Olympus E-P1 classic rangefinder Micro Four Thirds: it's a beaut!

[editor]

Here's another glowing review (albeit with some caveats):

Despite these short-comings, the Olympus EP-1 is still a very appealing and refreshingly different camera that does indeed combine the best features of compact and DSLR cameras. It's not a pocketable camera by any means, contrary to how Olympus are marketing it, but it is small and unobtrusive enough to carry over a shoulder without attracting too much attention. The EP-1 represents a significant upgrade for compact owners who don't want the bulk of a DSLR, and a great second camera for DSLR users who want something smaller without sacrificing image quality, ultimately satisfying the needs of both groups. Olympus have taken the bold step of creating a camera that fills a clear gap in the market, rather than just following the crowd, and the EP-1 certainly deserves all the success that it will surely get.
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/olympus_ep1_review/

*still wants

 

[Paul Russell]

Here's another glowing review (albeit with some caveats):


*still wants

Just about every review I've seen has mentioned the autofocus being a bit off the pace.

I did have a quick try of one with the kit lens, and after all the doom and gloom about the focusing, it seemed OK to me.

What seems to be a big mistake, at least to me, is that in manual focus there's no distance scale (if that's the right word) either on the lenses or on the LCD display. You can zoom in a lot to check the focus apparently, but a lot of people who would be using it for street shooting would just prefer to set it to 6 foot or whatever and f/8, or whatever under certain circumstances.

 

[editor]

I used to love the manual focus scale on my old XA. Set it to 3m, aperture to f5.6 and street shooting was go!

 

[editor]

Listing of reviews here:
Read - PhotographyBLOG
Read - DigiCamReview
Read - photocrati
Read - PhotographyPress
Read - OutbackPhoto
Read - CNET
Read - Steves Digicams

 

[editor]

Another rave review. I want this puppy!

The E-P1 is one of those rare products in this mass-produced age that can provoke an emotional response in even the most jaded shooter, which is a tribute to the Olympus design team as much as a reflection of any pent-up desire for a new category to bridge the yawning gap between compact cameras and entry-level DSLRs.

It's easy to come up with a list of reasons not to buy one; the slow focus, the dime-store screen, the lack of built-in flash, the paucity of Micro Four Thirds lenses, the unimpressive 'iAuto' mode, not to mention the fact that Panasonic could - and probably will - produce something that fixes half these problems at some point by making a compact version of the GH1.

In fact the biggest question I'm left with looking at that list is why don't I want to give this one back? Because in spite of - perhaps in a small way because of - the E-P1's limitations (some of which could be solved with a much-needed firmware upgrade), it's a camera that ticks an awful lot of boxes and fills an awfully big hole in the digital camera market. And it's also a camera that is, literally, in a class of its own - at least for now.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusep1/page35.asp

 

[lobster]

Another rave review. I want this puppy!

I guess my other thread "Is it time to upgrade your camera? Good analysis here." has not changed your mind