Olympus new PEN series DC

[dongwu]

I know the two Olympus E-PL3 and E-PM1 come out from some blog. who can tell me more specs about them.

[huaguo]

Originally Posted by dongwu

I know the two Olympus E-PL3 and E-PM1 come out from some blog. who can tell me more specs about them.

i found some information about the above cameras from one blog. So i link it here to share with people who need it.
Digital Cameras Review Blog Archive Olympus E-PL3 and E-PM1 -Olympus new PEN series digital cameras

[inkista]

Let's see...what about the obvious places to look?

Olympus:
Consumer - Olympus America Inc.

www.four-thirds.org

dpreview:
Olympus PEN E-P3 Preview: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
Olympus PEN Lite Preview: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

[teepee12]

I'm really interested. Bad wrists make the lightweight compact three fourths format very attractive ... Does anyone actually own and use one and have an opinion based on first hand experience?

[inkista]

Might wanna try a four-thirds forum.

Micro Four Thirds - Four Thirds User discussion forum

[sjdunphy]

I've had a long relationship with Olympus digital cameras, starting with the E500 series, then the E610, then the e620 at which point I was getting fed up carrying around a backpack full of gear. I'd consider the early PENs but was put off by the fact they were relatively slow and I wasn't impressed with the end results. However, the PL2 was a revelation and I quickly sold all my gear and replaced with the PL2 and its improved kit lens. The VF-2 electronic viewfinder was a worthy addition but wasn't encouraged by any additional Olympus lenses so I bought the Panasonic pancake instead. It was fast, bright and worked well with the PL2 body. Later additions to my kit were the macro converter and macro lights - all beautifully made. I've had a lot of fun with this equipment and it has never let me down. It takes up far less space than my old DSLRs and is easy to carry around - OK, it isn't exactly pocket sized but with the pancake lens it hardly takes up any space.

Last week, I succumbed to the P3 which is an astonishing body. It feels heavier than the PL2, being made of metal rather than plastic. It seems as though Olympus have taken the best bits of the PL2 and add even better functionality with the P3. It is exceptionally fast at focusing and features a bright colourful touch screen on the rear. It is early days so I don't have a lot of photos to show yet but the few test shots I've taken are very pleasing.

In summary, this is a very flexible camera that is easy to use. It takes up far less room than a DSLR and some of it's compact interchangeable lens competitors. It is fast, well made, and produces much better results than previous versions. I have no hesitation in recommending it.

[ravncat]

Originally Posted by teepee12

I'm really interested. Bad wrists make the lightweight compact three fourths format very attractive ... Does anyone actually own and use one and have an opinion based on first hand experience?

I own and use an ep-1

I've had it for almost - but not quite two years ( just a couple months to go)
I know there have been numerous updates. The sensor and imaging chain from the first digital pen (ep-1) to the newest model ep-3 have had very few changes. There have been some minor improvements, but image quality is about the same.

(some people often remark at the lack of sensor improvement, (including, me, I'd love a bit more dynamic range than I can get out of the pen), but overall, there have been some remarkable improvements in the body. The newer body (ep-3) is by all means a better "performing" camera than the old ep-1. I'd get one, but I don't have the income to just up my pen body. Improvements include faster AF - better screen - the ability to use perhaps the industries best (at the moment) digital viewfinder attachment, inclusion of an on camera flash, better button layout, improved functions and bells and whistles...

So - What do I think of the ep-1 ? It's small, it's light, it's too big for my pockets, but small enough for a large jacket pocket - (with one of the small pancakes / primes attatched) I went with it over a gf-1 because of the sensor stabilization and what that meant for both potential lens sizes and the ability to use stabilization on my adapted nikon lenses. the 2x crop factor means putting down some extra money if you want superwide, the best option is the panasonic 7-14mm, though the olympus 9-18mm is fairly good optically. I decided to go for the 12mm f2.

My ep-1 is quite capable. the 12mp sensor is good, with it's only real drawback being high iso noise and low dynamic range. I don't know if you shot or used nikon, but the sensor is maybe a little better than my d200. I get about 6-8 usable stops of dynamic range and I find that it's ok at iso 800. (And there's never any reason to go higher, because 800 pushed to 1600 in lightroom looks better than 1600 out of camera - I suspect that beyond 800 the olympus system is using some mathematical tricks for ISO that are not as good as ACR can be.

At iso 100, I can sometimes push 9 stops, but, this is a camera that certainly can benefit from neutral density filters - which I don't have for my micro 4/3rds lenses. It's got an image quality that is higher than your bridge camera and compact point and shoot sensors - I definitely feel the advantage of the larger sensor - and I know, I get better images from my Nikon d700. (to be expected of course)

Bottom line - the ep-1 image quality is better than passable, and I can make some high quality prints, that would be mistaken for a "better" camera pretty easily. It's highly portable, very small and has alot of great lens options.* It doesn't replace my dslr, but it adds something that I can take with me easily when I don't want my dslr weight, when I want to be inconspicuous, when I am with family or when I want to play with a different aspect ratio

I present some images I've taken just to give you an idea, these look great at their 1:1 size, but are all downsampled here. I've no problem printing at 12x16. Maybe a little boring, but they're what I have at hand online.

(12mm cropped)

(20mm)

(20mm)

I consider the small Panasonic 20mm 1.7 a must. I also have and love the olympus 12mm f2. prime. I use these lenses most. Adapted Nikon glass is ok, but it's really not quite sharp enough for the small pixel pitch of the ep-1, but the results are ok - particularly one must pay attention to focus - it works better with adapted manual focus lenses - and very high quality lenses. I have, but rarely use the first kit 14-42 3.5 - 5.6 lens. It's slow but ok when there's a lot of light. Being able to adapt so many lenses is nice, and there are quite a few lenses out now, and on the road-map for micro four thirds.

[oceanswimmer]

If anyone is interested, here is a review of the new Olympus Pen E-P3, E-PL3 & E-PM1 cameras