Note from Brad: PREVIEW of the Olympus PEN E-P2 to come…

Olympus E-P2 PEN
[shown with optional external viewfinder]
(Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens camera)

Olympus JUST announced (as in seconds ago) their latest Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens camera. The new Olympus E-P2 comes in a body identical to that of the E-P1 PEN camera, digital SLR-like controls and is an evolutionary ‘upscale’ version of the E-P1. Here’s what’s new on the Olympus PEN E-P2:

• Black body design (just one color at the moment)
• Accessory port behind the hotshoe mount; for connecting peripherals such as the external electronic viewfinder (EVF) and external microphone unit
• Two new Art Filters (Diorama Filter and Cross Process modes)
• New autofocus tracking mode
• HDMI control (apparently you can browse pictures us ing your HDTV’s remote control just by connecting the camera to the television set)

Other than that, the Olympus E-P2’s other features remain akin to that of the E-P1 PEN. The Olympus E-P2 is still a liveview-only camera, but this time, Olympus is gonna INCLUDE an electronic viewfinder with the camera. The external EVF attaches to the E-P2 via its hotshoe mount and is usable for all lenses. Here are the viewfinder specifications:

• 1.44 million dots
• Attaches to the camera’s hotshoe mount
• Can be tilted upwards up to 90 degrees
• 1.15X magnification
• 18 mm eyepoint
• 100% coverage; able to preview exposure, white balance and other effects
• Dioptric correction knob available

Olympus notes that the E-P2 PEN will be available in Dec

ember in most regions (they predict the first week, just in time for any last minute Christmas shopping) and will sell alongside (not replace) the existing E-P1 PEN model.

• 12.3 megapixel LiveMOS sensor (2X crop factor)
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• Dust reduction
• Micro Four Thirds lens mount (compatible with full-size Four Thirds, Olympus OM, Leica M and Leica R lenses using their respective optional adapters)
• TruePic V processor
• 3 inch LCD
• Live view with contrast detection AF, face detection and Perfect Shot Preview
• Full manual controls with hotshoe and RAW
• NEW: Autofocus tracking mode
• Intelligent Auto mode with auto scene selection
• 8 Art Filters (Two new Art Filters are: Diorama Filter and Cross Process)
• 3 FPS burst mode
• 720p (1280 x 720) at 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and continuous AF
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in December for $1000 (body plus external EVF) or $1100 (with external EVF and choice of MFT 14-42 mm kit lens or MFT 17 mm pancake lens)

Olympus also announced two new lenses which will be made available in 2010 and an external viewfinder (EVF) for the camera:

• Olympus Micro Zuiko 9-18 mm f4.0 – f5.6 ultra wide-angle lens
• Olympus Micro Zuiko 14-150 mm f4.0 – f5.6 mega-zoom lens
• External electronic viewfinder (attached via hotshoe)

On the bright side, we still have our Canon EOS 1D Mark IV preview and comparison table vs the EOS 1D Mark III for you to check out.

There’s also a bunch of Nikon, Olympus and Panasonic cameras we have yet to review (I wouldn’t call it backlog, but just a lot of testing and shooting to do). So… ummm… yeah, what camera reviews would you like to see next?

Canon Event Live Coverage
3:45 am GMT – DPInterface is proud to present our first ever live event coverage to our readers. Today, we’ll be covering a VERY important Canon event. So… keep checking back as our Canon event live coverage begins NOW!
4:10 am GMT – The doors have opened! I heard something is happening at 5 am =)
4:30 am GMT – Still waiting. I’m writing from my Windows Mobile phone by the way, since there’s no open WiFi network for my netbook. Have yet to setup tethering.
5:00 am GMT – Canon 1D Mark 4 official! Check out the dedicated post about it here (complete with specs and all).
6:00 am GMT – Canon gives the green light for testing out the camera. Sample photos (pre-production) and preview coming later today!
That’s all for our live coverage of the Canon EOS 1D Mark 4 launch today folks! Hope you enjoyed it.
UPDATE: I apologize for the lack of pictures here (they’ll be posted later) since my phone isn’t the best thing (usability and performance wise) to post up pictures. I’ll be posting pictures of and from the EOS 1D Mark 4 later once I get a stable, good connection on my netbook.

Wacom recently updated their Bamboo line of consumer tablets. These new tablets feature multi-touch operation and allows input from both fingers and pens. Aimed at consumers who have more ‘digital lifestyles’, I also think that photographers and artists will be especially overjoyed by the fact that Wacom’s new Bamboo tablets (which include the Bamboo Pen, Bamboo Touch, Bamboo Fun and Bamboo Craft) are affordably priced, feature upgraded pressure sensitivity and can be operated using fingers for ‘leisure moments’ when you’re taking a break from Adobe Illustrator. Expect to see Wacom’s new Bamboo’s on store shelves soon.

Details available at Wacom’s official sites www.wacom.com / www.wacom-asia.com / www.wacom-europe.com

I recently had the opportunity to attend Panasonic’s Lumix Star Search event, which also turned out to be a surprise launch of their new Lumix camera.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hey, it’s time again for DPInterface’s “Request a review” for readers! We’ve got 2 months till Thanksgiving and 3 months till Christmas (holidays, yay!) – what cameras would you like to see reviewed on DPInterface? I already know that everyone wants to see the Canon PowerShot G11 review… anything else? Leave a comment on this post!

*Note: I’ve temporarily ‘eased’ the comment system for this weekend so you can post a comment with just your name (email address is optional) to make it quick and easy for everyone to send in camera review requests!

Update from Brad: Keep those requests coming! It doesn’t matter if someone has already requested a camera review, send in yours – the more requests I get for a camera, the higher its priority will be! I’ll be working closely (hounding, rather) camera companies over the next few months for those cameras so I can their reviews out ASAP, in time for holiday shopping.

Notice something different about the site today? Here’s why – the DPInterface 3.5 design is finally up! You’ll notice that the site now looks sleeker (a lot easier on the eyes!), runs faster and easier to navigate. The changes here aren’t radical, merely hybridizing our previous two designs (versions 2 and 3) into one neat looking piece of work.

There are a couple of things that still need some tweaking over the weekend, but phew, am I glad that 90% of the redesign work is done! Well, why not head over to the comments section (click on the post title) and tell me what you think about DPInterface’s new design.

P.S. Look out for more camera reviews from us soon!

Update (August 23): Our next review will be published early tomorrow (Monday) morning. So stay tuned for that!