Olympus E-P1 Reviews and Resources
Written by Eric on June 6th, 2009 | 7 Comments
The Olympus E-P1 is a 12.3 megapixel quasi-compact camera that offers users the ability to switch lenses. It has no mirror box between the lens and the image sensor, so it is effectively a full time live view camera. Because of the sensor size in Micro Four Thirds cameras, the Olympus E-P1 has a 2x crop factor applied to lens focal lengths. As a result, a 14mm focal length on the E-P1 is effectively equivalent to the angle of view of a 28mm lens on a 35mm or full frame camera.
Olympus E-P1 Key Features
- Compact size w/ interchangeable lenses
- 12.3 megapixel sensor
- HD video at 720p
- ISO 100-6400
- Sensor-based image stabilization
- 11-area multiple AF
- 3″ LCD
- External flash hotshoe
- 3 frames per second shooting speed
- Olympus’ popular Art Filters
- SD card compatibility
Olympus E-P1 Availability
Photography Bay Resources
Olympus E-P1 Reviews
The Olympus E-P1 is the camera many enthusiasts have been waiting for.
They have delivered a game-changing camera that may not be for everybody but if the size, shape, and ability to use so many different kinds of lenses, from Olympus and many others appeals to you, as it does to me, you’ll want an E-P1.
Detail is very good and with around two to three stops of exposure and detail headroom in the RAWs there’s plenty of extra detail to pull out of shadows and highlights if you need to.
It surpasses the E-620, offering a leap forward in low-light performance, so much so that the E-P1 is the first Four Thirds camera to offer comparable quality to an APS-C DSLR, despite the smaller sensor size. Olympus have certainly made real strides here.
After examining my 900 images and dozens of HD video clips, I can confirm that the E-P1 and M. Zuiko lenses live up to their full potential.
Well, I was won over by the image quality and that at the end of the day is probably the single most important factor and so makes this a camera one I cannot help but recommend.
So far we think that the image quality is nice and likely even better than the E-620 (and we like using E-620 a lot).
The Olympus E-P1 is an otherwise excellent enthusiast compact camera hampered by some performance problems and the lack of a viewfinder and built-in flash.
I was very pleased with the image quality from the E-P1’s 12.3-megapixel Live MOS imager and TruePic V imager processor.
Image quality is excellent – with excellent colour, and good levels of saturation and contrast with excellent detail. Noise levels were very low and provided useable ISO1600 (and possibly higher) – with less colour noise than even the Canon 450D, and provided much better detail from the Olympus kit lens, than the Canon’s kit lens.
As for things like focussing, The E-P1 makes use of 11-point focus system which worked well under our tests, albeit a tad sluggish.
Pocket-Lint (first look review)
The Olympus E-P1 is a true hybrid, falling into the space between compact and DSLR. It is distinctly different in its offering and may, for some, be appealing as a result
Wired UK (hands-on report)
Its technical proficiency makes this a very good camera. What makes it great is its sense of style, which leaves an SLR feeling clunky by comparison.
June 6th, 2009 at 6:28 am
They probably kept the name EP-1 as it links the camera to their DSLRs (P could stand for portable E-1)
June 6th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
The E-P1 could also refer back to the Pen series, which is being celebrated by Olympus for its 50th anniversary. It sure looks like a Pen.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Live View only.
No articulating screen.
Micro 4/3 lenses are going to be silver not black ?
June 14th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Looks like the lenses can be taken off and upgraded maybe. small, compact camera.
June 14th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
!. Much shortened front to back distance
2. Potential for other small prime lenses in pancake format, perhaps (I hope) one that works like my precious 24mm macro for 35mm.
3. Large LCD
4. Compact travel friendly size
5. I want it
June 25th, 2009 at 2:23 am
I will never buy a camera without a viewfinder. Holding one at arms length to view the LCD screen for viewing is a good way to get fuzzy pictures. I can’t imagine a serious camera for advanced users that does not have a viewfinder. That ruins the E-P1 for me right there without going further. To compare it with the E-10 is laughable. If you want a real rangefinder camera, look at the Canon G10 and ones like it. After all, that’s what rangefinder refers to, a viewfinder.
July 24th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
i have never seen this type of camera in my country, the dominant product at this time until the product from Nikon and Canon. Maybe camera olympus E-P1can grap the digital camera market