July 30, 2009
State of the Art
By DAVID POGUE
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/.../pogue.600.jpg
Technology is like romance. When everything clicks, you’re on top of the world — but every now and then, your heart gets broken.
Like when your hard drive dies, or your new gadget becomes obsolete after two weeks, or you find out that that gorgeous iPhone runs only on AT&T.
Well, prepare yourself for camera heartbreak this time, thanks to the new Olympus EP-1 Pen.
The breathlessly awaited EP-1 is, according to Olympus, the smallest interchangeable-lens digital camera on earth. It’s an ambitious, 50th-anniversary update of the Olympus Pen camera, which shook up the industry of its day by building the optics of a pro model into a pocket-size body. Over the years, 17 million fans bought the Pen and its variants.
Above all, the EP-1, which will be available next month, is supposed to be the hybrid the whole world has been waiting for: the guts of a single-lens reflex camera in the body of a pocket cam.
An S.L.R., of course, is one of those big, black, bulky cameras that take magazine-quality photos. Professionals tolerate the weight and size because they have to.
Amateurs generally choose smaller, cuter cameras — but they make profound sacrifices in the process. The photos rarely look as good as S.L.R. photos, especially in low light. Far too many pictures come out blurry, because the sensor inside is so tiny. And shutter lag — the delay after you press the shutter button — is enough to drive you into therapy.
But oh, man: S.L.R. quality with the size of a pocket cam? Be still, our beating hearts!
full article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/te...ref=technology
slide show here:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/200...ideshow_4.html
