Olympus's new PEN camera -- two new too soon?
We've talked before about the Olympus PEN EP-1 and how we're sold on its looks and image quality, but not the weight and price tag. Now, barely five months into launch, Olympus has gone and rolled out the next shooter under the PEN name -- the PEN EP-2 hits shops in December 2009.
Isn't that a little too soon? We're guessing a few new Oly PEN owners are pretty miffed that their shiny new toys aren't so new anymore. But that's the price of technology and chasing trends. Olympus is obviously embroiled in a show of one-upmanship with Panasonic and its Lumix GF1.
So, are there enough new features to warrant dumping your new'ish EP-1 for this new latest and greatest? We don't think so, but there are some interesting features to consider.
The biggest is the new accessory port on the EP-2 that allows the use of Olympus' new detachable VF-2 electronic viewfinder (EVF) with 100 percent view coverage. You can also attach an external microphone for video recording. The drawback is that once the EVF or microphone is plugged in, an external flash can't be used, making it one or the other. There are also two new art-filter functions for more creative shots and continuous-tracking autofocus.
The real news, however, is that Olympus will release two new lenses early next year -- a super-wide-angle 9-18mm lens (18-36mm equivalent on 35mm) and a super-zoom 14-150mm lens (28-300mm equivalent of 35mm).
The E-P2 is slated for retail in December. Pricing for Asia is not yet fixed. The VF-2 EVF will be sold as a bundle with the new camera.
Here's a first look video (clip from getolympus).
