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Olympus Announces The E-PL1 - An Affordable Micro-Four Thirds Camera
By Matt J. Weiss, February 3, 2010 @ 10:16 AM (EST)
After days of speculations and rumors, Olympus has announced the E-PL1, which is a less expensive addition to their PEN Micro-Four Thirds camera line. They also announced an underwater housing for the model (which I called a long shot last week)
The E-PL1 costs significantly less than the E-P1 or E-P2, retailing for $599.00, but has many of the same features. The E-PL1 is really, in my opinion, the first digital camera that can shoot SLR quality images in a compact camera size.
The E-PL1 costs significantly less than the E-P1 or E-P2, retailing for $599.00, but has many of the same features. The E-PL1 is really, in my opinion, the first digital camera that can shoot SLR quality images in a compact camera size.
The most important feature is that the E-PL1 keeps the same Micro-Four Thirds sensor, the same sensor found in some of the lower end Olympus SLR cameras, but in a camera body that truly the size of a compact camera. Think about the old, extremely popular c-x0x0 cameras with a much bigger sensor.
Additionally, the E-PL1 is an interchangeable lens camera and can accept the ED 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 zoom lens (28-84mm equivalent in 35mm cameras) sold with the E-PL1, the ED 17mm f2.8 lens (34mm equivalent), the new super wide-angle zoom ED 9-18mm f4.0-5.6 lens (18-36mm equivalent) or the wide to telephoto zoom ED 14-150mm f4.0-5.6 lens (28-300mm equivalent). Add an adapter to make the E-PL1 compatible with all the Four thirds system lenses.
The E-PL1 also retains the ability to shoot 720p movies, with a dedicated red button on the back to easily access this feature.
Lastly, the E-PL1 has a pop-up flash. This of course is great for topside shooters, but even better for underwater shooters since it allows for fiber optically triggered external strobes.
So what's the catch? Why is this E-PL1 cheaper and smaller than the E-P2 and gets a pop-up flash as well? Well it has really been designed for the photographer looking to head right into Auto mode, and has therefore lost all the control dials. What this means is that it will be a bit of hassle to change your settings underwater. Going from 1/80s to 1/200s may require a whole bunch of button pushing. However, I think that it's a small price to pay, and a fair tradeoff to the cheaper price tag.
So what's the catch? Why is this E-PL1 cheaper and smaller than the E-P2 and gets a pop-up flash as well? Well it has really been designed for the photographer looking to head right into Auto mode, and has therefore lost all the control dials. What this means is that it will be a bit of hassle to change your settings underwater. Going from 1/80s to 1/200s may require a whole bunch of button pushing. However, I think that it's a small price to pay, and a fair tradeoff to the cheaper price tag.
to cater to the photographer looking for SLR quality without learning the technical sides of photography, Olympus has created the Live Guide feature, which lets users select icons from a menu bar to quickly and easily adjust parameters for color vividness, color balance, image brightness, depth of field, and subject motion. The E-PL1 also has an Underwater Macro and Underwater Wide Angle mode to make underwater shooting easier for those that don't want to learn manual controls.
What's even more exciting is that the E-PL1 gets its own housing. This will be the first opportunity to take any Olympus Micro-Four Thirds camera underwater. Check out the full post on the PT-EP01 Underwater Housing.
What's even more exciting is that the E-PL1 gets its own housing. This will be the first opportunity to take any Olympus Micro-Four Thirds camera underwater. Check out the full post on the PT-EP01 Underwater Housing.
Check out this video from Olympus about the E-PL1
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