Olympus unveils E-P1 camera

Olympus on Tuesday introduced the E-P1 digital camera. It’s not a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) model, though its sports interchangeable lenses, and it can also record High Definition (HD) video. It’s coming in July starting at $750.

The E-P1 features a 12.3-megapixel sensor that’s the same size as that found in Olympus’ E-30 and E-620 DSLR models, paired to a compact body design created to be more portable than a conventional DSLR, while offering more flexibility and more capability than a compact camera with a fixed lens is capable of doing.

The body is made of stainless steel, designed to fit in a jacket pocket or handbag — it measures 4.75 x 2.75 x 1.43 inches, and weighs 11.8 ounces. The camera uses Olympus M. Zuiko Micro Four Thirds lenses, available in 14-42 mm f3.5-5.6 and 17mm f2.8 sizes. Images, video and sound are recorded to an SD memory card.

Features include image stabilization, a three-inch LCD with “Live View” support, dust reduction system, in-camera creative functions, multiple exposures, multi-aspect shooting, multimedia slideshows, digital leveler, magnified focus assist, and 18 x 18 metering modes. The camera records AVI Motion JPEG video at up to 1280 x 720 pixel resolution.