Olympus PEN E-P1 - will you buy it or not?

<p>Bob, I found it by rotating the picture and zooming in ;-)<br>

It is a DV-HOOD - <a href="http://www.tradetang.com/for-sale/freeshipping-37MM-DV-hood-10-s/109750-1062463.html">http://www.tradetang.com/for-sale/freeshipping-37MM-DV-hood-10-s/109750-1062463.html</a><br>

Not cheap...</p>

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<p>I think the camera is interesting but I wont be buying it. I come from the recent Canon camp but have owned Olympus cameras in the past and they make a decent camera. That being said 2 things bother me about it:<br>

1. No viewfinder.<br>

2. No flash. Yes I know an onboard flash would be small and not very powerful but its useful at times when taking pictures of people and things closer.<br>

I have had a Canon 10D in the past but the weight and bulk killed me. I sold it and now my primary camera right now is a Canon G9. Frankly it takes great pictures in most conditions except at high ISO. I know they did not include a viewfinder nor flash for aesthetic reasons as the original Pen did not have a flash but I think its a mistake. My G9 has both a flash and a viewfinder.<br>

I will wait till I see what else comes on the market before I buy.</p>

<p>No. I too live in Japan and the photo magazines are awash with reviews of the camera. I'll take an up-close-and-personal look this weekend to verify my decision. The interesting thing about all the hype is that it has kindled my interest in the old Pen F. I may actually buy one of those rather than the EP1.</p>

<p>Yes, I will buy it now, as it got an articulated screen.<br>

Her name is NEX-5, her manufacturer is Sony. See my article from July 10.<br>

By the way, I shoot Panasonic G1 in the meanwhile. One of the few things missing is IIS, as the Olympus is still missing an articulated screen - you could make an excellent camera combining both...<br>

You can see a little comparison between the Pana G1 and the Contax G1 by hitting the G-Spot on my website.<br>

I just sold my E3, as I see no sense in 4/3rds. DSLE will be the future. I still need a "2x cropfactor" camera and thinking of replacing the excellent G1 with a IIS body E-PL1 or E-P2 or even the G2 w/o......<br>

VolkerSchenk.com</p>