Olympus Introduces the E-P1

It’s finally really here. Today Olympus has officially announced the E-P1, a camera with one foot planted in the past and the other firmly in the present. With aggressive throwback styling based on Olympus’ Pen series of cameras of yesteryear, the E-P1 is the first camera that fully realizes the potential of Micro Four Thirds, a format that promised much smaller camera systems with interchangeable lenses, that up to now was only represented by the Panasonic G series of cameras. I can honestly say that this is much more in-line with what I had envisioned when Olympus and Panasonic announced the micro four thirds format, a near pocket size camera with all the potential of a full sized DSLR.

While small and very vintage in feel, the E-P1 isn’t lacking in any of the whiz-bang features modern day camera users are used too, and to my eye it looks like quite a bit of Olympus DSLR technology is crammed into the E-P1. It features a 12 megapixel sensor, I suspect one quite similar to that found in other Olympus cameras, such as the E-620 and E-30, but the E-P1 gets the  True Pic V image processor which Olympus claims will go to help improve image quality with less noise. On the backside the E-P1 gets a large 3 inch LCD, but don’t get too excited, it’s of the 230K variety, one of the very few specs that I can see that will cause some grumbles. Additionally, the E-P1 also features nearly everything you’ll encounter in one of Olympus’ entry to mid-range DSLRs, including live view, image stabilization, sensor dust removal, and art filters (now in RAW too). Unlike their DSLRs, the E-P1 adds the now obligatory high definition video recording. For the E-P1 this means 720p and stereo sound (with HDMI out) and yes, the E-P1 can use the in-body image stabilization while shooting video, which is bound to help considerably. There is no on board flash and no viewfinder, but both of these aspects have been addressed in the form of any number of accessories, including lens adaptors, cases, external view finder, and flash attachment.

I honestly don’t see a whole lot to not like here, it’s just about everything I’d hope for, and other than the lower res LCD, seems decidedly uncompromised.  At $750 for body only or $800 with the 14-42mm lens, the E-P1 isn’t cheap, but it isn’t as expensive as I might have expected. It certainly offers more than enough bang for the buck and tons of potential. The E-P1 is being launced with 2 lenses (the other being a 17mm f/2.8 pancake), but already Olympus is offering adaptors for full access to the Olympus lens library, and in addition the Panasonic G series lenses also will work with the E-P1. All in all, this is the most exciting and decidedly different camera out there right now. You can expect competition very soon.

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1. 

   Elliot says:

   June 17, 2009 at 5:57 pm

   http://paulrussellinfo.blogspot.com/2009/06/olympus-e-p1-climbing-mount-improbable.html

   “The only dark clouds on the horizon seem to be mutterings about focusing speed. For example dpreview says, ‘the samples we’ve tried have very slow focus in anything but perfect light’. OK, these are samples and not the final cameras, but it doesn’t seem to tally with Olympus’s claim of 3 frames per second…

   In theory, with the new pancake prime lens pictured above – which is about 35 mm in 35 mm terms – a manual focus to about 5 ft and f/8 would cover most bases, but according to http://www.dcresource.com, that doesn’t sound too promising either: ‘Manual focus allows you to set the focus distance yourself, though that can be difficult, since there are no distance markings on the lens, nor are any displayed on the LCD’. Hmm, curious…”

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2. 

   Patrick says:

   June 18, 2009 at 8:06 pm

   Sorry elliot, wordpress flagged this, I guess because of the link, and I didn’t notice it waiting for approval…that said, I love your contrarian point of view. I’m just as curious to see how this pans out in final cameras, but if the e-620 is any kind of indicator, it should be doing alright with the AF. We shall see….

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3. 

   Elliot says:

   June 19, 2009 at 9:03 pm

   Patrick I’d love for it to be a hit, to spur competition with Panasonic and further consumer interest and manufacturer development. But having used point and shoots and a Ricoh GRD with (and without) external electronic viewfinder I can say that anyone looking for a fast and accurate pocket shooter will want a viewfinder and not just an LCD screen.

   Considering that the Panny G1 is only marginally larger than the E-P1 (especially considering lenses attached), has a really useful electronic finder and you can get one with two lenses (14-45, 45-200) for as little as $660 through Amazon… I don’t see the real value for the Olympus aside from a cool retro look and *marginally* smaller dimensions.

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