The Olympus E-P1 is a funny device. Everyone was stoked when Olympus first announced the retro camera, but then people actually got it in their hands. There were some issues with the first-gen camera. Some have been addressed in previous update, but now the manual focus is getting some attention with the upcoming 1.3 firmware update.

Occasionally the camera would freeze when in the manual focusing mode, no doubt causing many to loose their shot. But keep on eye on your email inbox and also the support site for the E-P1. Hopefully soon Firmware 1.3 will pop-up. [DPReview]

[fototrend.hu via 43rumors]

Chances are if you, or your spouse, is the type that gets excited about gadgets covered in Swarovski crystals, then you probably don’t care that Peter found the Olympus E-P1 to be just an average performer and nothing special. You also probably have the disposable cash to pay a $2,000 premium over the sticker price.

The limited edition comes with two lens, a flash, and a wooden box for only £1999.99. ($3,302 USD) No matter how sexy you find this camera, you shouldn’t buy it. Nope, wait until the upcoming E-P2 gets covered in Swarovski crystals and buy that one. You don’t want to get stuck with an old model, right?

The second generation in Olympus’s retro micro four thirds line is almost here. Olympus China leaked that a few days ago. But this time around a few more leaks emerge and show that that the E-P2 might have the same body design as the E-P1, which isn’t really a bad thing, I guess.

The announcement is supposed to come on November 6 so we’ll find out soon enough. Until then though, click over to Photorumors for a few more pics of the camera’s accessories and specs. The more this one develops, the more I’m losing interest. The E-P2 better not just be an updated E-P1.

Photorumors found that Olympus China’s website has the model number listed there for the whole world to see, which seems to confirm that the event Olympus had scheduled for October 31 will probably be the EP-2 announcement. Let’s just hope this guy has the same goods as the original model but a slightly lower price.

The retrotastic Olympus E-P1 launched last month with much fanfare. (not pictured above) It turned out to be an alright camera as Peter found out. You may want to hold off buying one just yet though. There might be another version coming soon if this rumor is correct.

Photo Rumors is reporting that in the latest issue of Chasseur d’Images, an Olympus spokesman revealed that the E-P2 should launch by the end of the year. Plus, said camera is to sport a viewfinder, which is something that the pocket E-P1 lacks. Hopefully the second incarnation sticks with the throwback digs but ups the photo taking capabilities a bit. Oh, and no dead pixels this time.

You may want to hold off plopping down your hard-earned scratch until we post our review – our early hands-on here. Peter did find a dead pixel on his review sample, btw. But if you can’t wait to fork over your money, head over to J&R, B&H, Adorama, or Amazon. [via Engadget]

Yep. That 100 percent crop shows a dead pixel close to center on the Olympus E-P1.

So I’m at the Hotel on Rivington in Manhattan at the Olympus press conference and we’re getting the first hands on with the Olympus E-P1 in North America. Dana Wollman from Laptop was kind enough to be my hand model so these aren’t my hands on the Olympus, but I am shooting with one. I’ve included two test images shot at ISO 200 and ISO 6400 shot with the 14-42mm lens. Oh, I forgot to mention that Olympus has done away with the XD format and gone with SD. Yay!

You can download the JPEG for the ISO 200 image here and the ISO 6400 image here.

[PSGallery=7ds8mv7mib]

We are a little disappointed with the price, but the specs aren’t anything to joke about. Most of the rumored yesterday’s leaked info turned out to be true. The E-P1 comes in with a 12.3MP Live MOS sensor that’s equipped with a new processing unit called, TruPic V. Plus, it’s capable of 100-6400 ISO, 720p & 480p video recording, an HDMI-out, and a 3-inch screen. Not to bad for a tiny camera that measures in at just 4.7- x 2.7- x 1.4-inches, eh?

The small size does come with a price. The body will run $749 and $799 with a 14-42mm (3x) zoom lens. The kit with a 17mm pancake lens and viewfinder will cost $899. There will be a an electronic flash (FL-14) in same retro-digs available too for $199. It seems somewhat high, but remember that this tiny package holds a full DSLR sensor and the ability to swap lens. It’s still thousands less than the similar Leica M8.2 anyway. Expect the camera this July.

Photography Blog and the official product page have some full resolution samples up. DPReview also has a preview which, among other things, runs down the history of the Olympus Pen series.

[PSGallery=7bkiub3ddy]

Oh my. Hopefully this Olympus Micro Four Thirds digicam is a halfway good performer, because the whole Internet already wants it – including you. The official announcement will come tomorrow, but we might already have the E-P1 specs and price.

• 13MP
• RAW, JPEG, RAW + JPEG
• 720p video recording mode (7 minutes max)
• 480p video recording mode (14 minutes max)
• Liveview LCD
• 11 area AF
• 200-6400 ISO
• 60-1/4000 shutter speed

We’re thinking that the kit will come with a 17mm lens, and a 14-42mm (3x) zoom lens will be available at launch. The kit price might be  ¥90,000 ($917 USD) with the option of getting both lens for ¥130,000 ($1,324). The 17mm and 14-42mm will also be available separately for ¥10,000 ($101) and  ¥35,000 ($356) respectively.

Hold off until tomorrow to make your final judgement about the high cost as we here in the States might get slightly different pricing rather than a direct conversion from the Japanese price. But at least this E-P1 still rocks a DSLR sensor and is still a small fraction of what a Leica costs even if is a bit higher than we were hoping.

xitek via 43rumors

[PSGallery=773xu96a55]