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)
I bought the EP-1 and it had two major short-comings: EVF or OVF and an internal pop-up flash. The EP-2 addresses the former and should have the DNA of a compact, that is a pop-up flash ! Olympus needs to move the mode dial from the left-side to right-side and put that pop-up flash. I will give Olympus credit, that EVF is state of art feature in the EP-2. I do plan to purchase the EP-2 next year but for now, I just bought the Panasonic GF-1 as my main m43 camera and my EP-1 as back-up. I am hoping Olympus gets it right when the EP-3 comes out in two years from now. I would expect Panasonic to come out with GF-2 within a year or so with a better EVF and 1080p with 24/30/60 fps video capture.
For now, Panasonic is ahead in m43 platform but I do love both camera brands.