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

PAGE 2 - art filters? is this just a gimmick or are they useful?

The OLYMPUS E-P1 is a camera that screams FUN. Just slap on the small kit zoom or the lovely 17 mm prime and you have a camera that can be used in almost any situation. It is FEATURE-packed and can be shot in fully automatic mode, aperture priority mode, shutter priority, or even fully manual mode.

On this page, I will discuss one of my favorite features of the E-P1...The ART filters! One of the reasons I find the E-P1 so fun to use is due to its VERY cool “ART” filters which are just a dial turn away.

These “ART” filters are actually very fun and useful (well, a couple of them are) and can be used for some creative shooting. When I heard about these filters, I figured it was just a gimmick to get more sales, but I ended up using a couple of them regularly. I have to say, I am hooked on the PINHOLE and GRAINY FILM filters!

You access these filters by rotating the top dial to “ART”. You have a choice of the following filter effects:

POP ART - This filter creates a super-BOLD color effect. If you want crazy-super saturation, this is for you! In my opinion, it is a bit over the top and I really do not think I would use it very often. It is sort of like jacking up the saturation to 10. If you want some bright greens and reds, POP ART will do the trick.

GRAINY B&W FILM MODE - I LOVE THIS FILTER! This is a pretty cool mode and I will go on record now and say it is the closest I have seen digital come to high speed B&W film right out of the camera. I swear it looks very close to ISO 1600 B&W film. NO digital can ever give a 100% look or feel of film, but this Olympus E-P1 gets pretty close.

PINHOLE MODE - This filter will add some vignetting as well as richen up the colors, attempting to give a saturated film look of an old pinhole camera. It may even soften up the JPEG as well a tiny bit, as my images in PINHOLE MODE seem softer. I really like the classic look of this filter.

SOFT FOCUS FILTER - This is a good filter for portraits, as it will soften the image and give a classic glow.

PALE LIGHT & COLOR FILTER - Another one I doubt I will ever use, but some shooters might enjoy it. Basically gives the image a bleached-out look, pale look. Me, I am not a fan of this one.

In addition to the filters the E-P1 is also loaded with a slew of modes in SCN mode. Twist the dial over to SCN and take your pick from the following effects:

PORTRAIT - Quick setting for EZ portraits.

E-PORTRAIT - Smoothes out the skin and enhances the portrait

LANDSCAPE - Provides the color and contrast most pleasing for landscapes

SPORT - Sets the shutter speed required for sport shooting. No fuss.

NIGHT SCENE - Find yourself out at night with lights? Go for it!

CHILDREN - Sets the AF for shooting moving kids!

HIGH KEY - Like shooting High Key? This will give you the look.

LOW KEY - Yep, same thing.

MACRO - Get in closer.

CANDLE - For low light candlelight shooting.

SUNSET - Optimizes the camera for shooting sunsets.

DOCUMENTS - Yep, for shooting text documents with clarity.

FIREWORKS - Tired of crappy 4th of July shots? Try this preset.

BEACH & SNOW - Gets the exposure right in these tough situations.

PANORAMA - Must use the Olympus software to stitch, so not nearly as cool as the PANO mode in the Sony HX1, but if you take your time you will get great results that blow away the HX1 panoramas.

So as you can see, the E-P1 has a bunch of creative options for your creative mind! Also, I like that you have access to these via an actual dial on the camera. Just twist, pick your passion, and shoot!

Some who migrate to the E-P1 from the Point-and-Shoot crowd will be wondering where the flash is. Me, I NEVER, EVER use flash so I am fine without it.  But, if you are someone who likes to use flash (SHP TIP: try to get away from on-camera flash as it makes images look flat and unnatural 90% of the time), then Olympus sells an add-on flash, THE FL-14 which is actually quite attractive and affordable.

THE EP-1 FLASH UNIT

So far so good for the E-P1, but what about image quality in the normal shooting modes? How good is the HD video? How about high ISO where Olympus always struggled? Leica M lenses on the E-P1? These questions and more are answered in the rest of the review, so read on!

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