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Olympus PEN E-PL1
Prasad Naik, Jun 01, 2010 1737 hrs ISTFeatures of a dSLR with the user friendliness of a point-and-shoot camera
Good image quality, sturdy build quality, simple interface design, auto modes work well, ability to save in RAW and JPEG simultaneously in all modes, 720p video recording
Boxy design, small display, no built-in optical viewfinder, interface looks a bit dated, slow autofocus, bit expensive
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Performance
The startup and shot to shot time of the Olympus E-PL1 were respectable and we had no issues in that aspect. But we did feel the grip was a bit inadequate and was no where close to what we get from a proper dSLR camera. Having said that it was still better than the tiny point-and-shoot cameras, where you wonder where to put your thumbs and fingers. The spacious body of the E-PL1 gives you no such trouble.
Now coming to the image quality; we must say the image quality on the Olympus E-PL1 is excellent. The cameras produces some very high quality images that is more in the league of the budget dSLR cameras than point and shoots. The larger sensor makes its presence felt here by capturing some superb details while keeping noise to a minimum, even in low-light conditions. The colors were also great and although at times the images looked a wee bit cold, they were still quite good.
ISO100, ISO200, ISO400 and ISO800
ISO1250, ISO2500, ISO3200, ISO6400
The overall detail levels in the images was quite good, with camera slightly tilting to the softer side, which however we prefer to over-sharpened details. The dynamic range was also quite commendable; in pictures with strong bright and dark areas, both the extremities had a sufficient amount of detail in them. Noise levels are under control up till ISO1000, after which some amount of luminance noise starts seeping in. You can shoot up to as high as ISO6400 but then the noise levels get too high. I wouldn't recommend going above ISO1600. The low-light performance, however, is quite good and even without using the flash you can get very good pictures. The built-in flash is also fairly powerful and comes with a myriad of options to choose from depending on how you want to fire it.
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