Olympus PEN E-PL1 (14-42 mm f/3.5-f/5.6 Kit Lens) Mirrorless Camera

The two earlier reviewers have done a great job summarising many points. Point 2 in Pankaj's review is very true. You need to spend some time with this cam to know the ins and outs. There is a book called Olympus PEN E-PL1 for dummies to help you out. I purchased this cam as a twin lens kit that is, E-PL1 body + Micro 4/3 14-42 kit lens + 4/3 (mind you not m4/3 but 4/3) 40-150 mm lens + 4/3-to-m4/3 adapter for the latter lens (without this adapter you cannot mount this telephoto lens to this cam) for nearly 26K in Chennai. What I don't like about the cam: 1. Slow focusing and lot of searching in dim light. 2. Over-saturated colours in AUTO mode esp reds. 3. No Autofocus Assist light/beam (I was shocked not to find it) 4. Very few buttons on the back for a DSLR like (mind you this is not a DSLR but a DSLR like camera) camera. 5. Video is very jumpy. But if you mount the cam on a tripod and do not move the camera, then the video is quite good. 6. My first few days with the cam were very frustrating because this is my first DSLR like cam and the AF in this cam was slightly slower than my previous point and shoot (Fuji S5700 S700) so I lost the timing on a lot of pics esp wildlife. But later as time went on I started to master the cam and right now I am very comfortable with the performance of this cam. 7. Native lenses are expensive and hard to come by, esp wide angle and fast lenses. 8. No view finder so you cannot tuck in your arms. That means you lose control on shake. But with time, things will improve and you will get used to clicking photos with the cam away from your body. Nowadays most P&S cams have lost their VFs so not a big deal. 9. My cam sensor seems to have a constantly lit pixel. In dark images, there is a red spot smack in the middle and it is quite obvious. Don't know what to do with it. Now the things that make this camera a pleasure for me to hold and use: 1. Lots of settings to tweak, as many as you can expect from a decent DSLR like camera. 2. I simply love the two lenses that came with the cam. That's a lot of focal length to cover at this price point. Nowhere else you will get it in this category. In 35 mm terms you get to cover from 28 mm to 300mm with these two lenses. 3. A big sensor when you compare to the point and shoot cameras. For more info, refer a website like snapsort.com and read about sensor sizes. The price point for this cam with respect to its sensor size is very very economical. You won't get a bigger sensor at this price. Sensor is CMOS which give slightly better performance in low light. 4. Coupled with a fast memory card (Class 10 i recommend) the burst mode is decent and you can make up for the slow focusing with the burst mode. 5. The more time one spends with this cam, the better they can get and the better the photos tend to get. (This applies to all cams I guess). 6. IS (Image stabilization) is built-in the body so you can use lenses that do not have a Vibration reduction or image stabilization system (like old lenses). Panasonic lenses are a great combo for this cam since those lenses all have IS. 7. The retro look is so cool and unlike the earlier reviewer I would not call this cam ugly. (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?) 8. The package is pretty light. I have done some wildlife shoots remaining in one pose without moving much for 15-20 mins with the cam and telephoto lens attached. I cannot imagine doing the same with a full fledged DSLR with a bulky telephoto lens. 9. Combined with a fastest shutter speed of 1/2000 and decent results up to ISO 1600 and a built-in flash, this cam is awesome for most conditions except total darkness (No auto focus assist beam so no joy). I have later added a 70-300mm (140-600mm in 35mm terms) 4/3 lens to my collection, and a lot of macro filters, UV filter, CPL filter and FL filter, and the package is pretty awesome now for me. I love this package and I am currently looking to upgrade the body only to E-P3 since I have three lenses already. I will recommend this cam and package only to those who are interested in learning the settings rather using the AUTO mode alone, those who are patient and take the time to learn the cam. For P&S like experience, look elsewhere. This cam will make you a good photographer if you go along and learn.

How you will find E-PL1 depends on which school of thought you are coming from. nn1. Are you from that crowd which views camera as jewels. And that its important to get the latest and greatest cameras which come out every 3 months?nnIf yes then you better look else where. E-PL1 is the ugliest of the whole digital Pen series.nn2. Are you from that crowd which values functionality over looks? And who stay with a camera to know its ins and outs so that it becomes a part of them and they can take pics effortlessly? If yes then you better check E-PL1. This camera does everything well. How far you go with this camera depends on how much skills you have rather than the camera capabilities itself.nnCons first:n1. Slow autofocus. This is a problem in low light scenes. But this can be overcome with the AF+MF settings. Let the autofocus lock on whatever little focus it can and then manually fine tune the focus.nn2. The lens cap. I was never and will never be comfortable with this thing. Its a wonder I have not lost it till now.nn3. A bit plasticy build. But will take abuse well.nnPros:n1. Very nice image quality.n2. Portable. Pair it with the small Olympus 17mm lens and you have a pocketable go anywhere combination.n3. Does not look very expensive, especially with 17mm lens on it, it passes off as a normal point and shoot. Invaluable for street shooters.n4. Flash!!! Something even high end EP series also did not have.n5. A weaker anti-aliasing filter. Sharper images.nnIn a nut shell, at this price point, its a Steal.