The Olympus PEN trio – brief preview

Hi folks, If you are visiting this blog for the first time, a very warm welcome to you ! I’m Brandon, and I’ll be appearing from time to time to upload some brief blog posts, mostly about Olympus equipment. I started off my journey into DSLR photography with an Olympus E-510 which I purchased on February 23rd, 2008. Since then, I’ve never looked back, and continually strive towards excellence in my photographic projects.

Olympus Malaysia recently announced a user gathering last weekend at Sunway Giza to commemorate the launch of their new PEN series, namely the EP-3, EPL-3 (PEN lite) and EPM-1 (PEN Mini). Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the gathering because I had some assignments.

Fortunately, an Olympus rep turned up at my shop 2 days later to showcase the cameras. It was indeed a joy for me to see the three models side by side. The 5th generation Micro 43rd mirrorless cameras are finally here!

Left-Right: PEN Mini + 14-42, EP-3 + 12/2.0, EPL-3 + 14-150

The PEN mini is indeed a sight to behold despite being a mock up unit. Simple and elegant in design, despite sacrificing some functionality that is evident in the flagship EP-3 (eg mode dial, touch screen, 5 fps continuous burst).

There’s an EVF port for the VF-2 below the hot shoe. A movie record button is to the right, while a four way control and integrated thumbwhel appears beneath it. Sleek, nice and simple. I like it!

The PEN lite packs in the same 12.3 MP high speed MOS sensor as its bigger EP-3 sibling. Indeed, manufacturers now are racing against the clock to create the smallest mirrorless camera in this market segment. Unfortunately, some ‘upgrades’ can be a little hard to swallow, especially if they aren’t executed well. Digital Rev thinks that the Panasonic GF 3 didn’t do as well as its predecessor, especially for its user interface. Do watch their video here.

The amazing thing is that Olympus has managed to make the PEN mini body fractionally smaller than their best selling compact, the XZ-1 (sans lens of course).

Sporting a sleeker and smaller body than its predecessors (the EPL-1 & EPL; 2), Olympus have finally succeeded in producing a M43rds body with an articulating screen. On the camera top plate, everything has been jam packed to the brim – a pop up flash, hot shoe + EVF port, mode dial, shutter release button, and ON/OFF button.

Look at how tiny the EPL-3 is in your hand. Cameras have gotten so compact nowadays.

*Look, it Extends !* Offering an awesome 28-300mm equivalent field of view, this lens is a general purpose superzoom great for travelling purposes.

The EPL-3 and EP-3 with their body caps off, showing the new Truepic VI sensors inside their tiny chassis.

The first generation PEN had  numerous Autofocus issues (which was compounded with the use of Zuiko E-system lenses with out contrast detect autofocus). Its good that the engineers in Olympus have worked non stop to create a truly amazing camera thats good in autofocus. Although I am yet to fully comprehend the title of the ‘World’s fastest Autofocus’ in this camera, I’m pleased to report that the autofocus speed and accuracy has been noticeably improved, rivalling even the most popular entry and prosumer level DSLRs today.

The implementation of the 3″ 614k OLED touch screen has been wonderfully executed. You can even tap the touch screen to instantaneously take a photo. The touch screen isn’t as good as an Ipod, but its getting there.

An internally placed pop up flash is better than having nothing at all.  Great for reducing contrast and lightening the shadows in harsh light.

Here are some full resolution JPEGs from the EP-3. The new sensors in the PENs are a far cry from what the 43rds and M43rds system started off with.

I hope I’ll be able to give the new PEN cameras a trial run if there’s a loan unit available. In the very near future, come what may, the future photographer’s work horse will be an Olympus PEN instead of the full frame monsters that some of us use.

Cheers.