Just the camera I was looking for

In the last three weeks I have made some photo forays and experiments with the E-PM1, and it comes to my ideal of an all-purpose camera is up close.
For the past 30 years I photograph quite intense. At times I have analog films developed and produced enlargements itself. Over time I had a very ordinary SLR equipment together, only to find that I did felt 80% of my photos with automatic clippers. To haul several kilos photographic equipment on mountains or ride a bike through the area's just not really practical.
Then I bought the Olympus 5050Z. What a treat! A small camera with impressive image quality good and very good handling, thereby properly stable. I've made a lot of photos with the 5050Z. I missed only 3 things to the complete satisfaction:
- More wide-angle; the equivalent to 35 mm of 5050Z but were often too little; the telephoto has almost always been perfectly adequate
- Less noise; at 64 or 100 ASA the 5050Z made wonderful photographs, 200 ASA was hardly usable, about was closing
- Faster autofocus; from time to time I take pictures at sporting events.
I actually wanted me the XZ-1 buy, but the comparison shots at DP Review made me think. Then I shot a couple of comparison shots with the XZ-1 and the E-PL2, and the decision was clear: it had to be a pen! First, I flirted with the E-PL2, because of faster autofocus I decided then but for the E-PM1, with some abdominal pain due to the small size and reduced operating.
Because of the low price I bought the double zoom kit from Amazon, and that was a good decision. The camera liked already unpacked, and after 3 weeks and about 400 photos I know that the E-PM1 is just the camera for me.
The image quality is very good under all circumstances, as long as you remain below 1600 ASA. Uncritical motifs can also take pictures with 3200 ASA even if we limit ourselves when printed on postcard format. At 200 and 400 ASA already set the lenses provide very good results, the MFT-prime lenses are still a whole lot better and be more light especially.
The operation is quite comfortable despite the few controls. The changing of the common parameters doing very well despite the absence of dial for shooting modes, even while wearing gloves. The pressure on the "menu" button displays a different shooting modes "kind", "iAuto", "SCN", the movie mode and the program AE and the Setup menu. "Art" includes the 6 Art Filters "Pop Art", "soft focus", "pinhole camera", "monochrome", "Diorama" and "Dramatic effect", with which pictures can be distorted more or less when recording , However, they can also use the fact.
"IAuto" allows the setting of various parameters such as color saturation, contrast, depth of field and color temperature on the 4-way button.
"SCN" contains the typical scene programs such as "portrait", "children", "candlelight", etc., also so sensible things as "High Key" and "Low Key" are represented.
The movie menu contains the settings for video clips.
The Program AE offers the typical options of fully automatic (with Shift), time and shutter priority and manual setting.
The extensive and fairly nested setup menu includes a wide variety of settings, some of which were ordered quite idiosyncratic. It was a look at the manual, which is unfortunately only supplied on CD, necessary to find out how to set the finest JPEG stage. You can adjust the camera but just about any parameter (or adjust!), Which you can imagine. For serious photographers is worth looking at the manual anyway. At this point, the lack of controls becomes negatively apparent, but I do not think that's bad. Many things one sets once and then allows them to so, besides you can create multiple personal profiles for the event that you want but have several different settings always available.
Since I'm a fan of available light photos, I've tried the E-PM1 extensively in the area and went to the frozen outer Alster shortly after sunset and was able to make some good pictures. I was able to notice that the camera is easy to operate despite its small size, even when wearing gloves. However, a shutter speed of 1/8 second of his free hand leads despite Image Stabilizer with a lot of practice to sharp pictures ...
Zuhaus I realized then that the factory is not the best JPEG quality was set and the images were a bit soggy in the details at 800 and 1600 ASA. I've switched to RAW, and the image quality has since blameless. Only the dynamic range is sometimes a bit tight.
The autofocus is in fact very quickly and safely even in dimly lit environments. I have only the 9 central focus areas enabled because at least I know what to just the camera focuses.
Cute is the included flash. Because I need him anyway just as a control for other flash units, I find the decision right, the camera spendieren not permanently attached flash, which leads then because of the small housing only to red eyes and shadows through the lens.
The best part is that I easily get the camera with two lenses set in the bag, in which I previously kept the 5050Z. The camera only with the 14-42R fits into a Anoraktasche. The plastic versions of both set-lenses are very light, and the 40-150 does not lead to the small camera to unfavorable center of gravity conditions.
Summary:
Pro:
- Small, yet handy camera
- Good build quality
- Excellent image quality up to 800 ASA
- Large variety of functions
- Very good value for money
- Fast autofocus
- Established system with a large range of lenses and accessories

Cons:
- Compared to APS-C sensor with smaller poorer noise performance
- No optical viewfinder, electronic viewfinder only as an optional accessory
- Operation by a few controls some menu-heavy

For me, the E-PM1 is the perfect compromise: a camera that you can take anywhere with ease, with the image quality and the functions of a SLR / System camera. I forgive 4 points, because a compromise now time brings some limitations with it and some things could be better solved (slight rubber coating on the front side for a better grip, menu setup, factory defaults).