Comments on: Olympus E-P1 Review Revisited [Featured Reader Comment]

By: Albert

Albert — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:37:09 +0000

Poagao,

At 230′000 (sub)pixels, the LCD sounds far from ideal, specially when it’s actually conceived to be of the permanent live-view type. My old D200 has the same pixel count and looks absolutely washed out compared to the 920′000 SP of the D700 for example. I wouldn’t be so comfortable focusing through such a low resolution, specially in the absence of an actual VF.
The new Panasonic GF1 is coming out with what looks like a more promising one, quoted at 460′000 SP.

PS: great Flickr gallery, I really dig it. :)

Albert

By: Philber

Philber — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:33:39 +0000

I played around with the EP-1 as an always-carry-around alternative to my Canon 5D MkII, pretty much like reader HD. And I too was attracted to the possibility of a better sensor than point-and-shoot cams, and of switching lenses, including top-shelf glass.
My problem is the form factor. For my 2 cents, EP-1 is just too big and heavy to meet the bill, being more substantial in every way than the Canon G10, which I looked at for the same purpose. No way will it fit in my shirt pocket, nor is the weight acceptable for this use. And that is with the 17mm pancake. Put on the Oly zoom, and the form factor becomes suspiciously close to that of the smaller DSLRs, like the delicious Canon T1i. Add on the viewfinder and… you get it.
I am not saying that it is a flawed camera, nor that it won’t find its target audience. But I see it much more as a camera that can play DSLR with interchangeable lenses as well as be an albeit overlarge point-and-shoot than a companion to a DSLR. YMMV.

By: Poagao

Poagao — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:53:46 +0000

A quality embedded viewfinder, not to mention an onboard flash, would have pushed the size well into DSLR territory; just look at the G10’s resulting bulkiness over an average point-and-shoot, and that’s a crappy little finder that only covers a fraction of the view. The LCD is useful enough and does what it’s meant to do. The real problem for me is the focusing accuracy and worth of the IQ advantage over something like the LX3; is it worth it?

By: Albert

Albert — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:53:33 +0000

The camera looks promising, but without an actual quality embedded viewfinder and quite possibly a higher resolution LCD, it falls short of that promise. The only time I use live view on my camera is while shooting extreme close-ups.

I’ll personally wait until its next iteration.

Albert

By: Jason Hamilton

Jason Hamilton — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:21:21 +0000

I think HD hit the nail on the head, this camera is perfect for people who aren’t willing to shell out for a Leica M8.2. But the problem is that this camera costs as much as a Canon T1i, or my used 40D, and can’t replace those cameras (esp the 40D or higher cams) for things like weddings, kids, sports, etc. The EP-1 is almost the camera I have been looking for, something small and light like a P&S, but with a larger sensor for DOF control and low light. But it would have to be used in addition to my 40D, not in place of it.

Unfortunately I can’t shell out the money for an EP-1 right now, but I expect we will see more cameras like this, and they will get cheaper.