Excellent article. Really gives a feel for the new camera, especially since finding a display model anywhere near me is going to not happen. I had already decided to pass on this release and your article pretty much confirms my decision for me. The E-P1 is just not for me. But it is an excellent base for Oly mFT.
I just wish they released another truly useful mFT lens, Maybe a superwide.
It's exciting, it looks great and I absolutely love the styling, both in silver and white. I would really, really love to own this camera.
So, will I buy one? NO! I'm afraid not!
WHY?
Rather naively I expected the camera to be a bit smaller than it is, particularly without viewfinder or flash which doesn't actually bother me at all. O.K., it's substantially smaller than a DSLR but it still won't slip into a pocket. You would still need to hang it round your neck or have a waist pouch and therefore may as well have an E620.
The whole point, for me, in having a small camera like this would be to use it with a compact prime lens. 17mm is not a bad choice but wouldn't be my preferred option. Also, I'm disappointed to hear there is a question over the sharpness of this lens, particularly as Olympus have a heritage of outstanding quality small primes. Ian suggests it may be due to the pancake design, but the OM 40mm f2 had legendary sharpness. In fact, I was hoping for an MFT equivalent of this lens, a 20mm f2, plus a wide angle of around 10mm to 12mm.
Then there is the question of price. I know it bears the premium of a new product, but at this sort of money it's hardly going to open the floodgates of people wishing to step up from a compact and even an avid Oly user like me will find it hard to justify.
I predict that this camera will be a success and may even achieve cult status but I cannot see it selling in anything like the volumes needed to make it a commercial success upon which Olympus can base its future financial security.
Hopefully this is just the start of something big (the concept is sound) and hopefully smaller, more attractively priced cameras with better primes (and more of them) will follow. In the meantime it still leaves me looking for a slip in the pocket and take anywhere compact – something like the Ricoh GX100.
__________________ John Perriment
If you can't see a picture you're not looking hard enough
I have to agree with you, John. Perhaps I was expecting too much, but after all the hype, really since Photokina, it just seems a bit of a letdown. The size is a bit much. i really see no advantages over my L1 with a 25 pancake. Video has never been a selling point for me. The styling just screams "LOOK AT ME", which I have never enjoyed. Pretty, but I prefer a low profile when shooting.
Get rid of the video, make it in black and about 20% smaller with some fast pancake primes, and I'll be happy. Basically a mini L1. Just my personal wish for Micro 4/3.(And from what I can tell on the forums, what a lot of others want as well.)
I have to agree with you, John. Perhaps I was expecting too much, but after all the hype, really since Photokina, it just seems a bit of a letdown. The size is a bit much. i really see no advantages over my L1 with a 25 pancake. Video has never been a selling point for me. The styling just screams "LOOK AT ME", which I have never enjoyed. Pretty, but I prefer a low profile when shooting.
Get rid of the video, make it in black and about 20% smaller with some fast pancake primes, and I'll be happy. Basically a mini L1. Just my personal wish for Micro 4/3.(And from what I can tell on the forums, what a lot of others want as well.)
BTW, John, love the signature.
I think you are right, there's a lot of us who want pretty much the same type of camera and the EP1 isn't quite it. Hopefully the potential is there for a future model but it does need to be a bit smaller and cheaper. Losing the video should help!
The styling I adore and if I won the lottery I'd buy one for its looks alone. I know it screams "LOOK AT ME" but, here in the U.K. at least, I can see an advantage. The police won't take it seriously. Rather than thinking you're a terrorist with a fiendish DSLR they'll just think you're a tourist with an old fashioned film camera and leave you alone. And for street photography your subjects will just think you are an eccentric and ignore you.
Glad you like the signature, I tend to change it now and again according to my mood at the time and I do have a penchant for Pink Floyd lyrics!
__________________ John Perriment
If you can't see a picture you're not looking hard enough
Thank you Ian. I appreciate the efffort and time you put in.
I also envy your ability to handle it first.
I'm not so worried about it being able to fit in the shirt pocket. A fanny pack or cargo pants would be fine.
I have said IQ would be a huge issue for me. The camera it would be replacing would be the 8080 and there has never been a issue there with IQ at all.
It too can fit in a fanny pack. It is also silent, virtually noiseless.
The 17mm not being sharp is a big issue for me. I wondered why Dpreview did their test with a 50mm and not a m4/3s lens. I don't think I'd ever put a regular lens on it, all I wanted is a sharp wide pancake.
I think I will hold off and see if the E 3 replacement has the better high iso's. That would be a lot better for me than a vacation cam that I'll use a few weeks out of the year.
It makes good reading - such first impressions from a hands on run.
And no matter how i view it, the one thing that OLy has surely managed is a wonderful tribute to a concept that is pen; and now in its digital rebirth.
And its great to have FTU around too
I think you are right, there's a lot of us who want pretty much the same type of camera and the EP1 isn't quite it. Hopefully the potential is there for a future model but it does need to be a bit smaller and cheaper. Losing the video should help!
The styling I adore and if I won the lottery I'd buy one for its looks alone. I know it screams "LOOK AT ME" but, here in the U.K. at least, I can see an advantage. The police won't take it seriously. Rather than thinking you're a terrorist with a fiendish DSLR they'll just think you're a tourist with an old fashioned film camera and leave you alone. And for street photography your subjects will just think you are an eccentric and ignore you.
Glad you like the signature, I tend to change it now and again according to my mood at the time and I do have a penchant for Pink Floyd lyrics!
Hi John, have to disagree with you there - this is camera that is much more 'portable' - Olympus will hope you will take on with you almost everywhere. So this makes video really useful, and it's much better quality than camera phone video footage.
Also, video capability has no impact on the size of the camera, and I would think not much on the cost of making the camera.
Thanks for a frank and honest review, which certainly answers some of my questions. I'm surprised, and glad, to see that it auto-focuses on all 4/3 lenses, unlike my G1. And the lack of flash doesn't worry me - don't know when I last used flash! However, the lack of an eye-level finder which can be focussed through is a deal-breaker for me. I have a full-size DSLR (E-3), a lightweight camera (sort-of pocketable G1) and a true compact (Fuji F200EXR), and I've not yet seen anything in this iteration of a m43 to make me want to give up on any of them. But I'm sure it will be a success, and hope that it leads to the (quick) development of more, affordable, m43 lenses, especially wide-angle.
I love the retro styling. I don't care about lack of flash and I don't care about movie making. What I really seriously care about is the fact that there is no eye viewfinder. There are times when it is really difficult to hold a camera steady at arms' length to view the screen (I have a mju 1010 as well as the E3), and I was hoping for a camera I could replace it with and stick in my pocket, complete with a small prime lens.
I'm sorry but Olympus has lost a serious potential purchaser here
Olympus Pen E-P1 initial hands-on review
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