I got mine on Saturday from a camera store here in Austin. The camera is nice and small but feels very solid. I was interested in the EP1 but could never get my mind around the practice of viewing and focusing on the back LCD screen. I was interested in this product segment because I have a collection of the Pen F half frame film cameras that this one is based on. I was very happy to learn that several people are making adapters that will allow me to use those old Pen F lenses on the EP2. I am looking forward to using two of my old favorites, the 60mm f1.5 and the 70mm f2.I took the EP2 and the kit zoom lens out for a three hour spin yesterday morning. It was 30 degrees outside and the first thing I discovered is that this is not a camera with an interface you can use with gloves on. The buttons are too small and require too much pressure with gloves.
In daylight I didn't notice any real problem with focusing. It was not as slow as I was led to believe. BUT, it does do this little "focus on either side of sharp" and then lock and shoot that takes a few tenths of a second each time you autofocus. The cure is to switch the focus on control to the fn button or the ael button and then you can focus once and shoot until the subject/camera distance changes. It's definitely not bad. I also tried a bunch of low light focusing later in the evening and, with 60 watt household lights in various fixtures the focus locked pretty well.
You would be unwise to buy this camera without the EVF (electronic viewfinder). In my opinion this is what makes this camera and cameras like the Panasonic GF1 special. It's a great finder. Almost as clear and clean as a great optical finder. Better than the optical finders on the Olympus e300 and e520 cameras that I also own.
Here's why I really love the camera. I spent years and years shooting with a Hasselblad and I love composing images as squares. Several DSLR's with "LIve View" are available that can be configured to shoot different aspect ratios in Jpeg. Including the square. But when shooting portraits those cameras go through too much time consuming labor to use it effectively and the effect can only be seen on the rear LCD screen. On the EP2 this is not the case. The exposure is relatively instantaneous. And the camera can be used in a square format which you can view through the EVF.. You basically wind up with a 6x6 camera that shoots 9 megapixel files (the crop of the 12 megapixel sensor to square) at three frames per second.
The color and sharpness, even with the kit lens, is superb. Out of camera jpegs are something Olympus is famous for and this camera is even better than it's predecessors. I've also processed a few raw files with Capture One 5.01 and they are great but not that much better than a well exposed Jpeg.
I wrote a little review of the shooting experience on my blog.
At the end of the first paragraph is a link to a gallery of images. The image at the top of the blog is full size. Click on it to see just how sharp the files are.
The only unhappy note I have about the camera is that the BLS battery was "only" good for around 300 images. I always buy a spare battery when I buy a new camera so I had one in my pocket when the first battery became depleted. Keep in mind that it never got about 35degrees (f) while I was shooting and cold really messes with batteries. I presume you might be able to hit the 500 shot mark with warmer weather.
Finally, I am excited to shoot HD video with this camera. With adapters I'll be able to use some of the great lenses I've bought for my regular Olympus cameras.
Here is my con list:
1. The batteries could last longer....
2. The EVF plugs into a port under the hot shoe. It also takes over the hotshoe. This means that you can't use the hot shoe or even trigger a flash if the EVF is plugged in. This is a big deal. I wish the camera had a little pc terminal somewhere. Then I could use the EVF and still be able to trigger studio flashes.
3. Same thing for microphones. If you want to use an outboard mic for recording sound you'll need to use the same connection port. So you get to choose between EVF and microphone.
4. I wish there were more dedicated Olympus lenses for this format. I'd love a 20 or 25mm prime lens with a fast aperture. I think that would be sooooo cool. Maybe that's down the road.
All in all this is the camera I've wanted for a while. I am happy with it. It gets only four stars because of the multi-function port. On image quality it's five star. If they drop in price after the launch I will try to buy a second body. Have fun deciding between this and the Panasonic GF-1.
Likes:
Image quality, feel, size, weight. Really, you get great pictures up to ISO 400 (and I'm picky), and ISO 800 is completely usable. This is my replacement for a Canon G9, and this camera is just a little bit bigger and TONS better.
This is a system with multiple manufacturers. I'll be able to upgrade bodies and lenses from different companies without worrying about compatibility. Panasonic may make a better body a year or two from now -no worries, I'll just buy it and know my lenses will just work.
The 14-42 lens is really sharp. I've ordered the 45-200 and pre-ordered the super-wide 7-14 zoom. They all weigh about a pound. I also have a Gitzo Traveler. My travel photo kit will be quite nice, small and light. Ahhhhh!
I synch external 3rd-party strobes at 1/320th of a second. Very, very nice.
The electronic viewfinder is bright and clear. I really like the diopter correction.
Just OK:
The autofocus isn't as good as my prime DSLR (a Canon 1ds iii, so you know from whence I speak!), but is a heck of a lot better than normal point & shoots. The autozoom function while manual focusing is a nice touch, but in moderated-to-low light is too noisy to get tack-sharp focus. A "preview" button would be a nice workaround, but only if it was just used to temporarily freeze the zoomed view and show a quick focus check.
Dislikes:
As *everyone* says, you have your choice of one option at a time: strobe, electronic viewfinder, or external microphone connection. Arghhh!
The USB connector is some darned combo AV / USB thing. It is NOT compatible with standard USB cables. My suggestion: don't take the cable with you on the road, but instead use a separate card reader to download pictures.
The battery it came with is lame. Get a higher capacity battery for $9. In fact, get two! Maximal Power DB OLY BLS-1 Replacement Battery for Olympus Digital Camera/Camcorder (Black)
I really wish they made a very little strobe for this other than the Olympus FL-14 Flash for Olympus E-P1 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera. The FL-14 is lame (no tilt or swivel, low power), but the FL-36R is too big. The ideal setup would be to just use a wireless trigger and move the strobe off-axis.
The user interface is a little weird. I actually had to read the manual. I suspect this is just because I'm a Canon-head, but be warned. I'm getting used to it, which mostly means going into the secret setup menu (you have to turn on the detailed setup menu) and customizing things. One strong suggestion: set Auto-ISO to 100-400. No real penalty in picture quality at ISO 400, and you won't mind if the camera swings between 100 and 400 as it pleases.
The user interface requires you to use the wheel often, e.g. to change the f-stop/shutter tradeoff in "P" mode. It's way too easy to push on the ring and accidentally change a setting (e.g. ISO 100 --> 6400!). This has happened to me a few times.
The bracketing feature is useless for HDRs. You only get to change by 1 EV; you need two or three.
(In response to an excellent comment, here's a follow-up...)
I agree that ISO 1600 is "really good," but in my opinion 400 is the highest ISO that maintains the best quality. In fact, there's really no noise to clean up -even in solid red areas of the picture. 800 and above, you're trading off quality for sensitivity. I suspect we're really agreeing with each other, but I could have been more explicit. So, here goes: this thing has near-DSLR image quality in a very small, nice package. If you make huge prints, stick to 400 or lower (advice that's also relevant for all but the highest-end DSLRs); judicious use of Noise Ninja, et al, may allow you to push a bit past 400, but you're literally pushing your luck. ISO 1600 is fine for smaller prints, and more than fine for web pages, etc.
For the numerically inclined, here's the noise index from Noise Ninja:
ISO 100 11
ISO 200 14
ISO 400 20
ISO 800 28
ISO 1600 46
ISO 3200 99
ISO 6400 148
My rule of thumb: 20 and under is near-perfect, 20-30 is quite usable, and 40+ has issues.
And since I've written my original review, I've come to appreciate the auto-tracking continuous focus mode. I have my Fn key mapped to MF (manual focus), so I can bounce back and forth easily. I sure wish the camera had a few more mappable buttons, though. I'd really like to also get access to the white balance set command as well as the depth of field preview. Oh, well.
Also, I built a dual-illuminant DNG Color Profile for my E-P2. Amazing improvement! I was able to take a picture of the target on my LCD, bring the pic into Lightroom (where the profile is automatically applied), and then see that the colors of my displayed image exactly match the original. Nice stuff. Just google "dng color dual illuminant" to see how to do it.
As you can tell from the above, I also built some Noise Ninja profiles. Feel free to get them at
Finally, the nice guy who runs epaperpress made ptlens work with the E-P2 about an hour after I asked him to. I highly suggest using ptlens from Photoshop to correct barrel distortion, etc.I've been shooting with SLR's for years now. The quality for me has always overridden the fact that the systems were bulky and cumbersome to shoot with. But I had felt that the "fun" had sort of been sucked out of my photography. It's hard to be spontaneous with a large SLR and large lenses. Luckily for me, those days are over. The fun is back.
The Olympus E-P2 is simply fantastic. You've got SLR quality in a near pocketable package, and the result has opened up avenues of photography that haven't been available to me in years.
I've missed countless opportunities to take pictures because of the sheer mass of my SLR system and not wanting to lug it around. This little camera will stay with me more frequently and just begs to be used. You get the convenience of the point and shoot, but the quality you crave in your pictures.
Pros of this camera:
High ISO is really good. Pretty clean all the way up to 3200, and certainly printable.
Movie mode is of very high quality. Somebody with good lenses and a creative mind can make some magic here.
Ability to use old lenses with an adapter. Very nice feature, and the manual focus mode is especially nice because it magifies what you are trying to focus on automatically.
Picture quality has amazing detail and color. Olympus color is in full force here.
Portability. (I recommend getting the nice Panasonic 20mm 1.7 lens. It takes the quality and portability up a notch, and gives you a top notch low light system)
Viewfinder is really top notch and large and bright. This allows for viewing of pictures and movies out in the sun(something you couldn't really do with any camera before now).
Built in image stabilization, which will work on even old lenses up to 4 stops.
Negatives:
Slightly slower focus than an SLR(and even the panny GF1). Not bad though and for a live view system it's pretty peppy.
No built in flash. Not a negative for me. Built in flash results are atrocious. I got the little FL-14 for flash in a pinch.
Cost. A little pricey for everyone, but it's actually worth the money for everything you get.
This is really a nice camera. If you have legacy 4/3 lenses you can attach and autofocus them. If you have other system lenses you can use them with an adapter and they work well. The obvious competitor, the Panny GF1 is also a nice camera. Both have strengths and weaknesses but in the end I'm really happy I got the Olympus E-P2. It's stylish, uber powerful, portable, and just downright cool. I still can't believe how small it is. Quite an amazing achievement to fit this technology in this small of a body.I bought this camera for its light weight and high ISO performance. No disapointment in either area. My main camera is a Sony a700 with 18-250 zoom as my walkaround lens. I have a nine month old dgthr and the two together can be a bit much to carry. I am very happy with the portability of this camera the color and image quality is great. The autofocus is tricky and too slow in dim light. The manual focus has a 7x magnifier that activates when you turn the focus ring. I do a lot of night shooting and got great results with manual focus. The spot meter is REALLY touchy. I am getting pretty good at spot metering and then using exposure lock so I don't have to reset in manual. The camera is so good looking I can't put it down. The Olympus raw converter is adequate. I do not own photoshop. Occasionally I have to adjust white balance. That's it.
The video in this camera is terrific. I have a sony mini DVD camcorder which I will proobably never use again now that I have this camera.
This camera has a steep learning curve but if you love photography, you will love the ride. I started shooting my own 35 mm with a Honeywell Pentax in 1974. A teacher loaned my his Oly Pen in 1973. This camera brings back a lot of precious memories in incredible color and image quality.
It is NOT a point shoot. It is a real camera. I recommend it highlyWe're lucky when we shop for something and our choice is limited to two options. Such is the case with micro fourth-thirds cameras. The format has been around for at least 40 years, but digital micro four-thirds is new. The format appeals to photobugs because it represents a good compromise between the image quality of consumer SLRs and the size of compact cameras. The image sensor is only a third smaller than that of an SLR, but nine times the size of a typical compact camera. Since sensor size is intimately correlated with goodies like background blur ("bokeh") and lower color noise, along with the fact that pictures taken with bigger sensors are deeper and more accurate, micro four-thirds is a boon. With a compact prime ("pancake") lens attached, it's not too big for a coat pocket. Add to this that the lenses are interchangeable and the format is friendly (via adapter) to every imaginable lens mount --including legacy manual-focus classics often available inexpensively on eBay or molding away on your old film SLR body. This all adds up to an irresistible proposition for the early adopter whose neck hurts from hauling around a big hunk of metal and glass.
But as mentioned, there are two: The Olympus Pen (in this case we'll look at the E-P2) and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1. Which is better? Like so many things in a competitive economy, it's a set of trade-offs--the two cameras excel at different things. The best choice likely depends on your picture-taking. Let's compare the two, feature for feature.
1) Looks. When I first saw the Olympus E-P1 in silver, I fell in love with it. It's a beautiful camera. Soon the E-P2 came along and, though it's a far better camera, until recently it came only in black. Okay, it's not exactly black but more of a metallic dark grey in the body and black in the extremities. Personally, I don't like grey and black together. You might. Notheless, I thought the black Pen looked better than the Lumix so I bought it. Later, I got a closer look at the Lumix. Now I believe the Lumix is every bit as retro and handsome as the Olympus, but in a more Leica-ish, rangefinder-y way. This only makes sense since Lumix is a sister company to Leica. For looks, I'd say if you like silver the Olympus wins, if you like black the Lumix wins.
2) Fit and finish. The Lumix is built like a brick shithouse. You can squeeze it hard and there's no "give." Not that the Olympus is chintzy, it's just not as solid. Lumix wins.
3) Autofocus. This is critical. If you shoot action or have any other reason to use faster AF, the Panny wins hands down. If you use old manual lenses it couldn't matter less, but if your primary goal is to shoot kid soccer games using modern kit lenses, the faster AF is a decisive advantage for the Lumix.
4) High ISO. The Olympus measures at significantly lower noise in lowlit, high ISO situations (which is a good thing because the camera has no built-in flash). If you're allergic to flash photography and like indoor portraiture, this could be a significant factor in favor of the Olympus Pen.
5) Flash. The Panasonic has a built-in flash and, as mentioned, the Olympus doesn't. The outboard flash designed for the Pen system (FL-14) will set you back an extra hundy, and though it looks very cool and retro, it tends to blare a bit. It also can't be tilted to "bounce," off ceilings, and only has limited exposure compensation. If you need flash for parties and bad Facebook shots, Lumix wins.
6) Electronic viewfinder (EVF). The Pen balances out the flash disadvantage here. The base kit ships with an outboard viewfinder. The Lumix requires you to to buy one for more than a hundred bucks. More importantly (since this is photography so money ain't a thing) the Olympus viewfinder is better, brighter, and more adjustable than the Lumix. You may not even think you need a viewfinder until you try an EVF on a micro four-thirds camera. If you want to use manual lenses it's absolutely crucial. Both the Lumix and the Pen have manual focus assist so if, like me, your eyesight sucks, a press of a button will temporarily zoom you in so you can manually adjust focus on, say, the subject's eyelashes. It then pops back to normal so you can compose the shot. The keystrokes to accomplish this are more involved when you use old manual lenses. In the case of the Olympus, you have to put the camera in a specific mode to make MF assist engage with one keystroke. It then stays zoomed until you repeat the same keystroke, which can be awkward. The Lumix zooms itself back out automatically, even with legacy glass, but it requires two keystrokes to zoom in, so there's the same amount of button pushing. To me it seems more intuitive to have the MF assist self-cancel (unless I'm still struggling with finding focus when it does). In spite of this slight advantage, and that the Lumix has a higher-resolution LCD, the viewfinder on the Oly is included, and it spanks the finder on the Lumix. And no, they don't work mounted on each other's bodies. Olympus wins
7) Menu system. The Pen takes a lot of heat for having convoluted menus. To my mind these complaints rendered invalid by a simple setting whereby virtually every menu item is available in a single screen-view that you can navigate to with the touch of a convenient scroll wheel whereupon you can change any setting pretty much instantly. You almost never need to navigate the formal menus. I'm not sure if a similar feature exists on the Lumix, but it seems likely that if you have a Leica D-Lux 3 or 4 (Panasonic LX-2 or 3) you'll like the Panasonic better for its familiar menu system. In truth, this is likely a tie.
8) Kit lens. I prefer prime lenses and to date the finest prime created for the digital micro four-thirds format is the Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/2. It's a jewel, and works on both cameras. Even if you have the Pen you'll want to buy it. Yet it ships in the Panny prime-lens kit. On the other hand, if you like or need zoom lenses, the Oly zoom lens that ships with their zoom kit is better than the zoom that comes in the optional Panasonic kit, if only because it's retractable, making the camera pretty compact for having a fairly long focal range. Keep in mind that the micro four-thirds "crop factor" means that the effective length of a lens in this format is twice the actual (1:1) length of a lens. So the Lumix kit's prime 20mm is actually equivalent to an old-school "normal" lens. As a side note, not only is lens shopping cheaper in micro four-thirds thanks to old manual lenses (just don't develop a jones for Leica M-glass) but the 200% comparable focal length means you can get by with fewer specialty lenses. That 400mm white-ass golf lens that sets you back $8 grand and gets you punched by Sean Penn, in four-thirds format is accomplished by a little 200mm brand-x lens. But if you like prime lenses: Advantage Lumix. If you like zoom lenses: Advantage Pen.
9) Image stabilizer. Now this was the overwhelmingly decisive factor for me. I take natural light photos in some pretty dark places. Great legacy lenses and even the better optics in the modern world tend not to have their own internal image stabilizers. The Olympus has great in-body image stabilization. The Lumix doesn't. This means that any lens, no matter how old, is image stabilized on the Pen body. You not only don't have to buy stabilized lenses (which in many cases can be a $1K upgrade), but you can buy slower lenses. Combined with the strong high ISO performance, instead of a maximum aperture of f/1.4, you might be able to get away with a max aperture f/2 or even f/4. Look up Leica 50mm lenses and compare the price of the f/4 with the f/2.8 and the f/1.8 and finally the f/.90. Opening the aperture a few steps can add thousands faster than Nancy Pelosi's bar tab. And in the case of most manufacturers, at its most open aperture settings, the lens with the smaller maximum aperture outperforms the more expensive lens (that is, at f/5.6, the Canon 50mm f/1.4 beats the Canon 50mm f/1.2 in term of sharpness and distortion, and for less than a tenth of the cost). What this means in practice is that you should always buy a fast lens for the way it renders at its widest setting. If an in-body stabilizer effectively widens that widest setting by allowing you to increase your shutter speed in low light, it may very well negate the need for extravagant glass (or better yet, allow you to buy slower glass from an extravagant manufacturer). Big win: Olympus.
Which brings us to the skinny: The Olympus E-P2 and the Panasonic Lumix GF1 test as indistinguishable in image quality. They both take great pictures, share the same lenses, and are fun as hell.
If your thing is portraits, flowers (ugh), still-lifes, pets (ugh) and landscapes, and you don't shoot a lot of action, the Olympus wins for its in-body stabilization and high iso performance.
If your thing is action, hyper kids, sports, and other chaos, and you're hard on your cameras, the Lumix is better. It's also better if you need a flash--for instance if you bring cameras to dark parties or tend to shoot in Auto Mode.
You really can't go wrong either way.
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