Above, you see Olympus' "The PEN Story," a charming collection of some 9600 prints strung together in stop motion animation. From the video's YouTube description:

This is the PEN Story in stop motion. We shot 60.000 pictures, developed 9.600 prints and shot over 1.800 pictures again. No post production! Thanks to all the stop motion artists who inspired us. We hope you enjoy :-) Song & Lyrics by Johannes Stankowski
Produced and Arranged by Michael Kadelbach.

Thanks all around! Thanks for everyone! Now watch this, posted months before the E-P1 was even announced:


That's "Stop motion with wolf and pig," a video made by this Japanese fellow. The aesthetic similarities are obvious, but forgivable. The conceptual similarities? Not so much. Our tipster:

From the beginning with opening envelope, to the stairs, trains, swimming, the whole thing is a complete rip off. Kind of crosses the line between inspiration and theft. Unless they hired him to do it, which seems unlikely.

That Olympus didn't directly thank Mr. Wolf 'n Pig doesn't take away from the fact that their video is equally—if not more—technically impressive than the one that inspired it, but it couldn't hurt to at least acknowledge the poor kid's work a little more directly. [Thanks, Nick B! <— (see, that wasn't so bad!)]

We get a good look at the interchangeable lenses, the rig itself, as well as a shot of the pretty pedestrian box. As we've said before, it's what's inside that counts with this sexy beast. [Recently Reviewed via Engadget]

Maybe it looks big because they have small hands, but it doesn't look like. And despite the nice film-emulation filters, it can only take seven minutes of 720p video, no matter how big is your flash memory card. Still, check the gallery. Aesthetically, it's retrolicious. Especially with the flash or the viewfinder on. [Engadget China]

DPReview has posted a selection of 14 clips (not embeddable), putting the sexy rangefinder-esque camera through its paces, in a selection of shooting conditions. They used a Panasonic 14-140mm lens on the Micro Four Thirds cam and shot most of the 720p footage in Aperture Priority mode.

First impressions are that the E-P1 could give some of the HD-shooting DSLRs a run for their money, especially once you put some better glass on it, since these were shot using the 14-140mm kit Lens from the Panasonic GH1. [DPReview]

In addition to wielding a 12.3 megapixel Live MOS sensor (the same 4/3 style as found in many mini-DSLRs) the retro-styled E-P1 "Digital Pen" has a three-inch LCD, in-body image stabilization, a dust reduction system and 19 automatic scene modes. It can also record HD video in 720p/30fps and includes a HDMI TV-out for direct playback.

There will be two Micro Four Thirds lenses available along with the camera for US release in July, a 17mm 1:2.8 Pancake and a 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6. Price-wise it comes in better than expected at $749 for body only, or $799 with the 14-42mm lens. My personal choice, though, would be the body with the 17mm for $899. [Akihabaranews]

According to 43rumors, the E-P1 will shoot 720p video, and retail for just under $1000:

SD storage
13MP RAW, JPEG, and RAW+JPEG modes
1280×720 video for 7 minutes at a time (presumably due to sensor heat)
640×480 video for 14 minutes
3" LCD with Liveview
ISO 200-6400
Shutter speed 60sec-1/4000sec

All we know for sure is, the styling is a bit more retro-sexy than expected, thankfully, and an official (Japanese) announcement is due tomorrow. [43Rumors, Akihabara]

All we've really got here are a few leaked photos—no specs, no price, no possible date of delivery—but what we can see, we really like. There's no front photo yet, but all signs point to a modern reimagining of the Pen F, which we outright demanded get the Micro Four Thirds treatment a few months ago. It's outfitted with a 17mm f2.8 prime lens, and looks to be about the size of a mid-to-large-sized point-and-shoot. Oh, and remember Olympus's expected June 15th announcement of a retro Micro Four Thirds camera, due for release in July? I've got a little tiny hunch that this might have something to do with it.

Photography blogs are buzzing with speculation about all facets of this (presumably) upcoming camera, but it's the concept, not the specific execution, that's exciting: we know Micro Four Thirds sensors can nearly match their APS-C counterparts in quality, and the the ever-expanding catalog of compatible glass ensures DSLR-like versatility for the emerging standard. Now, the format may well be getting its first body that people might actually want to buy. [1001NoisyCameras, 43Rumors via PocketLint]