A Ten Minute Test Run...

[wilfredo]

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I picked up the new Olympus EP1 Pen camera today and was eager to try it with a Leica lens. I attached my 28mm Summicron ASPH to it. I took these shots within 15 minutes after taking the camera out of the box. The portrait shot was a bit of a challenge to focus as the subject was in a shadow area inside a car and focusing is done on the LCD screen. I found that wearing a hat helped. The second shot was with the kit AF lens which only added $50.00 to the package. Not bad for a cheapo Zuiko lens. The third shot was with the CRON. This camera uses a micro 4/3 lens system. I purchases a Voiglander adaptor to fit M lenses to the camera.

[wilfredo]

I noticed some horizontal streaking in the shadow area of the portrait shot. I'm wondering if this is caused by a combination of using an adaptor and shooting into a shadow area????? I haven't even taken a look at the manual so I'm not familiar with the camera but I must say it has a solid feel, and the shutter delivers is a beautiful whisper, sometthing Leica M photographers will enjoy. These shots were done on JPEG mode.

[stuny]

Wilfredo -

 

You usually do us a service by sharing your lovely photos and stories about your good work and the people you encounter. Here you've done us a technical service. If I only had some M lenses....

[louloumum]

Thanks Wilfredo for sharing these altogether fine shots !

 

I've been on the outlook for this new Micro Four Thirds baby, but it's hasn't yet been launched where I live.

 

Did you test drive or have you actually bought it ?

 

If the latter is the case, I guess there are others than me who'd be happy to hear about your future experiences too. I have seriously given it a thought to buy this camera for my youngest son.

 

Some of you may remember seing his shots (done with my D-Lux 4) around here at some point, and I think he's ready now to have his own gear. I thought the O-Pen might be an idea.(He's the only person I'd leave to work with my M-lenses )

[wilfredo]

I actually bought the camera. They are still hard to find, most places have waiting lists but Samys Camera in L.A. had one available. The demand for this camera is obviously high. It has generated lots of enthusiasm. If you do get this camera for your son, just remember it's his :-) LOL. You will be tempted to use it. The first shots above were done in JPEG mode. I took a few more shots in Raw yesterday. I'm including samples below (shot with my 90mm Elmarit @ f/5.6 or f/8). I also did some more post-processing on the first shot above, I found the shadow area was a bit too noisy.

[wilfredo]

Wilfredo -

 

You usually do us a service by sharing your lovely photos and stories about your good work and the people you encounter. Here you've done us a technical service. If I only had some M lenses....

 

I'm no technical expert but maybe its time for some M lenses :-) LOL.

 

The Olympus Pen has a very solid feel, and the shutter utters a beautiful natural crisp whisper, not a fake electronic sound. It is much quieter than the M8 shutter.

[wilfredo]

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I echo Ken's views below. For more on this discussion go to: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/91237-m8-competition-6.html

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilfredo View Post

...

"I can already tell that this camera comes closest to matching an M8 file, but then again I am no expert on the finer points of technology. I won't be selling my M8 but I think I'll get good mileage from the PEN.

 

If Leica hasn't produced anything like this it could very well be that it doesn't have the resources to do so. Who knows?"

 

Cheers

 

 

Indeed, I share your impressions having also now used the E-P1 with a variety of my M lenses (Leica, Zeiss, and one Voigtlander). I'm in the midst of a write-up for TOP but I can tell you that the Oly PEN E-P1 comes closest to a "poor man's Leica M" to-date. It's a wonderful, fun, and powerful little camera that's far more flexible than an M.

 

I know there are plenty of naysayers here. That's fine. But let me leave readers with two big points to consider with regard to using the Oly E-P1 with M-mount lenses.

 

1. Image stabilization. As mentioned earlier, IS is built into the E-P1's camera body. The E-P1's high ISO is already cleaner than the M8's but IS makes it even better.

 

2. TTL. What you see in the E-P1's live view is what you get on your memory card. You're looking through the lens, not a rangefinder. That means you're seeing your depth of field live as you turn the lens aperture ring. How's that for Fun?

 

There's plenty more to love about the Oly E-P1 mated with M-mount lenses. I would be very hard pressed to recommend an M8 body as a practical first choice for M mount shooting today. (And that's writing as a guy who owns three M8s and an M7.)

 

I also have to wonder why Leica has not produced such a camera, and has no apparent plans to do so. Its relationship with Panasonic would, at least conceptually, have provided plenty of technical resources to do so and, of course, Panasonic is a co-partner in the whole Four Thirds format. I really have to shake my head. Throwing all of their eggs towards introducing a breathtakingly expensive new medium format camera into an ever-shrinking market segment just doesn't make sense for Leica. (Maybe for Canon or Nikon.) I would think that Leica would greatly benefit from the cash flow that a new, small, affordable M-mount camera body would certainly reap.

 

Well I say hooray for Olympus. They'll certainly not slip quietly away in the night and they're enjoying eating German food!

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- Ken Tanaka -