake the E-P1 for a high-end compact camera such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 or Canon PowerShot G10. This is hardly surprising considering that the Olympus' footprint is only slightly larger than the above two point-and-shoots.)
The E-P1 is available in either silver (with black leather grip) or white (with tan leather grip). We prefer the former because it exudes a more classic look and we don't have to worry about dirtying the exterior as we did for the white version. Also, the 14-42mm zoom lens is offered in either black or silver to suit the look of the shooter's body.
We like the overall build of the snapper. In our hands, it felt solidly built, and even though it doesn't have a handgrip, the leathered portion offered added assurance when we were holding the camera. The shooter was well-balanced when we attached either lens to it, but this cannot be said if you choose to use a third-party adapter and fit heavier optics on the Micro Four Thirds snapper.
The command dial can be turned only via the rear of the camera because it is recessed into the body. We had occasional difficulties in operating the dial due to the silver trimmings on the back of the camera, which obstructed our fingers when we tried to turn the dial.
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The E-P1 has two scroll wheels on the back, which facilitates navigating menus or making changes to exposure settings. This means you cannot tweak both the aperture and shutter speed at the same time with one hand. Then again, considering that this shooter is targeted at users who are upgrading from a compact camera, this shouldn't be much of an issue.
The major gripe we have with the Olympus snapper is its menu which is imported from its Four Thirds dSLRs. First-time users may not know that in Live View mode, you can press the Info button to toggle between different settings such as adjusting the focus points and histogram. In some of these modes, the four-way navigation buttons may not function until, again, you press the Info button to get to another view mode.
If you look at the main menu, there are initially four default tabs. But if you turn on the Menu Display under the Settings tab, more useful features will be made available. From there, you can map functions to certain buttons. For us, we chose to use the Fn button to turn the LCD on and off.
Click for larger image:
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Tags: DSLR, Dial, Women, Adapter, Camera
Rate It Now
User Reviews
An excellent compact camera
Oct 12, 2009Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: Good picture quality, great size, 3x zoom about the same size as a standard lens.
Cons: Accessories are overpriced, need more lenses, LCD can be a problem in extreme bright conditions
Opinion:
This is a great first effort in MFT for Olympus, the first of its type that really takes advantage of the format. There are areas where it could be improved such as LCD visibility in extremely bright situations, e.g. on a beach and low light focus ability but overall, they have it pretty much right for the average user.
I really appreciate the compact size and weight for a camera with offers the versatility of a dSLR and low light capability (other than autofocus) is the best of any camera this size.
Picture quality from the kit zoom is excellent and it has a really good close focus ability to around 0.25m is pretty good meaning my 50mm macro lens gets very little use. One note of concern in the kit zoom is that wile it initially feels like a quality pice of kit, when extended there is a bit of play in the lens housing - similar ... Read more
definitely a good one !!
Sep 8, 2009Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: compact body, solid hand held feeling, great image quality, iAUTO, SLR operating alike, etc.
Cons: it wld b good if there is a build in flash. no matter how lousy the flash is.
Opinion:
try yourself then you wld know .
flash? not really a big deal, but of cos it would b better if come with one..
Excellent balane of weight, size and picture quality
Jun 21, 2009Rating: 10 out of 10 (Perfect)
Pros: Interchangable lens, great picture quality, good size.
Cons: It could have been a little smaller still...
Opinion:
I find live view to be really useful for framing. You can capture from very low or high angles. Sometimes it is just plain dumb looking to to stick your head near the ground or close to and object to take a picture. With live view, you can also place the camera onto tables or ledges in order to have better stability. This is difficult with OVF, cause again one would look like an idiot to squat down and stick your head onto the table or ledges to frame.
The built-in image stabilizer helps reduce shakes and one does not have to spend loads on money.
The G10's OVF is highly inaccurate and when I shot with the G10, I always use the LCD for framing.
Picture quality wise, visit imaging-resource.com and you will see that this camera's image quality is way beyond what the LX3/G10 can deliver. Most 1/1.6"-1/1.7" cameras start to give up at ... Read more
User Discussion
peterb666:
It would be a lot more helpful if people submitting reviews have actually used the camera in question.
fierywise:
Also to add, if the E-P1 were to be built with an on-board flash, flashlight would have been blocked ...
fierywise:
First of all, the E-P1 is mainly targetted at general compact PnS users who want to move on to ...
javachan:
I really cannot stand the immense hype behind this camera that has (almost) everyone I know blinded to its ...
drone1212:
Given that this is an interchangeable lens camera, it would be quite impossible to include an Optical Viewfinder (OVF). ...
