Some of my favorite picks...

The jill-e camera bags are fantastic! Vist the jill-e website at www.jill-e.com to check out her designs.



An excellent article on Photo.net for the Olympus PEN E-P1
Olympus E-P1 Hands-on Preview
by Hannah Thiem
Not the best-kept secret (perhaps that was intentional), Olympus just divulged official information that has been buzzing about for months now, on their new micro four thirds super compact E-P1 DSLR. 1959 saw the release of the Olympus Pen Series half-frame film cameras, which collectively sold about 17 million units. The most advanced half-frame camera that was designed was the Olympus Pen F single lens reflex. The Pen F was a very compact interchangeable lens camera, and also had an unusual viewfinder, with a system of mirrors and prisms, to allow for a more compact body.

The new E-P1 camera takes the Pen concept, size, and some features over to the digital world. Olympus’ slogan: “Not a Point & Shoot. Not an SLR … It’s a PEN.” The Pen E-P1 provides excellent optics, interchangeable lenses and multimedia capabilities, art filters, and combines the creative freedom of a sophisticated digital SLR with simple controls and a small size similar to a point-and-shoot.

The E-P1 should interest professional photographers on the quest for a small body camera but with comparable features and functions to a larger DSLR without the weight or the bulk. The combination of the E-P1 and the 17mm/2.8 pancake lens should be an attractive combination for those wishing for a pocket-sized travel or street photography camera.

Hands-on Experience
During a hands-on Olympus press event today (Tuesday, June 16), I was able to experience the E-P1 and the two new lenses. I’m not typically the target market for the idea of a “new era Leica”—that’s more Josh’s thing. I usually can be found shooting events, concerts, and portrait sessions with my Nikon D700. However, where this new Olympus micro four thirds camera really wins me over is in the area of being small, compact, low-profile, but with the creative control and capabilities of a DSLR. I’m always wishing for something small and lightweight to carry around with me at all times, but allows me to do more than just snap the scene. Here’s what I think after playing with the camera for a little bit.

Ergonomically, this camera feels very good in my hands. It feels solid (partly due to the fact that the body is stainless steel), rugged, and able to withstand some heavy use. Although solid in feel, it’s by no means heavy or overwhelming, just more substantial than many of the point and shoots on the market. On the right front side of the camera is a comfortable raised plastic textured grip, and on the back right side, there’s a little raised lip for your thumb to rest. The camera feels comfortable and secure to hold.

I might add that this is one cool looking camera. Aesthetically-speaking, it looks and feels like an old-school camera with a lot of additional features and capabilities. I prefer the brushed metal look as opposed to the white model, but that’s just me.

One thing to note, while this is Olympus’ first micro four-thirds camera, this does not mean that the sensor size is smaller. The E-P1’s sensor is the same size as Olympus’ top-of-the-line E-3 DSLR. Also note that the E-P1 does not have the weathersealing that the E-3 has.

I was mostly using the 17mm/2.8 pancake lens with the E-P1 while experiencing the camera for the first time. I briefly used the 14-42mm lens as well, which has a cool retractable lens feature—when not in use or transporting the camera, you can retract the zoom portion of the lens so it’s nearly as slim and compact as when you have the pancake lens on the camera.

Shutter lag time seemed to be pretty decent. I didn’t have to wait long from composing the shot to capturing the moment. AF was also fast. A cool feature is the digital leveler. With this feature turned on, green dots at the bottom and right side of the screen will assist you to ensure your horizon or building lines are straight.

The controls take a little bit of getting used to, navigating Olympus’ method to their madness of how they laid out navigational tools, but it’s pretty simple once you’ve got the hang of it. The 6 Art Filters were fun to play around with. The Pinhole and Grainy B&W were my favorites in the brief time I used the camera.

More details to follow once I’ve had a chance to really play more in-depth with the camera