Finally after a long search I found a used Olympus PEN E-P1 and I am loving it! It came with the Panasonic 25mm F1.7, which I did not need but the seller refused to sell the camera and lens separately. I thought this would be a great opportunity to shoot with the E-P1, and then explore the Panasonic 25mm which some of my audience have been asking me to. I brought the E-P1 to the Pudu Market in Kuala Lumpur, which is my favourite street hunting ground and did a POV video to show how I capture my shots. The video has been published, you can find it here (click).
As for this blog entry, I shall share the fresh photographs I managed to capture during this session. I managed to get a few favourites, some shots that I am actually very happy about!
Fun fact - I have never done a review for the E-P1. There was a long story why, maybe I shall share that one day.
The E-P1 was an important mark in the digital camera history, it sparked the mirrorless camera revolution. It was the first entry point into the mirrorless interchangeable camera market from Olympus and the E-P1 was important to introduce what a mirrorless camera can be to the world. Being truly small, compact in build yet retaining the full size DSLR image sensor promising excellent image quality at the fraction of the size and weight of an actual DSLR.
E-P1 was not perfect, there were too many technical flaws and limitations. AF was too slow for anything serious, there was no viewfinder option, the camera utilizes the dated 12MP image sensor recycled from their DSLR days with no improvement in image quality and basically there was nothing to write home about. Professionals will still stay with their DSLR workhorse. It was until much later, several years down the road when Olympus launched the E-P3 with blazing fast AF and more lens options for the Micro Four Thirds, then subsequently the OM-D E-M5 and E-M1 with 5-Axis IS, weather-sealing, built in EVF, tilt screen, new image sensor with drastically improved image quality (resolution bump, dynamic range and high ISO), we have a truly capable Micro Four Thirds system that shook the market.
I'd not recommend the E-P1 for anyone today in 2022. If you want a cheap used Olympus Micro Four Thirds gear, you are in tight budget, at least go for anything E-M5 (2012) or newer! You won't regret this I promise. I am just reliving a nostalgia which I never had with the E-P1.
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