PCWorld Rating
Pros
- Ergonomically comfortable, with textured hand grip
- Improved 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko MSC zoom kit lens
- In-body image stabilization
- Manual exposure and art filters in movie controls
- Accessory Port 2 for expanded functionality
- Built-in wireless flash control
Cons
- No built-in external mic jack
- Complex menu system
- Limited to AVI movie format (Motion JPEG OpenDML)
Bottom Line
The Olympus E-PL2 is a compact, versatile camera that will please travelers or anyone who wants to take great pictures without lugging around pounds of gear.
Images (click to enlarge)
Olympus is putting a lot of energy into its Micro Four Thirds product line, and the Olympus Pen E-PL2 interchangeable-lens camera demonstrates that the company has no plans to rest on its laurels.
Even though Olympus has stayed with the 12.3-megapixel Live CMOS image sensor found in other Pen cameras, it has redesigned the body of the E-PL2, improved the LCD, upgraded the accessory port, retooled the kit lens, and introduced a handful of creative accessories. The result? A camera that is fun to use and takes great pictures.
Features Overview
The E-PL2 features a 3-inch LCD with 460,000 pixels, 720p HD movie capture, the latest-generation TruePic V Image Processor, an SDHC- and SDXC-compatible memory card slot, and four color choices for the body (red, silver, white, or black). Additionally, the new Zuiko 14-42mm 3.5-5.6 II MSC kit lens has improved autofocusing.
As with its predecessor, the Pen E-PL1, you get in-body image stabilization, a pop-up flash (now with wireless flash control for certain Olympus flashes), and an effective dust-reduction system. Olympus has enhanced the Live Guide controls so that you can see how a picture will look before you press the shutter button. All LCDs with Live View can preview the image for you. With Olympus’s Live Guide, you also have specific controls in plain English, such as 'make brighter' or 'make darker', that you can see on the LCD as you’re moving the slider.
The E-PL2 has 22 scene options, such as Sunset and Children. If you want to let the camera do the choosing, however, you can use the iAuto mode, and the E-PL2 will do its best to identify the scene and pick the right setting. If you’re feeling creative, select from one of the six included art filters to create in-camera effects.
Performance, Image Quality, and Video Quality
Image quality for the E-PL2 is about the same as that of the other Pen models. The camera produces excellent JPEGs, with crisp color and good detail. Even though this model adds an ISO 6400 setting to the menu options, stick with ISO 1600 or below for best results. In our lab's subjective image tests, the E-PL2 received a word score of Very Good for exposure and distortion; it earned a score of Good for color and sharpness. Click on any of the test images at left to view them at a larger, original size.
Video quality is quite nice as well, even though it’s 720p and not full 1080p HD. In our subjective lab tests, the E-PL2 received a score of Good for video and audio quality. Here are sample AVI clips that we shot in bright indoor lighting and in low light with the E-PL2. For the highest-quality clips, select 720p from the drop-down menu in the lower-right corner of each player.
Fun Accessories
Olympus has created a lot of its own accessories, including three conversion lenses: fish-eye, wide angle, and macro. The company believes that it's more affordable for users to expand their optical choices than to buy specialty Micro Four Thirds mount lenses. If you decide to try the macro accessory lens, be sure to get the MAL-1 macro arm light. It’s a pair of LED lights for close-up work that draws power from the accessory port to provide illumination.
Things get really interesting with the Bluetooth-powered Penpal accessory, which can transfer images wirelessly from the E-PL2 to a variety of devices. The $79 Penpal PP-1 Bluetooth 2.1 accessory (not compatible with earlier Pen models) slides into Accessory Port 2 and enables you to send images to compatible laptops and Android phones. As of this writing, the Penpal is not compatible with iOS devices such as the iPad. I was, however, able to transfer files to my MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
You can send three picture sizes from the Penpal: small (640 by 480), medium (1280 by 960), and large (1920 by 1440). You can't send videos or full-size raw files or JPEGs. I've been using the medium size for images that I then push up to Flickr or my blog.
Once you pair the Penpal to a device, you send an image by browsing the photos in playback mode on your E-PL2. When you see a shot you like, press the OK button, and scroll down the menu that appears until you get to Send A Picture. Click on that, and you'll see your paired device in the next menu. Click OK, and the image will be sent. Click OK again on the E-PL2 to return to Playback mode. It's that easy, and it's very fast.
Once you get the hang of this workflow, it's really a time-saver. You have to set it up only once; after that, you just choose a picture and send. You can even have multiple computers in your pairing menu and choose which one to send to. Combined with the in-camera editing tools--shadow adjustment, cropping, black-and-white conversion, sepia toning, and saturation--the Penpal makes it easy and quick to shoot, edit, and upload images to your PC, Mac, or phone.
Olympus has also changed the battery and accompanying charger that ship with the E-PL2 to the newer BLS-5 lithium ion cell. It’s the same size as the previous BLS-1 used in the other Pen cameras, but it has four contact points instead of three. It’s also rated at the same 7.2V/1150mAh as the older batteries. I tested the BLS-1 in the E-PL2, and everything worked fine. If you already have batteries, they will work in the new body.
Software
For bundled software, you get Olympus Viewer 2 on a DVD (version 1.11). It’s easy enough to install, but it requires a restart. Once you have the application loaded, you can browse files from the E-PL2 and process raw image files--useful for iPhoto and Aperture users who need a way to process raw files until Apple adds support for the camera. There are some nice controls here for raw shooting, such as noise filter, false color suppression, and aberration control. You can also apply art filters in post-production, which is a thoughtful touch. And you get most of the standard controls you’d expect, such as white balance and exposure.
Drawbacks
Even though the on-board stereo microphones do a decent job of recording audio in movie mode, I’d like to have a stereo minijack on the camera itself. Olympus does offer an accessory port adapter, but that costs extra, requires another device to manage, and occupies the hotshoe so you can’t use it for other accessories, such as a video light.
From a Mac perspective, I’d like to see a different video codec than the AVI format the E-PL2 currently uses. Compared with the .H264 codec we see on Canon cameras, the AVI files seem a bit outdated.
And finally, an ongoing Olympus bugaboo is a menu system that can intimidate even the most tech-savvy photographer. For a camera that's designed to lure snapshooters away from their compacts, the interface still feels a bit rough.
Buying Advice
The Olympus E-PL2 is a compact, versatile camera that should please just about anyone who loves taking great pictures without lugging around pounds of gear. Combined with a good lens selection from Olympus and Panasonic--with other manufacturers soon to join the Micro Four Thirds standard--this is a camera system that can grow with your needs. And for travelers, the E-PL2 could very well be the lighter replacement for a bulky digital SLR.
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