Olympus announces the new Olympus Pen - the E-P1

[DPNow]

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With the release of the E-P1, the digital era’s next generation Olympus Pen has arrived: mirrors are no longer a necessary component for digital cameras with interchangeable lenses. The first groundbreaking Olympus Micro Four Thirds model impresses with its incredibly small size, retro style, and ease of use – without giving up any of the benefits of D-SLR quality.

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[veggiesosage]

It looks fantastic but prices are a bit steep £699 for the cheapest kit? Eek.

[Ian]

Just got back from the launch event in Berlin. You can see the coverage on our other site, Four Thirds User:

http://fourthirds-user.com

I'm just about to release a gallery of over 60 image samples and also some HD video clips from the camera.

The Olympus Pen E-P1 is certainly not a budget model. I'd expect to see more affordable versions to appear, maybe in time for Christmas - that would seem logical.

But the E-P1 is stuffed with high-end features, like the digital level, HD video recording, etc. It's also a milestone model and the first of a new generation for Olympus.

Prices will probably go down as supply improves as well.

I got on well with the camera. It's certainly a cool design - though some felt it looked too old fashioned. The lack of a built in flash is odd, and I think unnecessary, but Olympus felt there was too little room to fit one in this particular design.

I'm impressed that the design is so different to the Panasonic G1, despite being members of the same Micro Four Thirds platform.

Ian