You can but it is not immediately easy

I am working for years with digital cameras "in detail". For about two years now I have also a wide variety of compact systems such as Panasonic, Samsung and Olympus in my photo equipment. The fact is, the E-PL1 is an absolutely successful model. Not exactly new but still successfully compete with the more recent Modellen.Jedoch it is necessary a little more intense to deal with the technical functions so the optimum also working on image quality out. What the E-PL1 initially throws back a little, their factory settings. There are various settings such as gradation, resolution, ISO-limiting and noise reduction adapted to the optimum. For this is only short, the car and the highest resolution is not always the measure of all things. The color characteristics of the screen should be adjusted in any case the induviduellen need be the E-PL1 clearly achieved here with the i-ENHANCE setting the best results. Recommended to the Pen-book from the Franzis COLORFOTO Edition.
Personal impressions of me:
the E-PL1 makes very color fidelity, at times a little too oversaturated shots with a slightly soft character. The maximum ISO is 800 more than maxed out. The 14-42 lens recorded in wide angle is quite strong but well-made for a "kit" lens, and in my opinion absolutely sufficient as a standard zoom.
What has struck me as particularly nachaltig are the "hot spots" on the sensor. Due to the small construction of the Four / Third heat dissipation on the sensor is insufficient often leading to unwanted red color dots leads during long exposures in the pictures. My tip: If you shoot a lot at night, just as I; should the pen off from time to time after the recordings and let cool. An increase in the ISO to 400 has proven itself, because so shorten the exposure times strongly.
Conclusion: I like my pen because it is small and light and therefore can be always with you. The imaging performance compared to the larger APS-C sensors in DSLRs is almost identical and only at the higher ISO values ​​to be regarded as deficit. Decoding processing is valuable and the handling quite well. Perfect is not a camera, and anyone familiar with the really intense E-PL1 also achieved a good image result. Example pictures of an optimal configuration of the pen I enclose.
Holger Langewiesche