Olympus E-P series AF is too slow (3-5 TIMES slower than other cams)

If you were digitally "weaned" on a DSLR, it can come as a real shock. My G1 is nearly as fast as my D300 and often can focus in dark areas better. But the Olympus are another story.

Does anyone know why the Panasonic camera AF is so much faster? Does anyone have any understanding of the electronic differences?

http://www.outbackphoto.com/CONTENT_2007_01/section_gear_cameras_2009/20090702_Olympus_E-P1/index.html

AF (Auto Focus)

The G1/GH1 wins hands down in terms of AF speed. Even with Olympus lenses it is faster.

http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4073&review=olympus+ep+1

Shooting Performance

If the Olympus E-P1 suffers from a single Achilles Heel it has to be slow auto focus. In fact, to explain just how lethargic the auto focus performance is

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/EP1/EP1A.HTM

According to our tests, the 14-42mm took 1.23 seconds to focus and fire at wide angle, and 1.07 seconds at telephoto. That's very slow, and version 1.1 firmware resulted in only a slight improvement (1.19 and 0.98 seconds respectively).

http://www.pdngearguide.com/gearguide/content_display/news/e3iceae27f23a68f24b99e27463f2d04ac3

One of the biggest gripes about Olympus' stylish PEN series digital cameras is their glacial autofocus speeds

By far the biggest problem with the E-P1 is it's contrast detect autofocus system, which is not only slower than any SLR, it's slower than many compacts too.

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/olympus_ep1_review/

Unfortunately the Contrast Auto-Focusing system isn't going to win any speed awards, taking approximately 0.5 second to lock onto the subject and emit a loud beep (which can be turned off). Half a second doesn't sound like much, but it's enough to miss the moment and is noticeably slower than both regular DSLR cameras and the Panasonic G1 / GH1.