Farewell Olympus EP-1, I hardly knew you

The Olympus E-P1 went back to Costco today, after two months of use. I'm sad to see it go (one less toy), but it didn't satisfy my need for a small body.

I can't complain about the image quality. At low ISO, it's more than good enough. At higher ISO it starts to fall apart, but still manageable (equal to the D200). No dust spots, so the cleaning mechanism works, I was really careful when changing lenses, or it's only been two months. I enjoyed using the video, and that's one feature that I'll miss the most. I finally got the hang of manual focusing, and it was fun to use with my Nikon-mount lenses. The smaller size and lighter weight is definitely a plus, allowing me to bring two lenses in my bag yet not feel overloaded.

On the downside, AF wasn't fast, almost as bad as my Fuji F45fd. The LCD screen is not the best, and difficult to see in bright daylight. This is a major drawback since there is no optical viewfinder (side note, I tried the EVF on an E-P2 at a camera store, and it would solve that problem except for the problem that it won't mount on the E-P1). Battery life is not the best, especially when taking video (I've been spoiled since the D2H, but even the Fuji has good battery life).

I probably won't try the Sony NEX-5 as it again doesn't have a viewfinder, and there are other issues. Keeping my fingers crossed for Nikon or Canon's rumoured small bodies.

Fare thee well, E-P1, would that I had known you better before we parted ways.



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