First and foremost, someone pointed out to me, I am the 5Cs... Cameras, Computers, Coffee, Cigarettes and I am Clifford... so the 5Cs! Ok, this has NOTHING to do with this review, I just thought that it was clever...
- - -
The E-P2 arrived on Thursday, 3rd December 2009. Thanks to Olympus Singapore for making arrangements so that it was available for molest by the hands that would be there at the Singapore Zoo outing... but that day, the two Godzillas were the stars, and the poor E-P2 would be relegated to the kopi session... to be compared to the older brother, the E-P1 and his cousin, the GF1 (thanks headfonz for bringing the GF1 down).
As usual, I don't ever use the manual, because good cameras should not require that. The job of a GUI designer is to design the interface to be used without having to read a book on it. (Panasonic RULES in this area, no doubt about it.) This makes a good or bad design, and obviously Olympus did not do anything fancy this time round again. Everything is the same as before, and the obvious addition is the controls for the VF-2 Electronic Viewfinder (EVF).
The set up was a pancake (17mm f2.8) kit, and for those who knows the story, will understand my emotional attachment to this lens. Come January and beyond, the 9-18mm and the 14-150mm will be released, which is good news to many out there waiting for these lenses. Ultra wide and the ultimate travel lens. All of which that can be squeezed into your cargo pants pockets.
The finish is the new dark grey/black version that everyone in the world other than Japan, will see. The Japanese version is silver in color. (Funny that the Japanese will most likely want the black version too, since they don't get that in their country, while the rest of the world will have people wanting the silver version). That makes for good international trade, doesn't it?
Everything else feels pretty much the same, except for the hump in the hotshoe adapter. That is due to the additional connector required for the VF-2 and external microphone input adapter.
- - -
VF-2 (Let's talk about this first)
I like the VF-2 because it is huge, refreshes well, has a easy to use diopter adjustment ring. Unlike the Panasonic EVF, those wearing glasses will love the VF-2.
Image is big, E-3 big. Bright too. But here is the problem. Too bright. At first use, I almost reached for the -/+ compensation button thinking I have overexposure. After checking with the LCD, I realised that the VF-2 needs some tweaking. Factory default is a tad too bright for my linking. No penalties, knowing that the Pen is afterall a consumer product.
(I adjusted the brightness to -3 for the EVF).
Owners of the E-P2, please please please tweak the VF-2 is you want consistency when you switch views between LCD and EVF.
The VF-2 color accuracy is not as good as the LCD screen, and therefore always use the LCD when you are custom tweaking your WB color temperature. Especially when you are dialing Kelvin values like me.
The VF-2 is also a little more contrasty, but don't worry too much about it.
Though an improvement over older EVFs that I have used, the EVF will still "snow" under low light situation. Talk about noise!
(edit) Those who have larger/longer noses will wish for the "barrel" of the VF-2 to be longer, else there will constantly be a "smudge" caused by the tip of the nose onto the camera. (Depending on which is your master eye used for focusing). But longer barrel might cause tunnel vision. I am sure someone worked this out a while ago. Aesthetics will be compromised of course. It is ergonomics vs aesthetics issue I believe. No complains from me. Though I don't have a large nose.
- - -
New Functions (*will be updated as I discover them like Easter Eggs)
MANUAL FOCUSING!!! This is the WOW WOW WOW!!! factor for me. In S-AF (MF) mode or MF mode, when you touch your focusing ring, the viewfinder (or screen) will automatically zooms 7x to manual focus assist. Spinning the thumbwheel will bring you to 10x zoom should it be required.
The best thing now is, when you stop turning the focusing ring, the view goes back to the entire frame, allowing you to compose without lifting your finger off the half pressed shutter button. This is a great improvement especially for the S-AF(MF) mode which I primarily use all the time. (edit) If only Olympus can allow user to customise the zoom out release time once the focusing ring stops moving. I believe people with different levels of speed in accessing image sharpness will appreciate that. Some people will need more time to make sure the image is sharp before feeling safe enough to full press the shutter release button.
Art Filters
Two new Art Filters have been discussed to death, so I shall spare you guys another wow-wow write up on them.
For some reasons, I feel that the earlier Art Filters processing time has increased. Not sure if this is entirely true. I have returned my E-P1 so I cannot test this at home. You guys should test this and see for yourselves.
microSD card with adapter
Someone at the factory obviously realised that there will be those who have spare mSD cards from their cellphones that they might use as spare storage cards when they are on holiday, and yes, it bloody works! Little detail, but hey, that is a nice thing to know.
(mSD requires the SD adapter of course).
Should you buy one?
For the VF-2, yes.
For 2 new Art Filters if you are not a Photoshop user, yes.
Everything else, other than the color, hump on the hotshoe, VF-2, 2 new Art Filters pretty much stays the same with the E-P1. The small "upgrades" can mean a lot to those who uses a lot of manual focusing and shoot at the beach a lot... And those Art Filter fans will be glad to know that you can now do more and more with Art Filters without having to buy 10 books on advanced Photoshop skills.
Otherwise, wait for E-P3.
In love factor...
I was totally wowed and in love with the E-P1... but the E-P2 did not give me that same feeling. Maybe I was so used to using the E-P1 even under strong sunlight that it never occurred to me that I needed the VF-2, so it is just another tool that helps me shoot easier at waist level. Without the swivel like the VA-1, it is actually quite useless. (Those who knows me should know I am big on right angle finders).
Battery life is quite a turn off actually... VF-1's high resolution screen means battery draining. At 200+ shots, it is quite a turn off and most of the time, I don't think I will use the VF-2 only when I know I need to shoot at waist level.
I am only convinced when EVF technology can attain the same accuracy as the E-P1/2's LCD screen, else I think I will stick to the LCD more than the high resolution VF-2.
Maybe that is why "wearable TV" never really took off right?
Olympus continues to reign at off camera jpegs, and I think it will be like this for a while. For those who are not into tweaking RAW files, needs great jpegs from camera, wants a EVF that does not make you throw up, uses manual lenses, not proficient in Photoshop, will WANT this camera. No doubt about it. Currently there is no competition in that sense.
AF Speed on Micro Four Thirds/ CDAF systems is a myth. Panasonic's "faster" AF is still miles from Phase Detect technology and they achieved this by lowering the sampling rate which means unreliable AF results (having used ALL Panasonic m43 offerings). So stop talking to me about Panasonic AF please, it is tiring... I will use my E-3 + SWD lenses anytime if I need fast AF. What I need is image quality from camera. Obviously I will not use this camera for any professional work though I have done so and the results were pleasant.
- - -
Verdict :
3.5/5 on the BBB Rating.
(edit) For those who never owned a EP, then this is a must buy! 5/5 on the BBB rating!
Last edited:
