Olympus Pen E-PL1 Can You Be Mine?

Right now I have 2 Olympus cameras at my disposal. To have the latest Olympus Pen E-PL1 on my cold prick hands will be a dream come true for...

Right now I have 2 Olympus cameras at my disposal. To have the latest Olympus Pen E-PL1 on my cold prick hands will be a dream come true for me. I certainly hope I will be able to have this camera. Aww...I am so in love with Olympus Pen E-PL1 right now. So if you are like me, looking for a single camera that fits all (almost) types of photography needs, then Olympus' latest gem-Pen E-PL1 is the one you are looking for. It's a one size-fits-all camera that can fulfill your need for simple point-and-shoot camera and top-notch photo quality, granular controls and lens-swapping versatility of those fancy DSLR. So it is a compact camera with interchangeable lenses. A hybrid camera if you ask me. :p

The Golden Pen E-PL1

You get the best of both worlds with Olympus Pen E-PL1! Currently Olympus' Pen E-PL1 is the cheapest (correct at this writing time) and most beginner-friendly camera in the Micro Four-Thirds stable. It is more affordable compared to its older siblings but it is as feature-packed as the former plus it packs a few more nasty hot punches! It has a recommended retail price of RM2,499 ($755) in Malaysia. Expensive right? Find out how you can get $155 discount at the bottom of this post.

Olympus hasn't really taken much of the shine away from E-PL1. The features of Pen E-PL1 are almost the same with Olympus previous Pen E-P2 although it is cheaper by almost $500. Huge difference in price tag but the the specs aren't radically different. Both cameras offer 12.3-megapixel CMOS sensors (about 0.7 by 0.5 inches), body-based image stabilization that works with any Micro Four-Thirds System lens, RAW+JPEG shooting, 720p HD video recording at 30 frames per second, manual shooting controls, auto mode, a hot shoe, in-camera editing features, and motion-tracking autofocus.

The physical changes of the latest Pen E-PL1 is that the Live View LCD display is smaller compared to Pen E-P2. However its brightness, visibility and viewing angle is far more superior, claimed Olympus. But the upside is you get notable additions of an awesome integrated pop-up flash and dedicated video-record button. The easy-to-reach red record button you can capture videos more easily and more spontaneously. And your E-PL1 also comes with the M Zuiko ED 14-42mm f/3.5/5.6 zoom lens.

But what really strike a chord in me is Pen E-PL1's iAuto and iEnhance Mode which is meant for beginners. With this camera, you don't have to know what are aperture settings and how it affects depth-of-field. Instead E-PL1 will ask you whether you want to blur the background or make it sharper. Guess what? You can even view this on the Live View LCD screen. How cool is that?

Enough being said right? Check it out yourself at Olympus Pen E-PL1 official web to know how good it is. IMHO, Pen E-PL1 is by far the most affordable camera in its class and it comes in 3 different colours (white, gold or black). Do you know that it you can get Olympus E-PL1 for only RM1988 ($600) from Amazon? That's a HUGE price difference from the RRP in Malaysia right? So get your Olympus Pen E-PL1 right now.