The Olympus E-P1 passed my build and feel test with flying colors. On a scale of 1-10, for build and design, I give the E-P1 the following grades for a digital camera in this price range:

The current price is $799 for the camera and 14-42 kit zoom kit. (BH PHOTO - SILVER - WHITE)

BUILD QUALITY - 9  - The lens is the only thing in this kit that feels somewhat cheap in build. The camera gets a 9, the lens a 4.

ERGONOMICS/DESIGN - 8 - I love the feel of the E-P1, but if I had to complain about something, it would be that it is a little too small. I am used to my Leica M8.2 and this little E-P1 took me an hour or two to get used to. But small is good, especially when it puts out decent, high-quality files. Within a few days, and especially with a Leica 35 Summilux on the camera, it felt very good. The buttons are laid out nicely and feel nice. No issues at all and I am one who actually find the menus easy to navigate.

THE EP-1 IS VERY EASY TO CHANGE SETTINGS WHILE SHOOTING

OVERALL FIRST IMPRESSION ON BUILD AND LOOKS? WONDERFUL!

In this review, I will go over EVERYTHING with the E-P1. The features, the lenses, the Leica M adapter, the image quality, the art filters, and even the wonderful HD video capabilities. It will be a review from a photographer’s perspective and REAL-WORLD USE, not technical mumbo jumbo.

I want to know that if I take the E-P1 out to shoot with it, will I get images from it that I am happy with. Is it good for amateurs and even pros? What are its capabilities out in the real world? Can I shoot a short film on this thing? THIS my friends is what I am looking to find out, so do not expect technical perfection in this review. Just real results!

Keep in mind that ALL images you will see in this review were shot JPEG as there is no real RAW support right now for the E-P1, so I expect the quality to jump up a notch or two or even THREE when there is RAW support from Adobe, Apple, etc.

Click on to page TWO to read about the features and what makes this camera unlike any other on the market as of this writing.

GO TO PAGE 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

THE OLYMPUS E-P1 REVIEW - PAGE  1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

PAGE 1 - the intro, the arrival and the build quality

Welcome back to another one of my camera reviews! I will tell you up front that I absolutely adore the Olympus EP-1. I mean, why beat around the bush? Due to me enjoying the camera so much, this will be my most thorough reviews yet! I want to really share with you my experiences and thoughts with this beautiful little image maker. Even though there are a million reviews out already, I hope you find this information useful. Thank you for reading it! Now...onto the review OF THE OLYMPUS E-P1 DIGITAL PEN!

Probably the hottest camera to come out of Olympus since the original half-frame film PEN back in the 50’s, the new digital E-P1, or digital “PEN” is quite the camera, according to Olympus. This camera is small & compact, light, but solidly built, attractive, has retro-styling with metal body, HD video capability, a slew of filters, effects, and in-camera tricks that can have anyone pumping out quality images. Add to that it’s 12.3 MP sensor and dust shaker and it would seem that it would be hard to beat at its price of $799 for the kit WITH 14-42 Zoom lens.

But is it? That is the question and I wanted the answer! But, let me back up 2-3 weeks...

When I heard about this camera, I dismissed it. While many in the Leica M community were drooling over the camera due to its ability to use just about any M lens (via adapter), I was not convinced. In the past, Olympus 4/3 sensors were just average in my opinion. They usually had horrible high ISO performance, low dynamic range, and I never cared for the 4/3 format except for the original all-mighty E1 of course!

But one thing Olympus has always gotten right is COLOR. Their original E-1 DSLR had GREAT color out of the camera and at the time it was one of my favorite digital cameras. I bonded with that camera and owned three of them for 3 years. It is a classic in digital photography in my opinion.

With the arrival of the E-P1, I figured it would be the “same ol’ same ol’” for Olympus. Limited dynamic range, plasticky body, bad high ISO quality, and overall average image quality (compared to other DSLR’S). With so many great cameras out today, I doubted that Olympus could compete. I knew the EP-1 would be popular as it has been hyped like mad, but I never thought it would be such a capable little machine. Boy, was I wrong and in a big way.

I ordered mine after seeing a bunch of cool shots from a friend of mine. As he sent me image after beautiful image through e-mail, I broke down and went to the B&H Photo web site at 2AM and noticed the E-P1 and 14-42 kit lens was IN STOCK! I placed my order and within 2 days I had the camera.

My first impression of the camera was VERY positive. When you take it out of the box, the first thing you will notice is the build quality. It is superb! In this price range, most digital cameras are pretty plasticky and hollow feeling. This little guy is a mini brick! A metal covered body with a soft grip and solid, smooth, rotating dials. Olympus has created a modern day retro-looking masterpiece in the design and build of the E-P1. This is no Sigma DP2 (sorry, I had to say that)! I can just see Leica creating one of these as a “mini” sidekick for the M8 and I bet my 35 Lux they are working on one!