Olympus PEN E-P1 Summary

The final rating of this camera therefore depends greatly on whether it is being compared to a compact camera or against a DSLR. The differences between this one and similar models boil down to handling as they all currently share the same sensor and lens mount. So this is either the best performing compact camera ever, a good DSLR or an average (by default) interchangeable lens camera:

Category	Rating
Large Fixed-Lens Camera	Excellent
Interchangeable Lens Camera	Average
DSLR	Good

For the final rating, the E-P1 was put in the large digital camera category because it is not a DSLR but when we take into account the size of the lens, even the smallest, it does form a rather sizable camera. Anecdotally, the reason the rating would be higher in the DSLR category is because the rating system considers performance of all DSLRs which have been around for much longer.

There are certainly a few things that will be changed as the interchangeable lens camera market picks up. It is about rethinking what the camera can do when there is no reflex viewfinder to accommodate. The main usability draw-back of the Olympus EP-1 is the lack of a built-in viewfinder which makes it harder to steady the camera and see subjects in bright light. There exits a viewfinder add-on that is matched with a 17mm lens to address this problem but it only works with that one lens. Even using the 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 at 17mm is not an option because the lens barrel is long enough to obstruct the view.

The bottom line is that the EP-1 outperforms fixed-lens cameras in most regards and by a fair margin when it comes to image quality. Speed of operation is a mixed bag with certain good numbers but also below average performance in critical areas such as auto-focus speed.

In short, it can produce high-quality images for its size but this is not a camera to recommend for any form of action.

Compared to a DSLR, things are different because of the Olympus E-P1's smaller sensor which shows a bit more noise and less dynamic range than modern DSLRs. The proposition though is that the E-P1 can be taken to more places and is much more discrete than a DSLR.

Neocamera detailed review Read the full Olympus E-P1 review here.