Why You Can Trust CNET Olympus Stylus XZ-2 iHS review: Great camera made better by a price drop
The XZ-2's excellent lens, features, and photo quality make it an enthusiast compact worth getting. But look for it for less than its original $600 starting price,
- More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
The Olympus Stylus XZ-2 iHS was probably about $100 too expensive when it came out.
Olympus Stylus XZ-2 iHS
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
It originally went on sale in November 2012, replacing the XZ-1 that came out in January 2011. The XZ-2 started at a price of $599, a $100 more than where its predecessor started. While not completely out of line for its features, it was still a high price, especially considering the number of camera options there are at and around $600.
Now, however, the price has been dropping and at the time of this review it was down to $300. The XZ-2 is a lot of camera for that price (or even $400) including a sharp 4x f1.8-2.5 28-112mm lens, a tilting touch-screen LCD, and a well-designed metal body that makes it a pleasure to shoot with.
Pixel peepers, those after shallower depth of field, or those just looking for the best low-light photo quality might want to invest more money in the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 and its larger 1-inch sensor. Otherwise, the XZ-2 is a fine choice.
Picture quality
All things considered, the image quality from the XZ-2 iHS is excellent. Pixel peepers would likely prefer the Sony Cyber-shot RX100. The lens is nice and sharp, colors are natural (assuming you want them that way), and noise, though present even at ISO 100, is kept under control without sacrificing detail straight through to ISO 800. You'll want to stick to ISO 400 and below when you can for the best fine detail. Since the lens remains reasonably bright even when fully zoomed in and the camera has very good image stabilization, you can actually avoid using its higher ISO settings indoors or in low light.
And avoid them you should. As long as you don't need to enlarge or heavily crop, fine detail and noise are well-balanced at ISO 1600, making it usable at smaller sizes. I wouldn't go above that, though, as details and colors take a noticeable turn for the worst. Shooting in raw and doing the processing yourself is your best bet in this case, and really in all cases where you might want to do a heavy crop or print at large sizes.
The XZ-2's video quality and features are good, but this camera is definitely better for photos. The 1080p video quality records at a respectably high 18Mbps bit rate and thanks again to the bright lens, indoor use doesn't automatically results in video heavy with noise and artifacts. The camera's image stabilization works great here as well and the autofocus is reasonably fast and smooth. On the other hand, the AF system is loud enough to be distracting in quiet scenes and, although you can use the zoom while recording, its movement, too, will get picked up by the stereo mics. Audio quality is otherwise fine and there is an option to add an external mic using the camera's accessory port.
Shooting performance
The Stylus XZ-2 iHS is a sufficiently quick camera, though don't expect dSLR speeds. It takes about 1.7 seconds to start up and shoot. The lag time from pressing the shutter to capture without prefocusing in bright conditions is about 0.4 second and is 0.5 second in low light. Shot-to-shot times averaged 1 second when shooting JPEG and about 1.5 seconds when shooting in raw.
Olympus rates the camera's continuous shooting speed at 5 frames per second at full resolution, however in my lab tests it hit 5.5fps for JPEGs; raw capture was as fast for the first few shots but noticeably slowed after five shots. Also, that burst rate is with focus and exposure set with the first shot and there is no option for using continuous shooting with AE/AF. Along with straight burst shooting, you can set the camera to bracket shoot exposure, white balance, flash, ISO, and art filters.
Design and features
Though the XZ-2 is a nice choice for when you don't want to haul out a dSLR, if you're looking for a camera to easily slip in a pants pocket, this isn't it. It'll certainly fit in a jacket pocket, but it's bulky due to the lens and the bright, high-resolution tilting 3-inch touch-screen LCD. It's not exactly light, either, at 12.2 ounces.
Shooting with the XZ-2 is really very nice. Between the touch screen and the camera's physical controls, getting the settings just right for shot doesn't take too much effort. Around the lens barrel is a digital/analog control ring. A lever on the front lets you quickly switch modes: digital mode for fine zooming or manual focusing, or analog mode to adjust settings such as aperture, shutter speed, and more. There are two programmable function buttons as well, one on back and one on front.
| Olympus Stylus XZ-2 iHS | Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (MSRP) | $599.99 | $399.99 |
| Dimensions (WHD) | 4.4x2.6x1.9 | 4.4x2.6x1.8 |
| Weight (with battery and media) | 12.2 ounces | 10.5 ounces |
| Megapixels, image sensor size, type | 12 megapixels, 1/1.7-inch BSI CMOS | 10 megapixels, 1/1.7-inch MOS |
| LCD size, resolution/viewfinder | 3-inch tilting touch LCD, 920K dots/optional | 3-inch LCD, 920K dots/optional |
| Lens (zoom, aperture, focal length) | 4x, f1.8-2.5, 28-112mm (35mm equivalent) | 3.8x, f1.4-2.3 24-90mm (35mm equivalent) |
| File format (still / video) | JPEG, raw (.ORF)/H.264 AAC (.MOV) | JPEG, raw (.RW2)/AVCHD (.MTS) |
| Highest resolution size (still / video) | 3,968x2,976 pixels/ 1,920x1,080 pixels at 30fps (progressive, 18Mbps) | 3,648x2,736 pixels/ 1,920x1,080 pixels at 60fps (progressive, 28Mbps) |
| Image stabilization type | Optical | Optical |
| Battery type, CIPA rated life | Lithium ion rechargeable, 310 shots | Lithium ion rechargeable, 330 shots |
| Battery charged in camera | Yes | No |
| Storage media | SDXC | SDXC |
| Built-in Wi-Fi/GPS | No/No | No/No |
A hot shoe and accessory port give you the option to add accessories. Those include five different external flashes; a macro arm light; an electronic viewfinder; an external microphone; and the Olympus Penpal, a Bluetooth adapter for wirelessly sending photos to computers, smartphones, and tablets. The camera does not have built-in Wi-Fi, but you can use it with Eye.Fi or Toshiba FlashAir wireless SD cards. Also, you can attach the Olympus CLA-12 conversion lens adapter and use it with the TCON-17x telephoto lens that magnifies the camera's 112mm end to 190mm (35mm equivalent) while maintaining the f2.5 aperture.
The battery and SD card slot are under a locking door on the bottom of the camera, which is very close to the tripod mount. If you like to use a quick-release plate or tripod regularly, plan on removing it when you need to swap memory cards. Worth noting is Olympus still uses a proprietary USB input, which would be less irksome if the camera didn't charge via USB. You might want to buy a spare or risk not being able to charge your battery should you lose the one that's included.
| General shooting options | Olympus Stylus XZ-2 iHS |
|---|---|
| ISO sensitivity (full resolution) | Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800 (1/3EV step) |
| White balance | Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Flash, Custom, two one-touch |
| Recording modes | Auto, Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter speed-priority, Manual, Art Filter, Scene, Custom 1 and 2 |
| Focus modes | Face/iESP Auto, AF Target (from 9 to 35 points), Spot AF, AF Tracking, Manual |
| Macro | 2 inches (Wide), 7.9 feet (Tele); 0.4 inch in Super Macro |
| Metering modes | ESP, center, spot, targeted |
| Burst mode shot limit (full resolution) | 200 shots |
The XZ-2 has a substantial list of shooting options, so whether you're an automatic shooter looking to learn more or a seasoned photographer who likes a lot of control, you're pretty well covered here. Again, the control layout is such that once you have it set up the way you like it, getting to the settings you use the most is no problem.
Along with full shutter speed (Bulb, 60 seconds to 1/2,000 second) and aperture control (f1.8 to f8), you get five color mode options and 11 of Olympus' Art Filters; raw image capture; a built-in 3EV-equivalent ND filter for those times when you have too much light, but want to use the f1.8 aperture; and full-HD movie recording with stereo sound (MOV).
This camera does a lot, and if the few things I've mentioned here have piqued your interest, I strongly suggest going through its full feature list on Olympus' site and downloading the camera manual.
Conclusion
The Olympus Stylus XZ-2 iHS is proof that even if digital camera technology keeps moving forward, a good design and excellent lens still hold up over time. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't look for a good deal, especially in a crowded market.