How about high ISO? Yep! This Oly can go up to 6400! That is amazing to me because the last Olympus I shot with, the E3 was mediocre at 1600 ISO. It lost color, Dynamic Range and the added noise kind of killed it for me. The E-P1 has pretty damn good high ISO performance. Don’t believe me? Well, check out these test shots:

Yep, this is the finest Olympus I have used in regards to HIGH ISO noise. Keep in mind, the last Olympus I have shot with was the E-3. I have never tried the E-30 or any of the others in between. For me, it is wonderful to finally see Olympus catching up with the big boys in regards to NR. You can adjust the NR levels in-camera as well.

How about ISO 6400?

EP-1 ISO 6400 JPEG STRAIGHT FROM CAMERA 100% CROP

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I know there are a ton of reviews for this camera out there already. I have been shooting with the E-P1 daily and really wanted to learn it, use it, and see what it could do in the real world before I wrote about it. One review I read was from a guy who shot with it for an hour and he wrote a page long review saying how great it was. To me, a camera must be put through its paces before someone can write about how great it is, or how bad it is, for that matter.

So, after using it day-in and day-out, I can now say that the Olympus E-P1 is indeed living up to the HYPE for me! I just cannot wait for RAW support from Adobe and Apple, as it will get so much better.

So far in this review, I have not even begun to scratch the surface of the capabilities of the E-P1. How about achieving super-shallow depth of field? This has always been a little bit of a challenge on 4/3 sensors because they are basically less than half the size of a full-frame sensor like the one in the Nikon D700 and Canon 5DII.

The smaller the sensor, the greater depth of field you will have. With the Olympus sensor being half-full size, it has always been a challenge to get that creamy, out-of-focus background like you see in full-frame cameras with fast, wide aperture lenses.

Well, with the help of an adapter, I have been shooting with my Leica M lenses and this brings the E-P1 to a whole new level! I now have fast 1.4 lenses on my E-P1 and can say that getting that delicious bokeh is no longer a challenge (but the MF operation with M lenses is)

But before I get into the M adapter, let’s see what the kit lens can do on the E-P1. Keep reading and click on over to page 4 for the lowdown on the kit lens!

CLICK TO GO TO PAGE 4 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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

PAGE 3 - everything but the kitchen sink, and a viewfinder!

Ok, so I have talked about the build quality. I have explained the ART filters built in to the camera and explained the SCN modes. After a few days with the camera, I realized that it had EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK, as far as features are concerned, but where is the VF? On the EP-1, there is not a viewfinder, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that maybe, just maybe...it did not need one!

Many of us are so used to a DSLR that we do not even realize that an LCD can be used in some interesting, creative ways. You can get shots that you could not even get when having the camera body to your eye. For example, you can have the camera at waist level and frame the shot. Above your head, the left, right, wherever!

Just like a P&S but with much higher quality. So for many, a viewfinder is a non-issue. Me, I still like a good VF, but I am hooked on rangefinder shooting with my Leica M8.2. The more I used this E-P1, the more I realized what a GREAT companion it would make for my M camera, and I can even use my M lenses on the E-P1, which I will discuss later. BUT, if it were up to me, I would have squeezed a viewfinder in the E-P1 so we at least have a choice.

In addition to the ART filters and SCN modes, this camera also has the great Olympus Super Sonic Wave Filter which gets rid of your sensor dust problems once and for all. Olympus are the originators of this technology and it debuted in their E1 professional DSLR a few years back. It works and yes, it works well! So, say goodbye to pain-in-the-ass sensor cleanings with the E-P1.

This camera is also customizable with a “hidden” custom menu that you must activate within the normal menu. Once you activate this, then you can customize and tweak the settings of the camera.

This camera is loaded with features:

Compact Design with Pro-system Capabilities

The Olympus E-P1 combines the casual, easy-to-use persona of a pocket-size point-and-shoot camera with the imaging capabilities of a pro-level DSLR. As an extension of Olympus' proven 4/3 imaging system, the E-P1 can shoot casual stills and video as well as complex imagery with equal ease and precision

High-Definition Stills and Video

The Olympus E-P1 enables high-definition capture of still and video images while maintaining full auto-focus functionality and image stabilization with all 4/3-format optics. And unlike video-enabled DSLRs, the Olympus E-P1 maintains full AF in video mode

12.3 MP 4/3-Format Live MOS Sensor

The E-P1 utilizes the same 12.3-megapixel Live MOS imaging sensor used in Olympus' 4/3-format DSLRs. Measuring 17.3 x 13mm, this sensor is half the size of 'full-frame' DSLR sensors (2x crop factor), but far larger than comparably-sized digital cameras, all of which lack the option of lens interchangeability

Compatible with all 4/3-System Lenses (with adapter)

Aside from the physically smaller M.Zuiko Digital lenses, the Olympus E-P1 is also compatible with all FourThird-format lenses, which enables you to take advantage of one of the widest angle-of-view (AOV) selections available today (114° to 1.5° AOV, or 14 to 800mm)

Live View Mode

Live View enables real-time viewing of your still and video images as you compose and capture them

Advanced, Pro-Quality Autofocus & Metering System

The camera's 11-point Imager AF autofocusing system ensures quick and accurate focusing under all lighting conditions. For equally accurate metering, the Olympus E-P1 utilizes a 324 segment ESP metering system. There's also the option of selecting Spot or Center-weighted metering as desired

In-Body Image Stabilization

An in-camera stabilization system allows for up to 4-stops EV of movement compensation with all 4/3 and Micro-4/3 format lenses

Dust Reduction

Olympus' Dust Reduction, which runs an ultrasonic cleaning cycle each time you power up the camera, helps keep dust particles out of the image path

Advanced Shooting and Post-Capture Editing Modes

Advanced shooting modes, including ePortrait for optimized portrait photography, iAUTO for decision-free shooting under most common shooting conditions, Shadow Adjustment Technology (SAT) for optimizing highlight and shadow details, and Art Filters (Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film, and Pin Hole) are easily employed as needed. Other post-capture editing features include sound dubbing (in stereo) for still and video images

High-Quality Stereo PCM Audio

You can record video with linear, non-compressed sound, as well as add sound to images post-capture

Manual Focus Assist

When shooting in Manual Focus mode (MF) a 5x close-up of the center of the image is superimposed into a box at the center of the screen to aid in fine focusing. This magnification can be increased up to 10x magnification