Olympus have announced the EP-2 and 2 new zoom lenses, a 9-18 f/4-5.6 and 14-150 f/4-5.6 and a new EVF. It looks like it's just a minor update to the EP-1 though, but it comes in black! The new camera will be available in January for $1099.99 (US$) with the 14-42 kit lens and the EVF:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0911/09110501olympusep2.asp

http://gizmodo.com/5397323/olympus-e+p2-flashier-than-the-e+p1-but-still-no-flash

A bit disappointing really. The flash on the GF1 is still more useful on this type of camera (for me) than the IS. As far as I can see, that's the only major difference between the two. The new wide zoom will be useful if it's better than the other lenses they've released (and comparable to the Panasonic wide zoom) but otherwise there's not much to get excited about... I would have liked to have seen a premium wide-normal zoom like the 14-54 MkII, a 25mm 1.4 and a 40mm 1.4-1.8 small prime.

with the viewfinder its ugly.
r

Disappointing for me too. I like the viewfinder, but IMHO the lack of flash (and the relatively high kit price) really kills it for me. If for nothing else than casual party pics. Looks like I'm going to hold out for the GF2 then. Some nice wide, fast primes also wouldn't hurt.

Still only a crap 230k LCD are they on drugs?

andrewd01 wrote:
Still only a crap 230k LCD are they on drugs?

That was the first thing I checked on the specs, very disappointing to see Olympus stick with the 230k screen on a camera that you use the rear LCD to do most of your work (Unless you buy the EVF). I will wait till Olympus or Panasonic adds a 920k+ screen before I buy one of these cameras.

That was the first thing I checked on the specs, very disappointing to see Olympus stick with the 230k screen on a camera that you use the rear LCD to do most of your work (Unless you buy the EVF)The EVF comes with the kit, but it's still disappointing. I wonder which of the EVFs will turn out to be better...

EOS20 wrote:
andrewd01 wrote:
Still only a crap 230k LCD are they on drugs?

That was the first thing I checked on the specs, very disappointing to see Olympus stick with the 230k screen on a camera that you use the rear LCD to do most of your work (Unless you buy the EVF). I will wait till Olympus or Panasonic adds a 920k+ screen before I buy one of these cameras.

Yes, this is bit disapointing, however, less of a problem now if the EVF works well. From what I can see it has a higher resolution than the GF1 EVF.

The Oly EFV should be incredible, per the specs. 1.4MPix...the same that's found in the Panny GH1, and MUCH higher resolution than the GF-1's VF.

Still, I have no desire to upgrade to the E-P2, though the new, tiny Oly 9-18 certainly grabs my interest.

Μeh. With that big lump on the hotshoe they may as well make it a DSLR and put a phase detect sensor in there for fast AF. I fail to see the point of this camera more and more every day tbh.

I'm 100% UN-impressed, to put it mildly.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the most over-priced ..objects.. that I have ever seen (short of certain equipment with a red badge).

Looks nice, for a turd.

Well, now we know what the E-P1 should have been. It's really just an E-P1 with an EVF port. The EVF is nice, but also shows why Panasonic went with the lower-spec unit, it's also huge compared to the Panny unit.

Not impressed with Oly here. They need an answer to the G1/GH1 ad this is not it. It is more viable than the E-P1 as a GF1 competitor now. Maybe they've fixed AF performance too, but I doubt it.

Most interesting part of the announcement is the 9-18. May have to get one of those provided it costs no more than the 4/3rds version.

mawz wrote:Not impressed with Oly here. They need an answer to the G1/GH1 ad this is not it. It is more viable than the E-P1 as a GF1 competitor now. Maybe they've fixed AF performance too, but I doubt it.

Have you actually tried it? I did and was not really annoyed by the AF speed.

Fred Relaix wrote:
EOS20 wrote:
andrewd01 wrote:
Still only a crap 230k LCD are they on drugs?

That was the first thing I checked on the specs, very disappointing to see Olympus stick with the 230k screen on a camera that you use the rear LCD to do most of your work (Unless you buy the EVF). I will wait till Olympus or Panasonic adds a 920k+ screen before I buy one of these cameras.

Yes, this is bit disapointing, however, less of a problem now if the EVF works well. From what I can see it has a higher resolution than the GF1 EVF.

But having to use the EVF because the rear LCD isn't good enough kind of defeats the purpose of having the EP-2 as a "Compact" carry around camera IMHO. Might as well buy a GH-1 if you really want/need a EVF or use a small d/SLR like the Pentax KX or K7 and pancake lenses.

This type of finder works well for me, when I'm shooting with scale focus or hyperfocus techniques. Otherwise, the existing E-P1 LCD works OK for me. I don't expect the E-P1 to be a 'snap' to use; it's not a P&S, and it's not a 5D - it's a small digital camera that provides sufficiently good IQ to make it worth the effort to use carefully. If I want fast, I'll use a 1DII. If I want really small, I'll use a F31fd. If I want 'just right' while I'm traveling very light, I'll use an E-P1.

The point of the external EVF - is that it is an option - so you can choose if you have a small camera without VF or mid sized camera with EVF... Personally I am very excited - i bought and returned GF1 due to the horrible EVF that is available from panasonic - and considering its price it was absolutely absurd....

Alex

EOS20 wrote:
andrewd01 wrote:
Still only a crap 230k LCD are they on drugs?

That was the first thing I checked on the specs, very disappointing to see Olympus stick with the 230k screen on a camera that you use the rear LCD to do most of your work (Unless you buy the EVF). I will wait till Olympus or Panasonic adds a 920k+ screen before I buy one of these cameras.





agreed, 230k is unacceptable on a live view camera. I have the G1 and LX3 and find the 460k screens on these good enough. Not as nice as the 920k, but useable.

Fred Relaix wrote:
mawz wrote:Not impressed with Oly here. They need an answer to the G1/GH1 ad this is not it. It is more viable than the E-P1 as a GF1 competitor now. Maybe they've fixed AF performance too, but I doubt it.

Have you actually tried it? I did and was not really annoyed by the AF speed.


I have tried EP-1 and my impression that was it was about as good as one of the better point and shoots, in other words pretty bad. It is in a different league altogether from the Panasonic G series cameras, which performs nearly as well as an SLR.

Fred Relaix wrote:
mawz wrote:Not impressed with Oly here. They need an answer to the G1/GH1 ad this is not it. It is more viable than the E-P1 as a GF1 competitor now. Maybe they've fixed AF performance too, but I doubt it.

Have you actually tried it? I did and was not really annoyed by the AF speed.

I've tried the E-P1. It AF's quite slowly compared to a G-series (which rival low-end DSLR's for speed). Using one was somewhat more painful than my G1 in both AF and MF, due to slow AF and the poor LCD resolution.

andrewd01 wrote:
EOS20 wrote:
andrewd01 wrote:
Still only a crap 230k LCD are they on drugs?

That was the first thing I checked on the specs, very disappointing to see Olympus stick with the 230k screen on a camera that you use the rear LCD to do most of your work (Unless you buy the EVF). I will wait till Olympus or Panasonic adds a 920k+ screen before I buy one of these cameras.

agreed, 230k is unacceptable on a live view camera. I have the G1 and LX3 and find the 460k screens on these good enough. Not as nice as the 920k, but useable.

I must confess I'm a bit surprised to see all these harsh comments about the screen. I have the 40D (same screen) for about two years and am finding it to be perfectly fine. LV, magnifying pictures, the lot. I've handled 920K screens in a 50D, D300 etc. several times and while it is nicer, it certainly won't make or break any deal for me.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

mawz wrote:
Have you actually tried it? I did and was not really annoyed by the AF speed.

I've had it for a month and was very annoyed by the AF speed, especially with the lack of a decent MF option. More than anything I was annoyed by the fact that the lens had to go to infinity, then minimum focusing distance, then infinity again before it finally stopped at the intended distance. Same reason the Contax G1 and Nikon35Ti annoyed me ages ago. Not sure why it has to be like that but it made AF feel mushy and non responsive and since other cameras have managed to avoid it I cosider it unacceptable. But you are right, if you shoot landscapes and stills you will not even notice it. Then again, if thats what you shoot I dont know why you even need AF and all the general retardation it has caused to this camera.

Yakim Peled wrote:
I must confess I'm a bit surprised to see all these harsh comments about the screen. I have the 40D (same screen) for about two years and am finding it to be perfectly fine. LV, magnifying pictures, the lot. I've handled 920K screens in a 50D, D300 etc. several times and while it is nicer, it certainly won't make or break any deal for me.


Same. In fact I'd prefer the same camera with no LCD and no AF and consequently a smaller battery, if that meant there would be enough room for a built-in VF with a rangefinder patch and 2-3 framelines for some basic primes or a built-in EVF in the corner of the camera. A small flash would also be nice so you can trigger other remote flashes like the s90 does. But I realise I'd probably be the only person to buy such a thing and its not gonna happen. Thankfully digital is not important for me, so when I want a truly enjoyable camera I'm sticking with film

A Super telephoto zoom, Macro, Fisheye, and a wide prime for the first half of 2011 according to the Olympus lens roadmap:

Lens Roadmap

Sorry, typo. The new lenses are due in the first half of 2011 not 2010.

EOS20 wrote:
A Super telephoto zoom, Macro, Fisheye, and a wide prime and another lens adapter are planned for the first half of 2010 according to the Olympus lens roadmap:

Lens Roadmap



For the first half of 2011, no? And the adapter is the one already available (and even since Nov last year, branded Panasonic).

If they plan a WA prime I wonder what they are thinking of; something smaller than the 9-18 zoom, or something faster?

I personally wasn't planning on getting a lens wider than the 14-42 kit, but the 9-18 looks very interesting. I like the idea of the wide prime as well, but the 'first half of 2011' is a long wait. There could be a lot of competition in this market segment by then.

For me, the E-P2 isn't a compelling upgrade to my E-P1, but it's nice to have another choice on the market.