Olympus E-P 2 Review

It is not often I spend my hard earned cash on a new piece of electronics, but the Olympus PEN E-P 2 caught my eye and after numerous viewings testings, reading reviews and generally messing around, I decided to bite the bullet and buy one.

First of all – this thing feels fantastic. Pick it up and you are immediately aware that you are in the presence of a real camera. Olympus really hit the spot with the micro four thirds camera system. I have been considering a digital single lens reflex for some time now, but was put off by the fact that most of them are made of plastic and feel as though they have a permanent motor drive attached.

I wanted something I could stick in my pocket – not that I needed to buy a special bag to carry around. There are a range of Olympus E-P 2 lenses on the market and I bought the 17mm pancake. The next one I buy will be the 14-150 mm which is the 35mm equivalent of 28-300. Not available in Europe just yet.

The electronic viewfinder works a treat, and this was another reason to buy the ep2 – I live in a place where there is bright sunshine much of teh year and I cannot see those screens attached to the back of most point and shoots. This is wonderful. You can plug all sorts of interesting stuff in to the viewfinder slot also – from directional mikes when shooting in HD video, to a variety of esoteric stuff I have no clue what to do with.

These are some sample shots – taken inside a local church. Using ambient lighting I am amazed at the quality – all shot on "auto" and all hand held in very dim lighting. I seriously considered the Leica M8, but the price differential was so great as to make it a one horse race. The other one I considered was the Leica D-Lux 4 – but the Olympus beat that hands down. The ep 2 has no competitors as far as I am concerned, and the HD video quality is excellent.

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Go – buy yourself an Olympus E-P2 before they run out. I still think the best place to buy them is on Amazon, but there are a few used ones coming up for sale on ebay now.

At Amazon:

Olympus PEN E-PL1 12.3MP Live MOS Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens (Black) $599.99 The new Olympus PEN E-PL1 is truly greater than the sum of its parts. This surprisingly small camera body is packed with technology normally found in bigger, bulkier cameras and High Definition (HD) camcorders. With features like interchangeable lenses, the new Live Guide and one-touch HD video – the E-PL1 is an easy-to-use and portable all-in-one package that travels with you to capture all the d…

Fotodiox Pro adapter, Nikon Lens to MFT Micro 4/3 Four Thirds System Camera Mount Adapter, Olympus PEN E-P1, E-PL1, E-P2, Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, GH1, G1, G2 $39.95 If you have a SLR or DSLR camera and other maker/mount lenses, the Fotodiox Mount Adapters allow you to use your lenses on the film/digital camera body. Sharing lenses has some distinct advantages. Certain prime lens just can't be replaced, and you save cost of purchase lenses. ­Fotodiox offers a range of adapter from large format to smaller format digital adapters. Adapting larger format lens,…

At Ebay – maybe some used ones at a lower price?

Lens adapter Olympus Pen f to SONY E NEX-3 NEX-5 camera $43.90

Lens adapter Olympus Pen f to SONY E NEX3 NEX5 camera $85.90

Lens adapter Olympus Pen f to SONY E NEX-3 NEX-5 camera $43.90

Olympus EP-1 EP1 EP2 E-P2 Pen 17mm Leather Camera Case $99.99