Preview: Is Olympus E-P2 enough of an update?

The E-P2 is Olympus' newly announced follow up to its first mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera, the E-P1, which also adheres to the Micro Four Thirds Standard (MFT). But while the E-P2 offers some nice enhancements over its line mate, it doesn't seem to address two of the major problems in its almost-identical body. That's too bad, because the E-P1 had serious shutter lag and focus issues. The E-P2 adds AF tracking in continuous autofocus and movie modes, which the company thinks should ameliorate many user complaints, but unfortunately the E-P1's performance woes occurred in single autofocus mode.

Olympus E-P2 photos

The E-P2 is extremely similar to the E-P1, though it will only come in an elegant shiny black as opposed to the silver and white versions of the E-P1. It'll be available with the same kit lenses, the 14-42mm and the 17mm pancake, with each kit costing about $1,100. The most notable addition to the body is an accessory port, which makes the body slightly higher. One of the first accessories Olympus will offer is an add-on tiltable electronic viewfinder that slides into the hot shoe, which the company will bundle with the camera. That's nice--it's an extra-cost option with the Panasonic GF1. The viewfinder seems pretty good and quite bright and contrasty. The other accessory is an adapter for an external microphone.

	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Olympus E-P1	Olympus E-P2
Sensor (effective resolution)	12.1-megapixel Live MOS	12.3-megapixel Live MOS	12.3-megapixel Live MOS
	17.3mm x 13mm	17.3mm x 13mm	17.3mm x 13mm
Color depth	n/a	12 bits	12 bits
Sensitivity range	ISO 100 - ISO 3,200	ISO 100 - ISO 6,400	ISO 100 - ISO 6,400
Focal-length multiplier	2x	2x	2x
Continuous shooting	3.0 fps unlimited JPEG/7 raw	3.0 fps n/a JPEG/10 raw	3.0 fps n/a JPEG/10 raw
Viewfinder	Optional plug-in articulating EVF	Optional optical with 17mm lens	Bundled plug-in articulating EVF
Autofocus	23-area contrast AF	11-area contrast AF	11-area contrast AF
Metering	144 zone	324 zone	324 zone
Shutter	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 4 minutes	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 30 minutes	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 30 minutes
Flash	Yes	No	No
LCD	3-inch fixed 460,000 dots	3-inch fixed 230,000 dots	3-inch fixed 230,000 dots
Video (max resolution at 30fps)	1,280x720 AVCHD Lite or Motion JPEG MOV	1,280x720 Motion JPEG AVI	1,280x720 Motion JPEG AVI
Battery life (CIPA rating)	350 shots	300 shots	300 shots
Dimensions (WHD, inches)	4.7 x 2.8 x 1.4	4.7 x 2.8 x 1.4	4.8 x 2.8 x 1.4
Weight (ounces)	10.3 (estimated)	13.9	13.8; 14.9 (with EVF)
Mfr. Price	n/a	$749.99 (body)	n/a
	$899.95 (with 14-45mm f3.5-5.6 lens)	$799.99 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens)	$1,099.98 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens)
	$899.95 (with 20mm f1.7 lens)	$899.99 (with 17mm f2.8 lens and optical viewfinder)	$1,099.98 (with 17mm f2.8 lens)

Comparison: enthusiast compact models	Olympus E-P2	Canon PowerShot G11	Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
Sensor (effective resolution)	12.3-megapixel Live MOS	10-megapixel CCD	10.1-megapixel CCD
	17.3mm x 13mm	1/1.7-inch	1/1.63-inch
Sensitivity range	ISO 100 - ISO 6,400	ISO 80 - ISO 3,200	ISO 80 - ISO 3,200
Focal-length multiplier	2x	n/a	n/a
Continuous shooting	3.0 fps n/a JPEG/10 raw	1.1fps n/a	2.5 fps 4 JPEG/3 raw
Viewfinder	Bundled plug-in articulating EVF	Optical	None
Autofocus	11-area contrast AF	Contrast AF	Contrast AF
Metering	324 zone	n/a	n/a
Shutter	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 30 minutes	15-1/4000 sec; n/a	60-1/2000 sec; n/a
Flash	No	Yes	Yes
LCD	3-inch fixed 230,000 dots	2.8-inch articulated 461,000 dots	460,000 dots, 3-inch fixed
Video (max resolution at 30fps)	1,280x720 Motion JPEG AVI	640x480 H.264 MOV	848x480 Motion JPEG MOV
Battery life (CIPA rating)	300 shots	420 shots	380 shots
Dimensions (WHD, inches)	4.8 x 2.8 x 1.4	4.4 x 3.0 x 1.0	4.3 x 2.3 x 1.1
Weight (ounces)	13.8; 14.9 (with EVF)	14.3 (estimated)	9.1
Mfr. Price	$1,099.98 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens or 17mm f2.8 lens)	$499.99 (integrated f2.8-4.5 28-140mm-equivalent lens)	$499.95 (integrated 24-60mm f2.0-2.8 lens)

Comparison: Similarly priced dSLRs	Olympus E-P2	Canon EOS Rebel T1i	Nikon D5000
Sensor (effective resolution)	12.3-megapixel Live MOS	15.1-megapixel CMOS	12.3-megapixel CCD
	17.3mm x 13mm	22.3mm x 14.9mm	23.6mm x 15.8mm
Focal-length multiplier	2x	1.6x	1.5x
Color depth	12 bits	14 bits	12 bits
Sensitivity range	ISO 100 - ISO 6,400	ISO 100 - ISO 3,200/ISO 12,800 (expanded)	ISO 100 (expanded)/ISO 200 - ISO 3,200/ISO 6,400 (expanded)
Continuous shooting	3.0 fps n/a JPEG/10 raw	3.4fps 170 JPEG/9 raw	4 fps 9 raw/100 JPEG (medium/fine)
Viewfinder	Bundled plug-in articulating EVF	Optical	Optical
Autofocus	11-area contrast AF	9-area phase detect AF (contrast AF in Live View)	11-area phase detect AF (contrast AF in Live View)
Metering	324 zone	35 zone	420 pixel RGB sensor 3D Color Matrix Metering II
Shutter	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 30 minutes	1/4000 sec. to 30 sec.; bulb	1/4000 sec. to 30 sec; bulb
Flash	No	Yes	Yes
LCD	3-inch fixed 230,000 dots	3-inch fixed 920,000 dots	2.7-inch articulated 230,000 dots
Video (max resolution at 30fps)	1,280x720 Motion JPEG AVI	1,280x720 H.264 MOV	No 30fps mode; 1,280x720 24fps Motion JPEG AVI
Battery life (CIPA rating)	300 shots	400 shots	400 shots
Dimensions (WHD, inches)	4.8 x 2.8 x 1.4	5.1 x 3.8 x 2.4	5.0 x 4.1 x 3.1
Weight (ounces)	13.8; 14.9 (with EVF)	18.6	21.6
Mfr. Price	$1,099.98 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens or 17mm f2.8 lens)	$799.99 (body est.) $899.99 (with 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens)	$729.95 (body) $849.99 (est. with 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens)

It gives you more control in movie mode, with support for adjusting aperture and shutter speed. For automatic shooters, there's an improved iEnhance auto adjustment mode that operates a little more intelligently by isolating the elements of the scene it operates on. The company tweaked its focus-assist mode by linking the manual focus magnifcation to the focus point. Olympus also adds a couple of new art filters. Diorama delivers a simulated tilt-shift lens effect that makes big cities look like fuzzy Lilliputs, and Cross Process thatf simulates color and contrast shifts like those produced by processing film with the wrong chemicals. Like the current crop of Art filters, these will work in movie mode.

Finally, the E-P2 adds CEC support for TV control via HDMI.

Olympus also announced plans to ship a couple of new MFT lenses in the first half of next year, a 9-18mm f4-5.6 (18-36mm equivalent) and 14-150mm f4-5.6 (28-300mm equivalent). My first thought was that both have awfully narrow maximum apertures. I haven't moved past that thought. But pricing is still undetermined; perhaps they'll be really affordable.

Unfortunately, the E-P2 still lacks a built-in flash, so you'll have to choose between using the hot shoe for the EVF or for an add-on flash. That remains a big drawback for potential upgraders from a point-and-shoot. And without overall improvements to the AF system, I can't see how the E-P2 can do much better than its predecessor. Still, that's for us to figure out when we can test it. It's slated to ship in December.

[longfootx2]

The E-P2 appears to be a rush and catch up job now that Panasonic has the GF1. Nothing like stumbling over your own success. Olympus has everything to lose.

[X-C3PO]

E-P2 still no solve for using the both EVF and flash concurrently

[hugos7]

It sucks the fact that they made a such an upgrade in hurry, being an owner of the EP-1 they should really focus on improving the EP-1 on focus and shutter lag. After all the GF-1 is really on my mind these days...