dpreview gives Gold award for the XZ-1

[Barr1e]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusXZ1/

Regards. Barr1e

--

 

[BigScooter]

I read about that camera last week and it seemed to be petty nice for a point and shoot but I wasn't all that impressed with the image quality. I've been thinking about a small P&S that I can carry with me everywhere. I did like the some of the functions on this camera, it seams there hard to find with features like P,A,S,M and raw and even though they sell high ISO numbers they don't seem to do all that well in low light condition from what I have gotten my hands on personally. If anyone knows of a really great P&S at a fair price I would love to hear about it.
--
And now for something totally different
Tim

 

[mosseero]

Are you sure we're talking about the same camera? Dpreview giving it a gold award and all.

 

[msusic]

Great little camera, I'll definitely get it over Pen as a bring-along addition to E-5.

Irony: Oly's got one of the best and low-light capable compact while their DSLRs are at the other end compared to the competition
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Cheers,
Marin

 

[zigi_S]

Most people don't take photos in dark.
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeegee/

 

[DaveJC]

Are you sure we're talking about the same camera? Dpreview giving it a gold award and all.

Compare it's output with the EPL1, no comparison.
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DaveJC

 

[stimmer]

This is a carry everywhere, portable option with built in autofocus assist light(huge) and focuses very fast.

Much more portable than the Pen and the lens has a much greater reach. Great little option for sure.

Not sure I'd give away my E-P2 for it, but I would definitely like to have it.

 

[SirSeth]

Olympus deserves a pat on the back. They saw where the other enthusiast cameras lack and produced worthy competitor. Hot shoe, EVF port, very fast versatile lens, wireless flash control... and yet still pocketable with a good control interface.

XZ-1 + EPL2 + E-5 would be my dream set.

Cheers,
Seth

--
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?

--
wallygoots.smugmug.com
wallygoots.blogspot.com

 

[Barry Stewart]

It looks like a very compelling camera.

On the cons:

I don't know why you can't half-press the shutter, then recompose. Surely this camera focus-locks if you hold the shutter half way down, the same as (all?) other cameras have done since the dawn of AF....
--
Barry

 

[Richard Butler]

It looks like a very compelling camera.

On the cons:

I don't know why you can't half-press the shutter, then recompose. Surely this camera focus-locks if you hold the shutter half way down, the same as (all?) other cameras have done since the dawn of AF....

So you point down at an object in the foreground because you want it in focus (and the large aperture makes focus more critical than usual for a compact). Then you recompose and get a lot of sky in your scene that wasn't there when you locked both focus and exposure.

And voila! Your sky is completely overexposed.

Sure you can come up with workarounds such as switching the camera to MF mode (4 button presses) once you've focused. Or you can play a game of trial and error with exposure compensation (at which point you're essentially manually exposing without a meter).

But the easiest solution would be the ability to lock the focus and exposure independently (either by AEL on the scene, then focus lock with shutter button, recompose and shoot, or AFL on the subject, recompose and take exposure from the scene with shutter button and shoot). Just as almost all cameras allow you to do.

Richard - dpreview.com

 

[johnarvee]

JPG results are higher ISO ratings have quite an aggressive NR.

RAW results from ACR are fantastic though, I think it's better than any of the competition up to ISO 1600 and looks like it would cleanup nicely in software.

Definitely worth considering.

--
Cheers,
John Arvee
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/johnarvee/popular-interesting/

 

[kernow]

It looks like a very compelling camera.

On the cons:

I don't know why you can't half-press the shutter, then recompose. Surely this camera focus-locks if you hold the shutter half way down, the same as (all?) other cameras have done since the dawn of AF....

So you point down at an object in the foreground because you want it in focus (and the large aperture makes focus more critical than usual for a compact). Then you recompose and get a lot of sky in your scene that wasn't there when you locked both focus and exposure.

And voila! Your sky is completely overexposed.

Sure you can come up with workarounds such as switching the camera to MF mode (4 button presses) once you've focused. Or you can play a game of trial and error with exposure compensation (at which point you're essentially manually exposing without a meter).

But the easiest solution would be the ability to lock the focus and exposure independently (either by AEL on the scene, then focus lock with shutter button, recompose and shoot, or AFL on the subject, recompose and take exposure from the scene with shutter button and shoot). Just as almost all cameras allow you to do.

Richard - dpreview.com

The Lumix models this is based on do all of that. Plus they start wider. Even back as far as the LX1 they do the focus lock and AEL.
--
Oll an gwella,
Jim

 

[AccidntlTourist]

For those of us that shoot in manual mode (I never bother with AEL/AFL lock) - I would reassign this button, if possible. But, I think - with a body this small - fewer buttons is better; sleek is good

I acknowledge that the AEL/AFL lock is important to some people and for legitimate reasons.

And as I think the review points out - it's not likely to be a deal breaker for most people.

It looks like a very compelling camera.

On the cons:

I don't know why you can't half-press the shutter, then recompose. Surely this camera focus-locks if you hold the shutter half way down, the same as (all?) other cameras have done since the dawn of AF....

So you point down at an object in the foreground because you want it in focus (and the large aperture makes focus more critical than usual for a compact). Then you recompose and get a lot of sky in your scene that wasn't there when you locked both focus and exposure.

And voila! Your sky is completely overexposed.

Sure you can come up with workarounds such as switching the camera to MF mode (4 button presses) once you've focused. Or you can play a game of trial and error with exposure compensation (at which point you're essentially manually exposing without a meter).

But the easiest solution would be the ability to lock the focus and exposure independently (either by AEL on the scene, then focus lock with shutter button, recompose and shoot, or AFL on the subject, recompose and take exposure from the scene with shutter button and shoot). Just as almost all cameras allow you to do.

Richard - dpreview.com

--
Will - AccidntlTourist
http://www.flickr.com/photos/accidntl/

(Please do not list equipment in your signature as this adversely affects searching. - dpreview)

 

[Joesiv]

Are you sure we're talking about the same camera? Dpreview giving it a gold award and all.

Compare it's output with the EPL1, no comparison.

What lens' are you going to have on the EPL1?

If you have the kit zoom, you're much much bigger, not to mention becuase of the brightness of the XZ-1's lens', you can be 2 or more stops lower in ISO's. Compare the two cameras taking the lens' into account and you're right, no comparison I'm shocked, the XZ-1 compares very faverably with the MFT cameras at just ONE stop higher, let alone two.

If you have a bright pancake on the EPL1, then you lack the ability to zoom... and you're still carrying a camera that's bigger and heavier, though with better low light ability (if you can focus without an AF assist lamp... )

I'm pretty jazzed about the XZ, I'm shocked at how good it seems!

--
Cloverdale, B.C., Canada
Nikon D700, Panasonic L1, Olympus e-510
http://www.joesiv.com

 

[daleeight]

Didn't know it was an SLR
--
Dale

 

[Oliver85]

Olympus deserves a pat on the back. They saw where the other enthusiast cameras lack and produced worthy competitor. Hot shoe, EVF port, very fast versatile lens, wireless flash control... and yet still pocketable with a good control interface.

XZ-1 + EPL2 + E-5 would be my dream set.

Cheers,
Seth

AGREE

 

[jkrumm]

I'd like it with that little viewfinder, spendy but nice. Still would prefer the EPL2, or all three.

--
John Krumm
Juneau, AK

 

[Digirame]

A big congratulations to Olympus...it's been a long time in which we've seen an Olympus compact get rated so highly.

How would it compare to some of the Olympus DSLR cameras and lenses in terms of image quality at the different ISO settings? "Enquiring" minds want to know....

It would be interesting to know, after someone gets a chance to use the XZ-1. We expect a full report.

 

[kernow]

The lack of 24mm will break the deal for many though.
--
Oll an gwella,
Jim

 

[kernow]

It looks like a very compelling camera.

On the cons:

I don't know why you can't half-press the shutter, then recompose. Surely this camera focus-locks if you hold the shutter half way down, the same as (all?) other cameras have done since the dawn of AF....

So you point down at an object in the foreground because you want it in focus (and the large aperture makes focus more critical than usual for a compact). Then you recompose and get a lot of sky in your scene that wasn't there when you locked both focus and exposure.

And voila! Your sky is completely overexposed.

Sure you can come up with workarounds such as switching the camera to MF mode (4 button presses) once you've focused. Or you can play a game of trial and error with exposure compensation (at which point you're essentially manually exposing without a meter).

But the easiest solution would be the ability to lock the focus and exposure independently (either by AEL on the scene, then focus lock with shutter button, recompose and shoot, or AFL on the subject, recompose and take exposure from the scene with shutter button and shoot). Just as almost all cameras allow you to do.

Richard - dpreview.com

Can you do as I do on the LX1, simply focus and then switch to MF (assuming it at least has a switch for that like the Lumix cameras do)? Then recompose and meter normally whilst the focus remains locked by the act of switching to MF mode.
--
Oll an gwella,
Jim