Gf1 sold - Looking at Olympus to replace it.

[andyw]

I have recently sold my GF1 for various reasons. Although it's a stunning camera and i loved it i did find it uncomfortable to hold and rather clunky!?!? It didn't look great either but did perform rather well.

When looking for a M4/3 camera it was always a toss up between the Oly E-P1 and the GF1 and the GF1 won due to reviews saying that it was just a tad better than the E-P1.

I have recently bought an Olympus Trip 35 film camera which just looks Uber sexy and very stylish, a bit like how Leicas have their own style. Looking at the E-P1 makes me feel that same as i do about the Trip and i want one! So i have a few questions:

Are the pre set styles etc really as good as people say?

I like using Manual Focus Lenses and have 4 Oly Zuiko Lenses that i use so with an adapter, how easy is it to focus on the E-P1? On the GF1 i just push a button to go to MF mode them push another button to zoom into the subject. Is it the same for the E-P1?

Can't think of any more at the moment but if i do i'll add to the thread.

Fanx

 

[BBW]

Andy, I'm not qualified to answer any questions about the E-P1 but I'll just throw in that many people feel that the EVF is extremely helpful for manual focussing and thus go with the E-P2 or the E-PL1, that said it probably depends upon one's eyesight, too. I wear glasses.

 

[andyw]

Andy, I'm not qualified to answer any questions about the E-P1 but I'll just throw in that many people feel that the EVF is extremely helpful for manual focussing and thus go with the E-P2 or the E-PL1, that said it probably depends upon one's eyesight, too. I wear glasses.

Luckily my eyesight is not failing just yet so i should be ok

I can't afford the E-P2 and i can only afford a used E-P1 or maybe a new E-PL1 but the E-PL1 isn't as sexy ans the E-P1 The E-P1 just looks SO yummy!

How are you finding the image quality on the E-PL1 compared to the E-P2? The E-PL2 is a possibility. I want something in between my Canon 450d and the Canon s90 which is superb but has a fixed lens.

 

[grum]

Traitor!

 

[andyw]

It's a style thing!!!!

Not sure if i'm going to do the do yet but just looking as i do have a thing for Olympus hence my OM-2, Trip 35 and selection of MF lenses. A Pen would fit in nicely!

 

[Streetshooter]

Traitor!

Nah, he just saw the light....

The EP1 is great. Easy to focus MF with the screen providing you can deal with the screen in any light. What I mean is, if you can see the screen, you can focus....

welcome to the Light and away from the Dark Side......Use the Force Andy...use the force!
shooter

ps, Grum...I have to admit...I am working on a deal to get a GF1 and I am excited....why, because I like to get excited, it gives my meds something to do.
I have the Pen 1&2 but the GF1 just appeals to me....I guess it's the Dark Side thing....
Don

 

[richie15]

Be interested to see what you think. I had a go once and found the AF on the E-PL1 a bit hit and miss. Not sure if this is representative across the board.

Oh and I agree with Grum, traitor ;-)

 

[andyw]

Nah, he just saw the light....

The EP1 is great. Easy to focus MF with the screen providing you can deal with the screen in any light. What I mean is, if you can see the screen, you can focus....

welcome to the Light and away from the Dark Side......Use the Force Andy...use the force!
shooter

If only my name was Luke!

But then my dad would be Darth Vader and at Christmas he would have already 'felt my presents'!

 

[andyw]

Be interested to see what you think. I had a go once and found the AF on the E-PL1 a bit hit and miss. Not sure if this is representative across the board.

Oh and I agree with Grum, traitor ;-)

he he, I haven't bought owt yet! Just window shopping at the moment. It's either one of these or a lens for my DSLR. A camera does seem more value for money!!!

 

[BBW]

As a former OM-1 shooter, I salute you Andy...go with the force...

 

[andyw]

I have only just started using mine and i love it!! All that full frame loveliness!

 

[squeegee]

For the e-p1 :

The "fn" button can be set to have 1-press goes to manual focus mode (and another press will go back), but you can only assign one thing to "fn" so that means no 1 button white balance... or what ever.

As soon as you turn the focus ring, it will zoom in for focusing but only to a max of 10x. ( hear some of the new ones do 14x?)

What you can also do is set the live view info button to zoom, this means when you're framing something, you press info and it will bring up a green box, you select the area to zoom to, then press ok, and it will go to 10x zoom and stay there. So that may not be exactly 1 button zoom, it's 2 button zoom, but it's good and usable.

 

[andyw]

For the e-p1 :

The "fn" button can be set to have 1-press goes to manual focus mode (and another press will go back), but you can only assign one thing to "fn" so that means no 1 button white balance... or what ever.

As soon as you turn the focus ring, it will zoom in for focusing but only to a max of 10x. ( hear some of the new ones do 14x?)

What you can also do is set the live view info button to zoom, this means when you're framing something, you press info and it will bring up a green box, you select the area to zoom to, then press ok, and it will go to 10x zoom and stay there. So that may not be exactly 1 button zoom, it's 2 button zoom, but it's good and usable.

Sounds even better than the GF1!!! I do love the look of the E-P1 hmmm

 

[cosinaphile]

im not sure what turned you off to the gf1 in terms of size its so close to the ep1 that i use the same olympus every ready case [ i have 2 cases]as i do on the ep1, the metal core of the leather case bent differently around the grip as the profiles differ minutely .

but the ep1 certainly looks sexier , no argument from me there but the gf1 is a good looking machine imho too

most of my friends who are knowlegeable on cameras [ but not m4\3 yet] seem more drawn to the gf1 , claiming its a more serious looking.professional looking machine , and are surprised when i tell them that iq is a little better and jpegs better in the ep1 , [but not af perf.!]

i use both machines with regularity , grab a mint used ep1 for now because olympus\panasonic are gonna answer the nex system in a bigway sooner rather than later

 

[Hunter5117]

Andy, you do know that the E-P1 is on sale at Costco.com for $499? Pretty hard to beat that price even on an EPL.

 

[andyw]

Andy, you do know that the E-P1 is on sale at Costco.com for $499? Pretty hard to beat that price even on an EPL.

Trouble is i'm in the UK!

 

[Brian S]

Not sure if this helps- the EP2 is $900 on Amazon now, with kit zoom and EVF. I just pulled the trigger on one.

 

[andyw]

Thanks Brian but I have just pulled the trigger on a used white (Very retro) E-P1 from the for sale section on this forum.

Happy days!

 

[nokiamia]

I'm assuming that the controls on EP1 and EP2 is similar. In the EP2, if you're usig an AF lens, to switch from AF to MF is as easy as turning the zoom ring. The live view will zoom automatically to the focus point. The only button you need to push would be the shutter button.

But to enable this simple function, you have to upfront enable the S-AF MF function and turn on MF Zoom Assist. The S-AF MF is my default shooting mode.