Review Date: August 15, 2010
Category: Beginner to Serious Amateur
USER’S EXPERIENCE
Monday, July 26, 2010 – Here’s what I receive in the box:
- Olympus E-PL1
- No memory card
- Li-ion Battery PS-BLS1 8.4V 1100mAh 7.8Wh
- Battery Charger BCS-1 (with power cord)
- Neck Strap
- Lens Cap
- USB Cable and A/V Cable
- Documentation: Instruction Manual
- Software CD: ib Software
- I also received the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-150mm f4.0-5.6 lens and the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 9-18mm f4.0-5.6 lens.
The Olympus E-PL1 may lack the retro line and impressive build quality of the E-P1 but beneath the unassuming exterior lies a very good image processing system with very good much improved low noise high ISO image quality.
In fact, the E-PL1 has a charming quality all its own and the form factor is instantly recognizable. It has enough controls and a Quick Menu that makes its use snappy. Adanced photographers may find the controls and menu structure limiting, but those coming from a point-and-shoot digicam world will appreciate the conventional design.
| Optical Image Stabilization | |
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| Without IS – 1/3 sec. | With IS – 1/3 sec. |
The E-PL1 has built-in Sensor-shift Image Stabilization (I.S.) which means that every lens you use gain the benefit of image stabilization. You will find it difficult to prevent blurred shots when hand holding a tele lens at 300mm (equiv.). I.S. has 3 modes: IS-1 is what you’d want to use most of the time. IS-2 is for panning right and left (i.e. horizontally). IS-3 is for panning UP and DOWN (i.e. vertically) — or when panning horizontally with the camera held in portrait orientation.
You can record HD 1280 x 720 videos @ 30fps with monaural sound. With a manual zoom lens, you can zoom as slow or as fast as you like. You can zoom during a relatively long exposure for special effects like the one above. You can also zoom during movie recording without recording any zoom noise.
When recording a movie, you can interrupt the recording by taking a still picture, and the camera then starts recording again (though onto another clip). You do have to set all the options up properly in the Menu and will require the Instruction Manual to help you do so.
I also tested the camera with the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-150mm (24-300mm equiv.) f4.0-5.6 lens and the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 9-18mm (18-36mm equiv.) f4.0-5.6 lens — and the compactness of the system compared to a DSLR is simply amazing.
What I like about the E-PL1:
- Very good image quality from ISO 100 to ISO 800, even ISO 1600.
- Compact and light compared to a traditional DSLR
- Customization? More than you’ll ever need.
- Easy migration from a point-and-shoot digicam.
- LCD gains up very well in low light.
- Manual Focus works well in good light.
No review is complete without a couple of improvement suggestions:
- Better AF speed.
- Higher resolution LCD display.
- Bigger/deeper handgrip.
- Larger Shutter Release button with longer half-press.
- Easier to navigate Menu with help.
- Better build quality.
The Instruction Manual is only adequate and, even with an index, is not organized to allow fast finding of information. The manual is organized for a reading from first page to last, but try to search for something and it’s a frustrating exercise.
The Olympus E-PL1 is a fun camera with serious aspirations — and overall, it delivers admirably. Beginners as well as enthusiasts will find that it takes images as good as — or even better than — their entry-level DSLRs, in a more compact and lighter body. We recommend getting an E-PL1 over the high-end compact digicams.
Next: Olympus E-PL1 QuickFact Sheet / Buy
