Author Topic: Picked up a EPL1 (Read 2325 times)

Olympus · « **on:** July 19, 2010, 07:39:57 PM »

Hello everyone, let me first start off by saying that I have been primarily a Canon user, shooting mostly sports for income, and a little bit of everything else when I have the time. My very first Oly was purchased not that long ago, when I snagged a good deal on the E 420 kit and I immediately loved it as my "Go everywhere" camera, and not having to haul around a XXD or 1D series and still have so much control and quality in a tiny package was awesome, but I reluctantly handed it over to my only son who had taken an interest in photography and gone to college. I was thinking of getting the E 620 but when I found another great deal on the EPL1 I set my sights on getting it instead, and finally did just a couple days ago. My first impressions of the camera are:

The good....
I love the size...perfect walk around size for a guy like me with big hands.
The build feels like good quality for the money.
The kit glass (14-42) is underrated IMO, the results it produces match or exceed some more expensive lenses out there.
The image quality is still superior to any G series P&S I have owned (My former choice for a walk around) as it should be.
The high ISO quality from such a little cam still amazes me, what noise there is @3200 is still very manageable in PP.

The bad
The blown highlights at low ISO's are VERY, VERY annoying, I don't recall my 420 being this bad.
Very slow shutter and focus, although I know the kit lens doesn't help that (focus) out much. I can live with this.
Not having an optical viewfinder is something that takes quite a bit of getting use to...not sure if I can do it but I'm trying.
Limited shutter @ 1/2000 sec WTF? I actually didn't know this until after I bought it....bummer.
RAW editing tools are a joke.

I guess I had some higher expectations, but I need a little more time with the PEN to decide whether or not it's really for me.

Thanks for letting me rant a little bit

voyager · « **Reply #1 on:** July 19, 2010, 07:41:47 PM »

Welcome to the forum!

You'll notice that ISO 100 has a lot less dynamic range than ISO 200. The native ISO of the E-PL1 is ISO 200, which explains that. So the camera basically underexposes it to ISO 100.

The 1/2000th top shutter speed is a little annoying from what I've heard too, but I actually went back through a lot of my photos and saw that I rarely go over 1/1000.

Otherwise, glad you like your camera.

Thanks for joining!

cosinaphile · « **Reply #2 on:** July 19, 2010, 07:50:21 PM »

never shoot below 200 unless its an exposure emergency , ie 2000 is blinking!

welcome to the forum , looking forward to more photographers here everyday

Olympus · « **Reply #3 on:** July 19, 2010, 07:58:16 PM »

I see...I think the 420 only allowed ISO 200, is that right? I can't quite remember. That's probably why I had better results with the 420. Well, I guess I need to take her out and shoot tomorrow and stay clear of 100 eh? lol Thanks guys.

voyager · « **Reply #4 on:** July 19, 2010, 08:06:06 PM »

Quote from: Olympus on July 19, 2010, 07:58:16 PM

I see...I think the 420 only allowed ISO 200, is that right? I can't quite remember. That's probably why I had better results with the 420. Well, I guess I need to take her out and shoot tomorrow and stay clear of 100 eh? lol Thanks guys.

No the E-420 uses a different sensor than the E-PL1 which allows it to have ISO 100 as the base.

Olympus · « **Reply #5 on:** July 19, 2010, 08:09:50 PM »

A quick question...I used ACR to open my 420 RAW files with no problem, but apparently it doesn't support the EPL1

The software that came with it is a joke, so what are you guys using to edit your RAW files from the Pen ?

Olympus · « **Reply #6 on:** July 19, 2010, 08:11:58 PM »

Quote from: voyager on July 19, 2010, 08:06:06 PM

Quote from: Olympus on July 19, 2010, 07:58:16 PM
I see...I think the 420 only allowed ISO 200, is that right? I can't quite remember. That's probably why I had better results with the 420. Well, I guess I need to take her out and shoot tomorrow and stay clear of 100 eh? lol Thanks guys.

No the E-420 uses a different sensor than the E-PL1 which allows it to have ISO 100 as the base.

Ah, ok. I couldn't remember.

cosinaphile · « **Reply #7 on:** July 19, 2010, 08:15:29 PM »

i had a 410 but didnt realive the native iso, i should call my niece she shoots with it now

voyager · « **Reply #8 on:** July 19, 2010, 08:19:16 PM »

Hope this helps:

http://e-p1.net/index.php?topic=2339

StellaBlack · « **Reply #9 on:** July 19, 2010, 10:35:01 PM »

Quote from: Olympus on July 19, 2010, 08:09:50 PM

A quick question...I used ACR to open my 420 RAW files with no problem, but apparently it doesn't support the EPL1 The software that came with it is a joke, so what are you guys using to edit your RAW files from the Pen ?

Adobe Lightroom 3 :-)

Honestly the JPG's are pretty good, I don't really shoot raw unless it's jpg +raw. I only bother with that to keep my options open.

exzrael · « **Reply #10 on:** July 22, 2010, 11:03:07 AM »

The latest version of Adobe Camera Raw supports RAW-files from Olympus Pen E-PL1. Avoid the software that comes bundled with the camera and get whatever else you can. Everything beats it.

Centauri27 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 22, 2010, 11:20:31 AM »

Quote from: Olympus on July 19, 2010, 08:09:50 PM

The software that came with it is a joke, so what are you guys using to edit your RAW files from the Pen ?

I don't shoot RAW that often, but the new Olympus Viewer 2 software is an improvement over the Olympus Studio that comes with the camera. And I've gotten good results from a free package called Scarab Darkroom--it actually reveals more details than the Olympus software.

Toyuko · « **Reply #12 on:** July 22, 2010, 01:39:46 PM »

Have fun with your epl-1 i enjoyed mine.

Panther · « **Reply #13 on:** July 24, 2010, 07:18:37 AM »

Quote from: Toyuko on July 22, 2010, 01:39:46 PM

Have fun with your epl-1 i enjoyed mine.

Past tense....
What do you have now ?

Picked up a EPL1