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

The key to its multi-tiered appeal is that the E-PL1 uses plain English to explain some of the more-complex modes--shutter priority, aperture priority, exposure controls, and white balance, for instance--but also leaves them accessible in their "pure" form for advanced shooters. You have a choice, and neither one gets in the way of the other.

In Auto mode, pressing the OK button in the middle of the directional pad activates the camera's "Live Guide." It lets you adjust shutter, aperture, and exposure settings, but it explains each of them in terms of what the resulting picture will look like rather than the mechanisms you adjust to accomplish the effects. For example, it refers to aperture controls as "Blur Background," shutter settings as "Express Motion," and exposure adjustments as "Change Color."

As you adjust each item, the LCD shows you a real-time preview of what the resulting image would look like--for instance, a soft background due to a shallow depth of field with your aperture adjustments, blurry motion due to a slower shutter speed, and changes in color saturation due to your exposure tweaks. The resulting image's metadata lets you know the specific aperture values, shutter speed, and exposure settings for the shot, which allows you to achieve that look manually the next time.

The camera's mode dial lets you access the settings the traditional way, through dedicated aperture priority, shutter priority, and full manual modes. But the beginner-friendly information in Live Guide makes it a handy tool for learning the ropes, and then mastering the settings. If you're an experienced shooter and your spouse or child isn't (or vice versa), it's a helpful way to learn the nuances of camera controls.

As such, the E-PL1 can help novice shooters and curious kids ramp up their photography skills quickly. Many other cameras out there offer a combination of auto modes and manual settings--Sony's latest entry-level DSLRs, for instance, have similar in-camera software designed to educate beginners--but the E-PL1 is groundbreaking in its portability, ease of use, training potential, and price.