Olympus E-P2 Compact System Camera (14-42mm lens & VF-2 electronic viewfinder) Black

Product Information

Unlike the Panasonic Lumix GF2 and the Sony NEX-3/5, the Olympus E-PL2 has a physical mode dial. Its eight positions select the four PASM exposure modes in addition to iAuto, ART, SCN and movie. Hi, my name is Will Langlands. I’m a full-time gardener, amateur photographer and occasional scribbler. I live in Mid Argyll on the west coast of Scotland. In addition, the E-P3 has a 614,000 dot OLED screen that is touch-sensitive. This particular panel uses Samsung's Pentile dot layout to give VGA-equivalent resolution, coupled with capacitance-type touch technology similar to the Apple iPhone. The touch screen can be used to set the focus point and optionally fire the shutter, and can operate some of the camera's other functions too. Crucially though this is always in addition to the rest of the camera's controls, rather than attempting to replace them. If you decide such features don't have a place on such a traditional-looking camera, they can be disabled with no overall loss of functionality.

The E-P2 is sold as a kit; body, electronic viewfinder, and a Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom. Optical quality seems quite fine, but I am not a big fan of this lens for several reasons.Behind a door on the right side of the E-P2 you’ll find what appear to be the same combined USB / TV output and mini HDMI port as the E-P1, but like many newer cameras the HDMI port has been upgraded here to support Consumer Electronics Control, or CEC for short. CEC allows the E-P2 to be controlled over HDMI by a compatible TV set, so you could use the TV’s remote to browse images and start slideshows. The E-P2’s accessory port also allows you to mount the (S)EMA-1 adapter which lets you connect an external microphone for far superior audio quality during movies. The Manual exposure mode and option to connect an external microphone – albeit with an additional accessory – are both decent upgrades to the movie capabilities of the E-P2, and could swing the decision from the E-P1 for serious film makers. Essentially if we take a DSLR, remove the optical viewfinder and mirror system and leave the Live View facility, we have the opportunity to reduce the size of the camera to the modest 317g body we have here, measuring only 115.4 x 72.7 x 42mm. There is no lens shade provided with this lens, and with the front element always exposed I would suggest a UV filter for protection. As for stray light protection, you’re on your own.

Here, as expected, the Olympus 14-42mm lens is indeed very small, even taking 37mm filters, an unusual size. The lens is also very good. This is a high quality optic and will not disappoint. In terms of noise this is a very clean camera. It makes no attempt to follow the trend of ultra-high ISO values as found in some of the current DSLRs, but offers a relatively modest ISO200 – ISO1600 as its standard range. These values control noise very well indeed and although a rise in levels can be noticed even at ISO400, it is quite unobtrusive all the way through to ISO1600. The extended range of ISO3200 and ISO6400 does display high noise levels, but these are available if required and are better than most. It is I think much better to have a grainy (noisy) image than no image at all, so there is value in providing high ISO capability. Manual focus isn’t a problem with such a wide-angle lens and I normally set focus to infinity. The other lens I often use is the Olympus ED 14 – 150mm F4 – 5.6 11. I use this on both the EP2 and the EM5 Mark 11 as my “shoot everything” lens. Another lens that I enjoy using is the Samyang fully manual 12mm which is excellent in low light and has a reasonable distortion free wide-angle. languages / 27 European languages (e.g. English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Czech, Dutch, Danish, Polish)

In summary this is a lens that takes advantage of the possibilities of the mirrorless design to offer a compact and high quality zoom.