Olympus Pen E-P1 in Swarovski horror: You'll wish you were blind

By Rich Trenholm on 24 November 2009, 1:29pm

There we were, minding our own business, thinking about film locations and zombies and plugs, when an email popped into our inbox that made us want to scrub our eyes with bleach. We've seen some messed-up shiznit in our lives, but it's nothing to the ocular assault when Swarovski date-rapes the Olympus Pen E-P1.

Olympus has clearly looked at the Micro Four Thirds E-P1, a camera that has no viewfinder or flash and is already expensive, and thought, "How can we really mess it up?" In fact, the E-P1's most appealing aspect was its appealing aspect: finished in retro silver or louche off-white, it looked smashing.

The limited edition E-P1 is slathered with hundreds of small crystals, and looks smashed. Fortunately it's limited edition, so hopefully you'll never have to see it again ahead of the release of the Olympus Pen E-P2. In the meantime, bathe in the full horror with our pictures.

Pen

Olympus has dabbled in these waters before, but that was relatively restrained compared to this abomination. We've seen some Swarovski eyesores, but this miscreation takes the cake. In fact it doesn't just take the cake, it swipes the cake from an old people's home on Christmas day, then burns down the old people's home, then rubs the cake all over its face and runs around naked taunting the homeless and people with disabilities. That's how morally wrong this thing is.

Pen

It comes in a limited-edition wooden box with two lenses and a flash. Not that you'll need the flash with half a disco ball slapped on the front.

The special edition E-P1 is only available to order from Micro Anvika in the sound and vision department of Harrods. A standard Olympus Pen costs around £600. This thing, this thing, costs £2,000. Two. Grand. Yes, we know it's a PR stunt rather than a real product, but good grief. If your eyes can take it, check out our showcase of most blingtastic gadgets.