You've been waiting patiently, and we’ve been working hard.  We’ve tallied the preliminary results of our pretty extensive testing, and the verdict is a resounding, “Not Bad”.    Here’s the deal.

We ran our basic noise and ISO tests on the in-camera JPEGs, as often we do, and we were able to run the same tests on the Canon Digital Rebel T1i and the Nikon D5000…  with some pretty interesting results.

First off, let’s look at graphs.  The overriding concern with ISO and noise is because of a couple things.  All these cameras are running sensors with some pretty small pixels, and the rule of thumb is that performance costs money.  At under $1000 we’re thinking the noise/ISO issue is what’s going to rear up first.  The other issue is that Olympus has, in the past, not been really at the top of the food chain in noise/ISO performance.  Good, but not the best for the buck.

Well, you may have been lurking around, waiting patiently for our followup and a good look at some files from the sweet little E-P1.  Out of self-defense, I'm going to tell you the story of shooting RAW with the Olympus...  it ain't a pretty picture, I'll warn you. 

First, as you'd expect with a new camera, the RAW files aren't supported by Adobe Camera RAW.  (When oh WHEN will these manufacturers start offering DNG as a shooting option?)  However, in the spirit of the faceoff we're trying for, the Nikon D5000 and the Canon Digital Rebel Xti are supported right now.  Fine, it's only a matter of time, but I'm just sayin...  

So we go to the Olympus Support site.  Go to the Downloads section, and select the Olympus Pen Digital menu and that should take you to a package that can work with the files, right?  Wrong.  Nada.   

On the sidebar, looking like an ad, is a link to the Olympus Master 2 software.  OK, fine, we click, we download, we hope for the best.

Well, folks... the much hyped new baryta papers fall a little short.  Now, maybe with the Epson 3800 it's different, and we'll be running that comparison this week,but the claims that these papers exceed the gamut of AdobeRGB 1998?  I'm not seeing it. 
 

The first bit of this is Epson Premium Luster in green, and Harman Gloss FBAL in red for the Epson R2400.  After a bit, I switched the Luster to "real color" showing which part of the actual gamut we're looking at.

You’re going to see a lot more about this camera here, including a “mini” Head-2-Head featuring this, the Nikon D5000 and the Canon Rebel T1i, but thanks to our buddies at EP Levine here in Boston*, we got a chance to fondle the camera and do some basic comparison tests

Here's a video tutorial illustrating how to setup and utilize the Lens Align focus calibration system. Be sure to check out this tool if you have a microfocus adjustment on your DSLR!