Engadget Chinese goes hands-on with the Olympus E-P1

Our brethren on the other side of the world got some quality time with the new Olympus E-P1 Micro Four Thirds shooter -- and we do mean quality. Peep the two read links for samples, especially that second link for endless YouTube vids, including the fun but frame-rate-destroying effect modes.

Read - Hardware hands-on
Read - Video samples

[arsix @ Jun 17th 2009 10:42AM]

I wonder if other manufacturers (esp. Canon / Nikon) will jump on this format at some future.

Their 'high end" compacts are nothing but a sheep in wolf clothes.

[Ernesttechuser @ Jun 17th 2009 10:55AM]

They will, but I think both still have work to do.

Samsung will launch their first camera using their alternative to m4/3 at the end of this year or beginning of next.

By that time, the big two will be playing catch-up pretty badly.

[Dummy00001 @ Jun 17th 2009 11:14AM]

@Ernesttechuser: "By that time, the big two will be playing catch-up pretty badly."

I wonder how target audience would react on e.g. P&S zoom camera with normally sized sensor.

Many people consider e.g. Canon SX10 IS to be "good enough" already.

I'm seriously eying E-P1 but to tell truth, interchangeable lenses is not even on the least of the reasons why I want to buys it: good sensor and good optics are the main reasons.

[Temple @ Jun 17th 2009 11:14AM]

The likelihood is that Nikon, Canon, etc will release a APS-C sized (1.5-1.6 crop) camera with the lack of mirror box assembly.

One thing that Panasonic/Olympus has done extraordinary well and have spent years on has been contrast-based AF. The Panasonic G1 and GH1 that has already been released has AF performance in speed and accuracy to the level of most phased-detection based AF systems. Without the mirror-box assembly phase-detection is not possible, and Nikon/Canon current AF implementations are slow/poor in respect to Live-view which uses contrast detection.

Another thing is the sensor size, while most people like bigger sensors, a lot of people want these compact cameras to have long-zooms and be 'compact'. Size does matter. The 2.0x crop sensor can be considered a negative in dSLRs, but in these rangefinder-like bodies it means that they can be create much more compact lenses then a slightly larger APS-C sensor. Which means more pancake style lenses and smaller zooms. For instance, the 14-140mm lens that came with the GH1 gives around a 10X zoom and has the approximate field-of-view as the 18-200mm Canikon lenses and is significantly smaller. For the average, non-pro consumer that is looking at these cameras having a 10x zoom is important since its something they are used to, but they don't want to carry around the required bulk.

[Temple @ Jun 17th 2009 11:42AM]

>>Many people consider e.g. Canon SX10 IS to be "good enough" already.

Oly expects these types of cameras to account for 20% of the market, which is big when you consider dSLRs only account for 10% of the market. However, P&S will still dominate the market. There will be a large amount of amateurs that say a G10 and SX10 will be 'good enough". But that's fine.

Looking at it another, the sensor size of the micro-Fourthirds cameras like this E-P1 is over 500% larger then the sensor in a Canon G10. Its a huge difference, and you will get image quality that is vastly superior to any P&S. Most people use cameras when they go on vacation or when they travel on a holiday, and many people don't want to carry around a large dSLR that would hinder their main activities, but they may want the quality of pictures that a dSLR offers. These new micro-fourthirds cameras are the best of both worlds.

[TheBDJ @ Jun 17th 2009 12:14PM]

@Temple:

Yes, the sensor is considerably larger then a G10; however, the sensor is smaller then APS-C, which I have in my Rebel XSi. The price points they are showing for this are outrageous. The $749 body-only is MORE then I paid for my Canon Rebel XSi w/ lens. (Heck, it is almost more then I paid for the camera kit plus an extra zoom lens.)

I would not merely pay "extra" for a smaller form factor. These things fall squarely between P&S and dSLR and will have a hard time finding a real market I think. Priced higher then dSLR you are narrowing the market down to a group willing to drop $500+ on a camera, which few people using P&S cameras will do. Not to mention that the interchangeable lenses will not appeal to most consumers. I think you are going to see too much feature loss for these to appeal to the people using lower-end dSLRs as well.

I really think this is a format that is going to die quickly if they do not drop that price point significantly.

[Eric @ Jun 17th 2009 12:25PM]

P&S's dominate the market for now, but as camera phones keep getting better and better I see that cutting into P&S sales. I'm already shocked at how many people I see taking "important" pics with cell phones. It seems as though most people either don't know or don't care about image quality. I guess people think all megapixels are created equal. I think the market is eventually going to shake down and turn into something like:

Camera phones: 50%
P&S: 20%
EVIL/Large sensor compacts: 20%
DSLRs: 10%

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Jun 17th 2009 12:27PM]

Too much feature loss? dSLRs have the fewest features of any cameras because their sensor is not exposed to the image until after you press the shutter button.

The average P&S has piles of features like face detection, smile shutter, etc. P&S'es had movie mode long before dSLRs.

Let's face it, with a dSLR you are giving up a lot in order to get one thing: the ability to look through the lens. And often the tradeoff is worth it. But because of this, it's not at all difficult to compete with dSLRs on features.

I don't think a non-SLR (no mirror box) APS-C can compete with micro 4/3. The lenses on micro 4/3 are so much smaller and that makes a huge difference. APS-C lenses have the same diameter and most of the length of a 35mm lens, these are half the diameter and half the length, making them 1/8th the volume. You can shrink the body on an APS-C a bit and still the huge lens will make it such that you are carrying around a large object that takes up a lot of space.

The short version is that these will take over for rangefinder (Leica) cameras and then some (since the LCD on the back can give an ersatz live preview rangefinder cameras never had). Leicas sold well and at a price premium to a small slice of the market. Olympus seems to be aiming directly at this same idea with this camera.

[Temple @ Jun 17th 2009 12:44PM]

@TheBDJ

The Rebel uses an 1.6x crop sensor, and the FourThirds a 2.0x crop sensor. So the Rebel sensor is slightly larger by ~20%, and both the Rebel and E-P1 are larger then the G10 by over 500% (the G10 uses 1/1.7" sensor). But the Rebel is significantly larger then the E-P1, in fact, the E-P1 is around the same size as the Canon G10 point-and-shoot.

With the E-P1 you're getting a dSLR sized sensor in Point-and-Shoot sized body and have interchangeable lenses. The sensor sized differences between the Rebel and E-P1 are marginal compared to comparative size differences relative to the size of the competing products. Even the Canon uses a marginally smaller sensor then a comparative Nikon/Sony APS-C sized sensor in the D5000.

As far as price, the Rebel kit is $899 msrp, but obviously goes down in price as the market progresses, much like how you got your XSi at $750. I'm sure the same will happen with this camera, the sweet-spot will be pricing near the G10 ($400-500). And right now the micro-FourThirds Panasonic G1 is quickly approaching that price range.

With this camera, the main attraction is that you can put it in your bag/pocket/purse and travel with it without worrying about carrying your photo equipment around and not sacrifice the quality you would be getting with a dSLR. Its in the spirit of all those old rangefinders.

[Ike Turner @ Jun 17th 2009 10:50AM]

Non-sucky/youtube crap samples here : http://www.dpreview.com/news/0906/09061602ep1movies.asp

[Ernesttechuser @ Jun 17th 2009 10:57AM]

It's a great camera by the look of it, but ...................... 230k pixel LCD? Why .............? It had to be 500k plus, and would have been welcome if it was 920k.

Ricoh point and shoots which cost a quarter of this have much higher res. screens :-(

[Idlemind @ Jun 17th 2009 11:06AM]

heyyy... put a lens on that thing....

[Kevin @ Jun 17th 2009 11:14AM]

There's already dust on the sensor! Wait...that's on my screen.

[Luc @ Jun 17th 2009 3:34PM]

My Panasonic DMC G1 uses the same format. So far I love the thing, but I'm afraid of dust since the sensor is not covered by the shutter when I take off the lens. Same thing with this Olympus, apparently.

[Plothole @ Jun 17th 2009 3:37PM]

I wouldn't worry too much even if it was on the sensor. Olympus has the best dust busting technology in the industry.

[LondonConsultant @ Jun 17th 2009 11:16AM]

The special effects should obviously be left to a video editing tool afterwards...

Any conclusion on AF while recording video?

[Anthony M. @ Jun 17th 2009 11:20AM]

They also had time with a 3Gs and it was never mentioned here.

[mo-mo @ Jun 17th 2009 11:28AM]

Anyone able to tell me how one manually adjusts aperature and shutter speed, if at all? At this price there must be full manual control, but please tell me it's not via menu navigation. TIA

[Dummy00001 @ Jun 17th 2009 11:42AM]

The shooting mode dial is on left: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0906/09061601olympusep1.asp#images

[Bluecold @ Jun 17th 2009 11:43AM]

If you used your eyes and google you'd see that there are 2 control dials and a "M" setting.

[Bluecold @ Jun 17th 2009 11:45AM]

Argh, verb fuckup.
*goes back to lernin2english.

[Sean @ Jun 17th 2009 12:19PM]

Do these really fill a needed gap? Sure they are smaller than their DSLR parents, but not so much that you can slip them in your pocket.
I have to admit that they are pretty sexy, but you lose that as soon as you add on the dorky looking shoe-horn accessories (like flash and optical viewfinder) that should have been integrated into the body to begin with.

[Bluecold @ Jun 17th 2009 1:42PM]

Time to buy decent man-trousers with manly large pockets. The other option is to carry bags, but bags are for girls.

[Plothole @ Jun 17th 2009 3:46PM]

Jean and shirt pockets will certainly be too tight. But you should have no trouble fitting this into your average jacket pocket.

This thing is packed. It's unlikely that there is any room to fit a flash (especially when you consider any decent one will need a fairly large capacitor to supply it) or EVF. And a built in OVF would have too many limitations on a body like this.

[Stephen Lang @ Jun 17th 2009 1:09PM]

This is a great niche, but probably still a niche compared to DSLR's and compact point and shoots. The pricing is going to be higher for version 1, and even then they had to cut some corners (such as the LCD resolution). But I think they did a bang-up job overall, much better than Sigma's attempt at a large-sensor compact camera. If it sells reasonably well I'm sure we will see cheaper and better successors, as well as new models (maybe integrated viewfinder, etc.)

I am a Canon guy, but it is interesting to see the Four Thirds sensor here. I wonder what Canon can really do with a similar camera. How close can they come in size? Will it still be worth it for them to develop a totally new product, considering their other lines? I would much rather they just upgrade the sensor in the next G camera, that is a more realistic goal for them. The pixel density of the G10 is almost 10x compare to their 1.6x crop DSLR's, surely they can shoot for somewhere in between those extremes...

[Plothole @ Jun 17th 2009 4:00PM]

A niche for now. Though I think there is a strong possibility that cameras like this will eventually start to eat away entry level dSLR sales. And that is were dSLRs sell the most today.

[bandigolo @ Jun 17th 2009 1:51PM]

Engadget, can you please non-machine translate this portion?

The use of nearly an hour later, Mr. Shi was indeed attracted to the E-P1 has been (we have been attracted to, Atticus replace these fixtures quickly and Panasonic LX3 it \ ^ o ^ /), because the day-to-day shopping to bring along their DSLR is inconvenient, but in general DC semi-professional level but not manual focus, but focus fast enough, like小编It's like people are used to DSLR's, E-P1 is indeed a lot more attractive.

I think the reviewer is trying to talk about the Autofocus (if it really exists) and I'm super interested in these deets.

[Adam @ Jun 17th 2009 3:04PM]

Did anyone else notice, in the read link, that they branded their models? Little Olympus stickers?

[mma173 @ Jun 17th 2009 10:40PM]

I have been waiting for this camera but without a built-in flash
Sorry, I'll look somewhere else

[tekdroid @ Jun 18th 2009 6:23AM]

It doesn't have a built-in flash. What gave you that impression?

[J @ Jun 19th 2009 11:33AM]

I think his comment was just poorly arranged. Probably should have been:
I have been waiting for this camera, but without a built-in flash I'll look somewhere else, sorry.

I agree.

[mma173 @ Jun 19th 2009 11:49AM]

Yes J. This is what I meant.