2009.07.01
Finally, Olympus E-p1 came out, for which I have waited for a long time. Since I gave my camera to my brother last summer, I have lived without a camera. Before, I have used Pentax *ist DS which was sold for my tuition and Nikon D40 which was given to my brother.
As one can see, the camera that I used were the small and cheap DSLRs because what I have always wanted was a small sized camera yet with a depth of field. It has to be small enough since my object is my daily life, nothing like professional or artistic. I just want to carry it with me all the time to trace the light in my life around my people and my ordinary days. A depth of field is needed since that is the actual presentation of what my eyes see.
When the Micro four thirds system was announced, I was excited. It was promising what I had wanted regarding the camera form factors. After a long wait, Olympus finally announced E-p1 as their first product of the Micro Four Thirds system. It does have some weakness; the AF is slow since it is contrast AF, and it does not have an optical view finder yet the resolution of LCD is not that great. It does not have a flash, either. The video recording also has some limits such as a time limit or the focusing sound issue. The four thirds sensor is smaller than APS-C which means DOF is deeper than DSLRs.
However, it seems to be small enough to carry around and not to overwhelm people. Although it does not produce the best image quality, it seems to be enough for my use. Not enough lenses actually better for me to save money. With a consideration that this is the first product, I would say Olympus did a decent job.
I do not know I will buy a camera or not. Pentax is about to debut K-7 which is a great camera. Also, Panasonic is on the way with the same concept soon. Most of all, I need to save money. I am trying to persuade myself saying this is their first product which needs to be improved. Nevertheless, I am not sure that I'll be able to keep myself from getting this.
