As announced, firmware updates for the Olympus PEN series are now available for download. The updates can be downloaded via the Olympus Digital Camera Update software application. We've been testing the final version of firmware v1.1 for the E-PL1 and here include the autofocus tests from our forthcoming review of the camera. This testing was conducted to test the E-PL1. Here we compare it, using the latest firmware, to the E-P2 using original firmware and the Panasonic G1, all using the same lens. To show the effect of using a fast lens, the E-PL1 was also tested using the Panasonic kit lens. Further testing shows the G1's performance with its own lens to be indistingishable from the E-PL1's result and that the E-P2 with the latest firmware gives the same results as the E-PL1.
Autofocus
One of the biggest criticisms aimed at the PEN series of cameras has been the speed of their autofocus. With its most recent firmware updates (version 1.1 in the case of the E-PL1), Olympus has tried to address the issue. Results of our testing were interesting - the E-PL1's speed was around 20% faster
The graphs below show the results of our focus test using the Olympus 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 lens on the E-PL1, the E-P2 and the Panasonic G1. For comparative purposes, the E-PL1 was also tested with the Panasonic 14-45 F3.5-5.6 OIS. Each camera was timed three times focusing from infinity focus to 10m, from infinity to 1m, then again from closest focus distance to 10m and 1m. These twelve measurements for each camera were combined to calculate an average focus time. The tests were conducted twice, at each extreme of the lenses' zoom range.
The E-PL1 was running firmware v1.1, the E-P2 was running version 1.0 and the G1 was running version 1.4. (We also tested the E-PL1 with firmware 1.0 and found it to be indistinguishable from the E-P2)
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