Your video,
"Olympus E-P2
" will start after this message from our sponsors.
Loading video...
CNET First Look
Olympus E-P2
For some, an elegant shooter's design and high-quality low-ISO photos may more than adequately compensate for the Olympus E-P2's sluggish performance.
3:23 /
Transcript
>> Hi, I am Lori Grunin, Senior Editor with CNET and this is the Olympus E-P2. The E-P2 Olympus' slightly more feature-rich and significantly more expensive brother to the E-P1, inherits a lot of what I liked about that camera and some of what I didn't. Another Micro Four Thirds-based interchangeable lens model, it shares the elegant, but functional body design and smooth, natural photo quality of its predecessor. Unfortunately, it shares the slow performance as well. The E-P2 is extremely similar to the E-P1, though it only comes in an elegant shiny black as opposed to the silver and white versions of the E-P1. The most notable addition to the body is an accessory port, which makes it slightly higher. Olympus currently offers two accessories for the port: an add-on tiltable electronic viewfinder that slides into the hot shoe, which comes bundled with the camera. That is nice because on the GF1, it is an extra cost option. Though I am not a big fan of EVFs, the viewfinder is a nice example of the breed and the tilt of the viewfinder makes a big difference in shooting flexibility. The other accessory is an adapter for an external microphone. In addition to that stuff, the E-P2 gives you more control in movie mode over the E-P1, with support for adjusting aperture and shutter speed. For automatic shooters, there is an improved i-Enhance autoadjustment mode that operates a little more intelligently by isolating the elements of the scene it operates on. Olympus also adds a couple of new art filters. Though it is retro from the front, in back it is all digital, with a pretty typical control in menu layout. There is a back dial which has direct-access buttons for ISO sensitivity, white balance, focus mode, and drive mode. There is also a vertical subdial and the combination of the two dials is nice and both feel relatively responsive and comfortable to operate. The camera itself works identically to the E-P1. An info button cycles through a lot of display choices and frankly, some might say too many display choices. You can also pull up Olympus' typical Super Control Panel, an overstuffed display where you can adjust the most frequently needed shooting settings. There is also a much more simplified version in which you cycle around the outer edge of the display to adjust shutter speed, aperture, white balance, drive mode, image stabilization, and so on. For such a compact model, the 14 to 42 mm lens can be pretty sharp. Overall, it delivers about the same shooting experience as you get from an 18 to 55 mm lens on a Canon or a Nikon, with the exception of manual focus. While the E-P2 significantly improves on the serious shutter lag and focus issues of the E-P1, it is still pretty slow. And even in the field it feels awfully slow at saving and displaying images. I found the continuous AF and continuous AF tracking extremely frustrating to use, as well. In addition, the battery life on the E-P2 doesn't last very long. All together, it adds up to a pretty mediocre showing in performance, albeit still better than the E-P1's. On the other hand, it maintains the excellent color characteristics, and exposures are spot on with a solid dynamic range. While I really enjoy shooting with the E-P2, it is not for everyone. As long as you understand its quirks and pace your shooting to its speed, you will probably like it a lot. I am Lori Grunin and this is the Olympus E-P2.
Coming up next
Let Google Clips take the photo while you play with your kid
Nikon D5600 is still a fine dSLR for the money
Leica CL mirrorless has a typically unconventional design
Canon T7i/800D remains a solid step-up for new dSLR fans
Fujifilm's Instax Square is an analog experience with the safety...
Fujifilm X100F: A great enthusiast compact for manual fans
Polaroid Originals OneStep 2 brings back a genuine instant experience
Samsung shrank its 360-degree camera but the improvements don't...
The Canon Rebel T7i is the same outside but much improved on...
The new 'Rebel'-free EOS 77D looks like just like the T7i
Latest Cameras videos
Let Google Clips take the photo while you play with your kid
2:26
We tested Google's robo-cam.
Play video
Top tips for buying a camera
2:50
Here are some things to look for when you're buying a fixed lens, mirrorless or digital SLR camera.
Play video
Nikon D5600 is still a fine dSLR for the money
1:22
A little faster and a little better than its predecessor, the D5600 still rates as a great inexpensive dSLR.
Play video
Leica CL mirrorless has a typically unconventional design
1:52
The company makes some interesting design choices for its expensive new APS-C camera
Play video
Molten lava overtakes a GoPro
1:43
This is what happens when a photographer drops his GoPro camera in the path of molten lava.
Play video
Canon T7i/800D remains a solid step-up for new dSLR fans
1:29
The company's cheapest enthusiast dSLR steadily, but slowly, improves over time.
Play video
Fujifilm's Instax Square is an analog experience with the safety of digital
1:17
The Fujifilm Instax Square SQ10 is an instant film camera married with the convenience of a digital camera, but it's not without compromise.
Play video
Fujifilm X100F: A great enthusiast compact for manual fans
1:42
The latest version of Fujifilm's fixed-lens APS-C compact is faster with a better design and photo quality than any of its predecessors.