David Pogue on the E-P1

I'm telling you. The digital camera craze is like crack. As soon as it's released, the euphoria is over rather quickly and the only thing you can think about is the next model.

For what it's worth, I really want this camera with a viewfinder. I'm just not interested in holding any more cameras up in front of my face at arm's length, especially while trying to manually focus a lens. Still, I love the design of the EP-1.
 
wow, i was worried something that i actually would be concerned about would come up. but the same old same old.

looking forward to making that ep-1 and 17mm sing in two weeks!
 
kshapero said:
he about says it all.....
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First let me admit my rather poor tech knowledge. But within it, the BODY (sensor) BUILT IN IMAGE STABILIZATION, enabling you IS with any lens, was omitted from the article.
In case I am right, this was A BIG ommision. A HUGE advantage of the EP1.

I don't know why, but lately we seem to display a special skill for picking the dumb articles among the whole of the NYT, and bring them to RFF as gospel words for admiration.
.http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77105

Overall, the lack of an electronic view finder is a shortcoming I cannot defend Olympus for. As said more than once, I am not a post Maitani Oly fan, to say the least, but even less a fan of this kind of articles. There is still a difference between trying to manufacture something new, and looking for sustain from senseless criticism, no matter how reckless it may sound. The former is the tree, the latter is the parasit over one of the branches.

I guess much of the issue is whether you arrive to the 4/3 by the path of upgrading from your previous camera, or on the contrary, when you come from the dslr high end, looking for smaller size without tax.

When my horizons were stucked within the compact digis, I noticed that there is no linear price/upgrading line. I.e, that within the compact digitals you can buy an $800 compact but it will not be 8 times better than a clever $100 one. It will be much better, but by no linear proportion.

This is not my feeling at all once I went for the Panasonic G1. I feel at heaven.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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they [camera companies] do that on purpose. i'm thinking about the higher end body olympus is supposed to release in the winter, and it will not have the features i want. and then i will wait for the rangefinder-style camera panasonic is supposed to be working on...
 
I'm totally disagreed with his article, I'm no longer use the zoom len on the camera instead I use the noktons. I never use a flash and the LCD screen works fine without EVF. Shooting in low light is quick and sharp with my lens. The only problem so far for me is the ability to zoom quickly, I hope the next firmware update will update this.
 
aizan said:
they [camera companies] do that on purpose. i'm thinking about the higher end body olympus is supposed to release in the winter, and it will not have the features i want. and then i will wait for the rangefinder-style camera panasonic is supposed to be working on...
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aizan, my friend, I do not understand your message, according to which the manufacturers keep us waiting instead of buying - I guess you meant the opposite.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
When the E-P1 got out, I had just bought the Sigma DP2 as a lower size alternative to my M8 when I cannot take the later one along. At first, I though I had made a mistake but after getting used to the DP2 and reading the reviews on the E-P1, I now feel it was the good choice. While the E-P1 is definitely a more versatile camera, the DP2 is closer to the rangefinder experience. This is due to one thing, that is the manual focus dial : indeed you can use the DP2 without looking at the LCD just by adjusting distance scale with the dial. Aperture can also be modified without looking at the LCD. While a detail, it is very important for street photography where the pre-focus thing through the LCD just doesn't work. You might get a few shots, but there will be a lot of decisive moments lost while you play with the screen (or the auto-focus scrambles).
Learn to estimate distances (1-2-3-5 meters), manipulate the distance dial and yes, it can get pretty close to a M experience. The E-P1 failts to that (unless you like large DOF and high ISOs).
Morevoer, the DP2 fits in my suit pocket (with viewfinder), noway that the E-P1 will fit. This is also a small, but important detail.
So really, for those who are looking a tiny digital rangefinder, I feel the DP2 is the way to go if you are ok with the one lens only approach and 41mm FOV.
 
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Dante_Stella said:
Maybe what they really need is a fixed-lens 4/3 camera that would be small, fast (AF), environmentally sealed, and capable of some kind of zone focusing. It would also be helpful to have an optical finder built-in and not out there as a snag hazard. Maybe a 4/3 Hexar AF?
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Damn, I'd hit that, too. (Somewhere, in a parallel universe...)


- Barrett
 
lngu81 said:
I'm totally disagreed with his article, I'm no longer use the zoom len on the camera instead I use the noktons. I never use a flash and the LCD screen works fine without EVF. Shooting in low light is quick and sharp with my lens. The only problem so far for me is the ability to zoom quickly, I hope the next firmware update will update this.
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I agree totally. I have an R-D1 also. Does it replace it? No? But it has features and capabilities that cannot be matched by the R-D1 such as IS, some more pixels (which are welcome), narrow DOF video, excellent battery life (compared to R-D1) and auto focus with a range of lens available now and into the future - just to name a few. The R-D1 has it benefits also and they have been discussed at length.

I enjoy using both but to say the E-P1 is 'over priced' and then compare it to the R-D1 or M8 is hilarious. I paid $2000 second hand for my R-D1 without lens! (and don't regret that for a moment).

IMHO, the E-P1 is a very viable and 'cheap' universal body for all manner of lenses. That's why I have one and so far I have been very impressed. It is also a camera I can hand to other family members who can use it as a P&S with great results. I can't do that with my R-D1.

My cv 21/4 and 40/1.4 are now being utilised on two cameras. Next is to try out my OM lenses. Can't wait :)

John
 
ZeissFan said:
I'm telling you. The digital camera craze is like crack. As soon as it's released, the euphoria is over rather quickly and the only thing you can think about is the next model.
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This is the same better-camera=better-pictures mentality that has been with us forever. Only digital cameras make it worse for a lot more people than before.

Myself, for example, I have to self-enforce a five year cycle for updating my digital cameras. Otherwise I'll get tempted by every new gadget that came about every six-months.
 
Dante_Stella said:
I know the idea of hacking various MF lenses onto the camera is appealing to gadget fiends, macro enthusiasts, live view fans, and people who always wanted 114mm f/1.2 lenses, but outside of that, the resulting package is as big, as heavy, and more clumsy in most cases than using bodies that took the MF lenses in the first place.
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Well. no. I put Leica lenses on my E-P1, and the package is smaller, since the E-P1 is smaller than a Leica body in all three dimensions. And notably lighter. Also, some Leica lenses (the Nocti, and anything longer than a 75) can be troublesome to focus. No problem with an E-P1 -- I can focus more quickly and more accurately with the longer lenses than I can with an M8. And it's interesting to use a 270-equiv in Leica glass, with IS.

I have both the E-P1 and the G1 (one as the backup for the other) and the G1 is, I think, a better camera -- but there are uses for the E-P1, and though I also believed that a viewfinder was pretty important, I'm finding that I can adjust just fine to the LCD finder. I don't hold the camera at arm's length, either, although I'm 65 and suffer from the usual old-guy eye problem. But I find that if I brace both elbows on the sides of my body, in a posture not much different than I use for the M8, with the LCD 10 inches to a foot from my face, I can focus just fine. The bigger problem is that with a viewfinder, in many ways you never stop looking at the subject -- you simply move the camera in front of an eye. With the LCD, you actually have to look away from the subject, and since your hands may not be pointing in the exact same direction as your eyes, you may have to move it a bit to find the subject...although this problem tends to go away with practice.

I travel quite a lot, and these cameras are a great benefit - not only the body sizes, but the lens sizes, as well. When I get the 7-14 Panasonic, which is supposed to be delivered later this week, I will be able to cover the equivalent of 14-400 with three lenses, with image quality good enough for most ordinary print media (mass circulation magazines and newspapers). And the travel package, with two bodies, will fit in a regular carry-on travel briefcase *with all my other travel stuff.* It is *substantially* more compact than a Leica kit of two bodies and four lenses, and much lighter. The IQ is not as good as with an M8,, but for most of my purposes, good enough.

JC
 
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