E-P2

[Zou]

If anyone here has one of these, or is getting one soon, I'd be very keen to hear your thoughts.

[Learning]

I am very tempted to buy one with the zoom kit since that lens costs peanuts in the kit. The lens that I would use in portable mode would be the Panasonic pancake. All that puts me off is that this area of the market is changing so fast that I would risk changing systems within the year. I would hope that mft could become slimmer with clever design and an oled monitor.
If rumours are anything to go by, Nikon's proposed system with the 17mm diagonal is out of my shortlist because it is too small a format for present technology. I like the idea of an mft since the four thirds format is well proven by Olympus. I like the in-body stabilisation of the Oly. I don't like flash so it implies little that flash cannot be used while the EVF is in place. I am almost convincing myself to buy one as I write this.

[Zou]

My thinking too (re lens kit price). With the Panasonic 45-200 and forthcoming Olympus 9-18 I'd have no need for further lenses (although a desire for an M-mount adaptor and a couple of Summicrons would always linger). Small, compact, EVF for when it's too bright for the LCD, and better quality than my current DSLR. I'd still be shooting MF and LF for 'fun' but I need a good everyday camera.

[RogerMac]

I expect that you have seen John Foster's review, but in case you haven't here is a link


Personally I am a bit put off by the price and am looking seriously at the E-PL1, or waiting for the price to come down. I am not sure which



Roger

[Zou]

Thanks for that Roger. I'd personally avoid the E-PL1 as I really don't want a flash, I really do want two control wheels, and the whole thing looks cheap and ungainly and not something I'd want to carry around. Even my Holga looks classier. Just. Call me silly if you wish but if I am spending several hundred pounds on something I want it to at least look attractive. The E-P2 is a very handsome beast by comparison.

In Japan the E-PL1 is described as the 'Pen Lite' - double word play on it having a flash and being a lesser device.

[nspur]

I have an E-P1 that I've not used for some time. I found the method of focusing manual lenses with the zoom view very long-winded whereas with the Pana GF1 it's just a press on the main dial. The E-P2 does not seem to have done anything to improve this and I'm pretty sure that the E-PL1 won't have either.

[Zou]

I have read somewhere that you can now on the E-P2 quickly jump from magnified view to normal view with one touch of a (Fn I think) button, a significant improvement on the E-P1.

[Bone_Idle]

The E-P2 is out of my price range, I'm actually tempted by the E-P1 twin lens kit. The free flash is a tempting offer (as I can sell it to help finance the Panasonic 20mm).

Also tempted with the GF1 and 20mm kit, but I like the extra ISO range and IS of the E-P1.

the only thing stopping me is that I suspect there may be even better E-P1 deals on the way once the E-PL1 is released.