As in the case of the previous Olympus product we tested, the E-620 DSLR, we've divided the real-life performance section of the review into two different chapters, one talking about the Pen E-P1 camera from the point of view of a more or less mainstream user, the other from that of a professional photographer, who can be a tad more critical about the camera's actual photo-taking capabilities.

A mainstream user's view on the Olympus E-P1

General considerations and handling issues

When taking the Pen E-P1 out of the box, one's first feeling is that of surprise, and that's because this is one elegant-looking camera, starting with the overall design and ending with the quality of the materials used. Also, as we've mentioned in a previous chapter of the review, when one picks up this thing, the first feeling will be that it's actually larger and heavier than expected.

Moreover, handling the device shouldn't really prove to be much of a problem, especially if you've used an Olympus DSLR before – in fact, I do believe that the overall control system of the E-P1 is much simpler and more intuitive than that of the E-620, for example. It took me a lot less to get accustomed to this device rather than the aforementioned DSLR.

So, accessing the shooting modes via the wheel or the various shooting modes via the corresponding menu options is a very fast and easy process, and after taking the E-P1 for a quick spin (at least two or three serious shooting sessions), you're likely to get the hang of it.

The E-P1 offers several pre-set shooting modes, namely iAuto, Programmed Auto (P), Shutter Priority Auto (S), Aperture Priority Auto (A), Full Manual mode (M), Video Recording, Pre-set Scene (SCN) and Art Filters, each of them providing their own adjustment options and characteristics.

Also, if you're patient enough to browse through all the available menus, you'll notice that you're provided with numerous options, no matter whether we're talking about certain features pertaining to the device itself (button assignment, display brightness, etc.), the quality of the photos and videos taken, the functionality, etc.

Photo shooting

Before going deeper into certain issues related to the E-P1's shooting capabilities, I'd like to point out a little something about the display and the viewfinder. So, while people who're already accustomed to making serious use of the display while taking photos (previous compact camera owners, to be precise) will certainly love this feature, photographers who've used a viewfinder their entire life for actually framing a photo will be a little disappointed (and will also get themselves the optional viewfinder accessory).

As we've pointed out above, photographers are given access to several shooting modes, both automatic and manual. And the first such mode is iAuto, an “intelligent” photo shooting mode.

The iAuto feature is quite important, since it's very likely that many users (well, at least those who'll purchase the E-P1 for its "cool factor" rather than photo-shooting capabilities) will stick to this in order to get acceptable photos without fiddling with the controls too much. As Olympus indicates, this feature allows the camera to automatically select one of the six most common scenes and apply it automatically, according to the environment conditions, in order to help users attain better results.

Along the same lines, we'll have to mention the SCN (Scene) mode, by which photographers can choose one of the 14 built-in scene modes to fit their surrounding environment. Sure, it might take longer to select what you need (thumbs up, Olympus, for the documents shooting option from SCN, this will have all the secret agents out there go for the E-P1), but the results will also be significantly better.

Next in line comes the Program AE mode that allows users to select a certain exposure by turning the main command dial left or right. The shutter speed is also automatically adjusted during this process.

The Pen E-P1 provides an Aperture Priority Auto mode (during which users simply select the aperture and the camera will calculate the shutter speed for the exposure) and a Shutter Priority Auto mode (photographers select the shutter speed and the E-P1 calculates the aperture), plus a full auto mode, where almost everything can be customized, according to the user's needs.

As mentioned above, another minus is the lack of a built-in flash module, which might cause certain problems in some cases, especially in low-light conditions. Of course, one can purchase an additional flash unit, attachable via the hot shoe, but the lighting unit is typically pretty expensive. On the other hand, this situation applies to most other rangefinders out there, so those who opt for such a model will be fully aware of what it can and cannot offer.

The Pen digital camera also sports a pretty advanced image stabilization system (imager shift image stabilizer), which tries to compensate for involuntary hand shaking or even some more violent hand movements. Additionally, the device offers quite a lot of pre-set white balance options, as well as several Color Mode options for taking photos (including here Vivid, Natural, Portrait, Muted and Monotone).

Similar to the E-620 DSLR (and several other Olympus cameras out there), the E-P1 offers photographers a couple of creative „Art Filters” that allow them to apply certain image filters right in the camera. We talked quite a lot about this feature in the case of the E-620, but we've noticed that, in the case of the Pen E-P1, this system is better implemented, since photographers can easily switch between previews of various filters before actually applying the modifications (without going back to the menus, which was a problem in other cameras).

Also, these Art Filters can be applied while shooting video, which leads us to the next sub-chapter of our review.

Video recording

While Olympus has not exactly been pretty eager to adopt movie recording as an option for its digital cameras, it finally decided to go down this road with the E-P1. The fact that this is one of its first high-end cameras to feature a movie clip capture mode is quite visible in certain situations, especially when taking a look at the recording details.

First of all, it's important to mention that the E-P1 uses the standard shutter release to stop and start movie clip capture. Then, we have to point out that video clips can attain a maximum recording resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps (in other words, 720p), the resulting video clips being saved in AVI (Motion JPEG) format. However, the length of a video clip is limited at around 2GB, which can be translated into roughly 8 to 9 minutes of actual recording.




The device comes equipped with an internal microphone, which helps it record audio in PCM 44.1kHz Stereo format.

The quality of the resulting videos is pretty good (above that of consumer camcorders, anyway), and they'll manage to shine through when used together with an HDTV (or HD Ready TV, at least) via the HDMI interface. There are some problems when shooting videos in low-light conditions, but, then again, that's a problem plaguing even dedicated HD camcorders available on the market.

Another important issue worth mentioning as far as video recording is concerned is that users are provided with certain adjustment options (including the auto-focus option, the White Balance choice and also the degree of image stabilization, which, by the way, is all-digital in the case of video recording). Plus, when applying more processor-intensive Art Filters (such as Grainy Film or Pinhole), the frame rate will record a significant drop.

Photo and video playback

Similar to any digital camera available on the market, the Olympus Pen E-P1 also offers users the possibility of reviewing the photos and/or videos they've taken right on its display. 

As some of you might remember, we really liked the photo organization options provided by the Olympus E-620 DSLR, and we were quite happy to find out that some of them have managed to find their way onto the E-P1. So, as far as photos as concerned, besides the possibility to view, zoom-in and out or rotate the pictures, photographers are able to see increasingly small thumbnail collections, as well as a calendar-based organizer. Moreover, they can opt for a little slideshow, accompanied by music saved right within the camera's memory.

Video playback is pretty much similar, but don't expect some fancy playback options. No, in fact, in the case of the E-P1, everything's been kept pretty plain and simple, with very few options to get the user's mind boggled. Basically, it's a bit of just press play and enjoy.

A professional approach to the Olympus Pen E-P1

It was about time to get to test the Olympus Pen E-P1 (right after the second model was released by the manufacturer), but let's see what the first model is capable of. I would like to start with the ergonomics, and even though I could have asked “what ergonomics?” I was rather impressed by the tiny shooter.

The camera feels very solid, well built, and fits very well in the hand, for its size, I mean. I was actually amazed that, for the first time, a camera of this size didn't feel like it was going to slip out of my hand and that's probably because the Pen has a very well balanced construction. Mind that my points are made on playing with the camera and the 14-42mm lens attached, which is considerably one of the lightest lenses I've ever got to touch. We were talking about the camera, so let's keep to the subject. I must admit that I absolutely loved the implementation of the multi-click wheel that gives one quick access to ISO speed, AF type, White Balance and, of course, the Drive mode, namely choosing from burst, timer and one picture.

One neat feature that users will enjoy finding directly in the menu of the Olympus E-P1 is something that a lot of cameras lack and need, namely pixel mapping. What the function does is scan for “dead pixels” and map them out by calculating average color values from the pixels in the closest surrounding vicinity. Do remember that you won't likely need this, for the first months or even more.

Also, I forgot to mention that as solid as it feels, and well-fitting in the hand as it might be, I would still always use it with the neck strap, just because unlike a full-size digital SLR, you can't grip it solid like a rock, so to say, so one little slap on the hand and you might drop it accidentally. Speaking of solid, when testing the ISO, I fitted the Olympus E-P1 on a full size tripod, as in one that will easily hold a DSRL with a big lens attached. Mind, I say, you just couldn't shake the little fellow, but also that with the 17mm F2.8 lens, the Pen is a lot lighter than many serious tripod heads.

Entering the menu, I first blinked a few times, then started looking through the menu rows - an overall user-friendly menu, but just because I say user friendly doesn't mean that it is also intuitive, for it is not - it took me a while to figure things out, especially on the single column on the left that only has pictures and no text, nor user configurable ones. Nevertheless, you have nothing to worry about, since anyone that has touched, played with or possessed more than two digital cameras is likely to comprehend the menu interface from the first time they use the E-P1.

Now, leaving the aforementioned size issues aside, it's time to talk about the real-life usage of the camera. And, right from the start and without any holdbacks, I can say that the auto focus worked fast, at least when using the 17mm F2.8 pancake lens and the central focusing point. Also, be aware that this is seriously influenced by the F2.8 aperture.

When I switched to the 14-42mm zoom lens, I did notice a lot more focus hunting than with the 17mm, while with both lenses, I kept experiencing even more focus hunting, as well as missing the focus completely sometimes. Nevertheless, it is very clear that the Olympus E-P1 is a much faster performer than the E-620 I played with a while ago.

There's not too much to tell about the six art filters, but the fact that one should try and do them in post processing, as some of them drastically reduce image quality, and the software that comes with the camera has quick actions for the filters anyway. I only added three samples, namely Pale & Light Color, Pinhole, and Grainy Film, because these are the ones that have a noticeable effect on the camera operation speed. When not using any of the filters, the camera operates quite fast and starts very fast too.

There's a reason why I didn't mention the LCD screen from the start, and that's Live View, which is continuously used, as the E-P1 is a rangefinder. Very nicely implemented, you will be able to use live view in any conditions, indoors or outdoors, thanks to the, dare I say, best LCD visibility I've yet to meet in a rangefinder-type camera. You will have absolutely no problem using Live View directly in the brightest sun light, nor will you experience difficulty while going through the menu in the same scenario.

Getting back to Live View - have Olympus with the implementation - users will enjoy an excellent exposure simulation on the LCD screen after they half press the shutter button. One brilliant (and I'm not referring to the brightness) feature is the exposure compensation that has real-time feedback in the simulated histogram, which means you can easily figure out whether you'll blow out any highlights and compensate for that.

Speaking of exposure, I should mention a tad downside of the Pen, mainly that using all metering modes will slightly blowout further away highlights, which is probably normal, and actually easy to come around given the sweet histogram on the Live View. While we are in the Live View area, let's take a quick look at the HD video recording issue a little, as this is one of the key highlights of the E-P1. Customers will benefit from an HD video recording interface smoothly implemented that will allow them to easily shoot just about any scenario.

As far as I played (cough “tested”) with the E-P1, I noticed that the best, finest way of taking HD videos is to use both aperture control (user configurable, from the menu) and manual focus - I mean, don't even bother with automatic aperture or auto focus, because it will only draw you back from what you are concentrating on recording. In automatic movie exposure, users can choose from five settings, while modes can be chosen between Program and Aperture priority.

Just like in still image mode, the E-P1 can set the six art filter on movies too, but mind that some of them will drastically reduce performance. For example, the pinhole and grainy film filters will drop frame rate down to about 2 FPS (or at least something easy countable on one hand's fingers), while the soft focus filter will also interfere with performance - to a lower degree, but certainly noticeable.

Multiple shot will be found interesting by many, just another marketing-added feature by most and definitely loved by the film fans out there that actually might have an analog rangefinder. A major downside, especially for film fans that never cared about how many times one took pictures using the same 35mm frame, is the fact that multiple exposure is limited to just two shots. Nevertheless, it's very nice to have this feature around and, with a little practice, you could get really creative using this option.

Besides the native 4:3 aspect ratio, the E-P1 will provide users with the possibility of selecting among three other aspect ratios. Of course, 16:9, just in case one would like to embed some fine photography into HD videos they've recorded with the Pen, because it is a lot easier to frame the pictures directly to that aspect ratio, rather than cropping them in post processing.

Just like any other 4:3 native digital cameras, the Pen also has 3:2 aspect ratio enabled, which is the standard aspect ratio of photos that you print in digital photo labs, because 35mm film has that aspect ratio, as well as the digital subdivisions APS-H and APS-C. Last but not least comes the aspect ratio that owners will enjoy, just like you have already guessed, you also get 6 x 6 format aspect ratio.

Finally, I'll get to the ISO tests, and I have to give it to Olympus, it really worked a lot on this issue. I will let you be the judge of the ISO samples, which I shot on a red leather-like material (a chair in the office) because, as well all know, in color cameras, more amplification is used in the blue color channel than in the green or red channel, thus by using a red toned material, I would equalize the noise in the color channels; as for the leather-like material, I find it ideal because of the fine detail in the pattern and sewing. Mind that the samples are 100% crops, with no noise reduction, nor interpolating.

I said I would let you be the judge, but I would also like to make a few points on the image quality. I will start with ISO100, which is as clear as day, if I may say so - I noticed very fine, low-contrast detail across the whole image and quite crisp edges with the sharpening on the camera's default. I will not bother you with detailing each and every ISO speed, but rather resume to saying that across the whole ISO range of the Olympus E-P1, I observed little to no chroma-noise, which is smoothly maintained under control by the brave in-camera processing, as well as an overall non-uniform distribution on the noise pattern, that is most noticeable when going over the ISO3200 point.

Mind, I say; however, I was really impressed with the ISO6400 quality, yet probably that's just my indifference to image noise - I learned what it is, how it can be reduced right from the start and I live with it, because I remember one thing an older fellow photographer told me - better noisy than shaken or blurred, yet better blurred than not at all. There's nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept, so just enjoy photography, my friends. There are a lot of bulk cameras out there that I don't like at all and this one is really one of those nice exceptions one manages to come across from time to time.

Last but not least, you can also judge the skin tones that the Pen provides, minding that I kept the camera on semi-automatic mode, namely aperture priority and auto white balance, just like I use my camera when taking instant photos around the streets. Also, do not judge ISO noise here, as the priority was the simplest use, pointing out the skin tone. You can notice the slight blown further highlights, and, of course, underexposed subject, but I really don't know what to make about the subtle magenta tone.

The only thing I can think of is that the automatic white balance was tricked by the light blue t-shirt my colleague was wearing and compensated for that, which is actually good, for a landscape. If you notice too many variations, try using preset WB, or one of the two manual settings, namely one custom preset or Kelvin WB, that ranges between 2,000 and 14,000K, if the WB fine tuning doesn't help enough with its 7 steps for Red - Blue and Green - Magenta. If you're still not sure about that, there one more solutions available - WB Bracketing.

An overall impressive performer that will meet the needs of many, not only those that look for the best portability, but even those that are little to more discerning when talking about image quality, because even though the imaging sensor is smaller than the common APS-C, and twice smaller than 35mm FF, it will provide you with a level of quality that you never thought was possible from such a small camera.

As a conclusion, I must say that it was a very nice experience testing the Olympus E-P1 and that I was actually shocked about the ISO capability of it, the detail and versatility. It does have a fine detail at lower ISOs, speed and all, but there are some cases where you need a little more, and there are other options, but I tell you, my friends, this is one camera more than worthy of considering.