Olympus EP-1

lxmike

lxmike

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I attracted to the Olypus EP-1, but I'm very new to Micro 4/3 format. I'm not new to rangefinder photography, a lens that I have that I believe would fit with an adapter is my Contax 45/2 G Planar. What focal length would this give me on the 4/3 format. Thanks in advance for any help, I would love to hear from users of the Olympus EP-1
 
The crop factor of the u43 cameras is 2x: so the 45mm lens on the EP-1 will be the functional equivalent of a 90mm lens on a full-frame 35mm camera.

Have you already bought the EP1?

The price of the EP2 without viewfinder is about the same as the EP1. You could add an Electronic viewfinder later on the EP2, but cannot on the EP1.
 
Between the EP1 and EP2, the electronic viewfinder is near essential for using manual focus lenses. It is worth looking into. I ended up with the EP2 at home and at work, the EP2 for work is IR modified.

The EVF is a necessity for using with legacy lenses.
 
As an owner of the EP-2; I would concur with what Brian has said - using the manual focus lenses, in my case, M-mount, is a LOT easier with the EVF than without it.

My good friend has an EP-1 and it was his comments that made me decide to get into the Micro 4/3s cameras..

Cheers,
Dave
 
Only rumor, but both the Lumix G series and Olympus are rumored to put out "pro" models this Spring - a Lumix GP2, and an Olympus Pen Pro. Perhaps as an answer to the forthcoming Fuji X100, they will have EVF inbody, and be more rangefinder'ish - Again only rumors.
 
I've enjoyed using my manual focus Rokkor lenses on my Lumix G1; the EVF is essential, and good enough such that I rarely need to use the magnified view to judge focus.

Just a niggling nit-pick, but the so-called "crop factor" everyone talks about refers to cropping the angle of view, NOT the focal length. So a 50mm lens is still a 50mm lens (the focal length being a physical property of the lens), but its angle of view is equivalent to that of a 100mm lens on 135 format film. Also, I prefer to think of micro-four-thirds' crop factor as "1/2" rather than "2x", since the lens' field of view when mounted on a u4/3 camera is one half what it would be when mounted on a 135 format camera.

~Joe
 
mrisney said:
Only rumor, but both the Lumix G series and Olympus are rumored to put out "pro" models this Spring - a Lumix GP2, and an Olympus Pen Pro. Perhaps as an answer to the forthcoming Fuji X100, they will have EVF inbody, and be more rangefinder'ish - Again only rumors.
Click to expand...

+1 those rumors seem to be more and more real…
 
mrisney said:
Only rumor, but both the Lumix G series and Olympus are rumored to put out "pro" models this Spring - a Lumix GP2, and an Olympus Pen Pro. Perhaps as an answer to the forthcoming Fuji X100, they will have EVF inbody, and be more rangefinder'ish - Again only rumors.
Click to expand...

I would love to see that happen.

With the release of the X100, there will be more pressure for Olympus and Panasonic to release better cameras. The GF2 is a flop (imo), but the E-P3 (= Pen Pro, perhaps?) should be exciting. 😎
 
I strongly recommend you to get the Olympus EP2 with the Olympus VF2 electronic viewfinder if you're planning to use legacy manual lenses.

I'm currently using this combo with my new Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 Nokton lens, it's so much more easier to manual focus properly and accurately with the EVF than the camera's LCD instead...
 
The EVF is a very helpful tool to handle a MF lens, so a E-P2 which I own by myself is the choice, but.......

in terms of image quality, the cheaper E-PL1 is a tack better due to different cover glass ontop of the sensor.
The cam is cheaper, but has pro and cons conderning internal flash, different UI and slower max. shutter speed.
So compare both and check your needs......
All three cam E-P1/2 PL1 have (in my eyes) the best colour output of all m4/3 cams. It's amazing how these small cams handle light and colours.
As a b/w shooter I converted to colour after using my E-P1 in spring and shortly after the launch of the E-P2 with EVF this current model....

Here some impressions of Istanbul by rain...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36573929@N00/sets/72157625479390755/

all pics shot in RAW and developed in LR3, lenses 20mm Pana and 14-42 Oly zoom.

The very good F0.95 25mm Cosina and the 9-18mm Oly didn't find the way into my bag because I want to wait until Oly tells us about a Pen-Pro...

Cheers
Bernd
 
To add a little contrast:

I find manually focusing with the E-P1 (without EVF, and with a display resolving "only" 200k dots) quite doable. If you activate the magnification loupe, the whole display will be filled with a 7x or 10x magnified view, helping you to evaluate sharpness. Granted, it takes a little longer than just focusing via a high-resolving viewfinder, but it works, and once you get used to it, quite quickly indeed. What I do is pre-focus using the normal view, and then activate the magnification only to fine-tune. I get pictures tack sharp even with my 50/1.5 Nokton.
 
You'll find it very helpful if you can play with these cams before buying. Interface, screen and handling differences are real, and it's hard to know how you'll get along with them unless you actually handle them.

I find the EVF critical not only for manual-focus lenses, but also for outdoor use. I can't see the image on the LCD outdoors well enough to frame/focus accurately, or to review the images.

Also keep in mind the Oly EVF adds US$200+ cost to the kit, and the camera with EVF will sit taller and take up more room in a bag than a Panasonic G/GH with integral EVF. I find the compact/retro EP1/EP2 bodies very attractive, but I prefer the interface and handling of the Panny G/GH-series.
 
For adapting lenses, I don't think I would be happy with the E-P1 due to the lack of an EVF. The EVF is glued to my E-PL1 when using manual lenses...
 
I have been using the E-P1 with manual focus lenses for more than one year with great success. Like efix, I find focusing on the LCD quite doable, with a bit of practice. With lenses over 100mm and under the brightest sunlight, I use the HoodMan Loupe (sorry for the crappy iPhone pictures):

photo185b.JPG


It's not pretty, but very efficient. The image is sharp enough to allow for precise focusing without using on-screen magnification:

photo2.JPG


Just after I bought my E-P1, the Panasonic GF1 hit the market and I bought one, because i thought the EVF would be much easier to use. I was very disappointed with the results from the GF1 (bad colors, dull pictures requiring a lot of post processing tweaking) and found that the EVF (Expensive ViewFinder) was no better than my HoodMan Loupe, so I returned the GF1 and kept the E-P1.

Since, I have been tempted to buy an E-P2 (which has a much better EVF than the Panasonic GF1/GF2), but I am so used to using the E-P1 that I think I'd better be waiting for the "professional" M4/3 cameras rumored for next Spring.

Cheers!

Abbazz
 
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