Olympus E-P1 digital camera is hot sale in digital camera market. It has a 12.3-megapixel sensor capable of HD video capture, with features of face detection, Art Filters, the SuperSonic Wave Filter for dust reduction, sensor-shift image stabilization, multiple exposures that other Olympus has. But the Olympus E-P1 introduces something new to the company as well, including HD video, digital leveling, 324-area matrix metering, onboard music, and in-camera music/still/video integration. Now, let us have a review:
Design
Like most consumer DSLRs, the Olympus E-P1 offers a mix of novice-friendly auto exposure options and full manual control for enthusiasts – with the added twist of Olympus’s Art Filters technology. Olympus’s latest in-camera processing and emulation system, Art Filters serve up six photo effects, including filters mirroring the look of shooting with a pinhole camera, a soft-focus filter, or on high-speed monochrome film. A complete list of the camera’s shooting options is as follows:
iAuto: Camera selects all exposure values
Program: Auto exposure mode with user control for flash settings, metering mode,
Shutter Priority: User selects shutter speed, and camera calculates aperture for correct exposure
Aperture Priority: User selects aperture, and camera calculates shutter speed for correct exposure
Manual: User selects both aperture and shutter speed
SCN: Fourteen scene presets – landscape, portrait, macro, sport, night scene, night portrait, landscape + portrait, children, high key, low key, DIS mode, nature macro, candle, sunset, documents, panorama, fireworks, and beach/snow
ART: The aforementioned art filters, are accessed via a menu from this position
Movie Mode: This mode allows you to record video with audio at 30 frames per second in HD (1280 x 720) or SD (640 x 480) resolutions
LCD screen
The Olympus E-P1′s 3-inch, 230,000-dot rear LCD screen has a very wide viewing angle and remains visible outdoors in the sunshine too, but only if you increase its brightness level to the maximum setting. The resolution is on the low side for such a large screen, resulting in a slightly grainy display, but it does offer 100% scene coverage. The colour temperature of the screen can be modified if you think it doesn’t match that of your calibrated computer monitor, but the contrast and gamma cannot be altered.
The LCD screen doubles as a status display, with seven different screens on offer, which can be called up by repeatedly pressing the Info button in record mode. These include the camera’s key settings and a small live histogram (although sadly not both at the same time), an innovative level gauge which makes it easy to straighten either the horizontal or vertical horizon, and a live preview of different exposure compensation and white balance settings in a multi-frame window.
You can also change all the important settings right on the LCD screen, which Olympus calls the Super Control Panel. This ingenious solution spares you the pain of having to enter the menu, and makes most settings changes fairly simple. Four of the most often-used functions – ISO sensitivity, focusing mode, white balance and drive mode – each have their own dedicated button mapped onto the four-way pad. In addition exposure compensation has its own dedicated button situated on the top plate next to the shutter release button.
Pros: Striking design; excellent build quality; impressive photo quality; interchangeable lens support.
Cons: Sluggish autofocus; short battery life; low-resolution LCD; lacks on-camera flash and viewfinder.
October 26th, 2010 at 2:37 am
Wonderful review. I think this is such a good and quality camera to have. I personally love it’s design as well as the specifications. Totally a very good camera to get. Top Rated Cameras(Quote) (Reply)