Olympus E-PL1

Olympus E-PL1 is Olympus's Entry-Level Mirrorless digital camera initially introduced on May of 2010. It has a 12 MegaPixel, CMOS Four Thirds sized sensor and has a maximum resolution of 4032 x 3024.

Olympus brought out the newer Olympus E-PL1s (Read Full Comparison) in order to improve this model.

The E-PL1 is rated #111 out of 117 in Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras and all-around #535 out of 1465 for cameras in our list. Remember to check out our Advanced camera filter to see camera results based on your customized criteria.

The following is a diagram of specific criteria used in the scoring system.

The Olympus E-PL1 comes with a history of related cameras. Underneath, you can take a look at all past and newer models along with key specifications.

You can check the E-PL1 from various angles in the gallery below.

Below is a checklist of advantages and disadvantages of the Olympus E-PL1 based on features which are usually viewed as useful in a digital camera.

The Olympus E-PL1 is powered by the Truepic V chip. The sensor measurement in the Olympus E-PL1 is 17.3mm x 13mm (Four Thirds). The 225 mm² sensor is able to resolve 4032 x 3024 pixels and aspect ratios of 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera boasts Image Stabilization (Sensor based). In body stabilization is more desirable than digital stabilization as the latter may lead to cropping.

Photography Glossary

The CMOS sensor boasts 12 megapixels and has a standard ISO range of 100 - 3200. RAW photos are supported therefore the user has wider room to maneuver in post.

The graphic underneath illustrates the E-PL1's sensor dimensions when compared to other popular sizes. The E-PL1 sensor comes with a crop factor of 2.1 and is shown in green.

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To get an understanding of various aspect ratios, you should refer to the graphic below.

Olympus E-PL1 has a weight of 0.74 lbs (334 grams / 11.78 ounces) and features outside measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7"). The weight of normal Entry-Level Mirrorless camera is 329 grams so the Olympus E-PL1 is on par when compared with its rivals.

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Down below is a picture of the Olympus E-PL1 alongside a soft drink so you can have a sense of its scale.

The top view underneath will illustrate the button design on the E-PL1.

The E-PL1 uses the Micro Four Thirds mount and has 162 lenses currently available. Below is a small number of the lenses we have in our collection which will work with the E-PL1.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight

Panasonic Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm F1.2 ASPH OIS43mmf/1.2 425g

Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm f3.5 Macro35mmf/3.5 165g

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Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II ASPH Mega OIS14-42mmf/3.5-5.6 110g

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm f1.875mmf/1.8 305g

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm f4.0-5.670-300mmf/4.0-5.6 620g

Panasonic Lumix G Vario HD 14-140mm F4-5.8 OIS14-140mmf/4.0-5.8 460g

Photography Glossary

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 90-250mm f2.890-250mmf/2.8 3270g

The E-PL1 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes

Cameras that come with NFC and Bluetooth connectivity can be used wirelessly through smartphones. You can transfer images and oftentimes adjust settings without connecting straight to the camera.

Some applications even enable a Liveview and click the shutter whenever you aren't near the camera. If the camera boasts a HDMI out, it can be attached to an external screen. The majority of cameras enable you to recharge the battery with the USB port.

The maximum video resolution in the Olympus E-PL1 is 1280 x 720 and it can shoot in Motion JPEG file format. 720p is low by today's standards. You should target a minimum 1080p resolution for decent video. The camera doesn't feature a mic and headphone socket which means that you get little control over your audio. It is perhaps best to order a different model should you require better audio in your videos.

Olympus E-PL1 doesn't include weather sealing so rainy conditions can damage the camera.

The Olympus E-PL1 has a 2.7 inch fixed display screen supporting a resolution of 230 thousand dots.

Unfortunately the display screen isn't a touch screen.

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The View Finder specifications regarding Olympus E-PL1 are below:

• ViewFinder Electronic (optional)

Viewfinders can be very beneficial in sunny outdoor situations which can make the camera screen washed out and difficult to view.

Olympus E-PL1 is able to shoot continuously at 3.0 fps. The maximum shutter speed is 1/2000 seconds.

Olympus E-PL1 boasts both built-in flash and also external flash ability. The max flash sync is 1/160 seconds.

Olympus E-PL1 boasts just Contrast Detect Auto Focus and does not have Phase Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot more quicker & precise when compared to Contrast Detect focusing. The camera has Face detection which is useful for taking portraits of people.

The AF system has 11 focus points to choose from. It also boasts Tracking Auto Focus for moving things. Olympus E-PL1 has manual focus in case it is needed in low light scenarios or you want to have more precise control on focus.

The battery (BLS-1) for the Olympus E-PL1 is made to last for 290 shutters with respect to the CIPA standards making it lower when compared to its competitors. The general Entry-Level Mirrorless camera battery life is 343. Fujifilm X-S20 comes with the highest possible (750) battery life in this type of cameras.

Here is a listing of Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras that have the best battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm X-S20
E-PL1 vs X-S20750 yesnoyes

Samsung NX mini
E-PL1 vs NX mini650 yesnono

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Pentax K-01
E-PL1 vs K-01540 yesnono

Sony NEX-3N
E-PL1 vs NEX-3N480 yesnono

Sony NEX-F3
E-PL1 vs NEX-F3470 yesnono

The following bar chart gives a overview of the Olympus E-PL1 for varying forms of photography. To learn more, go to the specific paragraph underneath.

The Olympus E-PL1 receives a rating of 60 which is decent, meaning that it is fairly appropriate to use for portrait photography. Photographing portraits favors heavily to sensor dimension, support for RAW files & ability to utilize off-camera flash.

Getting a nice points total of 74, the Olympus E-PL1 is a good pick for street photography. A very good street photography camera has a fine balance of image quality plus portability.

A horrible sports photography points tally of 44 means the Olympus E-PL1 is not very good for taking pictures of sports. A camera really should have great focusing plus shutter speeds for sports photography.

Weight is extremely critical when choosing a travel camera. In general, the Olympus E-PL1 gets a reasonable 51 as a travelling camera which is relatively adequate to purchase for your holidays.

For those who are looking to pick a camera for landscape pictures, the most important aspect will no doubt be image quality. The Olympus E-PL1 and it's reasonable rating of 55 for a landscape camera is relatively adequate within the current market.

A vlogging camera preferably should have a moving screen, mic port and ideally IBIS. Considering everything, the Olympus E-PL1 is not very good as a vlog camera as it receives a horrible rating of 29.

If you are in the market for replacements to the E-PL1, here is a selection of the top placed cameras that fall into the class of Entry-Level Mirrorless.

The graph followed below will give you a bird's eye view of the E-PL1 vs it's highest ranking competitors suggested earlier.

There are more cameras you may look into as alternative options. To go through a extensive comparison, visit the "compare" link.