Olympus PEN E-P1
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| I own it | I want it | I had it |
After a carefully constructed teaser campaign Olympus officially launched the E-P1, its first Micro Four Thirds camera in June 2009.The E-P1 is a compact mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that mimics the styling of the company's Pen range that was popular in the 1960s and 70s. The camera is built around an image-stabilized 12 megapixel sensor and incorporates a 3.0"" LCD, but lacks a built-in viewfinder of any sort, or a flash. Arguments will continue to rage about the E-P1's relatively conservative feature set and performance but few could find any serious fault with its image quality, which is easily as good as most SLRs at a similar price point. Yes, it's fractionally noisier than the best APS-C models (particularly if you turn the noise filter off to get the maximum detail), and yes, the dynamic range isn't as good as the very best-in-class cameras, but honestly we're splitting hairs here. Our overall impression of the E-P1's image quality was and remains overwhelmingly positive.
| Body type | Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
| Max resolution | 4032 x 3024 |
| Effective pixels | 12 megapixels |
| Sensor size | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) |
| Sensor type | CMOS |
| ISO | Auto (200 - 3200), 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 |
| Lens mount | Micro Four Thirds |
| Focal length mult. | 2× |
| Articulated LCD | Fixed |
| Screen size | 3″ |
| Screen dots | 230,000 |
| Max shutter speed | 1/4000 sec |
| Format | Motion JPEG |
| Storage types | SD/SDHC card |
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| Weight (inc. batteries) | 355 g (0.78 lb / 12.52 oz) |
| Dimensions | 121 x 70 x 36 mm (4.76 x 2.76 x 1.42″) |
| GPS | None |
It's hard not to fall for the E-P1's charms. The unashamedly nostalgic design combines with true SLR quality in a remarkably pocketable package. The lack of flash and viewfinder will put some off, as will the relatively slow focus, but overall this bodes very well indeed for the new system.
Good for: Walkaround camera for landscapes, SLR users wanting something pocketable with excellent image quality
Not so good for: Low light, indoor or action/sports/wildlife photography
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