subject: Review Olympus E P2 w 14 42mm [print this page] I was definitely on the fence about this camera for a while. I currently own a Nikon D60 and a Canon point-and-shoot, and thought I was just buying this camera just because of the need for a new camera body. I was reading forums for such a long time, putting up with probably the snarkiest debates between what brand is better, prime and zoom, etc. and I just went ahead and decided on this camera.
I absolutely LOVE this camera! There's something about the aesthetics of the body, the ease of the menu system (although it takes a little getting used to) that really opens up this camera to experimentation. I'm a sucker for retro styled cameras and this definitely brings old school charm with modern tech. The body is pretty solid too, a nice weight and very sturdy feeling. Personally I find the few number of lenses available to be a little bit relaxing, and not as overwhelming as when I look for lenses for my Nikon.
The electronic view finder is pretty spectacular. You can actually flip the viewfinder up so you can take photos while looking down into it which is pretty useful.
Overall, this is a camera for someone looking for something less complicated, perfectly capable of taking great photos, and a feeling of liberation when taking photos. Only drawback is that the price is almost the same as a mid-range DSLR, but if anything, the compact-ness of this little camera is definitely worth it.
A devout Canon person, it took courage to order an Oly product. After some getting used to the menus and controls, can't put this E-P2 down! Have owned many Canon point & shoot models over the years to supplement a bulky DSLR, but this tops them all. The optional electronic viewfinder is superb, and find myself using the back-of-the-camera viewfinder very little. Especially convenient for one who wears reading glasses, but does not wish the inconvenience of using glasses with a camera, as the menus can be displayed in the diopter corrected viewfinder. Did not even attempt to use the packaged software, as Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS5 open the Olympus RAW files.
