Olympus PEN E-P2 gets reviewed and starts shipping out
By Darren Murph 
posted December 9th 2009 9:27AM
posted December 9th 2009 9:27AM
posted December 9th 2009 9:27AM
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nice, but i'd rather buy an old, real, large-format for that money.
@pencilmind
For the price of an E-P2 you might be able to pick up an ok LF lens. Or maybe an adequate tripod. And don't forget the drum scanner ;-).
A better use of the bucks might be medium format. A decent 6x6 can be had for a very reasonable price these days, provided you don't want a Rollei.
Finally, as to the E-P2 itself, the VF alone is worth the price, by all accounts.
Once again, overshadowed by the better GF-1
@victor
The one without in-body image stabilisation and can't autofocus all 4/3 lenses?
It does have faster focus when it does focus though, and an in-built flash.
So which one overshadows which depends on which features you hold dearest to your heart...
@Sarig Don't forget an AF assist lamp, arguably better low light noise, and a great pancake kit lens option.
@victor
Oh yeah, the AF assist lamp, I just can't fathom why Olympus would leave one out. The better low light performance however is very debated. (They use the same sensor, but different processing).
The pancake is great, but can be bought for the Olympus as well of course.
Anyway, since both cameras have such a lot of compromises, I'm waiting to see what next year brings ;) I'm going to buy into micro 4/3's, but having tried both the GF1 and Pen e-1, I didn't feel like buying either...
@Sarig Tried both....and though they are similar, the GF1 was a bit better. Understanding the pending arrival of the E-P2, I went with the GF1, and just got it last week.
It's not image quality that needed work in the E-P1. It's auto-focus speed. It's not always suitable or amateur friendly to shoot it like a early 80''s, pre-Minolta Maxxum 7000i camera, although it can be fun. At least they gave it a good EVF - but as above, still doesn't beat the GF1.
If you can mount M mount lenses, then you don't need no stinking AF :) (or evf for that matter).
The price is too much though.
@Ziltoid the omniscient Depends on if it's my only camera I guess. I have lots of fun shooting with MF SLRs, and other people use crazier equipment, but if it's my only camera I want it to do it all.
@Ziltoid the omniscient if ur talking about leica m lenses, than ur totally wrong. first off, they only mount on LEICAs (or some voigtlanders i guess) and that ain't gonna change anytime soon. true, you don't need af or an evf, but you do need a viewfinder with a rangefinder. personally, i would rather have that than slow af, but most people prefer the later. and if ur just talking about manual focus lenses, then you would still need an evf to see what ur doing (and u can manually focus the micro 4/3s lenses anyway)
@forgettfuldude
Indeed I mean Leica M lenses. There are several adapters that let you mount M lenses in micro 4/3 cameras.
I usually shoot rangefinders with the distance scale, so the EVF is a bit superfluous to me (and not to mention ugly).
I own an EP-1 and I love it. I agree that the image quality did not need work. True the autofocus is not fast however the problem is not the speed. The problem is the lack of an autofocus assist lamp.
In low light situations sometimes the camera will not be able to focus at all because there is no light to focus.
Thats the only gripe i have with the camera. Still I dont regret my purchase of the EP-1. Its a beautiful product and I think it looks alot better in white and silver than the new black.
@emikey Lack of AF assist really hurts my 500D too in social situations.
By the way, in spanish "PEN E-P2" reads as "Penis Farts". Wonder how they will call the camera here...
sexy little bugger
The price point is reflective of the fact that this camera comes with a $300 electronic viewfinder. If you don't want or like the viewfinder, buy the E-P1. Or wait until next year when Olympus eventually releases the camera as a 'body only" version.
I own the EP-1 and have absolutely loved it. I took it to Zions National Park in Southern Utah over the summer and must say, the portability of it was wondrous!
The auto focus is fast enough for most shots. 1/2 second max. If you buy this to shoot sports, you are missing the point.
Heres a shot of a helicopter flying low and fast I shot with it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26147241@N07/4034701723/
MicroFourThirds fills the niche between compacts and SLRs in terms of size, image quality, and one would have thought, price. I'm among those who consider M4/3 the most interesting camera development in years, but I'm also among those who ain't buying till the price comes in line with the functionality of the niche it occupies.
I guess right now it occupies the "oh look, shiny!" niche, but it would sure be a shame if Oly and Panny killed it by failing to move it out of that niche soon. They can't be selling enough at these prices to earn back their development costs.
It looks awesome. But it doesn't even have flash? Man! My mom works for olympus but in their medical industry she told me that the olympus camera department has sunk and is being kept alive by its medical scopes. OLYMPUS! PUT IN FLASH! Gosh!
If you need a flash, buy a flash. It has a hot shoe after all. There was no way a useful flash could have been stuffed in there without blowing the aesthetics out the window.
@questionexclamation
not to mention built in flashes are low powered, cause red eye, harsh lighting... it other words, they suck
@forgettfuldude
Yeah they do suck. but then again for a an ameteur photographer a built in flash would always be handy. If the user doesn't like the built in flash, they could always use an external flash with the hotshoe.