Olympus Pen E-P1

Susi Weaser phones in a quick look at the new Olympus 4 Thirds camera the Pen E-P1. Designed to sit between a compact and a full SLR this retro bodied camera provides a lot of style and function but for a hefty price.

The Olympus PEN E-P1 announced on June 16th, 2009 is Olympus Corporation’s first camera that uses the Micro Four Thirds mount. The first camera to use the Micro Four Thirds mount is Panasonic’s G-1 camera.

The design of the camera is reminiscent of the Olympus PEN half frame film cameras and is marketed as the Olympus digital PEN. The model presented on June 16, 2009 is very similar to the Olympus PEN F. Initially, two lenses will be available from Olympus, one 14–42mm f/3.5–5.6 zoom and a 17mm f/2.8 “pancake” prime lens.

In addition to the two introductory lenses, Olympus offers adapters allowing the use of other Micro Four Thirds lenses, or OM Zuiko lenses originally manufactured for use on the classic OM series of film SLR cameras that Olympus was famed for years ago.

The E-P1 does not have an optical or electronic viewfinder and uses a live preview screen, although an optical viewfinder is included in a kit also comprising the camera and the 17 mm lens. It autofocuses using contrast-detection autofocus or face detection in live view mode.

Other features include HD video recording with the ability to process the video in camera with different effects.

In an interview, Mr Akira Watanabe, SLR Planning Department Manager for Olympus Imaging, said that for a number of reasons Micro Four Thirds was developed to meet the demands of those who wanted a DSLR but without the size problems that come with one.

The new 17mm f/2.8 pancake lens or the 14–42mm f/3.5–5.6 zoom lens are of the Micro Four Thirds lens mount which means they’re smaller than Four Thirds lenses which require an adapter to fit the Micro Four Thirds body.

Several third-party manufacturers offer adapters for lenses of virtually all single-lens reflex and rangefinder systems, plus some cinema lenses.

Olympus Pen E-P1 Specs

Type Micro Four Thirds, interchangeable lens camera

Sensor Four Thirds System 18.00 × 13.50 mm Live MOS

Maximum resolution 12.3 megapixels

Lens type Micro Four Thirds System mount

Shutter 1/4,000 to 60 s, 30 minutes bulb

Exposure modes Program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority, manual

Metering modes ESP multi patterned, Center-weighted average (60%), Spot (2%)

Focus areas 11 area contrast detect auto-focus, selectable

Focus modes Single, continuous, manual

Continuous shooting 3 FPS

Viewfinder live preview, optional optical viewfinder

Flash hot shoe allows for external flashes

Rear LCD monitor 3″ 230,000 pixel TFT LCD on screen with live preview

Storage Secure Digital card

Battery Olympus BLS-1 Lithium-ion battery

Dimensions 121 × 70 × 36mm (4.7″ × 2.8″ × 1.4″)

Weight 335g (11.8 ounces)

Made In China