new micro 4/3 camera and goes underwater

[Nemrod]

The EP-1 was reportedly not especially fast, it is said the EP-2 is faster and I am hoping this ELP is faster yet. It is a new format, give them time, it will speed up, electrons are faster than mirrors in the end, my bet.

But, that said, auto-focus is a solution to a non problem that should have remained with and been applied to low end party camies only. Auto-focus smhokus, my rear.

Can you turn it off and use the lens ring to focus?

N

 

[under water]

Thanks.

..Of course a real camera like a film Nikon titanium FMIIt did not have auto focus so there was ZERO delay. WTH is up with this auto-focus c---p, can I just manual focus the lens and be done with it? Turn the stupid auto-focus OFF ? For 40 years I did not have auto-focus so why do I need it now

N

When you look though the viewfinder your whole view is through the lens and you have all of the FOV to focus. Not the same story with that lcd on the back of these new cameras. Sure, you can use the optional viewfinder.. then manual focus makes compete sense, but trying to manually focus with that lcd (and my eyesight) furgetaboutit.
I like the idea of a fast autofocus that works. Of course you still need to make sure you know what it's autofocusing on.

 

[shoturtle]

The EP-1 was reportedly not especially fast, it is said the EP-2 is faster and I am hoping this ELP is faster yet. It is a new format, give them time, it will speed up, electrons are faster than mirrors in the end, my bet.

But, that said, auto-focus is a solution to a non problem that should have remained with and been applied to low end party camies only. Auto-focus smhokus, my rear.

Can you turn it off and use the lens ring to focus?

N

PEN's will focus faster with panny lenses.

 

[Nemrod]

When you look though the viewfinder your whole view is through the lens and you have all of the FOV to focus. Not the same story with that lcd on the back of these new cameras. Sure, you can use the optional viewfinder.. then manual focus makes compete sense, but trying to manually focus with that lcd (and my eyesight) furgetaboutit.
I like the idea of a fast autofocus that works. Of course you still need to make sure you know what it's autofocusing on.

No, when you switch to manual, just as when manual focus is set on the S90 there is a magnified area to use for critical focus similar to a ground glass on a Nikon SLR. But Yes, I understand what you are saying, good point, thanks.

N

 

[JackConnick]

Ok, played around some more with it this morning.

The camera has 11 AF points, they are fairly large squares. Turning it to spot focus speeds things up. I found the auto focus plenty fast enough. Write times determine its shooting speed more and it is reasonable with the 133x card I was using. I did the same with a GF-1 and would say its faster, but it's negligible. Once again it's not quite as fast as a DSLR, but it's much, much faster than a P&S. It's slightly faster with the 9-18. a focus light should help. Honestly, I think it's a non-issue.

The 9-18 was focusing to 15cm to answer that question. Actually it seemed closer.

No manual focus with the Oly housing, btw.

The camera is cool, the housing ok and will work for a lot of people. You'll need the diopter lens and adapter for sure. I could see some sort of dome like Ike has for the G11 housing working out nicely.

The rest is to be determined. I have the whole line ordered, some sold and others interested. I think it's going to be a big winner for Oly.

Jack

 

[JackConnick]

This just in on dpReview - in an interview about their continued commitment to DSLRs.

Knaur also talked about the forthcoming lenses for Micro Four Thirds: 'The new 9-18 and 14-150 lenses both include internal focus which is faster and quieter than on the existing 14-42, which will help overcome a lot of the concerns people had early on about focus speed.' However, he did not think the company was likely to rush to replace the relatively recently developed 14-42mm kit lens to provide that same faster focusing for everyday shooting situations: 'at the moment it's more about filling the gaps in the lens range than replacing the existing ones.'

The cameras, lenses and so forth at the show were all pre-production. Speed tune ups and other tweaks _might_ happen on production units.

By my eye the Leica Zeiss 45mm macro would fit in the Oly Housing. I think it might be an awesome macro combo, but that lens is $899.

BTW, there is NO camera store with this in stock or even that have a pre-production unit. They do not give them out. That is direct from Olympus, so B&H and Adorama are full of...

Jack

 

[Nemrod]

I personally hope that Ikelite comes through with a new smaller "box" that is somewhat contoured in a similar fashion to their SLR "box" and a new set of ports including a small dome for the inevitable fisheye lens and wide angle lenses. Oh, and leave the EVF off for UW use????? WTH Oly?

I like the M4:3 better than the Sony concept because the larger APS-C sensor of the Sony concept requires a larger lens which somewhat defeats the purpose, I may change my mind, but the Oly et al concept seems a better compromise of sensor size and camera/lens size.

N

 

[gballard]

Is this right?

Olympus PEN E-PL1 12.3MP Live MOS Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens (Slate Blue) | Willoughby's Established 1898

 

[shoturtle]

I went to J and R today, and they had the blue and champaign one to try out. So here is a quick 15 minute playing around with it.

For all the dslr owners out there I will start with M and A.
When you set the camera to Manual, you will need to press the up arrow to access this feature. After you press the up arrow. The shutter speed and aperture will high light in yellow. With the EVF on. I simply used my right thumb to press up or down on the key pad to change the shutter speed. And used the left and right arrow to change the aperture. It took about 5 min, and it was quite easy.

When you switch to A. Again you will have to hit the up arrow to access the aperture priority. You will use the up and down arrow to change the setting. And you use the left and right arrow to do exposure compensation. You get a live preview of the EC when you change it on the lcd and evf.

Sorry, I do not use S mode to much.

For the p&s shooters, if you put the camera into Iauto. They press the set button. It brings up the menu. With the different effect that you can change. It seem pretty simple, but I much prefer the A and M modes with the dslr back ground. There are plenty of art filters if you want to set the camera to auto to chose from.

I tried out the flash, and it was pretty nice, similar to the gf1.

With the HD mode, it was cool that I can instantly switch form photo to video even with the art filter on by pressing the video button. And have the art filter effect.

The 11 point AF are huge blocks not little dot. And you can chose which one you want just like any dslr.

The EP-L1 is allot lighter then the EP-2 and it does not feel as solid as it is an AL frame with plastic covers vs the EP-2 all stainless steel body. But the lighter body is nice for my travel needs.

Sorry about the poor photos, it was taken with my blackberry.

 

[shoturtle]

This just in on dpReview - in an interview about their continued commitment to DSLRs.



The cameras, lenses and so forth at the show were all pre-production. Speed tune ups and other tweaks _might_ happen on production units.

By my eye the Leica Zeiss 45mm macro would fit in the Oly Housing. I think it might be an awesome macro combo, but that lens is $899.

BTW, there is NO camera store with this in stock or even that have a pre-production unit. They do not give them out. That is direct from Olympus, so B&H and Adorama are full of...

Jack

Jack,

I would not bash the other stores, they do have them I went and got to play with one today at J&R. I have enclose my impression and some photos.