First Impressions - Olympus Pen E-PL1
Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:50 pmHad breakfast this morning with the good people from Olympus, who officially presented some new cameras, including the Pen E-PL1.
Like its more expensive siblings, this is a nice solid feeling bodywith a good, quality feel to it. This camera is targeting those who want to move up from the PHD market, and includes several features designed to be attractive to those expected purchasers.
It still lacks a built in optical viewfinder, and while the viewfinder seems bright and clear indoors, the location of the launch precluded getting any sort of impression of how the electronic viewfinder will perform in a brightly sunlit outdoors situation.
The new model does satisfy one criticism of the earlier siblings - it now has a built in flash, and although the implementation is very different from Nikon's, this body also now features a guide mode, to help those users unfamiliar with the more technical concepts of photography.
In Olympus's case, they have taken a decision to avoid the use of much of the jargon that we are familiar with. Terms like aperture and depth of field are avoided, for instance, and every day words like sharper are used. From the point of view of attracting their target market - those who wish to step up from a PHD camera - this might be a good approach, but as those users move forward and wish to learn more of the technical stuff, I'm wondering if that's the best course of action they could have taken, as those users will eventually have to unlearn many things in order to move forward.
AF speed seemed to be very good with the 14-42mm lens, and I experienced no instances of hunting for focus. The video mode is accessed by a single dedicated button. Whilst a good idea, I found I was able to accidentally press this button and start shooting video ... of who knows what! Perhaps this is a placement and ergonomics issue?
I am fond of the E-P1, and this is a more affordable body with some interesting features. I look forward to getting a review copy and giving this camera a real test.
Like its more expensive siblings, this is a nice solid feeling bodywith a good, quality feel to it. This camera is targeting those who want to move up from the PHD market, and includes several features designed to be attractive to those expected purchasers.
It still lacks a built in optical viewfinder, and while the viewfinder seems bright and clear indoors, the location of the launch precluded getting any sort of impression of how the electronic viewfinder will perform in a brightly sunlit outdoors situation.
The new model does satisfy one criticism of the earlier siblings - it now has a built in flash, and although the implementation is very different from Nikon's, this body also now features a guide mode, to help those users unfamiliar with the more technical concepts of photography.
In Olympus's case, they have taken a decision to avoid the use of much of the jargon that we are familiar with. Terms like aperture and depth of field are avoided, for instance, and every day words like sharper are used. From the point of view of attracting their target market - those who wish to step up from a PHD camera - this might be a good approach, but as those users move forward and wish to learn more of the technical stuff, I'm wondering if that's the best course of action they could have taken, as those users will eventually have to unlearn many things in order to move forward.
AF speed seemed to be very good with the 14-42mm lens, and I experienced no instances of hunting for focus. The video mode is accessed by a single dedicated button. Whilst a good idea, I found I was able to accidentally press this button and start shooting video ... of who knows what! Perhaps this is a placement and ergonomics issue?
I am fond of the E-P1, and this is a more affordable body with some interesting features. I look forward to getting a review copy and giving this camera a real test.
