Australia from Four Cameras -- (3 of 4)

• Olympus E-PL1

The E-PL1 is an amazing camera. What I love about it (aside from the image quality) is its inconspicuousness. When shooting street photography, or casual travel scenes, pointing a big DSLR neck-weight can easily tip off potential subjects that their image is being captured, and may intimidate them into feeling a need to 'perform' for such a large camera. The small body E-PL1 is a much friendlier camera to be in front of - it looks small and harmless, and leaves people to behave as naturally as they would if a camera weren't around.It uses the same 13 megapixel sensor that the much larger E-30 does, but in a compact "micro 4/3" body system. The Micro 4/3 line of cameras offer big quality in a small package, and with a lens converter, I can shoot with the same glass that I use in any other E-system camera. (So with the E-PL1 and the E-500, I traveled with three interchangeable lenses, and one kit lens for the PL1.)The E-PL1 is also the only camera I have capable of shooting video under manual control settings. This opens up a whole world of creativity, and I have only just begun to explore the possibilities. Any scene I encountered with defining movement was available to be recorded in a short movie clip.