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February 12, 2010
[REVIEW—OLYMPUS PEN E-P2]
Price: $1800
Sweet compromise between size and quality
The low-down: This 12.3 megapixel camera is the second Olympus entry into the Micro Four Thirds camera category (which it shares with Panasonic). The E-P2 is essentially the E-P1 with an added electronic viewfinder which is not optional, but comes as part of the kit. It slips into the flash mount and plugs into a socket just under the bracket. The standard 14–42mm collapsible Zuiko lens is the same as offered with the E-P1. The new camera is distinguished with a pleasant black finish. It is best to think of it as an Olympus E650 DSLR with the mirror and prism removed, meaning that the relatively compact body delivers SLR quality images. There is 720 line video recording. The LCD is unchanged and is low resolution compared with the Panasonic GF1, its only competitor. Otherwise the fit and finish are exemplary. Some reviewers complain about the menu interface but we have had no issues with it.
Like: The image quality from the E-P twins is superb. Colours are rich without being over-saturated. Auto focusing and exposure are good with exposure compensation easily to hand. The electronic viewfinder – not our favourite device – does make it easier to use legacy manual focus lenses.
Dislike: The EVF is a cut above any other we have used but it still falls short on showing true-to-life brightness and contrast. It is like looking at a very small TV very close up, but at least in this case it is a high definition TV.
Verdict: The Olympus twins are wonderful cameras. We took our E-P1 to the tennis and used it with an old lens, attached with an official adapter and it gave good results without being ostentatious. The E-P2 is just that little bit better.
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Posted by terry at February 12, 2010 09:07 AM
