Olympus E-P1

	Hardware Summary
• Micro Four Thirds sensor helps keep camera small, image noise high • Limited lens selection • Lack of viewfinder eliminates eye-level shooting option • LCD offers ordinary 230,000 dot resolution but holds up to bright outdoor light well • No built-in flash • Controls for external flash provide many options • HDMI out for direct connection to high-def TV
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Sensor (2.00)

The Micro Four Thirds format takes a three-pronged approach to creating compact interchangeable-lens cameras: remove the SLR mirror system, use a smaller lens mount and a smaller sensor. The E-P1 sensor has a gross resolution of 13,060,000 pixels and an effective resolution of 12,300.000 pixels. It measures 17.3mm x 13.0mm, with a native 4:3 aspect ratio. Micro Four Thirds and standard Four Thirds format cameras use the same size sensor and, as the illustration below shows, this is considerably smaller than the typical APS-C format sensor used in digital SLRs.

Compactness does have its downsides. Cramming over 12 million pixels onto a small sensor has consistently produced higher image noise in our testing than in standard SLRs. It also increases the apparent lens magnification effect, from the 1.6x found  on most digital SLRs to a full 2x. Mount a 14-42mm lens, like the one included in the E-P1 kit, on a digital SLR and it will shoot like a 22-67mm lens. The same lens on the E-P1 is a 28-84mm equivalent: you get more telephoto effect but less wide angle coverage.

The E-P1 uses a filter vibration system to automatically remove dust in front of the sensor every time you turn the camera on.

Viewfinder (0.00)

The E-P1 does not offer a built-in viewfinder, optical or electronic. There is an optical viewfinder accessory, the VF-1 ($100) that mounts on the hot shoe and displays the view seen through the 17mm pancake lens, but that's clearly a specialty item and cold comfort for camera-to-the-eyeball shooters.

LCD (4.90)

The LCD is a 3-inch model with 230,000-dot resolution. It's not going to thrill anyone with beautiful image playback the way the 920,000-dot screens on higher-end Nikons and Canons might, but it does have an interesting advantage in the use of Olympus HyperCrystal technology. The screen lets some of the light through the outer colored layer and bounces it back from behind, leading to a brighter display in difficult sunny conditions. Even then, shooting on a bright August afternoon wasn't going well until I boosted the brightness all the way up in the setup menu. That did the trick, though: even direct sunlight on the camera back didn't leave me shooting blind.

Both the brightness and the color temperature of the LCD can be adjusted using the setup menu, each with values of ±7. There's also a Live View boost option which will automatically adjust the brightness to match the surroundings.

LCD Panel
The monochrome information LCD mounted on the top of many high-end SLRs is understandably missing from the slender E-P1.

Flash (3.75)

One casualty of the compact E-P1 design: there's no built-in flash. Of course, point-and-shoots that make the E-P1 look like a behemoth by comparison somehow manage to shoehorn in some form of flash, pop-up or otherwise, but Olympus decided to go without. We think that's a mistake: sometimes a flash is the only way to grab a shot, plus even a small built-in unit can be valuable as a fill flash when shooting outdoors.
 
The camera is compatible with a number of Olympus flash units, including the newly introduced FL-14 ($200), a petite unit meant to complement the E-P1 design. It's very small, at 5.6 ounces, which is good news when it comes to portability. However, for $200 and the trouble of carrying an external flash, I'd far prefer a mount that lets me bounce the flash, a feature sadly lacking in the FL-14.

Flash sync speed can be set between 1/60 and 1/180 second, in 1/3 EV increments.

The optional FL-14 flash is small but lacks bounce capability.

When you do mount an external flash, you get the same assortment of flash modes offered in Olympus SLRs.

Flash Modes
	Auto The camera fires the flash automatically based on low lighting level or backlit situations.
	Red-eye reduction A series of quick flash pulses before the shutter trips makes the subject's iris contract to minimize red-eye.
	Slow sync The flash fires but the shutter remains open for a longer exposure, to capture night scenes with both a foreground subject and background.
	Slow sync, 2nd curtain Flash fires just before the shutter closes, creating a trailing light effect when shooting moving objects.
	Slow sync red-eye reduction Slow sync for night shots with foreground subject and background visible, with red-eye reduction.
	Fill-in flash The flash fires even in bright light; helps fill in shadows, particularly in portraits.
	Flash off Keeps flash from firing, though it can still be used as an autofocus assist.

For compatible flash units, flash intensity can be adjusted manually, to one of seven levels. Flash bracketing is also available, shooting a three-shot sequence (the metered value, one lower and one higher) at increments of 0.3 EV, 0.7 EV and 1.0 EV.

Lens Mount (8.00)

The Micro Four Thirds lens format is about 6mm narrower than Four Thirds format lenses, and has a different electrical contact pin configuration. While the format has been out for nearly a year now, the list of fully compatible available lenses is still pretty short: Olympus currently offers a grand total of two, the 14-42 kit lens and a 17mm f/2.8 pancake lens ($299.99). Panasonic offers a wider selection, including an ultrawide 7-14mm (14-28mm equivalent) and a  45-200mm telephoto zoom (90-400mm equivalent on a 35mm camera). The Panasonic lenses designed for the G-series cameras should be fully compatible with the E-P1, but we haven't been able to test this.

Caption

There are adapters available to attach non-Micro Four Thirds lenses to Micro Four Thirds bodies, which deliver varying degrees of compatibility. A Four Thirds lens mounted using the Olympus adapter should still support metering and autofocus, though not continuous autofocus. Standard OM series lenses can also be attached with an adapter, but they can't autofocus and while Olympus says "Yes" to metering capability in the manual, it also says in a footnote "Accurate metering not possible." Presumably inaccurate metering works, if that does you any good.

Holding the Unlock latch and twisting the barrel makes the E-P1 more travel-friendly..

The kit lens is a modest 3x zoom ranging from 14-42mm (equivalent to a 28-84mm on a 35mm camera), with a maximum aperture of f/3.5-5.6. The ingenious touch here is the way the lens telescopes to make it more portable. When not shooting, sliding a switch on the lens barrel and rotating it collapses the depth of the lens to about half its original measurement (making it look about as deep as a pancake lens). When it's time to shoot again, simply turning in the opposite direction quickly restores the lens to full size. It's an exceptionally useful feature, saving roughly 1.25 inches in camera depth and enhancing portability in a bag or even a substantial jacket pocket. The E-P1 is still no point-and-shoot, but it's as close as an interchangeable lens camera has gotten so far.

The shots below demonstrate the zoom range at widest angle, maximum telephoto and smack dab in the middle.

Zoom Ratio Examples
14mm	28mm	42mm

A digital shading compensation option attempts to brighten the outer edges of an image to correct for light drop-off that can occur, particularly with wide-angle lenses. This is an on/off control, without additional fine adjustment.

Battery (6.00)

The E-P1 uses the small rectangular BLS-1 Lithium-ion rechargeable battery, which Olympus estimates will last approximately 300 shots. Charging time for a completely discharged battery is about 3 hours 30 minutes.

The battery and SD memory card share a securely latched compartment.

Memory (3.00)

Olympus, developers and chief promoters of the antiquated xD memory card format, saw the light (fueled largely by the need to provide fast, high-capacity storage for 720p video) and support SD/SDHC memory cards for the E-P1. Let's hope this is a trend that extends to the rest of the Olympus camera line.

Jacks, Ports & Plugs (4.50)

The port for connecting provided USB and standard-def AV cables is proprietary, the HDMI port for connecting directly to a high-def TV is industry-standard, though like the rest of the camera world the hard-to-find mini HDMI cable is not included.

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Olympus E-P1 Digital Camera Review Navigation
Intro	Product Tour	Color	Noise
Resolution	White Balance	Sample Photos	Playback
Hardware	Controls	Design & Handling	Video Color & Noise
Video Motion & Sharpness	Video Low Light	Video Features	Canon Rebel T1i Comp
Nikon D5000 Comparison	Olympus E620 Comp	Panasonic GH1 Comp	Conclusion
Specs & Ratings