Metering
For photographers just starting out, evaluative metering will be the most regularly used metering setting. Thankfully, when in this mode the E-PL1 does an excellent job in most lighting situations. When faced with a dark foreground and bright but overcast sky, the evaluative metering mode seems to carefully expose images so that the foreground shows detail but without burning out the sky. On occasions this means that the foreground is still a little underexposed, but it is easy enough to correct the exposure in-camera or to adjust the image curve using editing software.
Spot and centreweighted metering modes will help to obtain more accurate exposures as the beginner’s level of ability advances, but two other spot metering modes are also available. Like the other Olympus Pen and DSLR cameras, the E-PL1 has shadow and highlight spot metering to help ensure that light and dark areas are correctly exposed.
These extra metering settings make the E-PL1 a great option for learning about how to use spot metering to obtain the correct exposure. Combined with the exposure compensation button and the in-camera histogram, it is easy to obtain well-exposed images with this camera.
Image: In most situations the E-PL1 produces well-exposed images with a good level of detail
