The instruction manual for the XZ-1 is over 80 pages long and there is no way all the features and controls can be described here, so I’ll just highlight a few of the things that I like, or in some cases dislike.

When you pick up the XZ-1 it feels quite solid and well made. Some people may find it a little small in the hand - but what do you expect from a compact camera! Your clothing preferences may determine how you feel about its portability. It fits in a trouser pocket unless you wear tight jeans. Its a little bit bulky for a shirt pocket, but it fits easily into my coat pocket.

Pressing the ‘on’ switch causes the lens to extend and the rear monitor to come on. A useful, if inadvertent feature, is that if you have forgotten to take the lens cap off, the lens pushes it off as it extends! It is retained by a string so you won’t lose it. I know that some people don’t like the detachable lens cap on this camera or the Panasonic LX series, because it falls off too easily, but I actually prefer it. The only problems I have had with my other compact digital cameras have been with the automatic lens caps failing to open or close. The manual lens cap, assuming you use the retaining string so you can’t lose it, cannot go wrong. What would be nice is a bayonet or screw fitting for the lens cap, because it is very easy to accidentally knock it off. However this would also require an ‘on’ switch that couldn’t be operated if the lens cap was in place. A lockable on/off switch would also be an improvement so that you couldn’t accidentally switch the camera on in a case or pocket.

The layout of the XZ-1 is quite simple and the most frequently used functions have either direct control buttons or a simple dial or ring. You don’t need to access menus all the time. For example, if you need to work quickly, without thinking too much, turn the mode dial to ‘iMODE’, compose and shoot. Its easy. This applies to still or cine photography, the only difference being that for the latter you press the dedicated movie record button instead of the shutter release. More often than not you will get a useable result. The camera may even be smarter and quicker than you!

A very useful feature in iMODE is the ‘Live Guide’ interface, which allows rapid adjustments to exposure, saturation, colour temperature, and background blur as well as giving some shooting tips for different situations. Although intended for novices even experienced users will find the ability to make rapid adjustments to these settings very convenient.

On the front of the camera is a very useful and ergonomic ring around the lens which allows you to change settings according to which mode you are in. For example, say you want to control depth of field or the way motion is captured. Turn the mode dial on the top of the camera to aperture or shutter priority as appropriate, rotate the lens ring with your left hand until the desired setting appears on the monitor, adjust composition and shoot. In shutter priority the lens ring controls the shutter speed, in aperture priority it controls the aperture. In program mode the lens ring changes the ISO setting.

The wide angle lens and iMODE make snapshots like this easy. (This is not the Geneva Motor Show!)

Using the built in flash involves a deliberate act. You need to switch it on to extend it ready for use. This is another feature that I like because it means that I can leave the flash set on ‘auto’ on the menu but with the flash safely stowed so that I don’t need to worry about it firing when I don’t want it to, unlike other cameras I have owned where you have to remember to set the flash to ‘off’ as the default.

When you first unpack the camera you will find it set to the manufacturers ‘default’ settings. If you change these default settings the camera remembers so you don’t have to make changes each time that you switch the camera on. So for example, the image stabiliser is normally ‘on’. If you want to use the camera on a tripod it is necessary to turn it off. Once turned off it stays off until you deliberately reset it. Also the ‘default’ JPEG compression setting is not the highest quality one. My first landscape shots were a little blurry in the details and disappointing until I noticed this and reset the camera to ‘fine’ compression rate instead of ‘normal’. The effective difference according to the manual is 10 compared to 7.7 megapixels.

The megapixel count is also affected by the aspect ratio that you choose. Changing the aspect ratio is easily done by scrolling down to the ratio symbol on the right hand side of the screen and selecting the appropriate ratio with the left or right side of the rear control wheel. The camera offers 4:3 (default), 16:9, 3:2 and 6:6. Put another way the ratio of the short side to the long side of the frame is 1:1.33, 1:1.78, 1:1.5 or 1:1 respectively. JPEGS are cropped accordingly to files sizes of 10, 7.5, 8.8 and 7.5 megapixels, so if you want the most pixel real estate you should use 4:3 format. Also note that RAW files are not cropped, so if you shoot RAW you can choose the aspect ratio later.

These two pictures of Australia’s Old Parliament House illustrate the 16:9 and 6:6 ratios:

One question I have for all camera manufacturers is why not offer as the default a ratio of 1:1.414 (ie 1 to the square root of 2)? This is the basis of the A series of paper sizes, which for the benefit of those who don’t know, retain this ratio no matter what size A series paper you print on. (So, for example, if you fold an A3 piece of paper in half along the long side you get A4 size, and the ratio of the of the short side to the long side remains the same).

Until recently I have tended to regard movie modes on still cameras as a bit of a gimmick. However, on a couple of recent holidays I have succumbed to the temptation to film events when a still photo was not going to do the scene justice. My personal examples include such things as watching bungee jumpers in New Zealand, and Zulu dancers in South Africa. The XZ-1 makes it really easy to switch to movie mode because all you have to do to start shooting is press the dedicated movie record button. I presume the option of using high capacity SDHC and SDXC cards in the XZ-1 is there because of the memory needs of the movie mode. I personally prefer to use several smaller capacity SD cards rather than putting all my eggs in one basket. A single 2Gb SD card can capture 94 RAW+JPEG at the highest quality and largest aspect ratio settings, which is usually sufficient for my needs.

The rear of the camera is dominated by the large (approx. 7 x 5 cm) monitor. Like all cameras, this is often very difficult to see outdoors and frankly the electronic viewfinder is almost a necessity if you can afford it. I had to guess the composition for this shot as I could barely see the screen. I had to straighten the picture afterwards to get the flag poles vertical.

If you haven’t already set the monitor at the highest brightness you can make the screen temporarily brighter by pressing the ‘info’ button on the bottom right corner of the back and holding it down. It reverts to normal brightness about 10 seconds after you release the pressure.

I decided I needed the electronic viewfinder, which is the same as the one used on the Pen series (VF2). It looks a little ungainly perched on top of the camera but it solves the outdoor viewing problem extremely well. A better solution in the long term would be for Olympus to integrate the viewfinder into the camera. It has a diopter adjustment, and the full screen can be easily seen even if you wear glasses. It also tilts through 90 degrees which is handy if you are photographing something close to the ground. All the icons appear in the viewfinder, and their configuration can be changed by pressing the ‘info’ button on the back of the camera, just as you would for the rear monitor. When you switch the viewfinder on the rear monitor automatically switches off. I found it easy to change settings whilst looking through the viewfinder.


You don’t need to carry the manual around to use this camera. After a few days of use you will find it very easy to change settings quickly, and the camera provides a few reminders. For example, the mode dial is one of the most used controls. It has firm click stops and when you change the mode a message appears on the monitor screen to tell you what the selected mode does. The ‘info’ button changes how much information is shown on the monitor and allows you to easily get rid of all the symbols if you prefer a plain screen for composition.

Despite the outdoor viewing problem, my overall verdict on handling has to be that it is excellent. It soon becomes intuitive, but the camera also provides reminders about its various functions if you need them. You will rarely need to refer to the manual.

In the next installment I’ll deal with the quality of the results from the XZ-1, and play with some of the features like the art filters and ‘Live Guide’ settings.

I am driving when my phone rings so I hand it to my wife to answer. It’s Dot from my local photographic store (the only dedicated photo store surviving in a city of 350,000 people) to tell me that the XZ-1 has just arrived and she has reserved one for me. The secret is out! I had ordered it two weeks earlier when even Olympus Australia couldn’t tell me when it might be available. So I shall start by awarding a ‘gold star’ to Olympus for getting the product into the shops only a few weeks after announcing it. Other manufacturers take note!
Two hours later I am in the store. In the display cabinet I see an actual XZ-1 for the first time. Its a white one. It looks very elegant in that livery, and I am tempted, but in the end I choose a black one for a very practical reason. When I am hiking in the Australian wilderness my hands are not always very clean. The dirt won’t show so much on a black one! It’s the first one they have sold.
A little later I open the box. Inside are the camera, battery, cables, warranty cards, cd, mains/usb adaptor, lens cap and retaining cord, quick start instructions,and neck-strap.
Seeing the mains/usb power adaptor reminds me why, despite having paid more for an ‘official’ import than I would have for a ‘grey’ import, I bought it from my local camera store. It comes with the correct cable for our electrical system and a solid warranty if I have any problems. It also helps to keep the local store in business, which I value because I like the staff, they know what they are talking about and understand what they are selling. They also stock things like chemicals, film and negative sleeves and other paraphernalia which I also still use.
I put the battery into the camera. Whilst I am putting a memory card in I inadvertently press the ‘on’ button and the lens extends. The battery has enough charge in it to start taking pictures, but I decide first to plug it into the computer with the usb cable to charge it fully. As I do this the computer starts the Canon Camera Window program supplied with my Canon G7 and describes it on the desk-top as a Canon camera! I must remember to re-format the card! I put the cd into the computer and copy the manual. The Olympus ‘IB’ software is only compatible with Windows and I use a Mac, so I was unable to download it. This is of little importance to me as I would probably not use it but others might find this a problem. I therefore have no comment to make on the adequacy of the supplied software other than it is completely useless on a Mac!

About half an hour later I can’t resist the temptation any longer so I detach the camera from the computer and go off in search of a photo-opportunity.
Here is one of my first few pictures, which I took before reading the manual. It appears as it came out of the camera, along with a crop from the centre (with just a hint of sharpening in Aperture):

I bought this camera to replace my aging Canon G7. What I wanted was a compact, light weight camera capable of producing good quality A2 size prints (as I can with my Canon G7) and with useable low light performance. A non-interchangeable lens was a factor too so I wouldn’t have to worry about sensor cleaning. The main use will be for family snaps, travel and bushwalking (that’s the Australian term for hiking in wilderness areas). So how well does it meet my expectations? I’ll start with the physical dimensions.
The XZ-1 has a slender body with an obvious styling relationship to the Pen series.
The dimensions in the published specifications are a little misleading and the camera feels smaller than you might think. The reason is that the body of the camera, excluding the lens, is quite thin. For example, the Canon G7 has published dimensions of 106x76x43 mm (the current model G12 is a little larger, but the G7 is the camera I have available for comparison). The XZ-1 is marginally smaller at 111x65x42mm. From the front they look very similar in size:

However the Olympus feels much smaller. The reason is that, apart from being a lot heavier, the Canon’s body has a much greater overall volume, whilst the lens, when retracted, hardly protrudes at all. The XZ-1’s body is only about 25mm deep compared to the Canon’s nearly 40mm, but the lens protrudes much more on the Olympus.

The camera in ‘ready for action’ mode, by which I mean including the battery, memory card and the supplied carrying strap, weighs 285 grams. This compares with 372 grams for my old Canon G7, the camera that I am replacing (the current G12 is heavier). I always carry a spare battery which in this case only weighs 19 grams (versus 43g for the Canon), and if I am traveling I also must also carry the charger for the Canon which is another 69g. The XZ-1 battery is charged in the camera and I think I can use the same charger that I use for my iPod Touch. This adds up to a weight saving of 180 grams for me, which may not seem much but you need to know that I’m the kind of guy that cuts his toothbrush in half to save weight when I’m hiking or traveling! When I travel overseas for a few weeks I can sometimes manage with cabin baggage only!
So the XZ-1’s physical dimensions suit my needs very well, but how well does it handle? Before going any further I decide to do something that all manufacturers recommend but which I am usually too impatient to do. I sit down and read the manual from cover to cover.
The Olympus XZ-1 manual comes in the form of a PDF document on a compact disc. The illustrations and explanations are generally very clear and concise. Considering the complexity and number of functions of the camera they have done an admirable job. Having said that, I remind you that I managed to take my first pictures without reading it as the various controls are fairly intuitive if you have handled digital cameras before. It can be as simple as 1. switch the camera on, 2. select iAUTO on the top dial, 3. Point at subject and press the shutter button. I’m not sure if iMODE stands for intelligent or idiot mode but it works quite well.

So far I am extremely happy with my purchase. In the next installment I’ll comment on how well it handles, and show you some more photographs taken with it.
Best

Iain