Olympus reveals specs, prices for its smallest PEN camera

First announced at the end of June, today Olympus delivered the final specifications and pricing for its most compact interchangeable-lens camera, the E-PM1. Though at $499.99 it's the least expensive of Olympus' 2011 models, two of the first-generation models, the E-PL1 and E-P1, remain in the product line at the same price. There's no doubt that the PM1 is the smallest and lightest of the group, though.

Here's Olympus' current PEN lineup. (Sorry, no room in table for E-P2 specs.)

There's one notable change since the initial announcement: it looks like Olympus decided to bundle the optional flash rather than make it an extra cost. That's a good move. Like Panasonic's GF3, Olympus is more firmly targeting the point-and-shoot upgrader with this model--no mode dial and a very limited, snapshooter-oriented set of controls on the back of the camera. I have to say, though, the E-PL3, which is just a little larger and more expensive, but offers the tilting LCD, built-in flash, and physical mode dial, still looks a little more appealing. That said, if the E-PM3 can match the performance of the E-P3 (it's got many of the same innards, so the only way it might not is if Olympus puts a slow SD card controller or insufficient memory in it), it looks like it might be a compelling alternative to many of the point-and-shoots on the market.

Of course, it's not alone out there. Here's how the competition stacks up:

It hasn't hit the $399 price point I was hoping for, but it's still extremely competitive with this year's other small ILCs. The GF3 is really its biggest alternative; it's roughly the same size, with the same feature set and probably comparable performance. The NEX-C3 is more expensive, less feature rich, and not as fast. In this class especially I think sensor-shift image stabilization makes more sense, because it works with every lens. The Pentax Q is smaller than all of them, but it's also a lot more expensive and uses a smaller, as-yet untested sensor and new lens mount with very, very few lens options. I'm looking forward to testing this one.