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My hands-on E-P1 preview: LCD resolution

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The e-p1 lcd has 230k dots, or 230000/3=77000 pixels. Its a QVGA screen, 240x320...
The G1 screen is a 3:2 HVGA screen, so 460k dots, 153k pixels, 480x320...

The G1 EVF has approximately 480000 pixels, so it has six time the resolution of the e-p1 screen
 
None of which tells us anything about refresh rates or latency, unfortunately.
0lf said:
The e-p1 lcd has 230k dots, or 230000/3=77000 pixels. Its a QVGA
screen, 240x320...
The G1 screen is a 3:2 HVGA screen, so 460k dots, 153k pixels,
480x320...
The G1 EVF has approximately 480000 pixels, so it has six time the
resolution of the e-p1 screen
--
Click to expand...
 
Panasonic said that the G1 EVF refresh 60 time/s. I don't know about the e-p1
 
...even without gloves. But I digress.

IMO, they should have used an LCD with far more resolution, especially considering MF. I use MF for my macro work, and the lousy, cheap 230k screen on the E-3 blows for such a task.
--
Regards,

Steve
 
Robert Swier said:
The E-P1 has a 3-inch screen with 230,000 pixels. Compare that to the
3-inch screen on the Canon G-10, which has twice that resolution
(461,000 pixels), or to the 3-inch screen on the 5D Mark II, which
has quadruple the resolution (920,000 pixels).
Click to expand...
I agree. The 230k resolution isn't really good so many years after it got introduced. When it was new it was great, but now it seems Olympus had too many of those screens on stock, so they had to use it even in the E-P1. I think that is going to be a problem with a camera which has no other VF, especially since it is going to be considerably more expensive than any P&S Olympus makes, even more expensive than some DSLRs.

Well, maybe there will be an E-P2 before the end of this year and this one is just a market teaser...
--
http://www.olyflyer.blogspot.com/
 
RRJackson said:
Would you rather have a high resolution screen with terrible latency
issues or a lower resolution screen that responds quickly to changing
conditions? Because I'm pretty sure you aren't going to get both
right now.
Click to expand...
Well, latency and resolution isn't necessarily connected. All depends on the processing power. The G10 is for example considerably faster than any other compact or P&S I ever handled. I don't see any latency issues with it at all, while I clearly see it with the E-3 in live view, the Olympus flagship. So I guess, latency is solvable for some makers without too much compromise on the resolution.
--
http://www.olyflyer.blogspot.com/
 
olyflyer said:
I agree. The 230k resolution isn't really good so many years after it
got introduced. When it was new it was great, but now it seems
Olympus had too many of those screens on stock, so they had to use it
even in the E-P1. I think that is going to be a problem with a camera
which has no other VF, especially since it is going to be
considerably more expensive than any P&S Olympus makes, even more
expensive than some DSLRs.
Click to expand...
It is a problem; I need a higher resolution to check critical focus/sharpness and for manual focus. Assuming there are no performance issues with the E-P1, the low screen resolution is the one issue which makes me hesitate.

But then there's always something. No doubt Panasonic's contender in this category will have a superior screen, but everyone will have an issue with the lack of sensor-based stabilization.
olyflyer said:
Well, maybe there will be an E-P2 before the end of this year and
this one is just a market teaser...
Click to expand...
Hopefully not too much bigger and heavier.

--
Björn

galleries: http://www.pbase.com/viztyger

 
I saw an Oly EP1 ad on youtube where some photogs go to the Martin Guitar factory. When you turn the ring for manual focus it instantly zooms in. Makes critical focus much easier.
 
olyflyer said:
Well, latency and resolution isn't necessarily connected. All depends
on the processing power. The G10 is for example considerably faster
than any other compact or P&S I ever handled. I don't see any latency
issues with it at all, while I clearly see it with the E-3 in live
view, the Olympus flagship.
Click to expand...
They must have done a lot of work since the G9 because my G9 is just mediocre when it comes to issues of latency. Better than my E-3 was, but still just mediocre. My D700 actually seems worse than the E-3, but at least it doesn't shut down after 20 minutes and tell me the sensor has overheated.
 
My guess is that the EP-1 will be selling for $100-$200 less a year from now. So the cost budget is really not that much higher than other top end p&s or low end dslr's. For that price Oly has to fit in sensor IS, a larger sensor (than p&s), and higher performance processor. So compromises have to be made somewhere.

While higher rez would be nice, what would you want to give up?

Jeff
Robert Swier said:
The LCD screen on the E-P1 is on the low end for resolution. I'm sure
this has been mentioned before. During my hand-on preview at Olympus
today in Osaka, I noticed it immediately. I was looking at the menu
screen and I remember thinking that the scroll bar on the side looked
a little pixelated. I thought it was weird, and it wasn't until I
checked the specs again just now that I realized why it looked that
way.

The E-P1 has a 3-inch screen with 230,000 pixels. Compare that to the
3-inch screen on the Canon G-10, which has twice that resolution
(461,000 pixels), or to the 3-inch screen on the 5D Mark II, which
has quadruple the resolution (920,000 pixels).

Lots of cameras have 230,000 pixel screens, but they tend to be
smaller than 3-inches. (The E-3 is 2.5 inches and 230,000 pixels.) So
the size of the pixels on the E-P1's screen are pretty large.
(Although I should point out that the Canon 40D has a 3-inch, 230,000
pixel screen, and probably no one complains about it.)

I'm not sure how Olympus could have motivated using the lower
resolution screen, except that maybe they were trying to keep costs
down or that maybe it uses less power (which could be an advantage
for an always-on live-view camera with a small battery and a big
sensor.)

It's a little disappointing, but I guess it's not really a deal-breaker.
Click to expand...
--
Jeff
 
That's the same system as on the G1.

Works very well, and ensures spot on focus.

Effectively, you are locking focus to the target, then by half pressing the shutter you go back to full view, then recompose & shoot.
DigitalPicture said:
I saw an Oly EP1 ad on youtube where some photogs go to the Martin
Guitar factory. When you turn the ring for manual focus it instantly
zooms in. Makes critical focus much easier.
--
Click to expand...
--
Regards,
Rich Simpson
 
I think I would enjoy the articulation even more than the resolution though, on a camera like that.

I am hoping the E5 will have the upgraded resolution and the HDMI out ports.
 
viztyger said:
olyflyer said:
I agree. The 230k resolution isn't really good so many years after it
got introduced. When it was new it was great, but now it seems
Olympus had too many of those screens on stock, so they had to use it
even in the E-P1. I think that is going to be a problem with a camera
which has no other VF, especially since it is going to be
considerably more expensive than any P&S Olympus makes, even more
expensive than some DSLRs.
Click to expand...
It is a problem
Click to expand...
I understand that, and I agree. I think this is what's going to make hard for Oly to sell the camera. Really, it's a shame they didn't use a better LCD.
--
http://www.olyflyer.blogspot.com/
 
DigitalPicture said:
I saw an Oly EP1 ad on youtube where some photogs go to the Martin
Guitar factory. When you turn the ring for manual focus it instantly
zooms in. Makes critical focus much easier.
Click to expand...
The G10 does that as well, but I find that irritating because it makes composition impossible, so I switched the feature off.
--
http://www.olyflyer.blogspot.com/
 
RRJackson said:
olyflyer said:
Well, latency and resolution isn't necessarily connected. All depends
on the processing power. The G10 is for example considerably faster
than any other compact or P&S I ever handled. I don't see any latency
issues with it at all, while I clearly see it with the E-3 in live
view, the Olympus flagship.
Click to expand...
They must have done a lot of work since the G9 because my G9 is just
mediocre when it comes to issues of latency. Better than my E-3 was,
but still just mediocre. My D700 actually seems worse than the E-3,
but at least it doesn't shut down after 20 minutes and tell me the
sensor has overheated.
Click to expand...
Yes, IMHO, the latency is not an issue on the G10 compared with other cameras I have seen, however, because of the shutter lag, taking action images isn't very easy.

I got the sensor overheat warning a couple of times on the E-3, but switching off and on the camera cleared it every time. OK, I don't use LV that often, so I don't know how frequent the problem is.

--
http://www.olyflyer.blogspot.com/
 
Nope, I'd like the one that I use everyday in my Canon G10, thank you very much.

Plenty responsive, plenty resolution, not "the future" it has been around for a while now, yes?

My point is that there were better alternatives currently available, and for a camera with a nice large sensor (for a P&S camera), and with nice interchangeable lenses, and with no OVF or EVF, it makes sense to at least have state of the art. Which the EP-1 clearly does not have.

That's all. Simple fact.

As I said, I love the concept -- just not the execution.

My G-10 is my daily "drag along" camera when the E-3 and SHG lenses are than I care to drag about.
RRJackson said:
http://www.accuscene.com/products.html
Rand47 said:
I agree. A camera that bases its "view for the photographer" on an
LCD screen.... should have the highest resolution currently
available. IF they are serious about market share.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Rand47 said:
Nope, I'd like the one that I use everyday in my Canon G10, thank you
very much.
Plenty responsive, plenty resolution, not "the future" it has been
around for a while now, yes?
Click to expand...
I have the G9 and it's sluggish enough to be functionally useless unless my subject is immobile. Either they've come a long way in one generation or your sense of "responsive" isn't much like mine.
 
Got to preview the E-P1 today and am keeping my name on the waiting list! I'm going to get the 17mm lens with it. The telephoto lens is about the same size as the 14 - 42 kit lens that I had with my 410 so I'll use that if I want a telephoto lens until some better glass comes out for it. It did take a while to focus but I was in a pretty dark store. I took some shots at 1600 and wasn't impressed with the quality but 800 was amazingly sharp. My 12 - 60 seemed to be fine on it but you end up holding it mostly with the lens. The adapter seemed to work easily enough and didn't take up much space. I love my E-30 and liked the fact that it has similar features.

I tried Brian's portrait technique with the upper arms in to the body and think it worked well.

I was pleased with the flash. Didn't think I would order it but after using it I think it would come it handy. Seemed much better than an on-board P&S flash.
 
Rand47 said:
Don't get me wrong, I like the m4/3 concept, and think that Panasonic
is really on to something in their implementation. Why anyone would
buy an EP-1 over a G1 or GH1 is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Size. I already own a dSLR form-factor, even if the Panny G1 is small, it is still the proportions of a dSLR.

--
'Photos are what remain when the memories are forgotten' - Angular Mo.
 
Rand47 said:
Nope, I'd like the one that I use everyday in my Canon G10, thank you
very much.
Plenty responsive, plenty resolution, not "the future" it has been
around for a while now, yes?

My point is that there were better alternatives currently available,
and for a camera with a nice large sensor (for a P&S camera), and
with nice interchangeable lenses, and with no OVF or EVF, it makes
sense to at least have state of the art. Which the EP-1 clearly does
not have.

That's all. Simple fact.

As I said, I love the concept -- just not the execution.
Click to expand...
Yup, I agree.

But I would have even settled for what has been around for some time now --- 460K -- like I have on my TZ5. I could pass on the state of the art 920K. Just give me what is no big thing now days.

But 230K - common. I have a real hard time believing this couldn't have been higher --- even if I had to change the battery more often.

As is, if it is mediocre, I'll wait for the E-P2.

I mean, if you're going to have a so so LCD, then there should have been an EVF. And if you don't want to install an EVF so as to keep the size down (and I like the size of the E-P1), then give me a decent LCD to do my manual focus.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=32175640
 
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