Pen E-P1

[dan denmark]

i've done a quick search of the Olympus forum looking for any user commetns on the Olympus E-P1 but no imediate luck. any comments out there?

performance, feel in the hand? CV lenses on it? kit lenses? i "loaned" my GR-D to my partner and i'll never see it again so i was thinking about the EP1 as a spare P&S bag camera.

cheers,

dd

 

[Mackinaw]

I played around with one today for about 5 minutes at a local camera store. Not enough time to form any lasting impressions, but overall I was pretty impressed.

I also stumbled across this review earlier today. Well worth a read:

http://www.stevehuffphotos.com/Steve_Huff_Photos/OLYMPUS_EP-1_REVIEW.html

Jim B.

 

[sebastel]

i've done a quick search of the Olympus forum looking for any user commetns on the Olympus E-P1 but no imediate luck.

you better look into the µ4/3 forum.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=146

 

[Avotius]

I have one and have shot a couple thousand photos with it so far. I have the silver one with the 14-42 kit lens and also use adapted M and LTM lenses on it. Auto focus with the kit lens is pretty poor, worse even then my 10 year old sony point and shoot. The AF is slow, and consistently misses completely with nothing in focus, when you try and lock on something moving, say in street shooting, it is completely outclassed by every other auto focus camera I have ever used. I hear things are better with panasonic lenses but I dont have any on hand to try and I hope Olympus is working on a updated AF software patch for the camera because im shocked they would release it with such crappy AF performance. Using adapted lenses is kind of hit and miss too, while it is possible to focus using the magnified focus thing it is cumbersome and ill conceived. Also it is very possible to take great care manually focusing something, snap the picture and its still not in focus. I have yet to stick the camera on a tripod and really dig into the manual focusing in a controlled environment though.

Needless to say the GRD's snap mode is significantly easier to use all around.

Also I dont care for the "HELLO I'M ON!!!" light around the on/off button.

Oh...also Adobe does not support Olympus's .ORF raw files yet in CameraRAW which is a real pain in the neck.

But not all is bad. Image quality is good for a camera this size, and while I dont think it stands up to my gf's Canon 5D it does have a lot going for it. Also its a very sturdy feeling thing for being so small. The screen though lacking resolution is pretty easy to use outdoors and keeps up with what is in front of the camera. High ISO shots are good and much better then the GRD. I also like having image stabilization on all the lenses I use on the camera. The kit lens is pretty smart for what it is all except the rotating front element which I keep banging on windows and stuff. The shutter sound is quiet enough to use in many places where you want to be a little more discreet and the AF motor does not buzz or hum. Being able to shoot adapted lenses on the camera and still be able to get some of the feeling from those lenses is great, photos I take with my Zeiss lenses have that "zeissness" to them that I didnt see with the panasonic g1 when I owned one for a short time. While that "zeissness" is not as apparent as it is with film, its progress for digital as far as im concerned.

My suggestion to you as someone who came off a GRD as well....wait for Panasonic's upcoming GF1 and see what is said about that before you rush off to buy. The new panasonic sure lacks the Olympus's charming looks though.

 

[Avotius]

hm.....a quick read over my comment and it would seem I dont care for my EP1 and I should clear up that is not the case, there is a lot to not like but there is a lot to like as well. The camera does take good photos and is usable, just quirky. Here is a sample photo taken the other day with the Zeiss 21mm f2.8 Biogon with adapter on the EP1:

Yes the camera is capable of taking photos!

 

[dan denmark]

well, there's some to-the-point reviews! maybe i'll trash my partner and pry the GRD from her white knuckled bony fingers or wait for the Panasonic GF1 to appear. not in a mad rush but i dearly miss having a small and grabbable camera in the pocket. i originally thought the rd1s was going to be that camera but nothing in-yer-pocket about that gun. and i use it way more on jobs than i thought i would (narrative documentary videos that i also shoot images for...still a very unobtrusive camera!).

so, thanks all... will keep shopping. i definitely want to use prime lenses for this new camera and i have a stack of CVs...

cheers,

-dd in oz

 

[shadowfox]

I have the silver one with the 14-42 kit lens and also use adapted M and LTM lenses on it. Auto focus with the kit lens is pretty poor, worse even then my 10 year old sony point and shoot.

Maybe because Olympus is half-banking on the fact that a major portion of those who bought this camera will use a manual focus lenses on it anyways, say... like a Biogon 🙄

 

[Mcpengy]

I've had mine for a couple of weeks now, and am really enjoying it. To address the autofocus issue- no, it's not fast, but not slow enough that I've had any problems or been frustrated. It may be a question of expectation I suppose, as I'm not used to lightning fast SLR autofocus. It's probably about the same as manually focussing my Leica CL, or Oly XA for that matter. And it probably misses less often than I do manually if I'm honest! *Having said that, I haven't given it a work out in really low light yet.*

I've no doubt it's not for everyone, but I've been from digital to film, and the e-p1 marks a return to digital that for me is convenient and fun, (and in the long run cheaper!) so I'd definitely recommend trying it out.

 

[M4streetshooter]

It is actually a great street camera....
Now I;m gonna figure if yer reading this post, here at RFF, then ya have a certain understanding about RF cameras and the way to use them.
No, the Oly is not a RF but for the streets it acts like it....

Ideally, we use hyper focal distance most of the time....so the AF is not a major issue, even tho it works fine...

The camera has "THAT" feel to it..you know the one...the feeling that you are a holding a camera that wants to work with you and you don't have to sweat about it letting you down....

In the right frame of mind, it's a real winner...it does what you want a camera to do....

make images without intrusion.......I have not enjoyed a camera as much as this one in many years...it's focal length with the 17mm, (34) is perfect, the viewfinder is ok...it works....power management is as good as it gets.......

IQ is wonderful...even way up there...in B&W...6400 is very TRI-X, Rodinal like....
( Silver Effex helps....)

The IS really works and helps if you like low light with lower ISO's...I leave it on all the time....The 2 kit lenses are good enough to do the job...contrast is much higher than expected...that's where it counts...right?

I have only 1 complaint...no focus scale...hopefully that will be in the firmware update...
other than that.....no issues what so ever....ohhhhhh

some users are wanting some kinda EVF.......hmmmm
get a SLR thinggy.....it comes built in with them things....

shooter

 

[Avotius]

Yes the camera almost works ok as a street camera but the autofocus which has a tendency not to lock onto moving targets and then default itself to the closest focusing distance where nothing is in focus does not help. And since it is focus by wire and does not provide any information about how far the lens is focused to you are kind of in the dark about what is going on behind the scenes. For instance with 28mm equivalent and f8 you get like 1 meter to infinity in focus at 2 meters, but you have to guess that length every time and hope you guessed right which really is a pain in the neck.

I wont be getting rid of my EP1 because it is capable, but Olympus really needs to do some firmware work on it and fix some of the neglected items, how hard would it really be to have a scale on the side of the screen that adjusted given your aperture, focal length and focus distance so you could know how much depth of field you actually had.

Maybe I will have to make a little movie of the auto focus on the camera so you can see how hit and miss it is. Coming from Canon DSLR's and small point and shoots im surprised this product even made it out of testing.

 

[sebastel]

my focusing method: use manual focusing, and make the camera run one AF cycle by pushing the AFL button, with the AF selection set on an object at about 3-4 meters distance.
this has shown to be good enough for "street style" photography, and it eliminates the need to wait for AF when pushing the release button.

of course, with non-WA lens this won't work ...

 

[M4streetshooter]

Ok....
Here's how I do it and it works fine....

Set AF to AEL
Fn button ty screen off
Sleep Mode off
Lenss Reset NO
A mode

If you use AF from the AEL button, the camera stays focus locked until you refocus with the AEL button again....
If you need AF, it's right there...just hit the button...
This set up works great for the kit lenses....

With manual lenses...don't you have f stop indicators on the lens....
Just deduct 2 stops and use the dof from the lens....

The camera is very efficient on the street.... if it cuts it there, it can be taught to cut it anywhere...
shooter

 

[tscoffee115]

Thanks for sharing infor here


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[Avotius]

I just bought the Olympus finder with the idea of using it on the panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens whenever that comes out, but now just use it with my Zeiss 21 where it shows a little bit more then the lens captures and with the kit zoom lens set around 17mm where it is fine. I also have tried this AEL button focusing and yes it works for some situations, thanks for that tip, and then I use the manual focus override to add or subtract a little distance. Using a finder with the camera is handy for some occasions and you can easily switch back to the screen on the back. I will post some pictures later once I get everything baked in camera raw.

I do still think the AF is slow, and the GF was using the camera today and thought it was kind of funny how it cycled through most of the focus scale to find its target rather then what she is used to with her 5D where it just goes to the target instead though she thought it was ok for shooting static subjects.

I will have to do a write up when I get some time, its been a rather quirky couple of days since getting back from vacation, but I got a good mix of street and landscape stuff to show later.

ps. I bought the Olympus finder on Taobao and was surprised to find how plasticy it was and the lack of parallax lines but I only paid 400 yuan ($58) and he had the 17mm f2.8 lens for 1700 yuan ($248) but im going to wait for the faster panasonic.