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Gadling gear review - first look at the new Olympus E-P2
Santa visited my house early this year, and dropped off the new Olympus E-P2 Micro Four Thirds digital camera. The first Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera, the E-P1, passed through Gadling earlier this year, and left me mighty impressed, so in this first (and very brief) look, we'll see what the E-P2 has to offer.
At first glance, the E-P2 looks identical to the E-P1, albeit in a slightly different color. The E-P1 is available in silver/black and white/tan, and the E-P2 only comes in black. It takes a bit to find any differences, but once you reach the flash hot shoe in the middle, you'll notice a small connector port below it.
This port is in essence the biggest difference between the E-P1 and E-P2. One of the biggest drawbacks of the E-P1 is its lack of a viewfinder. An optical viewfinder is available for using with the 17mm pancake lens, but it won't work well with the 14-42mm lens.
The connector on the E-P2 works along with the included electronic viewfinder and an upcoming microphone adapter.
The VF-2 viewfinder slides onto the hot shoe, and can tilt upwards. Of course, with the viewfinder attached, you can no longer use the flash, but you obviously won't need the flash in those situations.Other changes are all inside the camera - the E-P2 features a new live focus tracking mode, which works for photos and in video mode. It also adds two new art settings (diarama and cross process). The camera also allows for manual control when in video mode, and adds HDMI control when hooked up to a compatible HDTV .
All in all, great changes, but the new viewfinder and additional software tweaks add $300 to the price (the E-P1 is $799.99, the E-P2 will retail for $1099.99). In the coming week, I'll take the camera for a real test, and determine whether the $300 is easy to justify, or whether it finally prices itself out of where it should be.
Filed under: Gadling Gear Review
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
BR Nov 22nd 2009 9:20AM
Let me see if I understand this. Olympus dropped off the E-P2 to a travel magazine to see if the $300 is justifiable? Save the $300 and take a trip. This camera is not longer small with the EVF. Keep your eyes on Panasonic and a reviewer who really understands photography.
Victor Nov 22nd 2009 10:34AM
agreed. looked at all of theses (E-P1/E-P2/GF-1) when buying. Went with GF-1
Doug Right Nov 22nd 2009 10:38AM
The main flaw of the E-P1 is it's slow auto focus system. All else (problematic exposures, low resolution LCD, and lack of flash) is a distant second.
Olympus could save reviewers and audience a lot of time by simply declaring "Problem solved" or "Still an issue". It is really the only thing we want to know.
jjd Nov 22nd 2009 12:51PM
You write:
"Of course, with the viewfinder attached, you can no longer use the flash, but you obviously won't need the flash in those situations."
Perhaps I'm dense, but this isn't obvious to me at all. Why wouldn't I want to use an eye-level viewfinder when using flash?
Scott Carmichael Nov 22nd 2009 12:50PM
Well, once it gets dark enough that you need the flash, you won't see much through the viewfinder.
jjd Nov 22nd 2009 12:57PM
I'm skeptical of that logic, Scott.
My daughter has a Canon superzoom camera with an EVF. By this logic, she shouldn't be able to take pictures using flash at all because she won't be able to see anything through the viewfinder?
Scott Carmichael Nov 22nd 2009 12:59PM
You are probably right (and I am wrong :) ) - it is just my experience with EVF's that it is easier to not use them in a dark situation. When I get around to a full review, I'll take a close look at how effective the Olympus EVF is in dark situations. Thanks for the comments - certainly gave me something to think about when reviewing the E-P2.
jjd Nov 22nd 2009 1:30PM
I agree that EVFs aren't the best thing. It's just a whole lot easier for the manufacturers to make an EVF than an optical viewfinder that works with multiple focal lengths (a la Leica M-series).
That, in fact, is what I'm wishing for with micro 4/3. That someone will build an E-P2 type camera with interchangable lenses and an (accurate) optical viewfinder. Even if it was limited to a small number of focal lengths (and even a Tri-Elmar type arrangement), I like looking through optics at my subjects and not pixels.
The Leica M9 and it is ideal in almost every respect, except of course, the price.