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

Product Information

The knurled thumb wheel on the right side of the body, on the other hand, is far too easy to turn accidentally. It would have been much better (though a bit more costly) to make it a push-in-and-turn design. The now ubiquitous circular thumb wheel is a bit too small, and many times the difference between wanting to spin it with ones thumb, or press it inwards to select a setting such as ISO or AF modes, is made by accident. It’s hopeless with gloves on. The Olympus E-P2 is equipped with the same six Art Filters of the E-P1 along with two new ones, Diorama and Cross Process. Art Filters apply digital special effects to images, and while you can achieve the same results in software afterwards, the opportunity to do it in-camera is obviously more convenient.

The extending lens barrel is equipped with a bayonet mount that accepts a lens hood or one of three adapter lenses for macro, fish eye and wide angle shooting. The wide angle adapter converts the 14-42mm range to 11-22mm (22-44mm equiv.) and the macro adapter brings the close focussing distance in to 24cm with a 0.28x magnification factor. If you’re a fan of circular polarisers you’ll be pleased to know that the front section of the lens has a 37mm filter thread and doesn’t rotate when focused. The AF utilises a high speed contrast detection system provided compatible lenses are used. MF is also available and the screen snaps in and out of focus well enough to make this a usable option. 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. Just like Fujifilm's X100, the Olympus PEN E-P1 generated a lot of excitement at its launch thanks to its elegant traditional styling. And, in common with the X100, the shooting experience didn't always live up to the high expectations that its classic looks might have engendered. The E-P2 was a slight reworking of the E-P1, doing little more than adding the ability to use the excellent VF-2 electronic viewfinder, and could still be a slightly slow and awkward camera to actually use.Portrait, Landscape, Landscape with Portrait, Macro, Sports, Night Scene, Night Scene with portrait, Children, High key, Low key, Digital Image Stabilisation, Nature Macro, Candle, Documents, Panorama, Beach and Snow, Fireworks, Sunset, e-portrait

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. The Olympus E-PL2 is equipped with six Art Filters, Pop Art, Soft Focus, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, and the new Dramatic Tone. Art Filters apply digital special effects to images, and while you can achieve the same results in software afterwards, the opportunity to do it in-camera is obviously more convenient. If you don’t want to permanently disfigure your JPEGs, it’s also possible to apply any of the Art Filters to the E-PL2’s RAW files using the supplied Olympus Master software. The Diorama Art Filter applies a tilt-and-shift effect which blurs much of the image, leaving a sharp strip in the middle. This in turn delivers the miniaturisation effect much-loved by owners of exotic tilt / shift lenses.The Olympus E-P2 lets you dial in shutter speeds of up to 60 seconds and has a Bulb mode as well for exposure times as long as 30 minutes, which is very good news if you are seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 1/6th seconds at ISO 1600. We've included a 100% crop to show what the quality is like. The E-PL2’s stabilisation has three modes – 1, 2 and 3. Mode 1 applies stabilisation in both horizontal and vertical planes, while modes 2 and 3 only stabilise in the vertical and horizontal planes respectively, allowing you to pan with the camera in either landscape or portrait orientation. Some of the Art filters can now be modified – one or two variations on the original filter slightly adapt the effect. Grainy Film provides a second, less contrasty and grainy option, Pin Hole offers a choice of vignette styles and several of the filters now also provide a framing option.