Olympus PEN E-PL1

Four thirds, 12.2 MP, 2.7"
Retailer
    Style
      Color
        You save

        Summary Olympus E-PL1

        Prices Price
        Body only
        $230
        With 14-42mm lens
        $405
        all E-PL1 prices
        Score Snapsort rank
        Within its price range
        #n/a of 0
        Among similar cameras
        #n/a of 23
        Specifications Key specs
        Sensor size
        Help Four thirds 17.3x13mm
        Screen resolution
        Help 230k dots
        Megapixels
        Help 12.2 MP
        Movie format
        Help 720p @ 30fps
        Screen size
        Help 2.7"
        Light sensitivity
        Help 3,200 ISO
        see all specifications
        Lenses Lenses
        Browse Olympus PEN E-PL1 lenses at LensHero
        Olympus PEN E-PL1Olympus PEN E-PL1

        Replacement

        Olympus has replaced the PEN E-PL1 with the E-PL2.

        Olympus PEN E-PL2
        Olympus PEN E-PL2 announced January 2011
        Startup delay Much less startup delay
        Screen size Much larger screen
        Movie continuous focus Continuous video focus

        Compare the new Olympus E-PL2 vs the E-PL1

        gallery

        Explore our gallery of 50 sample photos taken by the Olympus PEN E-PL1.

        Videos

        Olympus PEN E-PL1 Hands-on Rev...

        Olympus PEN E-PL1 Hands-on Review
        • Review
        • Pro

        Olympus Pen E-PL1

        Olympus Pen E-PL1
        • Sample video
        • Zoom
        • Autofocus
        • Manual focus

        Pros

        Report a correction

        The Olympus E-PL1 vs other recent mirrorless cameras

        Lens availability More lenses available Help
        108 lenses
        Lowest price Inexpensive Help
        $230.00
        Weight Light Help
        334 g
        Longest exposure Long exposures Help
        60 seconds
        Size Quite small Help
        Mid size (115×72×42 mm)
        Thickness Thin Help
        1.7"
        Built-in flash Built-in flash Help
        External flash not needed

        Cons

        Report a correction

        The Olympus E-PL1 vs other recent mirrorless cameras

        Low light performance Very noisy at high ISO Help
        487 ISO
        Overall image quality Very low overall image quality Help
        54.0
        Screen size Very small screen Help
        2.7"
        Dynamic range Very narrow dynamic range Help
        10.1 EV
        Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
        3 fps
        Startup delay Poor startup delay Help
        2200 ms startup delay
        Touch screen No touch screen Help
        More buttons
        Weather sealed No weather sealing Help
        Need to shelter it from weather
        Autofocus contrast detection autofocus Help
        slower focusing
        External mic jack Lacks an external mic jack Help
        Limited to the in-camera mic
        Shutter lag Poor shutter lag Help
        820 ms shutter lag
        Popularity Not so popular Help
        Among snapsort users
        Movie format HD movies Help
        720p @ 30fps
        Screen resolution Very low resolution screen Help
        230k dots
        Color depth Little color depth Help
        21.5 bits
        Viewfinder Can only preview photos on the screen Help
        None
        Light sensitivity Very poor maximum light sensitivity Help
        3,200 ISO
        Supports 24p No 24p movies Help
        Missing that film look
        True resolution Lower true resolution Help
        12.2 MP
        Screen flips out Fixed screen Help
        Less flexible
        Battery life Shorter battery life Help
        290 shots
        Focus points Fewer focus points Help
        11
        Announced Old Help
        February 2010

        dxomark

        DXOMark

        Appearance

        front photo of the Olympus PEN E-PL1back photo of the Olympus PEN E-PL1angle photo of the Olympus PEN E-PL1

        Discussion

        Olympus PEN E-PL1
        PEN E-PL1
        Olympus

        Report a correction

        Showing 1 comments

        krvlucky (9:25 AM, August 18, 2013)
        I have chosen this camera over canon sx50 hs ..... have two lenses 14-42 and 40-150 with this
        camera ....... bought used camera in India from amateurs who own dslr too
        ...... I got the camera with lenses at
        approx cost of 300 usd eqvt in India as i needed a camera here ..... i also feel i can sell
        it when i leave India for same price ...... i dont
        need much zoom though i get approx 10x or more zoom
        with the combined lenses a
        range of 28 - 300 (eqvt to 35mm) ...... i preferred this over canon superzoom due to
        ..... one..... Large sensor ..... Large pixel size ….. better
        ISO ...... with flash it indoor photos mostly
        ..... i feel i can get great pics with combinations
        to shoot in natural light
        adjusting the ISO (@ max 400) aperture (3.5) and shutter speed (1/30) ....... i regret lower
        resolution movies and hdr of canon sx50 which it lacks being of older vintage.....
        it is better quality for photography
        than videos and the 720p is fine with me
        ...... used criteria from snapsort to shortlist this camera ...... well
        snapsort compares cameras in same range or of same type I have preferred to
        this one over point and shoot cameras incl canon superzoom and the cost involved