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

For the $600 price, though, you get the notable additions of a pop-up flash and a dedicated video-record button, as well as an M. Zuiko ED 14mm-to-42mm f3.5/f5.6 zoom lens (28mm to 84mm equivalent). The E-PL1 is available in three colors: black, gold, and blue.

In cutting costs, Olympus left out a secondary scroll dial for adjusting in-camera settings, inserted a slightly smaller LCD (2.7 inches versus the E-P2's 3-inch LCD) and mono sound, omitted a detachable eye-level EVF (the camera still supports one, but you have to buy it separately), eliminated a digital level, and used an aluminum-covered polycarbonite frame (the E-P2's chassis is all metal).

A Compact, Interchangeable-Lens Camera With Training Wheels

Though entry-level DSLR cameras aren't much more expensive than this model, the E-PL1's combination of smaller size, swappable lenses, pop-up flash, price, and features makes it a bit more exciting--and more scalable, which isn't an adjective often used when folks describe a camera.

I had some brief hands-on time with the E-PL1, and it does several things right in keeping both novice and experienced shooters in mind. It doesn't leave anything out in terms of manual controls, and it doesn't dumb anything down to the extent that more-experienced photographers would lose interest.