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About a month ago, I had a play with the Sony NEX 3 and NEX 5 (see here), I was surely impressed by its compactness and high ISO performance. From the set of high ISO images taken, I would say the images are useable up to about ISO1600, which is same to most entry level DSLR. This is as expected since the sensor size is of APS-C type common to most DX cameras. What the NEXs disappoint is the lack of dedicated buttons at the back which means a lot of the settings need to go through the menu system.
The Olympus EP-1 didn’t have this problem but since it is a micro four third, its high ISO performance is not as good. However it is still an amazing compact camera given that its price has significantly reduced due to the newer version E-P2 and E-PL1. The Olympus E-P1 twin lens kit comes with the pancake lens 17mm f/2.8 and 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6.
The Olympus M.Zuiko pancake 17mm f/2.8 (right) is very light, weighting only 71g with a dimension of 57mm x 22mm. The AF uses a conventional micro motor which from my hand on experience is adequate. For MF, just grab the focus ring and the camera will automatically zoom in to 100% for you to focus precisely.
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Specifications |
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equiv. focal length (full format) |
34mm |
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equiv. aperture (depth-of-field) |
f/2.8 |
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Optical construction |
6 elements in 4 groups inc. 1x aspherical element |
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Number of aperture blades |
5 (circular) |
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min. focus distance |
0.2m (max. magnification ratio 1:9) |
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Dimensions |
22x57mm |
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Weight |
71g |
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Filter size |
37mm (non-rotating) |
The other lens comes in the kit is the more standard 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 (left) which was released in 2006. This lens equates to a standard zoom of 28-84mm which is suitable as a walk around lens.
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Specifications |
|
|
equiv. focal length (full format) |
28-84mm |
|
equiv. aperture (depth-of-field) |
f/3.5-5.6 |
|
Optical construction |
106 elements in 8 groups inc. 1x Aspherical element and 1 ED element |
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Number of aperture blades |
7 (circular) |
|
min. focus distance |
0.25m (max. magnification ratio 0.19x) |
|
Dimensions |
65.5x61mm |
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Weight |
190g |
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Filter size |
58mm (non-rotating) |
Here, I won’t try to do a review here since there should be many reviews over the net on this 1 year old camera (see dpreview). Instead what’s interesting is using the E-P1 with the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4 via a m4/3 adaptor. Note the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4 becomes a MF on the E-P1
First let’s see some Voigtlander collection.
Olympus E-P1 Twin Lens kit, VF-1 viewfinder and Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4
The awesome Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4 on Olympus E-P1 via the m4/3 adaptor
Here are some field test shots of the E-P1 using the 17mm f/2.8, 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 and Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4 at a local restaurant – Concrete Bar, Enjoy !
Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4 |
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A warm welcome from a concrete bar staff. Taken with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6
Concrete bar interior. Taken with 17mm f/2.8
Concrete bar interior. Taken with 17mm f/2.8
Concrete bar interior. Taken with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6
Beef and Bacon Burger. Taken with Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4
Cajun Spiced Chicken Sandwich. Taken with Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4
Click image below to check out the ISO test from ISO100-6400 using the 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6. Ignore the camera shake due to low shutter speed at low ISO.
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