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Olympus PEN E-P3 Micro Four Thirds camera review
Being the gadget hounds that we are, we're still struggling to fully digest the Micro Four Thirds / interchangeable lens camera market. The performance freak in us suggests that one simply buy a smaller DSLR given the parallel annoyance of carrying around a bag full of lenses, but the mobility junkie in us does appreciate the downsizing -- however minor. Olympus' PEN line has been a beautiful one from the start, but one that found itself out of consideration for many due to the poor value proposition. Even the newest PEN E-P3 isn't a bargain; at $900 with a somewhat versatile 14-42mm lens, it's well north of most entry-level DSLRs, and on-par with many mid-rangers. So, is it really worth splurging on a slightly more compact frame, devilishly good looks and "the world's fastest autofocus system?" Read on for our take. %Gallery-130071%
Olympus PEN E-PM1 Mini gets a $500 price tag, September release date
Remember that cute little Micro Four Thirds camera that Olympus unveiled in June? Well, we just got word that the PEN E-PM1 Mini will ship next month, with an equally petite $500 price tag -- including a 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. The company is positioning the 12.3 megapixel camera as an upgrade for point-and-shoot users, as "the easiest PEN to use," thanks to a new, simpler user interface and 23 Scene-Select modes. Still, the E-PM1 is a very capable interchangeable lens camera (ILC), and includes a 3-inch 460k-dot LCD, 1080i HD video capture, RAW shooting and a maximum sensitivity of ISO 12,800, along with Manual, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Priority shooting modes. The Mini will be available in purple, pink, brown, white, silver, and black -- our color of choice. Jump past the break for the full scoop from Olympus.
Olympus PEN E-PL3 gets a price tag, release date
Last month, Olympus lifted the veil on a trio of 12.3-megapixel Micro Four Thirds cameras, replacing both models in its PEN line and adding the small and light E-PM1. We already knew to expect an August ship date for the $900 E-P3, but now the company filled us in on its tilt-enabled E-PL3, which will be available in black, white, red, and silver when it ships in September. Priced at $700, the kit will include either a 14-42mm zoom or 17mm fixed lens, and will retail for a full c-note higher than its predecessor, the E-PL2. Olympus also announced the VF-3 Electronic Viewfinder (EVF), which will feature a 100-percent field-of-view, 90-degree rotation, and brightness and color temperature adjustments -- though it sounds like that last feature could potentially leave you with off-color images if you mistake the EVF's white balance for what the camera will capture. We're still waiting on availability for the runt of the litter, but we imagine the E-PM1 will make its stateside debut soon -- perhaps even with a price tag lower than its rather pricey, beefier siblings.
Olympus PEN E-P3, PEN E-PL3, and PEN E-PM1 hands-on
Earlier today, Olympus announced its loosely veiled PEN E-PM1 (in the image above), along with the PEN E-P3 and PEN E-PL3. Our Chinese bureau had a chance to go hands-on with the trio of Micro Four Thirds cams at an event in Hong Kong, and walked away with some fairly positive impressions. The $900 E-P3 feels solidly built, and did appear to offer excellent autofocus performance, though we weren't able to verify Olympus's rather lofty claims that the new flagship model features "the world's fastest autofocus." We were able to capture an image within a second of tapping the shutter button, including the time required to refocus on a subject. The 3-inch OLED display was sufficiently bright for outdoor use, with noticeable improvements over its predecessor, and the touchscreen was a pleasure to use, offering three straightforward shooting functions -- focus, focus and shoot, and enlarge. We'll have additional details to share after spending more time with all three models, but our hands-on photos in the gallery below should help whet your appetite in the meantime.%Gallery-127483%
Is this the Olympus E-P3?
There's only one way to make leaked blurrycam images appear even less legit: shoot 'em in black and white. That's exactly what we have here with the claimed leak of a new Olympus camera -- the E-P3, according to Photo Rumors -- in all its Micro Four Thirds glory. The camera appears to be a hybrid of both the E-P2 and E-PL2, including a P2-style button layout, but with a pop-up flash and sloping top plate reminiscent of the PL2. The new cam is also rumored to include a new 12 megapixel sensor, a max sensitivity of ISO 12,800, a high-res touchscreen, much-needed AF improvements, and an updated UI. Photo Rumors expects Olympus to announce the E-P3 on June 30th, along with an E-PL3 and E-PM1. That last model would be the first in the rumored Pen Mini series. We don't expect the E-PM1 to best the new Pentax Q's record-breaking small size, but with a significantly smaller sensor, the Q will be no match for any of Olympus's new Micro Four Thirds offerings. Update: Andrea wrote in to tell us that Mirrorless Rumors now has a much clearer publicity shot. Isn't it lovely?
Olympus E-PL2 camera gets reviewed, deemed worthy to carry on the E-PL1's torch
Olympus's E-PL2 only surfaced on the public radar just last month, and already reviews are rolling in indicating The Schwartz is quite strong with this latest Micro Four Thirds entrant. Interestingly enough, both Photography Blog and Popular Mechanics saw the improved MSC 14 to 42mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens as the most important change to the new rig. That's because it's been retooled to be lighter, slimmer, and shorter, adding to the overall compact feel of the camera. A new internal focus is also apparently much faster and nearly silent -- making it more appealing for video shooting. Outside of the lens changes, both saw the camera's new 3-inch, 460,000-dot LCD, faster max shutter speeds, and greater ISO sensitivity as welcomed additions to the solid foundations laid by the E-PL1, resulting in a highly recommended rating from PB. Reviewers at Popular Mechanics also futzed around with the new Bluetooth-enabled photo sharing PENPal accessory and found it great for transferring photos to a phone -- but lamented how it blocked the camera's hot shoe in the process. To dive into all the juicy review details for yourself hit up the source links below.
Olympus E-P2 dons all-black garb for limited edition pancake lens kits
Olympus has just made a pair of new, limited edition kit options official for its PEN E-P2 shooter. Both include an M. Zuiko Digital 17mm F2.8 prime lens and an all-black paintjob, with the choice for the buyer being between a Special Black (or just black, if you're talking to humans) EVF Edition that brings you the V-F2 viewfinder, and an equally noir Flash Edition, which will enrich your life with the FL-14 external flash. Prices are €1,079 ($1,371) and €1,049 ($1,332), respectively, and launch is scheduled for October of this year. As the old saying goes, you don't have to be crazy to buy these, but it'd help.
New E-P2 kit and E-5 DSLR rumored, Olympus surprise parties ruined
It's getting harder to keep a secret. Companies toil over surprise parties and then some blabber-mouth spills the beans. In this case the host is Olympus and the one holding the empty can is 43rumors who has word of a series of coming announcements from the company. First, on August 31, Olympus is said to be revealing a new E-P2 kit offering a 17mm lens and an external flash. Also announced will supposedly be a pair of new M.Zuiko lenses: a $900 75 - 300mm (150 - 600mm equivalent) f/4.8 - 6.7 model and a $300 40 - 150mm (80 - 300mm equivalent) f/4.0 - 5.6 model. More interesting, though, is a follow-up announcement said to be coming on September 14, when Olympus will supposedly announce the E-5, a replacement for the E-3 DSLR. This, we're told, will bump the megapixel count up to 12 from 10 and offer 720p30 video recording. Now that all that is out of the bag, the only question is: what will you be bringing to the parties?
Mirrorless camera shootout: DSLR alternatives get sized up and ISO-examined
It all started with Micro Four Thirds, but now just about everyone is jonesing to play along in the mirrorless camera game. The crew over at Serious Compacts managed to get ahold of quite a few contenders (Samsung's NX10, Sony's NEX5, Olympus' E-P2 and E-PL1, and Panasonic's GF1, GF2 and GH1), and rather than taking 'em apart one by one, they've decided to size 'em up in a fantastic size comparison piece. From lenses to bodies, all six cameras are shown from various angles, and even if you've convinced yourself to not be in the market for one of these bad boys, the eye candy alone is worth a peek. Furthermore, the group has been entered into a telling ISO comparison test, but if you came here looking for a spoiler, you'll be sorely disappointed. Tap those links below to get your study on, won'tcha?
Olympus dishes silver PEN E-P2 Micro Four Thirds camera
Look, we're not saying Olympus' original all-black PEN E-P2 had no retro whatsoever in its blood, but you'll be hard-pressed to convince us that this newer, silver-er model doesn't have a whole lot more. Nearly six months after the (admittedly overpriced) Micro Four Thirds camera got pushed through the ringer, Olympus has decided that the world needs a second color option, though outside of the hue, there's no difference whatsoever between the two models. It'll ship later this month in Europe for a still-lofty €799 ($1,016), but at least that scores you a M. Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 lens! Ah, who are we kidding -- that removes precisely zero pain from the sticker shock.
Olympus serves up autofocus update for PEN E-P1, E-P2 and E-PL1 cameras
Got yourself a new PEN? If you're nodding your head furiously up and down, you owe it to yourself to take ten minutes late next week and install a minty fresh update. Olympus has today let loose a new firmware build that improves auto focus performance for still images and high-definition video recording for the PEN E-P1, E-P2 and E-PL1 cameras. Better still, it enables the menu and recorded image to be displayed on the E-P2 and E-PL1 LCD while the VF-2 electronic viewfinder is in use. Unfortunately, the bits and bytes you're after won't be available to download until next Thursday (the 22nd), but till then, you can keep on using your Micro Four Thirds shooter while imagining how much better your images will be in just a few short days. Update: Hey, it's live! Go get it!
Olympus' $1,100 PEN E-P2 up for pre-order, played with early
Olympus' PEN E-P2 is destined to be a fine product, we're sure. What we aren't sure of, however, is how exactly the company came up with the nearly laughable MSRP. The second-ever Micro Four Thirds offering from the outfit is up for pre-order right now at Amazon, though the $1,099.99 asking price is just far too lofty for us to recommend snagging a place in line. That said, you're still probably interested in learning more about the device, so we'll be pointing you in Gadling's direction for that; the crew over at our favorite travel blog managed to snag one of these buggers early, and exterior color aside, we're told that it looks practically "identical to the E-P1." Hit up the links below for a closer look -- just keep your credit card far, far away until we see a full review. [Thanks, Misael]
Olympus E-P2 official, patches over E-P1 problems and jacks up the price
Functionality-wise there's not much to complain about the new Olympus E-P2, and in fact it pretty much exactly addresses all the primary issues with the E-P1. The main physical difference is an accessory port right behind and below the hot-shoe, which allows for plugging in the new VF-2 Electronic View Finder, or alternatively the EMA-1 audio input module. We would've preferred to have both simultaneously, but we'll take what we can get. In movie mode the camera now supports full manual shutter and aperture control, and the new Continuous Autofocus tracking system works both for stills and for video. The E-P2 has a new black paint job, but otherwise seems mostly unchanged, with just a few effects and a new "iEnhance" color adjustment mode rounding out the new features. Olympus will actually sell both of these micro four thirds cameras simultaneously, but here comes the real kicker: the E-P2 will retail in kit for for $1,099, a whopping $300 more than the E-P1 -- less than the comparable GH1, but still more than an entry-level DSLR. That cash gets you either an ED 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens or a 17mm f2.8 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens, and both versions come with an Electronic View Finder standard. Check out the full PR after the break.
Olympus E-P2 leaks out again, brings along lofty price tag
We heard way back in August that an E-P2 could be on tap for a late 2009 release, and while it doesn't appear that the actual ship date will happen before next year, we'd be shocked if Olympus didn't come clean with its second Micro Four Thirds camera here soon. We've seen leak after leak after leak, and now we're staring at what appears to be a few press images of the not-yet-released camera. Reportedly, the 12.1 megapixel shooter will feature AF tracking, an electronic viewfinder, a black color option, 3fps shooting and a 720p movie mode. Nothing earth-shattering, but an appreciated update nonetheless. We're told that it'll be available across the pond in January for the mildly stunning price of £849 ($1,406), but at least that sum includes a 14-42mm lens. Or so they say.
Olympus E-P2 tap keeps leaking, new viewfinder now on show
Now this is how you build up anticipation for a new product. Start off with just the name accidentally popping up on one of your corporate websites in order to get our imaginations flowing, then leak a teeny tiny image of the optional viewfinder. There's actually a good bit of info here -- you can tell the new attachment (titled VF-2) seems to be vertically adjustable, something missing from the previous generation, but there's also the bogus news that it'll fit only the forthcoming E-P2. The silver lining to that knowledge, though, is that the body we can only partially see must be the as yet unannounced E-P1 successor, which means the new Micro Four Thirds shooter will at least have the option of a black body... which some people care about. Deeply.
Olympus E-P2 leaked in the most insignificant of ways
Olympus' E-P1 micro four thirds camera only hit the market a few months ago, but already it seems as if a successor is inching closer to release. A peek at the outfit's official Chinese website shows a panel and link for a "new" E-P2 camera, though it seems as if the page it's listed on isn't quite complete. Still, we're guessing there's a reason of some sort it's listed, but we're still struggling to find the patience required to see this whole thing through. [Via 4/3Rumors]
