Leaked Olympus E-P1 Micro Four Thirds compact has us hot, bothered (updated)
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jun 15th 2009 10:58AM
posted Jun 15th 2009 10:58AM
Update: Possible specs accompanying authentic looking images have now entered the rumor mill. Said specs have the camera measuring in at 120 x 70 x 35mm (about the size of a Sigma DP2 or slightly larger than mainstream point-and-shoots) snapping 13 megapixel RAW images and 1280 x 720 pixel video to SD card, ISO 6400 sensitivity, 11-point AF, electronic anti-shake, and 3-inch LCD if we're reading the machine translated text correctly. It's expected to ship in July with prices starting at about $900 -- though it's unclear what you get at that price point.
[Via 43rumors]
Doesn't look quite as cool as the prototype from a long time ago, but if the picture quality is good, it'll do.
It won't take much to beat the noise-riddled garbage that dominates the small-cam market these days.
If only it would have an intervalometer... but year after year, it seems that only Nikon understands how to put a simple timer in their cameras.
I would disagree.... in that I think this looks much better than the soap-bar shaped prototype.
I agree - the original Olympus retro prototype was way sexier than this.
It's pretty obvious that the black one was just recolored in photoshop (or similar).
Anyways, less than a day to go...
Can you tell from the pixels? You've clearly seen some shops in your time.
@phrank, just look at the lighting -- the lens is casting a negative shadow onto the black body.
Just look at it. It's easily fake. The quality looks bad, especially around the edges of the camera. I like the white/tan one :D.
@good grief: Sheesh, I was just playin'. :-p
Anyway I misread his post; thought he was saying they took an older black model and 'shopped it silver. Didn't look at the rest of the pics. Oops!
Now that I actually looked, I can say, my name is Phrank, and that guy sucks at Photoshop.
13 Megapixels in something less than aps-c? Mega yawn. Why can't they make it like 5 or 6 megapixels?
Up periscope!
a strange place to put the rangefinder viewer though that should have been the hotshoe for z external flash
It not that odd, It's called an "Auxiliary Rangefinder" and they've existed for over fifty years.
oh nice, a lot better than i was expecting but true not as hot as the prototype.
i'll take an all black one but i doubt this is less than US $1000.
$1000?
Hmm... nice digicam versus digicam+bigscreenTV... tough choice...
I expect it to land somewhere around $600 and I haven't seen the back of it yet (its a live-view camera, so the screen better be huge and great!!!).
I was really expecting for it but if it lands in a price land of "not-cheap DSLRs", it doesn't have a choice. Or so I think.
Oh yeah, and great idea with the add-on viewfinder. Beats shitty tourist look with "arms holding camera away from face", and EVF which just blow.
specs here:
http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=635107
私は日本人がよいことを望む
私は日本人がよいことを望む
私は日本人がよいことを望む
Damn you, Engadget Comment System! Sorry about the duplicate posts and suffice to say that what I had to say wasn't worth 3 posts - probably not even worth the 1.
Paul's link CLAIMED, body only is about 90,000 JPY, with two kit lense about 125,000 - 130,000 JPY. But 17 F2.8 is 45,000 - 50,000 JPY and 14-42 F3.6 ~35,000 JPY.
13Mpixel, 720p movie, live view, 11 area AF
From the link:
120x70x35mm 300g
13M RAW JPEG RAW+JPEG SD, (yay no xD cards)
1280x720 7min (720p video?)
640x480 14minSD
11 AF (points?)
ISO 6400—200
Shutter speed: 60-1/4000
Sorry, the link is in Japanese so someone might be able to double check the data. Specs looking good, I hope the screen is high resolution like the latest Nikon/Canons and AF speed and startup is dSLR like.
Oh, the price will be interesting... add $150+/- for the viewfinder...
It is certainly quite attractive to look at and the retro-styling is certainly nice. We just wait now to find out how well it handles and performs.
That hotshoe viewfinder might be smarter that it looks, maybe even have syncronized focusing with the objective
is it me, or are all of these types of camera look like they were made by vtech (make shitty kids computers for years 2 and up)
im yet to see one with the same build quality of atleast a bottom end slr.
My thoughts exactly. This looks like a pocket-full of win, but I'm not going to be able to afford it.
Pretty much like all the devices on this site, actually, but moreso.
EVF is great.. its the one thing i miss using my G9..
EVF is more accurate than optical (as its showing what the sensor sees) And it also allows you to avoid the dorky "tourist camera away from face"
A good EVF is a killer feature to me..
What's the deal with the black one if it doesn't come with black lenses...
But still, this is THE ONE I've been waiting for. 300g(?) weight looks awsome.
Nice camera for early adopters
Obviously there will be some later better models with the more point and shoot design.
It's confirmed to have In-Body IS.
http://43rumors.com/ft5-fullsize-of-the-whitebeige-e-p1/#comments
Yes, but why?
why? same reason people love the Leica M bodies. They want to have compact camera that they can carry around to take pictures of spur of the moment events and want to have the quality of an SLR and interchangeable lenses.
Problem is, this tiny sensor will get nowhere close to DSLR quality...
@Patriks7
The sensor is exactly the same size as in Olympus dSLRs!
Patriks7,
it uses the micro four thirds system, which is a smaller sensor than the APS-C for sure, but in the Panny GH1 does quite well in the ISO tests.
Compare vs. the D90
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_GH1/noise.shtml
Looks a lot like the old Olympus Pen 1/2 frame 35mm cameras. A classic design.
The only quibble I have is the bokeh, since the crop sensor will have more depth of field than non-crop equivalent lens.
But looks very portable, I love to use it for traveling!
wow... if this thing can be priced under $500 and take near DSLR quality pics (not expecting low light miracles), then I think it would be a must buy as a complement to a nice DSLR. That ISO 200 worries me though, as does a 7 minute limit on HD clips.
Finally out! This is definitely a must for those time I don't want to lug around my DSLR!
It's surely going to be expensive when it comes out.
total /agree with tanvach
Another point is that it all looks quite plastic-y. especially te lens barrel, which would be a real bad feeling
Hope it dont cost over 600: Olympus lenses are quite good so this could be a VERY interesting camera
Looks fantastic! I want one. Looking forward to sample pictures.
Not all EVFs are born equal.
The EVF on the Panasonic Lumix G1 and GH1 (the 'other' Micro 4/3 cameras) is supposed to be fantastic.
I really fancy a GH1 for the continuous AF in movie mode, but can't justify the huge price difference between it and the very similar (though no movie mode and a slightly different sensor) G1.
Hmm, not very nice looking but very compact and rangefinder-like. I wish it had an EVF though, that is the only thing pushing me towards the Samsung NX.
External vf seems like a gimmic if you can't see how the image is focused. On real rangefinders, you only use stuff like that with super wide lenses that had a ton of dof and didn't require precise focusing. 17mm on a 4/3 cam is 34 which is more of a wide normal.
This cam seems like a Leica wannabe and not a practical alternative to a real rangefinder. Perfect for poseurs but not a someone who needs a fast street cam. Quite a shame really, I was looking forward to this cam.
This camera was ever intended to be like a rangefinder. This is clearly a modern remake of their original Pen series camera which was a compact, SLR camera. It was mostly manual control with some auto features built in. They all had viewfinders..as most cameras did back in the day, be it an SLR, P&S or rangefinder.
This, in all regards to the original Pen F, is a compact SLR. I'm a rangefinder user, as well as a street shooter with an arsenal of film/digital P&S cameras and of course a big bulky Canon 40D SLR that I use for 'expected' shots, ie social events.
This camera will fit nicely into the P&S niche community of users who require excellent manual controls and IQ like an SLR, but stuffed into a tiny body. I'm one of those persons. I have a Sigma DP2 with a prime fixed lens...I love it. But I'd also like a wider variety of glass. The E-P1 will hopefully be the solution for that.
I don't bother bringing my smaller camera's up to eye level when shooting, so the external VF isn't something I'll need, but it's there.
I think this camera will do well, despite it's high price.
@dave:
It is certainly a nice camera and much more useful than normal compacts, making it a great complement to a DSLR system. I just don't think it will fare well as a main camera. Framing with the LCD takes away one of the biggest advantages of rangefinder-type cams: no mirror vibrations. In place of that, there will be vibrations from the arms and hands. Framing with the vf is possible but there will be parallax errors at close range, and in this day and age I don't think an EVF is too much to hope for... I still think the Samsung will be more practical but we will see.
17mm is 17mm on the small sensor too. Size of the frame is halved, but DOF remains the same... and you don't really need to precisely focus a 17mm.
@ Lukino:
That's true. Thanks for the correction.
Sorry, meant to add that I'll give this a look. But, though I like the styling of the Olympus with the smaller lens, I'm not sure how weird looking & unbalanced (in terms of handling) it'll be with a bigger lens.
At least with Micro 4/3, the lenses are smaller than the equivalent on a regular 4/3 or APS-C DSLR.
Shame about the $900 price (assuming the "rumored mill" is correct_. Hopefully that's retail and the street price will be much less. I just can't see spending more than $600-$650 given the price of some of the entry-level DSLRs these days.
Not so sure about the size specs. If the lens is 37mm diameter, it does not look like the camera is 70mm high.
37mm is the filter thread diameter. But you'll notice that those threads are well inside the diameter of the lens itself.
I love the retro styling, but .. no screen on the back?! wtf were they thinking?
There is a screen on back. Note the third photo in the gallery.
the sensor is not DSLR sized. it's smaller (much much smaller than 35mm). though it's still pretty big compared to other digital compact cameras.
I must have missed that in the rumored specs. Was there an official announcement of the sensor size? I was hoping that it would be similar to the size of the DP2 or larger?
Do you have a link to the small sensor you're talking about?
it's a four thirds camera. that's the standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Four_Thirds
I was enlightened here the last time this thing came up: it's a micro 4/3, they all have the same "way smaller than APS-C but significantly larger than the regular compact crap" sensor-size. Sigma's sensor is much bigger and only such a tiny bit smaller than APS-C that you could say it's "APS-C sized".
The sensor is exactly the same size as used in Olympus dSLRs. And this in itself is not much smaller than what Sigma uses (*only about 11% less surface area*).
"only" 11%? Not to forget that a Bayer-chip has the disadvantage of a much higher sensor density. I'm really looking forward to comparison shots with the Foveon, although the DPx series is a different class of device.
@Bad Beaver
There is little proof that a higher pixel density has much if any affect on the overall noise level when compared to a lower MP sensor at the *same print size*.
In any event the Foveon has demonstrated serious issues at high ISO *because* of its layered design.
As said, I'm looking forward to comparison shots, especially in low light.
Did they really have to do this during an Apple month? Can't do both!
Sweet...
Looking forward to seeing some stills and video from this.
Four thirds sensor.
One quarter the size of Full Frame. As good as APS-C due to high degree of telecentricity.
* sensor is 12 megapixels
* Image Stabilisation is in-body sensor-shift, not electronic (ie. not fake ISO bump), just like the E-520, E-620.
http://43rumors.com/more-leaks/
Have more pictures Engadget.
HOT SHOE VIEWFINDER! YESSSSS! NOW I WANT THIS!
I liked the retro version much more, puke beige leatherette pad is pukey...so is the white leather.
If street price is down to $600-650 range, it will be a winner.
and please, in all black.
I would love to get this and get a cheap FD adapter for my old canon lenses I have for my canon f1 -- just think, 50mm 1.4 suddenly is a 100mm 1.4 if my math is correct...
Actually it would be an 100mm f2.8 equivalent. At least in terms of DOF and light gathering. (exposure-wise f1.4 is f1.4)
Folks,
My ideal price tag for E-P1: starting at $700 - $750
... But adding a flash will make it another $100 to $150 easy. Then the lens beyond the kit could be another big chunk of $ too... Well, let us wait for more detail reviews with sample shots to see how good the image quality E-P1 could offer. Otherwise, D-SLR will make more sense for than just the sexy, compact size form factor.
Olympus is, and has been way cool. I still have my original Pen--with its diamond-sharp little marble like lens. What a neat camera! I'd like to get my hands on this 50th anniversary model, now that I've gone 90% digital.