eat. shop. love. nyc.

Olympus is offering a manufacturer’s $75 instant rebate on its E-PL1 micro four thirds camera (with zoom kit lens) through June 19th, 2010. You can buy online from Ritz Camera with no sales tax and free shipping ANYWHERE, which means that for $525, you can get yourself a m4/3 camera with zoom lens, in-body image stabilization, built-in flash (which can be manipulated as a bounce flash), and some really cool art filters (diorama and pinhole are my faves). The E-PL1 is on sale for $524 on Amazon (I got gold, but available in black and slate blue also), but depending on what state/city you live in, you might have to pay sales tax (in NYC, for example, it’s 8.875%). Amazon is best because they ship extremely quickly and have an awesome return policy, but if you are in an Amazon sales tax district and want to save $46, order on Ritz (but be prepared for slower shipping). If you’re old school and want to play with the camera first, all certified Olympus dealers will be offering the rebate through the 19th, so get thy ass into a store, stat.

Originally, I had purchased the Panasonic GF1 with the 20mm pancake lens, but returned it due to a defective LCD. Upon further consideration, I realized that because I am upgrading from a point and shoot, not coming down from a DSLR, the E-PL1 meets all of my needs and still leaves me room to grow. I like the way the GF1 feels in my hand better, but the E-PL1 is sturdy enough, and while the video is not as strong as the GF1, stills are my primary focus. I also like the punchiness of the Olympus JPEG engine and I don’t want to shoot in RAW all the time and be forced to do post-processing, and I like the in-body IS because that means that I am not limited to purchasing lenses with OIS (the Panasonic m4/3 cameras lack in-body IS so their lenses have OIS, but are also more expensive). I also like that I can angle the flash upwards to create softer light with the E-PL1, unlike the GF1 whose flash is too rigid to angle differently once popped up.

The GF1 with the zoom kit lens is going for $743.95 or so, and with the 20mm pancake is going for over $808.66, plus tax (usually free shipping). For the E-PL1 at $525 with free shipping and no sales tax, I was able to splurge on an additional lens, and I selected the Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 for $375 on Amazon (it was $360 at the end of May; I bought it for $374.99 two days ago; it’s now going for $383.02!) so my E-PL1 could be slim and sexy, just as it was meant to be. So, for about $100 more than I paid for the GF1 + 20mm pancake, I got the E-PL1 plus zoom kits lens and 20 mm pancake. I’d say that’s a pretty solid deal. (I could have gotten the 17mm M. Zuiko pancake lens for $250 and saved $100 but decided to treat myself to the Panny.)

The chief complaints against the E-PL1 vs. GF1 are slower autofocus speed, lack of extensive exterior manual controls, lack of built-in EVF (same w/GF1) and crappy external EVF, and sub-par LCD. I concur that the LCD is rather disappointing, especially since there is no EVF alternative built-in, and the external EVF alternative really isn’t very good (after some in-store testing). However, I think that for a photo enthusiast like me who is upgrading from a point and shoot, the autofocus is actually quite fast, there are more than enough buttons to work with controls, and wow, the pictures look amazing compared to what I’ve been coaxing out of my P&S.

I have read a gazillion reviews, and finally I thought, to heck with it. One guy said, “The best camera is the one you have,” and something clicked for me. There will always be some newfangled camera coming out onto the market, and every camera is going to have its pros and cons. The key is to be honest about your priorities and find a couple that suit you, then to pull the trigger and decide that you are going to master your camera, that you are going to learn to maximize its potential, that you are going to have fun no matter what, and to realize you can always upgrade later.

I CAN’T WAIT to get my hands on this thing!