Boris Mann’s (Micro) Blog

Finally bought an m43 camera: Olympus PEN E-PM1

Rachael and I wandered through London Drugs waiting for our movie to start the other night. Took a brief look at Micro Four Thirds (aka m43) cameras again.

London Drugs had the Olympus PEN E-PM1 on sale for only $399. It's definitely a "lower end" camera. Rachael and I had talked about maybe buying a kit together. This one was cheap enough to just get going with an m43 system: we can still buy a different body and share lenses, or add more lenses.

It was time to just pick something. I've done some experimenting yesterday and today, and I'm happy with the purchase.

The image / link at the top goes to the dpreview entry for the E-PM1. If you go to the Conclusion page, you can compare to other cameras in the same class. Everything gets very close to the same rating, and the price I paid for the E-PM1 makes it the best price / performance.

Here's to more mindful photography in 2012.

Micro Four Thirds

I've been jonesing for a new camera. Specifically, while I take a handful of pictures with my Nokia N95 that is with me everywhere, it's just not the same (obviously) as a great camera.

I've been quite happy over the years with my Canon PowerShoot "S" Series - I started with the S1, then ended up with the S5. The all in one, super zoom, great macro performance, and regular AA batteries are all great features. BUT. It's big and bulky, especially with the filter adapter that I always end up buying, and there is no upgrade path other than well, buying a newer model :P

I've been really intrigued by the Micro Four Thirds system - small, compact cameras with small form factor interchangeable lenses. That last link is to Wikipedia, here is the Micro Four Thirds section of the Four Thirds website.

Olympus and Panasonic came together and are using the same standard to make these cameras, and the lenses are interchangeable. I was initially attracted to the Olympus models, but after trying them out at London Drugs, the lower cost ones are made of plastic and feel cheap, and the metal body ones are more expensive and have less features than the equivalent Panasonic.

The first third party (Noktor) is also announcing a lens for this standard, so it is likely that a nice healthy Micro Four Thirds ecosystem will spring up over time.

So, yes, I'm scheming to get back into this game. The fact that R will (I'm sure) be glad to tote around a compact sized camera with DSLR quality doesn't hurt either.