A fantastic affordable camera you can still buy new from eBay

Guy Parsons's many posts inspired me to switch from a Panasonic G3 to a silver Olympus E-P5. It looks and handles like a jewel.

Last week, I took delivery of my second E-P5, a white model ordered from Japan. The white one lives on my belt, soon to be joined by a white Olympus 9mm body-cap lens. My black VF-4 viewfinder stays on the silver body. But to help me compose in bright sun, I've dialed up the brightness of my LCD (under "Setup"). I'm hoping that this discreet, svelte, all-white setup, together with the body's flip screen and the lens's ultrawide field of view, will allow me to capture more candid shots.

I don't know how many times I've used DPReview's "compare cameras" feature to compare the E-P5 against other Pens--the older E-P3, or the newer E-PL7, 8, and 9. None of the other Pens would save more than 65 grams, and none would use the same BLN-1 battery. The E-PL9, at least, would give me an electronic shutter and a newer JPEG engine, without giving up the built-in flash.

If anyone has been wondering what they're missing, now is a great time to pick up one of these older Pens on eBay.

An American seller has at least 10 (probably 20) black E-P5s, new in their sealed boxes, for $260 U.S. , with free shipping within the States; he'll ship to other countries, too.

A used E-P3 can be bought from Japan in any color for about $130 to $200 shipped.

A used E-P8 can be bought from Japan in any color for about $250 shipped.

Paul S. in Maryland