E Pee One, A Poll, are You In or Out?

[.ken]

With a removable plate casing, its possible 3rd party manufacturers will come up with after market ones in various styles and colors just like for cell phones. very promising.

it's saddens me though that it can't focus on the speed of light since i know people here can focus faster than that all the time! ;-)

 

[Sonnar2]

I know plastic cameras since the "Macrolon" Minox 35GT in the late seventies, which was, after all, more sturdy than the pure metal Rollei 35.
Nothing against the Panasonic Lumix G-1 too.
My oppinion is that any product shoould show its material with pride and no mimikry, and the best design possible. I'm quite sure sales people will claim the Olympus be a "metal" camera (deserving a higher price), which is, like the picture show, not the case.

 

[shadowfox]

With a removable plate casing, its possible 3rd party manufacturers will come up with after market ones in various styles and colors just like for cell phones. very promising.

Oooh I like that idea.

it's saddens me though that it can't focus on the speed of light since i know people here can focus faster than that all the time! ;-)

ken, you're subtle. I like it 🙂

I no longer put any weight on posts that complain about a feature of a camera without any indications that there is at least some time spent using the feature *on* that said camera.

Most of us keep forgetting that it's the *total sum* of the experience that counts, that's how you use a camera, not one feature at a time, not a single feature all the time.

That and no, there is not a perfect camera.

 

[Kevin]

And the japanese guys talking in the background of this video are saying "yes, this thing is just as slow as the sigma compacts"....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSEN7Eb1VZw&NR=1

 

[MichaelW]

It's just another point & shoot digital, dressed up to look like a cool old film camera. I'd as soon use my phone camera as one of these. Same goes for the G1, Sigma, whatever.

 

[climbing_vine]

It's just another point & shoot digital, dressed up to look like a cool old film camera. I'd as soon use my phone camera as one of these. Same goes for the G1, Sigma, whatever.

Yes, because point & shoots have manual controls, interchangeable lenses, fast lenses, and sensors over 4 times the size of the largest P&S digicam sensor.

Seriously, if people aren't interested in the camera that's more than fine. But the insistence on calling it a P&S (apparently because it lacks a viewfinder straight out of 1940) just makes you look like a moron. It shares zero characteristics with any digital point-and-shoot. Seriously. Get over yourselves.

 

[.ken]

I thought all cameras are point and shoot? seriously.

 

[splitimageview]

What's a maroon? Around here, that means you went to Austin High School. 🙂

 

[Rurouni]

I have not been in the RF forums for some years, mostly lurking from time to time, delurking to get my first rangefinder (a Bessa-R with the CV35/2.5 and 50Nokton) and the EP-1 has got me curious enough to come back here to see the opinions it would generate.

Pretty suprised to see such mixed reactions. To me the EP-1 is like the M8 approximate that I probably will never plonk down the money to buy, albeit without a VF. However the compactness and (assumed) potential versatility of the EP-1 makes it a more compelling buy (more the size) for me than the G1/GH1 (which I'm also considering).

I think designs like this are only going to be better for the hobby as a whole as it makes photography more accessible for a larger audience and is a welcome refresh from the recent megapix and me too! feature wars by many manufacturers.

Rambling aside, for those who have (or are going to try) out the EP-1, do let us all know how the AF feels? Is it close to the speed of the G1 since I've been reading mixed previews online?

Most crucially, how does MF feel on the EP-1, especially if you would need to rely on the LCD to focus in lower lighting conditions? Honestly though I'm not sure how that would work on the G1's EVF in low light as well as I've never been able to test it in lower light conditions.

 

[Tuolumne]

Most crucially, how does MF feel on the EP-1, especially if you would need to rely on the LCD to focus in lower lighting conditions? Honestly though I'm not sure how that would work on the G1's EVF in low light as well as I've never been able to test it in lower light conditions.

The G1 does low-light manual focusing with either the EVF or the LCD just dandy. The big issue isn't the quality of the view, it's the shake introduced when putting the camera into hi-magnification mode to do manual focusing. The image does snap into focus when focus is sharp, but it happens very suddenly and it is easy to over shoot or under shoot accurate focus when hand holding the camera, due to camera shake. In-camera IS would have been a real blessing for this. I'm pretty sure this is the issue, because when I mount the camera on a tripod I have no problem getting accurate focus even in very low light. When hand-held, it is a challenge for me even in bright light.

/T

 

[Tuolumne]

Amazon promotion on EP-1

Amazon promotion on EP-1

Amazon just sent out an email promoting the EP-1. You can see the site page here.

/T

 

[Larky]

I've just had a chat with a guy who's tested one, works for the London Camera Exchange. He said it's sad, but it's a fairly slow camera to use. By no means as quick as a DSLR, even a medium to budget one. I'm sad now.

 

[Rurouni]

The G1 does low-light manual focusing with either the EVF or the LCD just dandy. The big issue isn't the quality of the view, it's the shake introduced when putting the camera into hi-magnification mode to do manual focusing. The image does snap into focus when focus is sharp, but it happens very suddenly and it is easy to over shoot or under shoot accurate focus when hand holding the camera, due to camera shake. In-camera IS would have been a real blessing for this. I'm pretty sure this is the issue, because when I mount the camera on a tripod I have no problem getting accurate focus even in very low light. When hand-held, it is a challenge for me even in bright light.

/T

Thanks for sharing the experience Tuolumne, I think that sounds to be a very fair assessment. I guess there is no perfect substitute for a good RF viewfinder still.

But if its usable on both the G1 and EP-1, it'll probably be something that I would be keen to give a shot.

EP-1 is very tempting for me due to the in body IS and ability to preset IS for focal lengths. I have an old Nikkor 105/2.5AIS that would be such a nice fit on that camera and with IS would give me a very interesting 210mm stabilised fov : D

 

[Tuolumne]

Whatever happened to all of the excitement about the Sigma DP2? Will the EP1 go the same route soon? 🙄

/T

 

[climbing_vine]

Since it's a camera that people can use their Leica/CV/Zeiss etc glass on, I doubt it. I imagine it'll keep being a low-level topic of discussion here, coming up slightly more often than the G1.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

The hoopla over the G1 died down much more quickly than I thought it would, given the interest in its run up. I think we are just looking for new stuff to play with and after a month or so the new stuff becomes old stuff and we start lusting after the next new thing. 🙂

 

[Tuolumne]

The hoopla over the G1 died down much more quickly than I thought it would, given the interest in its run up. I think we are just looking for new stuff to play with and after a month or so the new stuff becomes old stuff and we start lusting after the next new thing. 🙂

Consumerism at its worst. Who is rich? He who is satisfied with what he has. Use what you have. Eschew conspicuous or inconspicuous consumption.

/T

 

[dexdog]

What's a maroon? Around here, that means you went to Austin High School. 🙂

You obviously did not pay attention to Bugs Bunny as a kid. Rabbit as matador, after taking a wrong turn at Albuquerque

What a maroon, IM-bess-ill, gulla-bull or nin-cow-poop. Take your choice 😀

Seriously, looks like a nice little camera, versatile, but kinda pricey, IMO

 

[Larky]

Is he a talented photographer? - He's not too bad, better than the average photo forum poster. On a apr with us lot I'd say.
Have you seen his work? - Yes.
What kind of photographs does he take? - Mainly bands and events.
How long has he been shooting? - A few years.
Does he have experience with classic rangefinders such as Nikon and Leica? - Yes.

His complaint was that it hunted a fair amount, it was much slower than his D300 with a 50mm on, he found the manual controls too fiddly, going through menus etc. I'm looking forward to trying one out, although in most camera shops around here tey wont let you take it outdoors to try it where I'd be using it. They are all in malls, and not near a main entrance. I'd like to test one fully.

 

[cweg]

I said No, because I just bought me a DP2.

First I was interested in the Ep1 but...

1st. it's too big for a Pocketcamera, the DP2 has the maximum size for me.
2nd. The aggressive Promotion....step after step they announced the world biggest Revolution and how the response of our "...digital Pen"-Thread was they counted the dollars they can make with the name "Olympus" and "Pen"
3rd. I don't like 4/3

I like the design, especially with the Pancake and VF. I hope for Olympus that it's gonna be a big Hit. And maybe one day I'll vote for "maybe" or "yes" but for now it's def a "No"