So I finally bit the bullet and purchased a new Olympus E-P2 camera with the 17mm f2.8 lens and so far so good. It’s really been a joy to work with and I’ve been playing a lot with it. I know you can jump online and see a review of the specs so I’ll only give you the short bit here before I jump into my first thoughts on the camera.

- 12.3 Megapixel sensor
- 17mm f2.8 lens
- 3 Inch LCD
- Electronic View Finder
- In camera Image stabilization
- Digital Leveler
- Cool retro look

I went into the store knowing I wanted either the E-P2 or the GF1 from Panasonic both has received great reviews online both seemed to have pluses and minuses so it was a toss up for me. I knew I wanted a view finder, in most situations I didn’t want to have to use the LCD so this was the big one for me. After looking them both over and trying the view vinder it became apparent to me that the E-P2 was the way to go. The viewfinder was brighter, seemed to refresh faster and didn’t blur as much as the GF1’s did in all of the testing I did in the store. Autofocus was important to me but it was the end all but even in this regard where the GF1 was supposed to be better I thought it was a close call between the two, and neither was fast enough for sports so I called it a tie.

Auto ISO –
After a few days of shooting I’ve found the E-P2 to be a great all around camera, the auto ISO ability gives me a way to just keep shooting even as I keep the aperture set to my liking. I’d like to explore this setting a little bit more as I’d like a way to cap the ISO it’ll go to but for the time being the way it’s set works great for me.

Electronic View Finder –
This is both my favorite and least favorite feature of the camera so far. It’s one of the big reasons I bought the camera, with it’s tilt ability, full playback in viewfinder and great view ability its perfect for shooting. On the other hand it’s large, really large and that makes it hard to transport and hard to stay incognito when your shooting on the street.

17mm f2.8 Lens -
This has been a great lens so far, it’s allowed for some great low light shots. It’s also pretty sharp I’ve blown up some of my shots and found them to be very sharp so far.

I’ll keep posting more of my thoughts on this camera as I work with it. I’m also planning on getting a few adapters so I can put my Nikon, Canon and Contax lenses on. More on this later..

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