November 5th, 2009
Olympus announces new E-P2 compact interchangeable lens camera
Just five months after Olympus announced its first Micro Four-Thirds compact interchangeable lens camera, comes today’s announcement of an updated version, the Olympus Pen E-P2 Micro Four Thirds camera. It’s not a huge step up from the E-P1, but it does add some useful features, including a new accessory port that accepts the bundled Electronic View Finder (EVF) (and optional external microphone adapter), full manual shutter and aperture control when shooting video, and continuous autofocus tracking.
Other new features include two additional art filters: Diorama, which simulates a tilt-shift lens’ miniature faking abilities, and Cross Process, which simulates the bright colors and contrast of cross processing film with the wrong chemicals. The two new filters (as well as the original Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film and Pin Hole filters included in the E-P1) can be applied to both still images and HD videos.
Besides a new black color (vs. the E-P1’s silver and white versions) and the accessory port, which adds a bit of height to the body (0.2 of an inch to be exact, bringing the E-P2’s dimensions to 4.75×2.95×1.43 inches), the E-P2’s body is essentially identical to its predecessor’s.
The E-P2 will start shipping in December 2009 for $1,099.99 bundled with the EVF and either a 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens or a 17mm f/2.8 pancake lens. The E-P1’s pricing remains at $749.99 body-only, $799.99 with a 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, or $899.99 with a 17mm f/2.8 lens and optical viewfinder.
Check out a hands-on preview of the E-P2 from our sister site CNET below:
Janice Chen has been covering technology for almost two decades. She got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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