The new Olympus E-PL1 offers good value as a sub-$1000 Micro Four Thirds digital camera.

For $999, the Olympus E-PL1 attempts to offer the handling of a compact digital camera with the image quality and lens interchangeability of an SLR. This is thanks to the 4/3 LiveMOS image sensor chip, a specification that the Micro Four Thirds system shares with the Four Thirds system. The main difference between Micro Four Thirds (used exclusively by Olympus and Panasonic) and Four Thirds is the more compact size of the former.

Micro Four Thirds cameras are generally lighter than dSLR cameras but heavier and bulkier than your standard compact digital camera, and the E-PL1 is no exception. It weighs in at just under 350g when no lenses are attached. The camera is available in a variety of lens configurations, the most basic of which is a 14-42mm lens.

The good news is that the Olympus E-PL1’s image quality is excellent - definitely on a par with what you’d expect from a more expensive dSLR camera. The bad news is that performance is on the slow side, so if you’re planning on doing a lot of continuous or burst shooting, you will encounter issues.

Other specifications are fairly standard for any digital camera around the $1000 mark - there’s a 2.7-inch 230,000-dot LCD and HD video recording at 720p. Another nice feature is the flash, which can be popped up by pressing a slider underneath.

Buy a cheap Olympus digital camera in Australia

By Caroline Warnes