OT - Anyone got opinions on the Olympus Pen E-PL1?

[gldnbearz]

I got mine approx 2 weeks ago. Still getting used to it, but the size
is definitely in its favor.  I like being able to zoom manually
instead of electronically.  There are days when I reached for a
zoom/tele button like a digi P&S b/c that's what the form feels like
in my hand. In-body IS is what made me choose this over the Panasonic
version, as well as the Olympus lenses being smaller.  Also sensor
being larger than that in a P&S (i.e., Canon G10 which I didn't
"connect" with) is another good thing.

AF is slower than a DSLR, but I just updated the firmware last night
and haven't had a chance to test it out (I think dpreview test said
it's supposed to get 20% better).  It would be nice if it had the
dials (like the EP-1 or EP2) to adjust aperture, but it is more P&S in
that fashion (adjust via the 4-way controller).

The flash is teeny, but adequate for lighting up shadows in a sunny
day.  I am waiting for the EVF to come back in stock at B&H & Adorama
to give it a try.  My cousin has the EP2 with the EVF - I played with
it briefly and want one of my own.  I've never been able to manual
focus well through an optical view finder and think that EVF might be
a big help.

Pat

On Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 9:21 PM, John Francis <johnf at panix.com> wrote:
>
> I'm trying to persuade my wife to move up to something better
> than her old Casio Exilim.  I'm tempted by the Micro 4/3 systems,
> and the Olympus E-PL1 seems to have the ease of use and simplicity
> that my wife is looking for (without being so large that she would
> refuse to carry it around) at a pretty decent price.  Even with an
> extra lens (the 40-150) it's still cheaper than the Panasonic, and
> has in-body image stabilisation.  The optional electronic view-
> finder might be interesting, too, although it's more likely to be
> something that I would use than something my wife would consider.