dpreview have taken the time and tested the autofocusing performance of the E-PL1 with the latest firmware update for Olympus’ PEN series. Their result: The E-PL1 with firmware 1.1 is on par with the Panasonic G1 when used with the M.Zuiko 14-42/3.5-5.6 kit zoom, and about 20% faster than the E-P2 with firmware 1.0. Paired with Panasoic’s kit zoom, the Lumix G 14-45/3.5-5.6, the E-PL1 focuses another 20% faster.

You can read the full article here.

This gives hope that the E-P1 and E-P2 also perform considerably better with the new firmware. Also, this means that the PENs’ focusing slowness is for a big part due to the kit lens’ slow focusing mechanism, as the overall performance now seems to be on par (or at least close to) that of the Panasonic models.

Sadly, I couldn’t find my USB connector cable (YAY for proprietary connectors …) this morning, so I had no chance to perform the update on my E-P1 myself yet. But since my Lumix 20/1.7 is still with Panasonic, I can take the time and wait until a new cable arrives from eBay …