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Olympus EP2 – First Look & Unbox


Love the quality of a DSLR, but its bulk size (yet, I’m already using a baby size DSLR T2i) and its obtrusive construction has been swaying me to get something more portable and subtle for my daily outings.  Mirrorless cameras/ Micro four thirds seem to be the best of both worlds.

So just a few weeks ago (this blog post’s way past due) I pulled the trigger and got myself the Olympus Pen E-P2 camera. Here goes the quick look:

↑Aside from the camera, I got quite a few other things to complement its look. Those I’ll get to later.

BAM: Star of today’s post – the Olympus Ep-2.

The price of the body’s about $265 after shipping and handling. $265! That was a price that I couldn’t pass on for a mirco 43rds. I also got the body-only because I wanted to purchase the Lumix 20mm f1.7 (pancake) instead of any of the Olympus kit-lenses.

The unbox:

Stuff inside the box: Pretty self-explanatory. 
↑Since it was my first mirrorless experience, I actually read through the manual. Wasn’t as informative as I hoped. YouTube’s still the way to go.

The presence of a beauty in undeniable.

Basic specs:

Closer look:

85% metal construction with the back penal made with plastic. The built gives this beauty a good amount of weight for sturdy handle. Metal also makes this more rigid and legit. I’m big on aesthetics, which is also one of the big factor why I chose the E-P2 over the E-PL2 and the GF series.

Quick appearance comparison between the two: Episode two vs girlfriend two.

↑Though, some have said the olympus series produce better still images, I think they’re both pretty dam good. To be honest, I think the look’s the only advantage the E-P2’s got. And that’s just my personal preference. The retro look really hit the spot.


↑With the Lumix 14mm f2.5 lens + metallic lens hood. If this camera’s a man, it’d be James Dean of the 21st century.

Now apart from the look, one big down side of this camera is its LCD screen.

↑I’m not sure if I just got a factory defect, but the low light display from this LCD screen is..CRAP. I can’t stress how horrible it looks. Though, the pictures turn our perfectly fine, the live view almost made me threw up on myself.

Back to its good side, it’s got a several fun art filters to play with. Quite entertaining.

Now onto its ISO performance:


↑Still tolerable.

Really pushing it.

If you’re going for the retro tv set look, boost it up to 6400 will do the trick:

Bottom line is – If you’re coming from a DSLR user, the image quality will throw you off a bit. For big and important events, I’ll bring my 550D with my Sigma f2.8 17-50mm. But for most occasions, where taking the right picture at the right time is what’s necessary, I’d gladly stick with the E-P2. I’m hoping with the mobility of this camera, i’ll be posting more of my day-to-day happenings on the blog.

To wrap, here are just a few shots I took recently: Both in doors and outdoor in various lightings.


Hell yes, time to experiment with street photography. Now I just have to learn to walk out my front door.

’til the next unboxing,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

http://www.theimaginaryzebra.com

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