Olympus E-PL1

Category:	Type:	Image Sensor	:
Point-and-Shoot	Compact	EVF	:
Beginner	Ultra Compact	Image Stabilization	:
Serious	Ultra Zoom	Display	:
Advanced	DSLR	Shooting Mode	:
Pro	DIL	Shutter Speed	:
		Burst	:
		Movie	:
		Price check…	:

Simple and powerful. The Olympus E-PL1 is a Digital Interchangeable Lens (DIL) camera that takes all the features of its bigger brothers, the E-P1 and E-P2, and packages them into a consumer-friendly point-and-shoot camera.

The E-PL1 features 12.3MP resolution (on a large 17.3 x 13.0 mm Live MOS sensor), sensor-shift image stabilization to help reduce camera shake, a direct HD Movie button, a 6.9-cm (2.7-in.) LCD display screen (230k-dot), a built-in pop-up flash, Art Filters, Scene Modes, and a new Live Guide that simplifies exposure adjustments without having to know the technical lingo — all in a compact and light body.

The E-PL1 has the Micro Four Thirds mount and therefore accepts all lenses that the E-P1 and E-P2 accept. A Dust Reduction System ensures any dust that may have entered the camera when changing lenses are removed from the sensor.

iAUTO can identify five common scenes (Portrait, Landscape, Night Portrait, Macro, or Sport) and automatically selects the appropriate settings. For more challenging shooting situations, match the scene yourself to the appropriate Scene Mode. For example, use the ePortrait scene mode when taking portraits of friends: it smoothes out the facial features of your subjects to hide any, ahem, imperfections. Shadow Adjustment Technology automatically corrects for extreme light variations to retain detail in the shadows.

A direct HD Movie button gives instant access to HD movie 1080×720 pixels (720p) at 30fps with monaural sound. The popular in-camera Art Filters (Pop Art, Soft Focus, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama and Gentle Sepia) apply to both still shots and HD video.

To put the powerful features of the E-PL1 into the hands of beginner photographers, a new Live Guide feature allows you to select a photographic effect instead of changing shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Simply set the camera to iAuto, press OK to engage Live Guide, then press the up and down arrows to select through photographic effects. You make adjustments by applying various photographic adjustments and watching the the effects live on the display screen. When satisfied, take the perfect picture! Live Guide also features a Tips section on how to compose a shot or shoot kids, pets, flowers and more.

All these user-friendly features hide the complexity and exposure flexibility that is still available to more advanced photographers: Program AE (P), Aperture-Priority (A), Shutter-Priority (S) and full Manual (M) mode — though you’ll have to access them in the Menu. Advanced photographers will also appreciate available manual control over aperture and shutter speed while filming. The E-PL1 has a built-in pop-up flash and accepts a range of optional external flashes, with wireless flash control using the FL-36R and FL-50R speedlights. The use of off-camera flashes [as fill-in light] and synchronization in Super FP mode at a fast 1/125-1/2000 shutter speed allow the use of a large aperture in daylight [to obtain beautiful blurred backgrounds in portraits].

The E-PL1 includes a port for the detachable high resolution (1440k-dot) VF-2 live-finder which rotates up 90 degrees — useful when shooting subjects from challenging angles. The external accessory port also allows for connection with the new EMA-1 external microphone adapter for enhanced audio capture. For those into underwater photography, the new optional PT-EP01 underwater housing is waterproof to a depth of 40 meters (130 feet).

The OLYMPUS [ib] software includes photography workflow, browsing, editing and a photo organizing function that allows you to organize photos by person with automatic face recognition technology, by location with a Geotagging function or by event.

If you want DSLR image quality and flexibility without the complexity, consider the Olympus E-PL1. It comes in Champagne Gold, Black and Slate Blue, and is competitively priced at about US $600 (CAD $650) with the 14-42mm kit lens.

Read our Olympus E-PL1 Review…

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