Overview and features
Designed for the casual snapper who doesn't want to compromise on image quality, the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1 is similarly specified to contemporary Olympus PEN models, but with an emphasis on ease of use and simplicity of design.
Compact system cameras (CSC) like this have exploded in popularity in the last year or so, due to their promise of high quality images and the flexibility of interchangeable lenses without the bulk of a DSLR. The compact dimensions are possible because the reflex mirror used in a DSLR camera is absent, enabling the lenses to be placed much closer to the image sensor.
The design also enables a much larger image sensor to be used than would typically be found in compact cameras. Having a larger image sensor should result in less noise at higher sensitivities, because there's more surface area per pixel to capture light to form an image.
Priced at around £450 with the standard 14-42mm kit lens and available in a range of different colours, this PEN is the cheapest and most compact of three new additions to Olympus' range of compact system cameras, the other two being the PEN E-P3 and the PEN Lite E-PL3. Its rivals include the Panasonic GF3 and Sony NEX-C3.
The overall design of this camera differs to other cameras in the PEN line-up, since manual exposure overrides are largely tucked away into the menu system, providing a user experience particularly suited to pointing and shooting.
This doesn't mean manual overrides aren't possible, though, and a comprehensive range of creative exposure modes are provided.
Features
At the heart of the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1 lies a 12.3MP Live MOS sensor with a sensitivity range from ISO 200 to ISO 12800, which should be perfect for low-light conditions. A new image processing engine, introduced in all three recently released Olympus PEN cameras, promises to keep noise levels low, even at high sensitivity settings, as well as aiding processing speed and video quality.
The low weight of 265g with a battery and memory card installed, and a slim profile, should aid portability.
Olympus has devised a 35-point autofocus (AF) system that was the fastest to obtain focus among its peers, when tested in June 2011. AF certainly seems very snappy, and accurate enough for use with wide aperture lenses. One of the major benefits of a compact system camera is that the lens can be swapped over to suit the application. The Micro Four-Thirds system has one of the largest range of compatible lenses on offer of any compact system camera.
With ease of use being the main ethos behind the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1's design, a reduced selection of buttons is provided, enabling access to the most commonly used functions, such as video recording, exposure compensation, flash, drive and focusing modes.
Everything else is tucked away into one of the simply laid-out menus. Common overrides can be easily accessed by pressing the OK button and other settings via the menu button. This design approach will certainly suit snap shooters well, who may rarely override the camera's automatic exposure, but may take a little getting used to if you're more at home with manual exposure control.
A live guide feature has also been included, which explains each function in the menu as it is selected.
A 3-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 460,000 dots provides the view for composing images and videos. The screen has an aspect ratio of 16:9, which is great for recording wide-screen videos, but not so great for taking images in the standard 4:3 aspect ratio. Much of the screen is wasted and black bars fill either side of the screen.
A highly reflective acrylic cover protects the screen. Unfortunately because it's so reflective, it also makes the screen difficult to see clearly in bright conditions. Since the electronic viewfinder is optional, this could be a major issue for some. The screen is incredibly difficult to see with the sun behind you, and guesswork may even become the last resort when composing shots when the screen can't be shaded easily.
Under more favourable conditions the screen is bright and clear and the menus easy to navigate, with pleasing animated flourishes as you select various items.
A decent selection of scene program modes and custom art effect filters are provided, which offer a one-touch fix for more creative-looking effects.
The art filter menu includes effects to reproduce various popular looks, including Soft Focus, Pop Art, Grainy Monochrome Film, Pin Hole Camera, Dramatic Tone and a Diorama effect, which reproduces the shallow depth of field effect of a tilt-shift lens. The effects applied are of good quality and can be used to quickly enhance your images.
Image stabilisation is provided via a sensor-shift mechanism, which means all Micro Four-Thirds-compatible lenses will benefit from the effects of stabilisation. This should help with photographing in low-light conditions.
Full 1080p HD video recording is possible in the popular AVCHD format for clips lasting up to 29 minutes. Footage can also be recorded at lower resolutions in Motion JPEG format, although clips are limited to seven minutes for this recording standard.
Video footage is very smooth and detailed, and can be played on an HD TV directly from the camera via the supplied HDMI connection. Olympus provides an optional EMA-1 external microphone adapter to enable a mic to be attached via the AP2 port below the hotshoe. This port also accepts the optional electronic viewfinder and the supplied external flash.
Build quality and handling
Six different coloured finishes are available for the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1, including Silver, White, Purple, Silver-Rose and Brown, enabling you to pick the look that suits you best. The glossy white finish applied to our review camera looks very smart and stylish with the silver inlays and black screen surround.
The slim profile makes this compact system camera (CSC) almost pocketable. With the collapsible 14-42mm zoom, it is a just a little too big for most jacket pockets, and those considering transporting the camera in this way may wish to look at one of the pancake lenses on offer.
Although the thin body is great for portability, there is no finger grip provided, which can make handling the camera a little tricky, especially when attempting to hold it steady for video recording or in low light conditions. Although a rubberised grip is provided on the rear, the natural place for your thumb to rest is part way into the screen, and the glossy finish provides little grip. Still, this could be a compromise many will be willing to make for the compact dimensions.
The overall finish is of a very high quality, and the camera feels robust enough to cope with the rigours of daily use and abuse. The buttons for menus and other functions are all located to the right-hand side of the LCD screen and packed quite close together, too. Although this may suit users with dainty fingers, it may also prove troublesome for those who prefer more generous spacing between controls.
The supplied flash unit is also very compact, and clips onto the hotshoe connector. When engaged, it's raised approximately one inch above the lens, which provides enough distance to reduce red-eye issues at close quarters. The small size also means it isn't all that powerful, but it does have another surprising trick up its sleeve. Compatible Olympus flash units can be triggered wirelessly by the supplied unit, which is an advanced feature for a camera intended for casual users.
The menu system takes a novel approach to offering access to manual controls, while keeping operation as simplified as possible.
Pressing the Menu button leads to an animated list of clearly laid out options, including the Automatic, Art Filter and P,A,S,M modes. In each mode, pressing 'OK' lists all the most commonly used controls. For the most part this works really well, although changing apertures and shutter speeds in the semi-automatic and manual exposure modes can be a trifle frustrating at first, until you get used to the extra combination of button presses required to access each feature.
Performance
Five metering options are provided on the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1, including ESP multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, spot highlight and spot shadow. The ESP multi segment metering performs well in a wide variety of conditions, but just like any averaging system, care may need to be taken when metering high contrast scenes. Three stops of exposure correction either side of the metered value can be applied, which is a larger range than many cameras provide.
Auto white balance strikes a good balance between correcting colour casts under various lighting conditions without ruining the atmosphere of the ambient conditions. Shots taken in daylight are occasionally a little cooler than is preferable, and images taken under tungsten lighting benefit from using the dedicated preset.
The TruePic VI image processor does an excellent job of producing sharp, colourful JPEG images straight from the camera with good detail in both shadows and highlights.
There is little discernible difference between JPEGs straight from the camera and raw files processed using the software supplied in the kit in terms of quality and detail levels. Slightly more dynamic range is recorded in raw files, but (as usual) noise levels are better controlled in JPEG images at high sensitivities.
As far as noise control and dynamic range are concerned, the Four Thirds format Live MOS sensors used in Olympus and Panasonic cameras have improved noticeably over the last year or so. This improved performance can be seen in the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1, with images taken up to ISO 800 showing no significant signs of noise with plenty of fine detail still retained.
The autofocus system generally performs well and is very speedy in good light. When light levels fall, however, it slows and becomes more hesitant.
Sample images
The ESP metering system produces balanced exposures in even lighting conditions
The Dramatic Tone art filter heightens contrast and is especially suited to high contrast scenes.
The Pin Hole Camera art filter darkens corners and adds a retro colour cast to images.
The Grainy Monochrome Film art filter has a particularly gritty appearance, with noticeable grain and very high contrast.
The Pop Art filter increases colour saturation to incredibly vivid levels.
Manual control is possible, but can be a little fiddly to operate when compared with higher-end Olympus PEN models.
Using a wider aperture lens can help reduce noise as a lower ISO setting cane be used. This night shot was taken with an Olympus 12mm lens at f/2.
The small size and fast autofocus make the E-PM1 ideal for street photography and grab shots.
Colours are reproduced accurately using standard colour settings.
Colour saturation can be tweaked in the menus, enabling more or less vibrant images to be produced.
The supplied 14-42mm kit lens has a minimum focus distance of only 25cm, making it suitable for the occasional close-up at maximum zoom.
Dynamic range is good, with plenty of detail being recorded in both highlight and shadow areas of images.
Noise and sensitivity
ISO200
ISO400
ISO800
Higher sensitivities are slightly softened due to noise reduction, but the noise has a fine texture up to ISO6400.
ISO1600
ISO3200
ISO6400
Finally, at ISO12800, images contain much coarser noise and colour saturation suffers, but images taken at this setting should still be suitable for sharing online at reasonable sizes.
ISO12800
Verdict
Although Olympus clearly has a particular niche in mind for its PEN Mini E-PM1, it's created a camera that will prove tempting for a much wider audience due to the relatively low price and compact size.
Those upgrading from a compact camera will feel right at home with the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1's simplified control layout and easy-to-grasp menus and scene modes.
Those looking for quick access to manual controls and customisability may find the design a little frustrating for their tastes, though. It's not that those features aren't there, it's just that they take a little more work to access and adjust than cameras aimed at more advanced users.
The high-quality finish and sturdy design helps to make the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1 feel like a premium product, and in this respect it's well worth the money. A finger grip to help improve handling and a less reflective LCD screen would be welcome additions, and would make this camera a much more attractive prospect.
Overall the images produced by the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1 are of good quality, with low noise up to ISO1600 and not exactly poor noise performance beyond that. The creative art filters are a nice touch too, offering a quick and easy way to spice up your images.
We liked
The excellent build quality, fast autofocus, compact size and relatively low price all add up to a very attractive package. Beginners will love the simple control layout and image quality from the Four Thirds Format Live MOS sensor.
We disliked
Handling the camera can sometimes be tricky due to the slippery glossy finish and slim dimensions. The highly reflective screen makes composing images in bright light very difficult indeed.
Final verdict
Bearing in mind the target market for the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1, which is primarily people looking for a higher-quality upgrade from a compact camera, Olympus has done a good job on the whole with this camera. The minimalistic control layout will suit those who simply enjoy pointing and shooting rather than photographers who like to fiddle with settings.
With low enough noise levels to produce decent sized prints up to ISO1600, and with the camera's performance being on a par with many of its peers at higher sensitivities, it should win many fans. The small body is especially suited to being coupled with a pancake-type compact prime lens to make this a truly pocketable camera, and the faster maximum aperture on those optics will also help with the image quality after dark.
The only true downside is with the highly reflective LCD screen. As cameras like this are often used in bright lighting conditions, outdoors and on holidays, this seems like an oversight on Olympus' part.
An optional electronic viewfinder can be obtained, but the extra cost may put users off this camera altogether, instead looking for an alternative with a better screen, or a built-in viewfinder.
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