E-PL1 or GF1?

This kind of logic lead me to the E-PL1 with an addition of the 20mm to the kit. Then I bought some schwag, and then a legacy lens, which needed an adapter, followed by a level...then a LoopIt, and the mechanical shutter release is on its way from Hong Kong right now...

Careful...these things are addictive!

bpalme said:

I would get the GF1 with 20mm. Bodies come and go but you will keep that 20mm.... and it's a must have lens.

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but for still / landscape / architecture shots, IBIS makes it a whole lot faster again ... fortunately its now quite affordable at $315. If bundled somewhere, I'd guess it will cost at least $200, when you figure out the GF-1's cost.

thanks

just to throw another spanner in the works : )

Samy's photo is offering the GF1 body at only $299. Thats a no brainer in my opinion..

Winston Loo said:

just to throw another spanner in the works : )

Samy's photo is offering the GF1 body at only $299. Thats a no brainer in my opinion..

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I would think that makes it a whole lot more complicated! (in a good way that is)

It's a win-win

GF-1 is great - I got one and really like a lot of things about it and when paired with the 20mm panny lens it's a solid combo. I did find some shortcomings though, which led me to purchase an E-P2

The E-P2 is... (and this is coming from a GF-1 user).. kind of a complicated camera. I am learning it, and with the same 20mm lens it can match the GF1 for speed pretty much across the board once some settings are tweeked. The Jpegs are better and the IBIS turns the 20mm panny lens into a

If you:

• shoot raw & don't need the OOC Jpeg quality of the PEN series offers
• don't want to wait for the E-PL2 to become available
• promise to put the neck strap and on right away and use it ( like I should have...see my gallery for my repair work from a waist high drop)

Then the GF-1 & 20mm lens will take very good care of you. I think you'll spend ~$150 more for that combo vs the E-PL1 but I think it's worth it.

I made this decision just recently and the main factor was the price with pancake lens. So I bought GF1 for me. Actually I posess both now (E-PL1 with kit lens for dad) and both are perfect.

So do I... gone to GF1 + 20mm for the price.

--
Marcelo
http://www.marcelosestren.com
http://www.brfoto.com.br

+1. I have the GF1, 20mm & 14mm and it's a terrific kit. I use mine for daily photojournalism. My "big" cameras are 5D Mark II bodies and I find myself using the GF1 whenever I can. It's fast, image quality (below ISO800) is excellent and handling is very nice.

I've only used the 14 a couple of times, so I haven't formed a hard opinion on it, but the 20? Wow. It's an amazing lens.

jack

--
A few of my photos:
http://www.jackkurtzphotography.com or
http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=4177 or
my PhotoShelter Archive
http://kurtzjack.photoshelter.com/

epl1 a better deal imo; fast af with firmware upate

I bought both the E-PL1 with the kit zoom lens and the GF1 with the 20 mm pancake lens. After going back and forth for a while, I've decided to sell the GF1 body (not sure yet how to find a buyer) and keep the Olympus with both lenses. But lots of other people have come to different conclusions.

As I've said previously, IMO the Panasonic is more fun to shoot with and the Olympus produces better results. In terms of RAW image quality, both cameras will produce nearly identical results, as they share the same sensor. But the Olympus has a truly engine; the Panasonic does not. I am too impatient (and lack enough hard disk space) to shoot all my photos in RAW and then PP. Furthermore, I am not a skilled photographer, so the absence of IBIS on the GF1 (and OIS on the pancake lens) meant that a significant number of my GF1 shots came out blurry. The Olympus also has some excellent art filters.

That said, the GF1 has much better build quality, a much better screen, and is noticeably quicker--not so much in AF speed but in shot-to-shot capacity. In particular, the E-PL1 has a slight (but noticeably) delay in displaying just-taken photos on its LCD. The differences in AF speed is mostly attributable to lens speed (the Olympus zoom lenses trade off AF speed for light weight and the ability to collapse).

In terms of controls, I actually prefer the Olympus since you can access almost every setting via the Super Control Panel. But the lack of a dial is really annoying.

I have a GF-1 with the 20, an EP-1 primarily for legacy lenses and an E-Pl1 for Pany and Oly zooms. I like the E-PL1's ergonomics, adjustable video and stereo mic input. The EP-1 is a tank and has great IBIS...check out Olympus's PR piece on YouTube about the making of Secretariat. I got the GF-1 because it has AVCHD video and will do 60fps for slomo. I can use all three cameras for a 30fps mpeg video shoot.

AND....All three fit in my messenger bag.

There is a thread elsewhere stating that Samy's have the GF1 for USD299.95

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=37320056

[edit] didn't notice that someone had pointed this out - sorry

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Paul