The Camera

The Olympus PEN E-PL1 is a sleek and sexy new edition the  Olympus micro four thirds family.

It offers 12.3 Megapixel SLR quality on a High Speed Live MOS Sensor coupled with HD Movie capture and brand new live guide technology.

It offers great control with RAW capture and the option to shoot completely manual. It also offers a range of interchangeable lenses which give this camera great versatility. Combining all this high technology with maximum ease of use, giving the photographic novice the ability to explore their photography, as well as offering the more experienced total control over their pictures.

The Boring but Important bits

12.3 million effective pixels

Micro Four Thirds type lenses accepted

SDHC Memory Card. Class 6 is recommended for Movie shooting

17.3mm(H) x 13.0mm(V) high speed Live MOS Sensor

ISO Sensitivity 100-3200

Built in Flash

2.7 inch LCD

BLS-1 Li-ion battery

Weight 296g (body only), 344g(including Battery and Memory card)

For more detail click here


The Goodies

My personal favourite feature of this camera is the amount of stylish accessories you can throw on it to further your creativity.

The M.Zuiko range of lenses designed for digital imaging will fit any Micro four thirds camera. The lenses offer high resolution performance as well as giving your camera a stylish look all its own. My favourite is the flat 17mm f2.8 wide-angle lens, which looks amazing when attached.

The elegantly designed FL-14 System Flash looks magnificent on the hot shoe, throw on a VF-1 External Viewfinder and you have yourself one unique looking camera!

Strap on an old-school body jackets and your camera is one stylin’ piece of gear.

The Prize

Its a great camera, and Photo Art Gallery, together with Olympus Australia are giving you, The Australian Public the chance to be amongst the first in Australia to take if for a test spin! Three lucky folk will get to keep one for their very own!!


Simply click here for an information page for all the details.

IMPORTANT Once you have given your best single image a title you need to add the following information under description:

 *  What camera and model you're using at the moment.

 *  What type of photography interests you.

 *  Why your should be the one to test the new PEN E-PL1

You probably already know their work even if you don’t know their names. You’ve likely seen that suggestive shot of Moulder and Scully in bed together. And you’ve seen them turn Kyle Sandilands into King Kong, and if you are a fan of Tim Tams, remember the chilli flavour and the ad that came with it? The naked women strategically covered by running chocolate surrounded by seductive colours and chilli peppers, clearly this Tim Tam was the hottest there ever was.

Denis Montalbetti and Gay Campbell brought us all of these, a vision into their world of fantasy and sensual sensibilities, where “mere-mortals become mythical creatures of desire”.  Currently their work is a featured exhibition at the Australian Centre for Photography. http://www.acp.org.au/

The exhibition is a totally tricked out and hyper-expressive display of work. Purists beware! The photographs break away from the picture making tradition and swing  between graphic art and photography itself. As viewers we must remember this “swing” and look at the camera as a tool of creation, a mechanism that conveys a vision into the creator’s mind. In Montalbetti and Campbell’s case, the camera is not an instrument of record but a step in an artistic process.

The exhibition is an interesting one to look at; colours are electric and there are some spectacular tricks, coupled with interesting decor and music, it is designed to be a treat for the senses.

However for me, this exhibition misses the mark. The images don’t so much constitute a display of artistic work that runs along a theme, but instead a display of the artists’ ability to magnificently manipulate images in Photoshop. Of course this is a delicate skill these photographers execute to a tee and I commend them for this, but these commercial images just appear out of place as an artistic collection in a gallery,.

There are some powerful portraits, and to be honest I did enjoy looking at them from an aesthetic point of view, but the exhibition disappoints as a display of artistic vision as it delivers more of an assorted commercial portfolio. Nevertheless these photographers are commercial photographers, well respected ones at that... Could one be considered foolish to expect to see something more personal from the artists then this sales pitch hanging on a wall? Perhaps, but perhaps not.

I would recommend to anyone who enjoys commercial photography to take a look at this exhibition, as I enjoy this genre and enjoyed this exhibition, but if you are looking for something with an artistic vision, motive or message, you may be disappointed.

http://tmp.acp.org.au/current/index.php#sensualists


Glen.