dpreview reviews the Olympus E-PL1

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusepl1/' target='_blank'>http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusepl1/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Stepping in to fill this void is the Olympus E-PL1, a camera that brings a stripped-down body and simplified interface to the Micro Four Thirds format. This means no control dials (and therefore an awful lot of button-pressing the further away from the automated exposure modes you venture), but it also brings a simple results-orientated 'Live Guide' interface to allow you take control of the i-Auto for people happier to point-and-shoot (sorry Mr Spacey)."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1275710350.usr15670.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>So DPReview takes a look at one of the cheapest Micro Four Thirds camera available (until the Panasonic G10 is released), and puts it through the the dpreview testing bench, and gives an overall favourable review. Still, I've tried the E-PL1 before, and the lack of any command dials makes it a little harder to use. If you're a point-and-shoot user looking for something with a bit better image quality, the E-PL1 might be worth a look.</p>

[Jason Dunn]

I just really want to see the micro four-thirds system get cheaper...I hope the successor to the GF-1 is about 30% less expensive (or more).

[marlof]

Just don't be an early adopter, but wait until a model is end of line. I just bought the Olympus E-P1 with a 14-42 kit zoom (not that important to me) and the 17mm pancake with accompanying viewfinder for a couple of hundred Euros less than when they were released. I know the Panasonic 20 1.7 is a better lens than the Olympus, so I might get that as welll sometime. I got a free adapter to have my Four Thirds lenses on my mFT camera, but I don't know how much I'll use that. To me, mFT is about small size, and using those full sized lenses would mean using my full sized E-3 as well.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

If you think the cameras are expensive, the lenses are worse. Many of the lenses carry a 30-50% premium over their Canon and Nikon counterparts. The price of the 20/1.7 is something fierce...