Comments about Olympus Olympus E-PL1 Champagne Gold Body with Black 14-42mm Lens:

bought it for its compact size and great reviews, over all it is very good, as long as you don't need to take pictures in low light such as parties..etc.
The camera can't focus, motor just zoom in and out and you can not take a picture. And there is no focus assist light.

Comments about Olympus Olympus E-PL1 Champagne Gold Body with Black 14-42mm Lens:

Small but powerful!
Images are very sharp, great color, but poor in low light focus is very slow!

Nguyễn Ngọc Liên

Comments about Olympus Olympus E-PL1 Champagne Gold Body with Black 14-42mm Lens:

I have my DSLR camera but I need something as a backup which is quite handy to carry around. When I am not inclined to bring my DSLR, then this cute little thing becomes my steady companion. For casual shots, definitely not action shots, this camera is more than enough for my need.

Comments about Olympus Olympus E-PL1 Champagne Gold Body with Black 14-42mm Lens:

We got this camera as a augment to our canon T1i. As it is way easier to travel with and make better travel then our DSLR. I have been putting the camera through it's paces. And have been very happy with it. It gives me all the control I want from a dslr with the size of a bridge camera.

The EPL-1 has an ISO of 3200, but this is not where you want this camera to be. It is pretty noisy up that high. At 1600iso the photos are acceptable in noise level. I found that 1250iso is about where you want to restrict the auto iso to. As the imagine quality and noise level is not bad at all. At 1000iso down. The photo quality is excellent.

The kit lens is a bit slow in AF, but this is not a camera I would not want to use the EPL-1 for action shooting. But if you get the panasonic lens instead, it is just as fast as the GF1 in auto focusing.

The button controls will be a breeze for the point and shoot user looking to move up. For the DSLR user looking for a smaller camera with the control that they are uses to, the button system actually took about 15 min to get uses to, and it became second nature like the dial control of a dslr.

The is system is great. I can choose between 3 different setting 2 axis, just vertical, or just horizontal. I am considering the panasonic 20mm 1.7 pancake over the olympus 17mm 2.8. With the 1.7 and the inbody IS system. It would give the EPL-1 excellent low light shooting ability.

So if you are considering up to, or looking for a smaller package as a second camera and thinking about a bridge. I would seriously consider the EPL-1. It will give you allot more options and controls the a very high end bridge.

The build quality is excellent. The body is a metal frame, with a plastic back cover. It is study built. But light weight, so it is easy to hike and travel with.

This has been a excellent purchase for my travel needs, and give me the control that a dslr user would want.