There's a lot to like about the Olympus PEN E-P2. It's stylish, well built, relatively easy to use and takes great pictures out of the box, thanks to its Micro Four Thirds technology and quality lenses.

We liked:

The ISO performance is impressive, which is just as well considering the lack of flash.

The metering system is nigh-on foolproof, and the new art effects, such as Cross Process and Diorama, are genuinely useful. This is a great looking camera and the lenses are of high quality.

We disliked:

The price – for what you actually get, it's pretty expensive at £899 with the 14-42mm lens.

For the same money you can get a mid-range SLR from Canon or Nikon; the absence of flash as standard on the Olympus PEN E-P2 rubs salt into the wound, too. The retractable lens mechanism can be infuriating until you get used to it.

Verdict:

To sidestep the major pricing issue, Olympus has also brought out an 'affordable', simplified version called the E-PL1 (thought it'll still cost you £500).

The E-PL1 actually comes with flash, and although it has less advanced controls than the Olympus PEN E-P2, it's still based on Micro Four Thirds, and still shoots HD video.

So if you're looking for an SLR backup, but are keen to keep costs down while gaining benefits of a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, this seems a wiser buy.

For people happy to pay top dollar for the full range of features on the Olympus PEN E-P2, the question is whether you buy this camera or the rival Panasonic Lumix GF1.

While we like the PEN, we'd probably go for the Panny. It's £200 cheaper, comes with flash, has a smarter AF and takes equally good shots (especially if you buy it with the wonderfully fast and bright pancake lens).