Olympus Pen E-PL1 Hands-On: Micro Four-Thirds for the Family

But now, there's the Olympus Pen E-PL1. This well-priced ($600 as a kit!) model, available in March, just may be the best option I've seen for a one-size-fits-all camera.

This isn't a full review--it's the result of my getting about 20 minutes of hands-on time with the just-announced E-PL1, as well as my having used the Olympus Pen E-P2 at length. Nevertheless, some brief playtime with the E-PL1 had an impact on me. This camera has genre-straddling appeal.

The E-P2's Tricks, Without the Sticker Shock

The E-PL1 is Olympus's third Micro Four-Thirds System camera (Panasonic also has three Micro Four-Thirds models, including the excellent Lumix DMC-GF1), and it's also the cheapest and most beginner-friendly camera in the Micro Four-Thirds stable. It's slightly less wide than the E-P2 (4.5 inches versus 4.7 inches), but it is a bit deeper (1.6 inches versus 1.4 inches).

The specs aren't radically different from those of the $1100 Olympus Pen E-P2, either: Both cameras offer 12.3-megapixel CMOS sensors (about 0.7 by 0.5 inches), body-based image stabilization that works with any Micro Four-Thirds System lens, RAW+JPEG shooting, 720p high-definition video recording at 30 frames per second, manual shooting controls, auto mode, a hot shoe, in-camera editing features, and motion-tracking autofocus.