So I’ve had this camera for two weeks now and I’m starting to dig into a couple of features of this camera and I’m really starting to enjoy this camera. It has some features that I never thought I would use but that have been actually interesting to play with. It’s been a great camera to get me shooting on a daily basis again and that was really the whole point to buying this camera for me.
- Multiple Aspect Ratios – This was not something I thought I would use but in real life usage it’s been a fun feature to play with. I shot quite a bit with Medium Format before moving to digital and I really like the format of the film, it always had my mind thinking of different ways to compose the shots. This camera lets me set the aspect ratio to 6×6 square just like how I was used to shooting with my medium format cameras
- Video – So I’m not really a video shooter, I have not done it much in the past but we’ve had the Flip camera that has produced good results. That being said I recently compared it to a test video I shot with the Olympus and let me tell you there is no comparison between the two. The Olympus just has it beat in every regard, HD video to standard video, no ghosting to ghosting, Image stability to no image stability. The list just goes on and on. I’ll be playing with this more and more over the coming weeks and will show you some more test video I shoot, keep checking back for more on this. You can also see my first test video at “Olympus E-P2 Test Video”
- Electronic View Finder – This was my big worry going into this, I didn’t want another camera that I couldn’t shoot through a view finder on and I was worried about it being electronic. My worries were squashed in short order, this view finder is bright sharp and accurate. I really don’t use LCD for much at all, it’s exactly what I had hoped for. My only problem with the view finder is it’s general size for carrying around, but that’s also why I like it when shooting.
- Controls – I’ve had mixed feelings about the controls on the camera. The dials when spinning them to adjust the shutter and aperture are in ok positions. The upper dial is harder for my thumb to be able to use and keep the camera level. The lower dial is in a better place for my thumb and spins easier the the top one for my hands. It’s also that I can’t be adjusting both dials at the same time that has me working slower then usual. With my Canon I can use two separate fingers to adjust the shutter and aperture and get to my exposure quickly, it’s a little slow on the E-P2 because I have to hit one then the other.
More and more to come with this camera, I can’t give Olympus enough credit for this camera it’s really been a joy to work with over all and it’s been keeping me shooting every day.
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Olympus EP-2 Second Impressions http://www.knowphoto.com/2010/02/olympus...
nice post. thanks.
I have the PL1 with the 14-42 and 40-150 and I haven’t had it long enough to more than touch the surface of its capabilities. The differences between this and the Canon T3 i’d been shooting with are more than surface and I haven’t fully made the mental switch. But the weight … it’s such a featherweight compared to the boulders I’d been using and it is such a relief to my carpal tunnel afflicted wrists. I’m trying to decided if I really need to even keep the T3. I may ultimately want a FF DSLR, but the T3 isn’t FF and for most purposes, the PL1 and T3 are more or less redundant … although there ARE things I do like better about the Canon, especially its’s willingness to shoot fast on the fly in dubious light, something that the PL1 simply doesn’t have it in its design to do well. I guess I have to decide how important that is to me. Thanks for the review. I appreciate it.