by Miserere

  

Note: The camera and accessories tested in this review were loaned to EtL by B&H Photo & Video store. To thank them for their generosity and allow us to receive more products for review, please consider purchasing your camera equipment through our affiliate B&H link (also found on the right sidebar). Thanks!
Further note: The new Olympus E-PL2 is the successor of the camera in this review and is an improvement in many ways. If you read the review and like the E-PL1, you can confidently purchase the E-PL2 knowing it is an even better camera.

  

Introduction

To many photographers Olympus has always felt like a second tier photography system since they adopted the 4/3 standard in 2002, due to the sensor’s small size and generous 2x crop factor with respect to 24x36mm (full-frame) sensors. Despite these apparent limitations, Olympus has garnered a loyal following who appreciate smaller cameras and lenses that are just as well spec’d as the competition’s larger DSLRs.

But Olympus had more up its sleeve, and in 2008, together with long-time 4/3 partner Panasonic, they announced a new format: the μ4/3 (micro 4/3). The idea is simple: Take a 4/3 sensor and place it in a camera without a mirror. The size advantages are clear—without a mirror-box in the camera, the lens can be mounted closer to the sensor and the body made thinner. Removing the mirror also means there is no need for a pentaprism or pentamirror, so the height of the camera can also be reduced.

Panasonic led the way by releasing the immediately popular G1 in November 2008. Olympus lagged behind but eventually released the Pen E-P1 in July 2009 to an anticipating crowd (with my thumbs up). While the E-P1 received mixed reviews (which is typical of any product that has been awaited for so long), it proved Olympus’s approach to the micro 4/3 concept could work. You see, while Panasonic’s G1 and its decendants looked like little DSLRs, the E-P1 looked more like a P&S, and Olympus based its ad campaign (and indeed, actual design) around a classic half-frame film camera, the Olympus Pen F. The waters hadn’t even calmed down when Olympus launched its second micro 4/3 camera, the E-P2, in December of the same year. Perhaps the biggest difference in this new camera was the incorporation of a data port below the flash hot shoe to allow the attachment of an electronic viewfinder, the VF-2.

This rather long-winded introduction brings us to the camera I’ll be discussing today, the third and latest member of the digital PEN family, the E-PL1, released earlier this month. If you’re wondering what the “L” is for, it stands for “light”, but while it’s the cheapest of the three, it’s unclear that it’s light in any way. In fact, many E-P1 and E-P2 owners have expressed their discontent with Olympus’s decision to release such a great “cheap” option.

The E-PL1 comes in 3 colours: black, blue, and the one I tested, champagne. For some reason, it comes bundled with a black kit lens that seems out of place with the body; it should have come with the silver kit lens. The pancake 17mm f/2.8 lens (which I also received) is a much better match.

  

What’s in the Box

• E-PL1 with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 lens
• Li-ion battery BLS-1 (8.4V, 1080mAh)
• Li-ion battery charger BCS-1
• USB/Video multi cable
• Shoulder strap
• Software CD-ROM
• Instruction manual
• Warranty card

  

Olympus E-PL1 Main Specifications

Below I list the main specs for the E-PL1, but I’m also listing the specs for its sister cameras, the E-P1 and E-P2 so you can better appreciate the differences and similarities.

As you can see, the E-PL1 offers some useful features not present in one or both of its predecessors, like the dedicated movie record button, EVF (electronic viewfinder) port, flash or AF tracking. The most glaring “light” features (with respect to the other two) are lower max. ISO, slower max. shutter speed and lack of control wheels/dials. While the seasoned shooter might complain, the target audience of this camera (entry-level buyers moving up from a P&S for better IQ) are unlikely to notice, let alone complain. I think Olympus cut corners in the right places.

  

Holding the Camera

This is one solid piece of photographic equipment; it might be encased in aluminum, but this thing is dense and sturdy. It does not feel cheap. As you can see in the photo to the right (courtesy of David Parsons), it is a lot smaller than a DSLR, especially with the pancake 17mm f/2.8 lens, and while larger than a P&S, its low volume brings it closer to that form factor than a DSLR. And I mean that as a compliment. It felt so much smaller than a DSLR that instead of using the provided shoulder strap, I took the wrist strap from my P&S and looped it around one of the strap lugs. It’s light enough that you can have it dangling from your wrist while you walk and it won’t dig into your skin. It has a small rubberised grip on the front and I find the camera very comfortable to hold and shoot with, either with a viewfinder or using the rear LCD. Below is a picture taken side by side with the Canon S90 (read my review here). As you can see, the body of the E-PL1 isn’t that much larger than the S90.

  

Shooting with the Olympus E-PL1

After using the camera sporadically during two days, I went out last Saturday for a walk around Boston. I shoot mostly in Av, and while a control wheel such as that on the E-P1 and E-P2 would have been nice, the truth is I didn’t have that much of an issue using the 4-way controller to change shot settings. If you’re in M mode and need to quickly change all your settings, then yes, you’ll be in a jam, but walking around the city in Av I realised that I rarely change aperture and I cared about focusing and shutter responsiveness much more. Autofocus seems better than other P&Ss I’ve tried, and not much slower than most DSLRs I’ve shot with. Maybe I’m not very demanding, but I found AF was not an issue. Shutter lag is non-existent, on par with my DSLR.

Composing on the LCD wasn’t as bad as I expected given the camera’s small size; while I wouldn’t like shooting this way with a DSLR, it was OK with the E-PL1; and I say this as someone who enjoys looking through a good viewfinder. The biggest surprise of all, was using manual focus: It’s a lot easier on the LCD that it is with an optical VF on a DSLR. Thinking about it a bit, this is why I was surprised: My previous manual focusing on LCD experience came from P&Ss with their tiny sensors and almost infinite DoF, but the 4/3 format has a much narrower DoF than a typical P&S (due to its much larger sensor), making manual focusing…almost a pleasure. I wish I could have tested the VF-2 to compare, as I’ve heard it offers a similar focusing experience, but sadly B&H were out of stock. I’ll be sure to test it with the next micro 4/3 camera is released.

This brings me to the LCD screen. While a bit smaller than that of the E-P1 and E-P2, it still sports the same resolution (230k pixels). Olympus have given many reasons for using this screen, but the truth is, it looks bad on such a nice camera. 230k just doesn’t cut it on a $600 camera, and I’m sure Olympus will lose sales of these cameras because of it; when a P&S user comes into a store and turns them on, they’ll wonder why their $250 P&S has a better LCD screen and then move on to the next camera, throwing the digital Pen over his shoulder. When viewing images in playback, it’s not that bad, but when using Live View the low resolution is evident. I”m not saying it’s useless (it clearly isn’t!), but I am saying it is sub-par and not up to the quality level displayed by the rest of the camera.

  

The Kit Lens

Kit lenses don’t have a great reputation, and often for a reason, so I was not expecting anything from Olympus’s M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. But again, I was surprised. First, it’s tiny, about the size of a screw-focus 50mm f/1.8; second, it’s light, as in, put it in your pocket and forget it’s there, light; third, the IQ is pretty damn good. Really? Yeah, really! I initially thought I wouldn’t use it much, or at all, but I ended up mounting it when I wanted more reach than the 17mm prime would give me. No brick wall tests so far, but it’s good enough that I can imagine many casual shooters not needing to buy more lenses for a while, if ever.

The main reason for its feather-like qualities is the use of plastic almost everywhere, including the mount. It also has a retractable barrel that you have to manually extend when you want to use the lens, which just about doubles its length. Zooming feel is a bit uneven throughout the range but the focus ring, being focus-by-wire, is butter smooth.

  

My Impression So Far

This is a very good camera. I had many reservations about the micro 4/3 format, but was curious to try it out and see (touch) for myself. I’m glad I did because I am tearing down preconceptions I had about these cameras, and having fun while doing it. The camera is easy to use and gives great results, which makes for an enjoyable shooting experience. One thing that caught my eye early on was the generous dynamic range of the sensor, which is strange because according to DxO Mark the Olympus E-P2 (they haven’t added the E-PL1 yet) has 1 stop less dynamic range than my current DSLR. I’ll have to run some side-by-side tests before I say more about this.

Stay tuned for the next chapter in this multi-part review, where I’ll be talking at length about shooting with the E-PL1 and the features it offers the photographer. Here’s a quick shots, JPEG straight from the camera downsized in Photoshop.

  

Part 2: Using the Camera ⇒

  

  

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Related posts:

1. Review – Olympus Pen E-PL1, Part 3: Image Quality & Conclusion
2. Review – Olympus Pen E-PL1, Part 2: Using the Camera
3. Review – Canon S90, Part 1: First Impressions
4. Review – Samsung NX10, Part 1: First Impressions
5. Breaking New Ground: Olympus Pen E-P1, part 2