Olympus is celebrating after its Pen E-P1 recently won Camera of the Year at the Japan Camera Grand Prix, beating around 200 other cameras to top spot.
?By dispelling the ?big and heavy? image of conventional DSLRs, the camera successfully appealed not only to camera fans but also to people in a wide age group, mainly a younger segment,? said judges at the annual awards, organised by Japan?s Camera Journal Press Club.
This is the first time an Olympus camera has secured such an honour, from a group that includes journalists from the country?s leading camera and photography publications.
They said the Pen E-P1 ?successfully combined the concept of the legendary Olympus Pen masterpiece? with ?state-of-the-art technologies?.
Judges added: ?The Olympus Pen E-P1 achieves a favourable balance between reduction in size and weight and high image quality.?
The camera also came first in an online poll of Japanese camera journal readers – a move that organisers said underscores the camera?s ?wide-ranging popularity among the general public’.
Judges assessed cameras launched onto the Japanese market between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010.
