Comments on: The Olympus E-PL1 Review. The best JPEG camera EVER? http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/ Digital Camera and Lens Reviews for Enthusiasts Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:21:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dmitri http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-90897 Dmitri Sat, 29 Oct 2011 03:00:30 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-90897 Great review Steve! And now this camera can be had for unbelievable $399! A point about the direct video button. It annoyed the bejesus out of me too. For one day, Then I dug into the manual, and figured out that you can REDEFINE this button to just about anything, All you need to do is to enable the "secret" menu (Menu Button->Wrench Tab->Menu Display-> ON). Then go Menu Button->"Secret" Menu ->B (Button)->Movie Function-> Select any available option, including OFF. Yes, you will lose the ability to shoot a movie instantly as you will have to explicitly go to the Movie mode to shoot video, but you won't start recording anything accidentally. Great review Steve! And now this camera can be had for unbelievable $399!

A point about the direct video button. It annoyed the bejesus out of me too. For one day, Then I dug into the manual, and figured out that you can REDEFINE this button to just about anything, All you need to do is to enable the “secret” menu (Menu Button->Wrench Tab->Menu Display-> ON). Then go Menu Button->”Secret” Menu ->B (Button)->Movie Function-> Select any available option, including OFF. Yes, you will lose the ability to shoot a movie instantly as you will have to explicitly go to the Movie mode to shoot video, but you won’t start recording anything accidentally.

]]> By: joe http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-88503 joe Sun, 23 Oct 2011 17:30:39 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-88503 liked this review. I'm 56 and started with photography with a Canon FTBn and 3 lenses, after one month of a 4 month post college backpacking trip I traded all the lenses in and got a Hoya 35-105 zoom. The whole package was great but weighed...like 8 pounds? Because an enthusiastic point & shoot guy for many of my subsequent trips. STarted digital photo with a Sony Mavica, have been through gosh....5 fujis, Nikon D40, a toshiba, 2 canons, a lumix and an EPL-1. Although my all time favorite camera is my Canon G10 and the most memorable images are from my old lamented FUji F30, I gotta say that my EPL1 is my go-to camera. I can't judge low light because I don't use the kit lense; i have the Olympus 14-150 (I think!) and love the total package. Yeah, there's no viewfinder. Yeah, the monitor is not as high res as the Canon. But the pictures are sensational and with the super zoom I get wide to tele, great pics, one package, no other stuff needed. I have a wrist strap on it, bought acouple spare batteries, and have never looked back. Hey, there are actually LOADS of great cameras, but for an interchangeable lens, micro 4/3, compact well built camera, I can't see upgrading anytime soon. liked this review. I’m 56 and started with photography with a Canon FTBn and 3 lenses, after one month of a 4 month post college backpacking trip I traded all the lenses in and got a Hoya 35-105 zoom. The whole package was great but weighed…like 8 pounds?
Because an enthusiastic point & shoot guy for many of my subsequent trips.
STarted digital photo with a Sony Mavica, have been through gosh….5 fujis, Nikon D40, a toshiba, 2 canons, a lumix and an EPL-1. Although my all time favorite camera is my Canon G10 and the most memorable images are from my old lamented FUji F30, I gotta say that my EPL1 is my go-to camera. I can’t judge low light because I don’t use the kit lense; i have the Olympus 14-150 (I think!) and love the total package. Yeah, there’s no viewfinder. Yeah, the monitor is not as high res as the Canon. But the pictures are sensational and with the super zoom I get wide to tele, great pics, one package, no other stuff needed. I have a wrist strap on it, bought acouple spare batteries, and have never looked back. Hey, there are actually LOADS of great cameras, but for an interchangeable lens, micro 4/3, compact well built camera, I can’t see upgrading anytime soon.

]]> By: Nigel http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-60885 Nigel Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:54:08 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-60885 Great review, Steve. I've been shooting Nikon DSLRs for several years, but wanted something for landscape and general street work I could carry easily. I bought the EPL1 and VF2 viewfinder before going to Venice on vacation, "Christening" the camera while there. The images are so sharp, well saturated and fine detailed (on ISO 100-200) that I honestly can't see me ever using any of my Nikons again. It's a perfect landscape / architecture camera, particularly with the added DOF of 4/3. Added to that the VF2 viewfinder produces a far bigger, brighter image than my DSLRs ever did, and the fact that I prefer the 4:3 ratio to the old 3:2 ratio ... and the 14-42mm kit lens' excellent performance ... I'm in hog's heaven. Great review, Steve. I’ve been shooting Nikon DSLRs for several years, but wanted something for landscape and general street work I could carry easily. I bought the EPL1 and VF2 viewfinder before going to Venice on vacation, “Christening” the camera while there. The images are so sharp, well saturated and fine detailed (on ISO 100-200) that I honestly can’t see me ever using any of my Nikons again. It’s a perfect landscape / architecture camera, particularly with the added DOF of 4/3. Added to that the VF2 viewfinder produces a far bigger, brighter image than my DSLRs ever did, and the fact that I prefer the 4:3 ratio to the old 3:2 ratio … and the 14-42mm kit lens’ excellent performance … I’m in hog’s heaven.

]]> By: Nicolai Nystrand Jensen http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-57379 Nicolai Nystrand Jensen Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:09:22 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-57379 Thanks for the review! But should i buy the Olympus E-PL1 or the fujifilm x100? Thanks for the review! But should i buy the Olympus E-PL1 or the fujifilm x100?

]]> By: Howard Tyree http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-49644 Howard Tyree Wed, 18 May 2011 19:20:32 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-49644 Steve: Thanks, this was a great review and one that help me make up my mine about the purchase of the PL2 and the Pan 20mm. I'm waiting for it now. I got great deals from Amazon thanks to you. I wish I could afford that M9 but have to sell my grandkids in order to do so ;-} I also viewed your M9 video on Youtube. That limited edition is awesome. But who would want to spend that can of money....Watch and Porche collectors. Cheers Steve:
Thanks, this was a great review and one that help me make up my mine about the purchase of the PL2 and the Pan 20mm. I’m waiting for it now. I got great deals from Amazon thanks to you.
I wish I could afford that M9 but have to sell my grandkids in order to do so ;-} I also viewed your M9 video on Youtube. That limited edition is awesome. But who would want to spend that can of money….Watch and Porche collectors.

Cheers

]]> By: Megan http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-45085 Megan Thu, 14 Apr 2011 01:14:18 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-45085 Steve, Thank you for this great, honest review! This is the first review of this camera (or any other camera) that provides actual photos taken by the camera. This is exactly what I needed to help make a decision on which digital SLR camera should be my first purchase. The old school style drew me in first, but the qualities and abilities it provides makes it that much better. Thanks! Steve,

Thank you for this great, honest review! This is the first review of this camera (or any other camera) that provides actual photos taken by the camera. This is exactly what I needed to help make a decision on which digital SLR camera should be my first purchase. The old school style drew me in first, but the qualities and abilities it provides makes it that much better.

Thanks!

]]> By: Tedolph http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-32658 Tedolph Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:22:54 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-32658 Yap, sorry for the late reply. Manual focus is pretty easy on the LCD screen. For critical focus, hit the zoom button and you get a 7x, 10x, 12x or 14x zoomed image. Hit the zoom button again to go back to composition view. I wish you could go back to composition view just by half depressing the shutter button (a la Panny GF1) but you can't, at least in this firmware iteration. If it is really sunny outside (e.g at the beach or bright snow) you will need the external electronic view finder whch is very high quality. The nice thing about the E-pl1 (and new E-pl2 I presume) is that you can leave the camera in "P" mode and switch back and forth between a manual lens and any of the u 4/3 lenses without resetting anything. "P" mode with a manual lens works just like "A" mode so no menu changes are necessary. With high quality manual lenses and your skills from rangefinder days, we find the E-pl1 is capable of shooting low light events, even weddings. Hope this helps. Yap, sorry for the late reply. Manual focus is pretty easy on the LCD screen. For critical focus, hit the zoom button and you get a 7x, 10x, 12x or 14x zoomed image. Hit the zoom button again to go back to composition view. I wish you could go back to composition view just by half depressing the shutter button (a la Panny GF1) but you can’t, at least in this firmware iteration. If it is really sunny outside (e.g at the beach or bright snow) you will need the external electronic view finder whch is very high quality. The nice thing about the E-pl1 (and new E-pl2 I presume) is that you can leave the camera in “P” mode and switch back and forth between a manual lens and any of the u 4/3 lenses without resetting anything. “P” mode with a manual lens works just like “A” mode so no menu changes are necessary. With high quality manual lenses and your skills from rangefinder days, we find the E-pl1 is capable of shooting low light events, even weddings.

Hope this helps.

]]> By: Steve Costello http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-30475 Steve Costello Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:46:34 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-30475 Thank you so much for your review it really helpd me to make a decision Thank you so much for your review it really helpd me to make a decision

]]> By: Ted http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-27310 Ted Fri, 24 Dec 2010 00:26:27 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-27310 Some of the postings I've seen about the PEN series Olympus cameras on YouTube made me think they have a time lapse video feature. I have a PEN E-P2, but have not found that I can produce time lapse in camera. I was curious if anyone else found a way to do it, or maybe the time lapse postings I've seen were produced in post production? Some of the postings I’ve seen about the PEN series Olympus cameras on YouTube made me think they have a time lapse video feature. I have a PEN E-P2, but have not found that I can produce time lapse in camera. I was curious if anyone else found a way to do it, or maybe the time lapse postings I’ve seen were produced in post production?

]]> By: Reviews: Olympus PEN E-PL1 » Photo Video Online [en] http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/04/07/the-olympus-e-pl1-review-the-best-jpeg-camera-ever/#comment-23096 Reviews: Olympus PEN E-PL1 » Photo Video Online [en] Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:32:48 +0000 http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/?p=7156#comment-23096 [...] The Olympus E-PL1 Review. The best JPEG camera EVER? Since I have been shooting some film recently with my Leica M6 I realized that while I have been spending time scanning negatives, I have not been spending time post processing the images to get them to look good. That is the beauty of film. It’s simple and the results can be great with no PP but instead of spending hours in photoshop you end up spending hours at the scanner! Everything has its drawbacks huh? 7th April 2010 [...] [...] The Olympus E-PL1 Review. The best JPEG camera EVER? Since I have been shooting some film recently with my Leica M6 I realized that while I have been spending time scanning negatives, I have not been spending time post processing the images to get them to look good. That is the beauty of film. It’s simple and the results can be great with no PP but instead of spending hours in photoshop you end up spending hours at the scanner! Everything has its drawbacks huh? 7th April 2010 [...]

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