The classically-styled PEN series has given Olympus the opportunity to draw attention to its film-era history of making small, popular cameras. But it wasn't just the size and style of the PEN and Trip cameras that helped their success - it was also their simplicity. And it's this ethos that explains the E-PM1, or PEN Mini as it is likely to be promoted to its target audience.
The logic behind the design is undeniable - the collapsible zoom and slightly smaller sensor of the PEN series (compared to Samsung's NX or Sony's NEX cameras), helps make the E-PM1 an impressively compact package, so far as large-sensor mirrorless cameras go. There'll still be arguments that it's not truly pocketable, but it's undeniably more convenient to carry than any DSLR.
So, depending on how you look at it, the PEN Mini is either the most simplistic mirrorless model yet, or most of the company's flagship E-5 DSLR for the cost of a high-end enthusiast compact. Either way, its combination of being both relatively small and relatively inexpensive is worth looking closely at.
For $200 more, the photographer wanting a camera to 'grow into' can get an E-PL3, which offers slightly more direct control, a mode dial and a tilting LCD screen, helping clarify the Mini's position as a large sensor camera for users who are happy to simply point and shoot. But, with its sensor being eight times larger than most compact cameras, it's still likely to be a very impressive point and shoot.
Of course, like its more expensive sister models, the Mini retains the ability to change lenses. Given that many of them cost as much as the camera again, we suspect many buyers won't ever do so (the overwhelming majority of entry-level DSLR users don't, either). But the option is there and the Micro Four Thirds lens range (from both Olympus and Panasonic), gives the beginner and intermediate user plenty of options if they chose to become more specialzed in their photography.
Olympus PEN Lite E-PL3 key specifications:
•Updated 12MP Live MOS sensor
•120 Hz 'Fast AF' focus system
•Clip-on flash (included)
•Built-in autofocus illuminator light
•460,000 dot fixed LCD screen (16:9 aspect ratio)
•Dual-core TruePic VI processor
•1080i60 movies in AVCHD format
•Shadow tone adjustment control
•Revised and expanded Art Filter mode
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