Posts Tagged ‘Olympus Pen E-PL1’
Olympus Pen E-PL1 Review
The brand new E-PL1 is the third Micro Four Thirds camera from Olympus, following on from the E-P1 and E-P2 models which were launched in 2009. The Olympus E-PL1 is a more affordable mass-market camera, with a plastic rather than metal chassis, smaller and lighter body, and a redesigned user interface that’s simpler to use. The easy-to-understand, non-technical Live Guide provides direct on-screen control over key image effects like depth-of-field and sharpness, while the addition of a built-in flash makes the E-PL1 more versatile in low-light. Other key features of the E-PL1 include 12.3 megapixels, 2.7 inch LCD screen, sensor-shift image stabilisation, one-touch HD video recording, Supersonic Wave Filter for automated sensor cleaning, a sensitivity range of ISO 100-3200, 6 different Art Filters and 3fps continuous shooting for up to 10 raw images. The Olympus E-PL1 is available now in silver, black, blue, champagne gold and red at a retail price of $549 body only, £549 / $599 for a single lens kit and £699 for a twin zoom kit.
Ease of Use
The Olympus E-PL1 is the sixth member of the growing Micro Four Thirds family, joining the E-P1 and E-P2 models and Panasonic’s G1, GH-1 and GF-1 line-up. All of these cameras take advantage of the mirror-less nature of the Micro Four Thirds standard to offer a smaller and lighter solution that more traditional DSLR cameras, targeting those users who want to trade up from a compact but who are scared away by the size and complexity of a DSLR. With it’s all-plastic body the E-PL1 is one of the lightest models in this category, weighing 300g, and it’s also a little smaller too, measuring 120.6 x 69.9 x 36.4 mm. Both the more expensive EP-1 and EP-2 cameras have metal bodies, so the E-PL1 has shed weight and lowered cost by using a plastic construction, although it still feels reassuringly well-made with very little flex in the overall design. The depth and weight increase when the supplied poly-carbonate mounted 14-42mm kit lens is fitted, making the E-PL1 instantly more DSLR-like, but fitting a pancake lens like Olympus’ 17mm or Panasonic’s 20mm creates a compact overall package that will particularly suit street photographers looking for an indiscrete camera.
The more modern styling of the E-PL1 is a lot more neutral than the overtly retro design of the E-P1 and E-P2 and will mostly appeal to the younger and more inexperienced audience that this model is aimed at. Our black review sample with silver metal accents looked quite stylish in an understated kind of way, although it lacks the more cohesive design of its predecessors. There’s a generous, textured black plastic hand-grip on the left-front of the camera which I prefer to the original E-P1, and a shiny black panel on the rear where most of the controls are located. The E-PL1 is better constructed than you’d expect given its relatively small size, light weight and budget price-tag, certainly on a par with most entry- and mid-level DSLRs.
Large metal neck strap eyelets are located on top of the camera at the sides, with the rear dominated by the fixed 2.7 inch LCD screen, another cost-cutting measure (the E-P1 and E-P2 both have a larger 3 inch screen). When it comes to storing your photographs the E-PL1 uses SD / SDHC cards, an important decision by Olympus as this format is much more popular than the xD-Picture cards that most Olympus compacts use. The BLS1 battery which provides up to 500 shots under the CIPA testing standard (note that this drop to 280 images if using Live View all the time) is housed next to the SD slot, both protected by a plastic lockable cover. Also found on the bottom of the camera is a metal tripod mount located almost in the centre of the camera body, although not in line with the lens.
As with the E-P1 and E-P2, there is no optical viewfinder as on a DSLR. Instead, you can choose to buy the excellent detachable VF-2 viewfinder which slots into the E-PL1′s hotshoe on top of the camera and is tilt-able to 90° so the camera can be used as you would a medium format model and with 100% field of view. The EVF has its own newly included port, situated just below the E-PL1′s hotshoe and protected with a slide-off piece of plastic that will quickly get lost in the recesses of your camera bag. This port also allows the attachment of an accessory microphone if so desired via the EMA-1 adapter. New for the E-PL1 is the much-requested built-in pop-up flash, activated by a switch on the rear. This uses a folding design to raise the flash as high as possible above the lens, much the one on the Panasonic GF-1.
Once you have captured a photo, the Olympus E-PL1 has a good range of options when it comes to playing, reviewing and managing your images. You can instantly scroll through the images that you have taken, view thumbnails (up to 25 onscreen at the same time and in a Calendar view), zoom in and out up to 14x magnification, view slideshows, delete and protect an image, add a sound clip and set the print order.
The Edit option offers a number of different ways to alter the look of an already-captured photo, including merging 2 or 3 into one, shadow adjustment, redeye fix, cropping, changing the aspect ratio, converting to black and white or sepia, boosting the saturation, resizing and applying the e-Portrait filter. The Info button toggles detailed settings information about each picture on and off, such as the ISO rating and aperture / shutter speed, and there are small brightness and RGB histograms available.
In summary the Olympus E-PL1 is an easier-to-use and crucially cheaper PEN model that doesn’t compromise too much on features and build quality, although serious photographers will miss the key controls that have been removed to make the camera simpler.