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Author
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Streetshooter
Administrator Emeritus
Registered: December 2009
Location: Phila, Pa USA
Posts: 5129
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Review Date: Mon March 8, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sets up easy.
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Cons:
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mid speed AF.
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The Pen 1 is a natural for having with you all the time. It has a wonderful feel to it that just oozes confidence. Once set up for the way you work, it's very intuitive and fast. The camera makes you want to make photos. It supports an artistic outlook in image making. It does not feel like a Military camera. On the street, it's the best friend you can have. With a wrist strap it feels at the ready. The build quality is very nice. Some say that it has plastic as a body covered with metal. So what, cars have plastic and you pay more than for the camera.
The screen is under fire by many for it's lack of brightness in bright light. I have never had a major issue with this. I find, setting the screen to B&W helps the contrast in bright light. Olympus claims the camera is designed for artist. I tend to agree with them. I have used it for events and it did the job with ease.
So, for a camera that can go anywhere, do almost anything, the Pen is a great choice.
------------------------------
~ Shooter's Flickr photostream
Blog http://streetshooter.net
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vondauster
New to Mu-43
Registered: January 2010
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Tue March 16, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $700.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Build quality, IS, color balance, portability.
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Cons:
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No flash
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The E-P1 with its 17mm f2.8 has rapidly become my favorite walkabout camera. It is small and unobtrusive, and to an unfamiliar eye looks like any other consumer digicam. I have used it for professional work, with consistent results.
Oly's jpeg processing is the best in the business, but I find a noticeable increase in fine detail rendering if I use Aperture 3.0.1 and raw processing. I believe the noise performance is also better taking this route.
The E-P1's IS is surprisingly effective, allowing a rather astonishing 50% hand-held "hit" rate walking around San Francisco last February at night.
The grainy black and white art filter is also fun to play with, especially if one is a fan of art deco era photography.
Great little camera all around! The 17mm is no slouch either...
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Optical Thrombosis
Mu-43 Regular
Registered: April 2010
Location: Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, UK
Posts: 30
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Review Date: Fri April 16, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 0
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Pros:
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Retro chic, IQ, size, features
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Cons:
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AF speed in low light
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The E-P1 is a camera that inspires deja vu. Upon seeing it for the first time I had a flashback - to my OM1n, OM2n and Trip 35. Purists will tell me its actually modeled on the PEN, but it was the same brilliant mind behind both OM & PEN concepts. Basically, small, well built, functional and most of all - desirable!
I find operationally its an easy camera. I've had E system DSLRs so the menu system feels intuitive. Dual control wheels on the back make manual operation more immediate than most digicams, the metal jacket (sadly the interior is not a hunk of alloy, but engineering plastics) exudes solidity and i find it holds well in the hand.
Image quality is superlative. I have been a convert to Olympus colour processing since my E1 DSLR. Its just beautiful, and doesn't have that artificial patina that seems to mar images from other DSLRs (notably Canon). The JPEGs are almost perfect out of the camera, unless you need the ultimate in control, there is no need to shoot RAW, unlike mainstream DSLRs where RAW is almost the only way to optimise your final images. Noise is more obvious in these images than say, DSLRs from Canon or Nikon, but to my eye, the pictures have a film-like quality. To paraphrase the Heineken advert they "reach the parts that other photos cannot reach"
Users of compacts will find it bulky, DSLR users will find it diminutive. Actually like Goldilocks, I find it "just right". And a bag full of kit doesn't induce a hernia when out and about, thus you are more likely to take it with you everywhere than a DSLR.
About the only major criticism is that the AF speed is not 'sports' or 'low light' capable. However, recent firmware updates are addressing this, and anyway, if you bought this for fast moving sport photography, you bought wrong.
Finally, like Kevin Spacey in those pretentious Olympus TV ads, its great if you "don't want to be the camera guy, you know, Mr fifteen lenses, flak jacket etc". But it is a great camera for the discerning photographer, and it takes you back to a bygone era when cameras were precision metal that felt good to hold, tactile to use, and inspired great photography, not "point and shoot crime" (thanks again Mr Spacey!)
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Take only pictures, leave only footprints.
(Colin Prior)
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PEN E-P1, Zuiko 17/2.8, FL14 flash
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curtisls87
Mu-43 Regular
Registered: January 2010
Location: Los Gatos, CA, USA
Posts: 42
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Review Date: Mon June 28, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 0
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Pros:
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Built in IS, usable ISO up to around 2000, very portable, love the art filters
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Cons:
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Low light performance when not in manual focus.
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Prior to my E-P1, I've owned a number of Olympus bodies, starting with an E-20, then an E-1, and an E-510 (I've been shooting much longer, since the early 70s). My E-510 now gathers dust, as I rarely shoot with anything other than my E-P1.
I just went on two long weekend trips (Lake Tahoe, and San Diego), and the portability of this system makes it a breeze to take along. I got every shot I wanted, and was very pleased with the overall color reproduction. Shots of the snow-capped mountains against that azure sky came out beautifully - as did shots of my grand daughter picking strawberries in a field north of SD.
I find composition on the viewfinder to be quite easy, even for my aging eyes. It is almost always sunny in California, and I rarely ever have any problem with composing an image due to glare on the LCD.
Perhaps though, the two things I like the best on this body that are not "photographically pure," are the art filters and the movie mode.
While it is certainly easy to overdo the use of the filters, when I see an image in my mind, and I feel it can be enhanced by one of the filters, I can immediately test my vision and see if it is correct. After a while, I've become able to "see" the image that way, and can intuit when a filter might enhance my vision.
The movie mode for me was a bonus that allowed me to get past the spousal acceptance factor at the time of purchase. When I told my wife that I could shoot videos of the grandchildren, that sealed the deal. In the time since, I've found it to be a great way to easily journal activities while on trips. I admit that normally I shoot movies hyperfocally, so as not to hear C-AF lens noise. Once again, though, the portability of having a single body that can do two duties makes it ideal for travel.
Finally, I find that I'm using a number of manual lenses as of late. I truly appreciate how this camera makes me think about my vision, using any of about a half-dozen lenses from various manufacturers, and puts me squarely in the art of the image, rather than the commonness of point and shoot.
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My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse, and entertain. - Helmut Newton
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ccunningham
Mu-43 Veteran
Registered: July 2010
Posts: 329
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Review Date: Wed August 18, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $449.99
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Impressive performance for it's size, loads of controls
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Cons:
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Not as good at ISO 1600 as some DSLRs, no weather/dust seals
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I originally bought my E-P1 + zoom kit in hopes of getting a little bit better performance than the compacts I had tried in the past. I was pretty skeptical mainly because I had been fairly disappointed in every compact digital camera I had tried, usually due to image quality issues first, and in some cases handling or features.
The first thing I was looking for in a compact was good image quality, for me that meant an image with good color, low noise, and good sharpness and detail resolution. I wanted to be able to print larger than 8x10 but no larger than 13x19. And I wanted this image quality to hold out above the base ISO setting.
I also wanted a usable way to manual control focus and exposure.
Basically I wanted most of what I expected from a DSLR, but small. And I thought I couldn't live without an eye-level finder. Which is why I had fully expected to return or resell the E-P1 kit I bought, I didn't believe it could meet my expectations, and even if it did, I figured it wouldn't be usable without an eye-level finder.
And I was wrong on both counts. The image quality is great. The jpeg engine is super, and for most things I don't even need to bother shooting a raw file. You always have the ability to, and sometimes I do set RAW+LSF or RAW+LF, but only when I think I might want or need to fiddle with the image excessively. Most of the time I use LSF or LF jpegs, and I have nothing to complain about. Noise does creep in a little at 800, and is more noticeable at 1600, but the jpeg engine removes most of the chroma noise, so most of the noise that is left looks reminiscent of film grain, and oddly enough, I find it attractive. This is not the BEST camera for high-iso jpg shooting, my D300 seems to render a cleaner and sharper image at 800 and 1600, but the output from the pen is still very nice at those ISOs. If you save raw files, you have a little more control over what the noise looks like, so while the little graininess that shows up at higher ISOs is okay by me, you can whack it down with noise removal software if you want.
The 14-42 zoom was much better than I expected, and it's handy collapsing storage mechanism reminds me of the the collapsible lenses on older, small 35mm rangefinders. Handy.
Control wise, well, I haven't looked for anything yet that isn't on there. There's even an anti-shock setting to minimize vibration on longer exposures, and plenty of controls for jpeg settings.
The body has buttons for many of the settings that I use frequently and the control wheels operate well.
AF with the kit lens is just OK. The AF speeds up with the 17mm mZD. It's quite slow with some of the older four-thirds lenses and mmf adapter. But they do work, so I can live with that.
So no complaints, so far.
But I like to go out even when the day's weather isn't calling for clear skies and sun, so some weather seals would have been nice.
My other gripes are little things about the controls, mostly. Yes, I like the controls generally speaking, but there are some things that I just can't seem to get accustomed to.
For example, AF point selection requires menu diving as far as I can tell. I've looked through the manual and the magic lantern book, and as far as I can see, picking the AF point involves the menu system and can't be easily assigned. It's not horrible since you can use the Super-duper-menu or whatever it's called by hitting the OK button in the D-pad. I may be missing something and someone can correct me on this, which would be great. Luckily I can usually just use the central point and af and recompose, but sometimes it would be handy to change the af point more quickly. I'm spoiled by being able to use the D-pad directly to switch AF points, I guess.
Another example is the Art Filters feature. I don't use it much, but if you would like to try two different Art Filters to see what they would look like, I can't find a way to change them without flipping the mode dial off and back on to art filters. Again there may be a better way to do this, and I've just been looking for the wrong thing in the manual and book.
Another dislike for me at least, is the finish. I know some people like it and that's fine. The E-P1 was only available in chrome and white as far as I know, and I would have preferred black or dark grey. I know the chrome is pretty flash, but the problem is that the chrome is, well, pretty flash. This is pretty easy to fix with an SGP skin, it tones things down to a more discreet level.
But these are all little aggravations that I can live with, since this is a camera that fits in a jacket pocket, and really delivers as useful tool.
Oh, and while I occasionally start to bring it up to eye-level like my DSLR, I haven't found the lack of an eye-level finder that much of a loss.
Keep in mind that although I rated it at 8, I would rate my D300 a 9, so don't think that I don't like this little camera quite a bit. I suspect if I had been able to get an E-P2, it would have probably made a 9.
Edit**Just got the VF-1, I just had to try it out.
Edit**
After owning the camera for almost a year, I've found my two biggest complaints are no weathersealing, and it wasn't available in a nice inconspicuous black. Admittedly the later PENs were available in black, but that doesn't really help the E-P1 be black. If the prices on the E-P2 would plummet, I would buy now and be happy. Well except for the weather resistance, or lack of it in the case of the PENs. I still like this camera, and oddly, use it mostly with the 17. I know that the conventional wisdom is that the 17 isn't as good as the 20, and it might not be as sharp or as fast, but that doesn't mean it's not sharp. It's just that the 20 is a bit sharper. And faster. Too bad the 17 couldn't have been f2 instead of f2.8.
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Camera gear - because money's NOT gonna burn itself.
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Brianetta
Mu-43 Veteran
Registered: September 2010
Location: North East England
Posts: 438
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Review Date: Mon September 13, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 0
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Pros:
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Amazing on-board software, lovely controls, looks and feels like a proper camera
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Cons:
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Very noisy images, firmware update software unavailable to Linux users, battery life not great
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My first impression of this camera, sitting on a display stand in a high street electrical retailer, was that it was going to be mine. Everything about it was lovely. The look, the heft, the control layout, the bayonet mount... I wanted it, in a way that I haven't wanted a camera since my last film camera. That was a Praktica BMS, and was a 14th birthday present from my mother.
Since then I've been using compact bridge digital cameras. Digital SLRs are big, ugly, heavy and often force me to use a viewfinder. I like using a screen to frame my shots. I'd never go back to a viewfinder now that I've been so spoiled, and a reflex viewfinder is a solution to a film-only problem in any case.
So, imagine my delight as I was holding a camera that was no larger than my old Praktica, with the same good looks, but without the constraints of a viewfinder. When I first took it out of the box, with the lens and the camera body separated, I felt fourteen again. It's a camera that seems to have been designed for me.
This camera lets me set things up easily, without being fussy about it. It's faster than any compact I've owned, and gives greater and quicker control. It's as quick as my SLR was. Quicker; my SLR didn't let me change film speed in a hurry. White balance, image stabilisation, film speed, shutter speed, aperture size, exposure correction... in all modes where it matters, these things are a touch away, with spinny knobs and wheels to let you rapidly select the values you need. Then, when you want somebody else to take your picture, just turn the mode knob to iAuto, and they only need to worry about one button.
One superb feature is its ability to re-process a picture you've already taken. If you are using raw or raw+jpeg mode, the camera will let you correct mistakes in white balance, aspect ratio, noise filtering and so forth; basically, anything that happened in the camera after the shutter closed. You simply have to change the settings to the desired ones, go to the raw image in review mode and select "raw edit" from the OK menu. It immediately re-processes that raw file, and saves a new exposure.
It's not all fantastic, though. The biggest grumble I have is the level of noise in the pictures. Noise is noticeable even at low film speeds, especially in low contrast areas of the image. Noise in the raw files is even worse. I've had less noisy digital compacts than this. In fact, it's the noisiest camera I've owned. I've even tried taking dark frames and using them to compensate, but the noise is real random sensor noise, and is never the same twice. Still, I might be over-fussy, because some people say that the noise levels are acceptable - and their images are as noisy as mine.
Another gripe is that firmware updates aren't available to Linux users. Olympus don't take the sensible approach of loading an update from the storage card, and the firmware can only be updated using a Windows or a Mac utility. I have neither operating system, and although I could get it to run under emulation, it never found the camera that was connected to the USB port. In the end, I had to borrow an Apple laptop to do the update. This is inadequate; I'm in the minority, but I'm certainly not alone.
Battery life could be a lot better. 300 or so images, and the thing's flat. I bought a second battery, which helps greatly; they don't take long to charge, and I tend to be using them each on alternate days.
There are some improvements I could think of for the controls. Manual focus with an adapted lens is a complete pain in the bum, because you have to switch from a mode where you can zoom in and pan the screen for setting focus, to other modes for changing settings, exposure and so on. A few of the controls are customisable, but only within certain constraints. The only way to get manual white balance is with the general purpose function button; this isn't available any other way, even deep in menus. Another feature that's only available on that button is depth of field preview. Both of these I find very useful, but it's quite a lengthy and deep journey through the config menus to redefine this button's job. Not a huge niggle, but a niggle nevertheless.
Another pain is the filter thread on the kit zoom lens. About the only filters that can't be replaced by software in post processing are neutral density and polarising filters. I have a polarising filter, and it's a real pain. Focusing the camera rotates the filter thread, meaning that continual adjustments must be made. This isn't so bad, but for the fact that applying any torque whatever to the filter thread causes the camera to get grumpy at you and spin the lens back to somewhere near infinite focus. Sometimes I'm there for minutes on end, refocusing the lens then trying to turn the filter (often using both hands, awkwardly) without nudging the lens again. It's almost not worth the effort.
Having said all that, I really do love this camera to bits. Having now seen the improvement in image quality with a better lens, I'm loving it even more, just knowing that it's capable of improving further.
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Unless otherwise expressly stated, all photographs I post to this forum are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license, version 3.0 (CC-BY-SA 3.0). Attribution should be to "Brian Ronald".
Original sized images are freely available on request.
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Adubo
Magiting na Tagapangasiwa
Registered: November 2010
Location: Filipinas
Posts: 1118
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Review Date: Sat November 6, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $450.00
| Rating: 0
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Pros:
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Retro look build quality small and Compact useable upto iso2000 in jpeg 3200 in raw
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Cons:
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Slow AF in low light
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I bought mine for 450usd bnew with the two lenses. 17mm and 14-42mm and vf-1 and two oem batteries and 8gb sdhc sandisk
the package was cheap to pass out since im lookong to buy a smaller camera with a better quality than prosumer digicams (i use g7 before)
i was amazed with its color rendition and the capability to use highiso for such a small camera/sensor. Although it lacked the speed in AF in lowlight. I mean, sometimes it couldnt even find the subject but as i use FD lenses on my ep-1 i dont mind. I use my 28mm 2.8 more often
If youre looking for a spare for your dslrs this would be it.
This is the best micro 4/3 camera for me(or the ep2. But the vf2 is too big. Makes it look like a gh1 sized dslr)
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flickr  e-p1 e-pl2 gf2 Tumblr
www.adudelcastillo.com
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penfan2010
Mu-43 Top Veteran
Registered: November 2010
Location: NJ, USA
Posts: 829
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Review Date: Tue November 16, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $380.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Classic Pen-F design, great image quality, good solid construction, built in IS
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Cons:
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A bit challenging to use LCD in bright sunlight
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When the m 4/3 line and E-P1 was launched last year I thought they were an odd curiosity, though I have been a big fan of Olympus for a long time, and have used the OM-1, Pen-F and E-500. I became very interested when I finally realized that I could use all my old lenses from my Leica M3 and Pen-F. After debating and researching between the G-1 and E-P1, my Olympus loyalty got the better of me and I bought my E-P1 on eBay (refurbished, with kit 14-42mm lens, for $380). I did not want to spend too much, so the E-P2 and E-PL1 were out (and I did like the controls of the E-P1 better than E-PL1).
I was really delighted and very surprised to see how small the E-P1 was once it arrived---it looks smaller than the original Pen-F. Completely agree with the other reviews above stating that the E-P1 has great image quality, handling and styling, and far less bulky than than my E-500, which means I am more apt to take it around on a regular basis. I also like the fact that it is less obtrusive than a DSLR or the G-1 (which still looks like and operates like a mini DSLR so is more liable to attract attention when street shooting). Finally, this is the first camera I have owned with image stabilization, and I really like this feature, specially when using older telephoto lenses with small maximum apertures.
Others have pointed out the slow AF and lack of a built in flash as shortcomings, but since I shoot predominantly with vintage manual lenses with available light, these are not issues (though I just started using the kit zoom, it's too early to give any impression). My only real challenge has been using the LCD for accurate manual focusing when bright sunlight shines directly on it, but it's not a show stopper, and I hope I will have an easier time now that I've purchased one of those $20 HK LCD hoods that attach to the hot shoe. Overall, I am very, very happy with my first entry into the m 3/4 world via the E-P1.
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Olympus E-PL3, E-M5, OM-1n and Pen F; Fuji X-10 and Pro 1; Leica M3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/penfan_2010/
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Saelee
Mu-43 Regular
Registered: February 2011
Posts: 45
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Review Date: Wed February 16, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $370.00
| Rating: 0
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Pros:
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Size, built quality, hot-shoe, performance and full manual control
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Cons:
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Low quality LCD, no built in flash, lower dial wheel layout
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Originally bought the LX5 because I needed a smaller camera to carry with me when I don't need the best possible picture that people are paying me for. After using it for a few days I realized that the speed performance was not good enough.
I saw a refurb E-P1 on sale so I bought it and returned the LX5.
This camera is almost 2 years old and you can find many detailed reviews online so I will only do a quick review and go in detail on what I think is important.
AF performance:
A lot of people say this camera is slow especially with the stock lens. When I said I was going to trade my LX5 for this, many users (on another board) said I won't be happy because the LX5 has a better AF system. I DISAGREE with this by a LOT. When the camera had the stock 1.3 firmware it was a little sluggish but I though it was still better then the LX5 out the box. After updating to 1.4, it is a lot quicker and very usable. Still no D700 but I never expected it to be. It is able to keep up with my over active 18 month old son running around, it is good enough for me.
Button layout:
I like a lot of buttons on my camera. I like to access the main settings quickly. I like that they have ISO, WB, AF as a main button. Being able to change what they do is a BIG plus as well. The only problem that I have with it is the wheel especially when you use it in Manual. When the camera is in M, the top dial controls the aperture while the bottom one controls the shutter. When you try to change the shutter, you can EASILY press the ISO, WB, AF or Timer button. I find it pretty annoying. I wish those buttons where independent from the wheel.
The lower resolution LCD screen is another thing that bugs me. Maybe I am spoiled by my 920k screen on my D700 but it bugs me a little that I can see the pixel dots on the screen. I wish they would of used a higher resolution screen. Not a deal breaker though.
Overall I really LOVE this camera and highly recommended it to anyone who is looking for a cheap(er) and smaller alternative to an dSLR. I know it is older but for the price it is really hard to beat.
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Micro Four Thirds User Forum
