Olympus PEN E-P1 vs E-PL1

[c995990]

I am planning to get an Olympus PEN and have done quite a few readings about the E-P1 and the E-PL1. Apart from the the built-in flash, the megapixels and body-style, do any of you have a suggestion/opinion to get one vs the other?

I saw Dennis' excellent post http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...s-day-day.html and a few other post for the E-P1 but not as many for the E-PL1, so i'd like to hear from you.

Currently, the E-P1 is selling for $100 less than the E-PL1.

Any thoughts, comments and suggestions will be highly appreciated.

[Hogleg 44]

Go with the EPL1. It has been getting rave reviews everywhere. The picture quality is excellent. The main thing that the EP1 and EP2 have over it is slightly stronger construction, but that's about it. Steve Huff has said that it produces the best jpg's of any camera.

[kwhite]

Originally Posted by c995990

...

Currently, the E-P1 is selling for $100 less than the E-PL1.

Any thoughts, comments and suggestions will be highly appreciated.

I've been very impressed with my E-PL1 so far. It is small enough to not attract a lot of attention, handles very nicely and makes excellent images up to ISO 1600. I shoot with mine at least an hour every day on the street in San Antonio using the 20mm 1.7 Lumix pancake lens. The jpeg output is first rate and there is always video capability if you need it.

That said, if you don't think you will ever need the EVF or video capability then the E-P1 beats the E-PL1 in build quality without a doubt.

[Pascal]

I have the EP2 and recently shot with the EPL-1. My point of comparison is the EP2.

I have to agree the image quality of the EPL1 is quite good if you are a JPG shooter. You can get similar JPG's on the EP2 with a little tweaking. However, with RAW, it doesn't matter. Both are very good.

I also like the built in flash of the EPL1 - just as I like the built in flash of the GH1. Helpful at times. On the EP1/EP2, you can use the superb EVF or the flash - not both.

If you plan on getting large aperture lenses for the m4/3rds, the EP1 or EP2 may be the way to go. On a sunny day, sometimes even 1/4000th is not enough and ND filters may be required if you want to shoot at large apertures.

Steve Huff suggests the EPL1 has superior high ISO capability compared to the EP2 - has some very nice samples at ISO 1600 and ISO 3200. I can not confirm this as I never tried high ISO on the EPL1. The EP2 does show some noise at ISO 800 and ISO 1600 - all depends on the shot and metering.

I prefer the body of the EP2 - it is perfect for my needs - especailly with the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 or the Panasonic 7-14mm f4.0. I was not too crazy about the boxy shape of the EPL1 as compared to the very nice lines of the EP2. For the price, the EPL1 is a very good deal.