Olympus PEN E-P2 12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 17mm f/2.8 Lens and Electronic View Finder
- 12.3-megapixel interchangeable lens digital camera; Micro Four Thirds format
- Includes 17mm f/2.8 lens and Electronic View Finder
- 3-inch HyperCrystal LCD with Live View function; Continuous Autofocus (C-AF) tracking system
- Record HD video with high-quality audio; Full Manual Control of shutter/aperture in Movie Mode
- iEnhance to automatically adjust color and contrast for a more dramatic effect
- Capture images and video to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)
OLYMPUS 262828 12.3 Megapixel E-P2 Pen Camera Kit (Includes M.Zuiko 17mm lens)
List Price: $ 1,099.99
Price: $ 999.99
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Really nice piece of kit,
I am a long-time amateur photographer. I gave up on digital SLRs for the simple reason that I always ended up only carrying them and their accessories on big occasions or holidays. Result was, I had a camera, but few pictures.
Next I bought a good pocket cameras, e.g. Panasonic etc and most recently the Ricoh GX200 which the E-P2 is replacing. These were nice. Picture-taking resumed but slow response compared to DSLRs and overall quality of the finished product always left a slight feeling of disappointment. With imaging chips of the size they use, this is only to be expected (just as compact cassettes by definition could not deliver decent audio).
Enter the E-P2 with its much larger sensor. I have had my E-P2 with 17mm pancake lens for a week now and simply love it. Responsive as an SLR, chunky but hardly larger than the Ricoh, it works like a dream in auto and more manual modes. (And who needs a zoom with this kind of resolution? – Just crop the bit you want from the immense pictures it takes).
In brief, and avoiding tech talk, this is a quality piece of kit. Looks like quality. Feels like quality. Works like quality. It’s an SLR in a pocket camera body. (And – with apologies to the reviewer above – I love the quiet chunky sound and feel of the shutter.)
I think I’ve found ‘my’ camera at last – at the end of long, dollar-strewn trail!.
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|Many things to like and dislike at the same time!,
Olympus `PEN’ E-P2 is Olympus second micro four third system camera which is an improved version of Olympus PEN E-P1 12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 17mm f/2.8 Lens and Viewfinder (Silver). Both cameras has very similar body design and features. The main different is E-P2 has optional electronic viewfinder and external microphone while E-P1 does not. Because they are very similar, Many part of this review is applicable to E-P1 as well.
Olympus E-P2 main specs (shared with E-P1)
* 12MP Live Mos sensor 4/3 sensor
* HD 720p video at 30 fps with stereo sound recording
* Built In Image Stabilization
* Dust removal mechanism (SSWF)
* Eight Art filters for creative processing and fun (E-P1 has six)
* 3 frames per second continuous shooting.
* No built-in flash nor AF assist light
Below are new features that added to Olympus E-P2
* Manual focus and aperture control in video mode
* AF tracking (focus lock for moving objects)
* Magnified Focus Assist
* Tiltable hi-res electronic viewfinder with 100% coverage and 1.15X magnification
* Optional microphone adapter for better sound
BODY & CONTROL
Olympus E-P2 weights 385 g with memory card and battery. The dimension is 4.74in (W) x 2.75in. (H) x 1.37 in (D) / 120.5 mm (W) x 70mm (H) x 35mm (D) (excluding protrusions). It is significantly smaller than regular DSLR camera. Camera body is around 120g lighter than beginner DSLR camera. It feels solid and dense. If you are coming from compact camera, you will feel this camera a bit heavy. It is around 2-3 times heavier than advanced compact camera. If you are coming from DSLR camera especially from Olympus DSLR camera, you will love the reduction in size. However, this camera is not light. For comparison, E-420 weights 370g and E-620 weights 475g body only.
That being said, E-P1/2 is not a pocket-able camera (it will fits only in large jacket/coat pocket). You might find yourself carrying it around more than you carry a DSLR camera, but this camera can’t compete with compact camera in portability.
Olympus E-P2 construction quality and design are worthy of praise. The outer shell are 85% metal. Plastic are still there for buttons and round dial. Design wise, it is very classy, retro style. I especially like the leather texture grip. However, some people might prefer more industrial design like Leica X1 or Panasonic GF1. It depends on each individual taste.
Olympus E-P2 has one thumb dial, one round dial, and four-way controller and two customizable function buttons. To change major setting such as ISO, AF mode, WB are very easy because there are dedicated buttons embedded in four-way controller. You can also access quick menu by pressing OK button. Unfortunately, the quick menu is unlike super control panel that I find in Olympus DSLR cameras. It is more similar to compact camera function menu.
Like E-P1, Olympus E-P2 does not have built-in flash. This is quite a blunder by Olympus because built-in flash is very useful for various scene, where you want to use flash to fill-in shadow or use it to light up an extremely dark room.
Ergonomically, it is very pleasing. The curves are in the right place. The protruding leather grip is really nice. Buttons and dials are placed within reach of your right hand thumb.
LCD SCREEN & ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER
Olympus E-P2 has 3′ LCD screen with 230k dots. It is basic compared to many other DSLR and compact camera which has 460k or 910k. However, it is good enough for basic review and composition. It is also quite clear for manual focusing.
The electronic viewfinder is very bright and big. It has more than 1 million dots. Manual focusing is very clear and easy, thanks to 10x full screen magnification. In low light condition, the viewfinder become grainy and it is harder to focus. Compared to viewing optical viewfinder, my eyes get tired faster when viewing EVF for a long time. In practice, you need to choose whether you want to use the rear LCD panel or viewfinder to compose a picture. You can’t activate both.
Another criticism of the EVF is the built quality, it is has plastic shell which does not complement E-P2 metal body. It is also big and not very attractive. However, the EVF is stick to the hot shoe steadily. So you don’t have to worry about the EVF slipping away from camera body.The EVF as compositional tool is not ideal, but it is good and practical enough to use regularly.
IMAGE QUALITY
Image quality I get from the camera and 17mm f/2.8 pancake is not very stellar. It is hard…
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|nice camera, but can be better,
It is a very nice camera, but i would only talk about what i do not like it about since there are already many good comments on E-P1.
1. the back dial wheel is very hard to use unless you disable the up/down/left/right function.
2. is part of the camera body made of plastic?
3. shutter is a little bit noisy.
4. focusing is kind of slow.
5. last thing, i do not know how to carry the camera. I hope i can find a Zing pouch which can hold it.
I did not buy E-P1 since i want a black camera body, and i had thought the EVF would be a must for my Leica M lenses. But when i got E-P2 i realized that EVF does not make it faster to use a manual lens compared to back LCD. And the plastic EVF is so big (and brittle maybe), this made the camera body not good looking and not good handling because your nose touches LCD all the time when using EVF.
So if your budget is kind of tight, i would recommend E-P1 given the $340.00 ($450.00 price difference for the zoom lens kit!!!) price difference.
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