EP 1 Handling characteristics

<p>My EP-1 with the 17mm lens came yesterday and since I planned to use it manually, I first checked out the physical handling of it, i.e. how the shutter speed, aperture, and focus adjustments are made.<br>

The lens, of course, does not have distance markings, which would be ok, but in addition, it does not appear to have stops at either the close or infinity settings, so there isn't really a workaround for that. Strike one.<br>

The aperture/shutter speed are adjusted using the drum-shaped device on the right corner of the body for one and the small wheel on the surface of the back. These would also be acceptable if a lot of time-consuming thumbing were not required to change the settings. <br>

The same criticism applies to the awkward Program shutter/aperture combinations.<br>

The time to make these adjustments is significantly longer than those required to do the same things on my 1950's-era Rolleiflex, which also relies on the thumb, only with the Rollei you can use both of them at once and with a whole lot less thumbing. On the focus adjustment, the Rollei is practically instantaneous, gives you a distance guide, and most miraculously, supplies the most ingenious DOF indicator I have ever seen. What happens with that is a white line expands and contracts along the focus guide as the aperture is adjusted, corresponding to the close and far DOF limits.<br>

I think, however, that existing technology exists to make these adjustments using touch-screens like the ones so popular on the new telephones, which would do what a Rollei can do, plus a whole lot more, I would imagine.<br>

Since for me the primary consideration is to control the focus, shutter and aperture easily and rapidly, I don't recommend the EP-1 unless other things are more important to a particular user/s.<br>

I don't have other lenses to put on the camera, and it is not clear to me how these shortcomings might be overcome that way.<br>

That said, there are likable features, but they are not in the handling category.<br>

So be sure that you get one in your hands before taking the plunge. I'm sending mine back, and for the time being, I'll hang onto the old G7 until it finally breaks after dropping it again. They don't call it a brick for no reason.</p>

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<p>I really have to wonder how valuable only a few minutes with a new camera really is. </p>

<p>There are certainly settings changes I've found awkward to make with cameras right after buying them. But with a little practice the problem goes away.</p>

 

<p>using any machinery - from a car to a camera to a new computing operating system takes a while to get used to.</p>

<p>I'm trying to figure out Brian's logic here?</p>

<p>The E-P1 clearly has some serious shortcomings. That is clear from a very short time spent with the camera. Since there are other, and better, choices available now or soon, and even Olympus has announced a new improved version, I fully agree with Brian's logic.</p>

<p>Well, when shopping at the camera store, one may not spend a lot of time with a camera either, and one could make a choice based on how it feels fairly quickly in that situation as well. Generally, first impressions can provide the most reliable information in making a decision, so I try to pay attention to them.<br>

I just know my thumb is not up to the job, and I'd be distracted and frustrated while shooting. Look, I play a stringed instrument, so I appreciate the value and limitations of practice. Sometimes, it makes permanent rather than perfect. <br>

I wasn't aware after reading various reviews how much time would be spent just turning the wheels on the shutter/aperture settings and how the focus ring has no stop/start points, or if it does, I never found them. I'd already read about the slow autofocus, and decided it wasn't going to be an issue for me. My observations are offered so that others can be aware of that aspect, as I was not. I hope they can be useful to someone.<br>

All this isn't meant to trash the EP-1, which is an intriguing device that I actually do hope will be successful enough to generate competition for this niche. I want one I can enjoy using.</p>

<p>I agree with you Brian. On a $900 camera one should not have to find 'work arounds' for poorly designed basic camera control interface! And, many of us do not live in a location anywhere within 500 miles of finding a camera to hold and try out before we spend our hard earned dollars. In that light your observations are both valuable and appropriate.</p>

<p>I own and still use a lot of Olympus equipment. I had hoped that the new digital Pen would capture some of the flavor of the early Miatiani designed series of half frame cameras, and I don't mean just a nod to their clean, uncluttered looks either. Unfortunately the EP-1 does not appear to be that camera. Perhaps the EP-2 will address these shortcomings. For now, when I want a small unobtrusive camera to slip in a jacket pocket, it will still be my 1965 Pen S 3.5, loaded with Tri-X.</p>

<p>[[My observations are offered so that others can be aware of that aspect, as I was not. I hope they can be useful to someone.]]</p>

<p>My comments here are to point out that it is impossible to design a tool that will instantly be understood and perfectly usable to every single human being on earth. We all have habits and learned movements and we all approach problems differently.</p>

<p>And yes, while I do believe first impressions are important, I don't think it's wrong to point out that familiarity solves a lot of those problems.</p>

<p>Statements like "for $x you shouldn't have to learn something new" are just silly. Someone buying Photoshop for the first time will have spent many hundreds of dollars and yet they still have to learn how to use the software as Adobe designed it. Why is a camera any different?</p>

 

<p> Even with digital there are 3 basic controls; shutter speed, lens opening, and focus. Control of these basic operations should not be obscure. My question to the people who design the interface on these cameras is why can't they have a shutter speed dial, an aperture ring, and, when you choose, an marked focus ring on the lens that can be set to distance for hyperfocal shooting. I don't know, perhaps there are some really hard to overcome design problems in creating controls like these for a digital camera.</p>

<p>I can say this, Olympus 'fly by wire' manual focus on their four thirds system is nuts. I've got it on my E-410 and the feel of an endlessly spinning focus ring is disconcerting. I suppose it dosen't really matter though, the view screen in the camera isn't suited for manual focus anyway.</p>

<p>The control interface is one of those things that has got more complex - especially as we went digital. In addition to a Panasonic G1 I have shot almost all of Canon's advanced or professional SLRs for the last 27 years. To me (and many others) the control inteface on the T90 of 1986 is still the best - while all post 1986 EOS bodies are based on this famous design they have not matched the simplicity and ease of use as they have added controls and settings. Digital made this worse when they added ISO and WB as two more key parameters (plus film mode, image size / type etc...). I do not think this problem is limited to Olympus. I think the manufacturers are in a bind - the camera magazines and reviewers demand more features and functionality while many users need simplicity. I am also fascinated that traditional tools such as mirror lock up, viewfinder blinds, user controlled multi spot metering and viewfinder size and brightness appear to be of little interest to reviewers and users. The Canon 5DII got rave reviews (almost a year later they can be hard to find new) yet it deleted all of the above features that the compoarable last generation film body (the EOS 3) had. Indeed I recently measured viewfinder brightness and found to my surprise the old 1982 Vintage "New F1" has a viewfinder that is about a stop brighter than the 5DII - in theory with the partially reflective mirror for the 5DII AF system it should only be 1/3 of a stop brighter. Indeed the cheaper models like the consumer market rebel have a viewfinder that is like a tunnel (mind you this is an improvement on the EP-1).</p>

<p>These responses have suggested some thoughts. Having seen how functional the cellphone touch screen can be, it's not hard to imagine a set of traditional controls arranged on a touch screen that would be convenient to use, maybe even be customizable. (They could even throw in a distance and DOF display to rival the Rollei's.)<br>

The EP-1 rooftop viewfinder might turn out to be useful with the fixed 17mm lens. It's bright, clear, and offers a view of the surroundings. No closed in feeling, or having to aim the camera like a basketball. Of course there is no rangefinder, which would be nice to have. Just for fun, I'm going to take another look at old 35mm rangefinders to see if I might like one of those now. </p>

 

<p>These responses have suggested some thoughts. Having seen how functional the cellphone touch screen can be, it's not hard to imagine a set of traditional controls arranged on a touch screen that would be convenient to use, maybe even be customizable. (They could even throw in a distance and DOF display to rival the Rollei's.)<br>

The EP-1 rooftop viewfinder might turn out to be useful with the fixed 17mm lens. It's bright, clear, and offers a view of the surroundings. No closed in feeling, or having to aim the camera like a basketball. Of course there is no rangefinder, which would be nice to have. Just for fun, I'm going to take another look at old 35mm rangefinders to see if I might like one of those now. </p>

 

<p>I'm left-handed and I find all cameras awkward to use especially SLRs and DSLR with "grips" on the right-hand side. So, I find that I need to spend quite some time with a camera.</p>

<p>Regarding the handling of the various buttons, please keep in mind that this is a very personal thing and different people have different opinions and one cannot please everybody. So good job warning people on the handling but you are being rather presumptuous in assuming that your complaints will apply to everyone. I think most people will find the handling just fine (as did most websites reviewing the camera).<br>

Regarding the lack of distance and dof markings, it is actually not very easy to put these in. Placing acurate distance markings requires a lot of additional calibration which tends to be rather expensive. Also there are additional issues with auto focus lenses. It is just not a feature that is very much desired at the price point of the ep-1 kit lenses so it is pointless to pay for it. If you want distance markings, you can buy leica lenses and use them on your ep-1.</p>

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<p>Chris, about mounting foreign lenses on the EP-1, a couple of questions for you (or anyone) who does or wants to have an EP-1 (or now the Panasonic GF-1) to enjoy the virtues those lenses bring to photography:<br>

Assuming the camera is in manual mode, and the user turns a ring on the lens to set the aperture to a given mark, does the camera recognize if that setting is f/1.4 or or f/4? My next question is whether the readings of an external light meter would be usable regardless of whatever lens is mounted.<br>

Also, do you know if the focus markings on another type of lens would correspond the actual distance? Do you (or anyone) know if the magnified zoom-focus system works with foreign lenses?</p>