Olympus has been making some top-quality fixed-lens digital cameras such as the Camedia E-10 and its successor, the E-20. Having already shown that they can make the transition from high-quality film to high-quality digital, Olympus has jumped in to the crowded digital SLR waters with their professional-targeted E-1. The E-1 is weather sealed, as one would expect from a professional camera, but rather than go for a larger sensor as Canon has done with their professional cameras, Olympus launches the E-1 as the first camera supporting a new *smaller* sensor standard.
Before we get into that, I want to talk about one thing that the E-1 does that no production camera from Canon or Nikon (or anyone else) does: it cleans the sensor for you. Every time the E-1 turns on, it shakes its Kodak CCD—using its supersonic wave filter according to the marketing literature—to remove any dust that may have landed on it while changing the lens.
Now, on to the sensor, or specifically the Four Thirds standard (named after the 4/3" diagonal of the imaging sensor). The standard is open, with at least Fuji so far indicating interest in developing lenses which is positive. The smaller imaging sensor, just like Canon's EF-S lens, should promise cheaper, lighter, and smaller lenses. The E-1 itself is about the same size as the Canon EOS 10D, bigger than both the EOS 300D and Pentax's *ist D. (Of course, most of the size of a camera system will be in the many lenses than the single (or dual) bodies.) Knowing that a lens system is what will make-or-break a new format, Olympus has announced five lenses it plans to release by the end of the year, all of which are at least f/2.8 on the widest focal length. The most common will likely be the 14-54mm (28-108mm equiv.; f2.8-f3.5) zoom for $600, but if you really need the reach the 2x crop factor will work in your favour with the 300mm f2.8 with an added 1.4x teleconverter giving the equivalent of an 840mm equivalent focal length for $855.
While the body feels like a pro body, with its solid metal construction and environmental sealing, the rest of the spec puts it in line with Canon and Nikon's second-tier bodies. Continuous drive is limitted to only three frames per-second and sensor noise is not as good as in the larger sensor of the EOS 10D (or 300D). All-in-all, the camera seems to be priced appropriately at $1,700 putting it in the same segment as the Nikon D100, Canon 10D, and Pentax *ist D—each with their trade-offs. Before buying into any new system, you will need to evaluate it, including its future. Olympus is showing all of the positive signs, but the E-1 feels limited. It is the flagship camera, but feels middle-of-the-road without the upgrade path offered by Canon or Nikon's competing products.