Olympus has recently launched the third model in its Pen E series, the Pen E-PL1, a cheaper, simpler version of the design which does include a neat pop-up flash gun.
The Pen E-PL1 is certainly more similar to a compact camera than either the E-P1 or Olympus’s more recent E-P2. It is smaller, lighter, and has much simpler controls than its two more expensive stablemates, however it does still offer a good range of features and plenty of creative versatility.
Unlike the E-P1 and E-P2, the E-PL1 has an all-plastic body available in a range of four colors (silver, white, red or black), but the build quality is good and the camera feels solid and substantial. There’s no real impression of corners having been cut to keep the price down, but the kit lens supplied with the E-PL1 does have a plastic mount rather than the metal mount on the lens supplied with the E-P2.
The body design includes a handgrip on the front and a small raised thumbgrip area on the back that provides a secure grip, and the camera is comfortable to hold and operate even one-handed. The external hardware is of good quality, with solidly mounted controls, a metal tripod bush and a durable battery/card hatch with a locking latch.
The 2.7-inch monitor screen is smaller than on the more expensive models, but it has the same 230k dot resolution, a very wide viewing angle, fast refresh rate and a good anti-glare surface.
The main menu is also more like that of a compact camera, with a somewhat limited range of options. Image aspect ratio can be adjusted, but since the Four Thirds sensor has a native 4:3 aspect ratio this gives the largest picture size. For color control it has the Picture Mode option, a set of tone adjustment pre-sets that can be customised for contrast, sharpness, saturation and tonal gradation, but that is the limit of the creative control.
One of the features of the E-PL1 that is significantly cut down relative to the E-P1 and E-P2 is the video mode. It can shoot in 1280 x 720 HD resolutions at 30 frames per second, but audio is only recorded in mono, via a small built-in microphone located just in front of the flash hot-shoe.
The range of Pen E lenses is rather limited, with only four currently available, but there are two adapters to allow both Olympus DSLR and older OM 35mm SLR lenses to be attached, offering a much wider range.
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