We've been impressed by the quality of Micro Four Thirds-system lens, and the 14-42mm glass supplied with our Olympus PEN E-P2 is a great performer.
While not as fast and bright as the alternative 17mm pancake lens, its maximum aperture of f/3.5 is very handy in dodgy light, or just for blurring the background on portraits.
WIDESCREEN:The 16:9 aspect ratio option enables you to take shots for viewing on a widescreen TV, but note there is some distortion of vertical lines
Lens distortion is kept to the minimum, and despite our gripes about the locking system, being able to concertina the lens back into the camera helps portability. Image stabilisation is built into the camera, rather than the lens, but this is still good glass.
The Olympus PEN E-P2 has a similarly sized sensor to the similarly spec'd Panasonic Lumix GF1, so image performance is comparable.
POP ART:Rather than cheesy Warhol effects, we used the Pop Art filter to really boost primary colours on everyday shots, and it works well
The Olympus PEN E-P2's metering system is nigh foolproof, and JPEGs out of the camera are nice and sharp. So far so good, but we didn't find the AF as fast and reliable as the AF system on the Panasonic Lumix GF1.
It's not so much that the AF is sluggish and 'hunts', rather that it doesn't always focus in the most logical place – going for the foreground rather than the horizon or middleground in a big landscape for instance.
FILM GRAIN:The black and white film grain filter is also great for moody monochromes
Fortunately, the range of image options and widgets more than compensates for the slightly eccentric AF. A big selling point of the Olympus PEN E-P2 is the range of art effects.
In-camera image tweaks are hardly a new thing on compacts, but Olympus eschews the usual daft options (soft-focus food, anyone?) in favour of Cross Process, Diorama, Pop Art and other handy tweaks.
PORTRAIT:While the reasonably bright f/3.5 14-42mm is useful for portraits, the Auto White Balance sometimes struggles with accurate skin tones
As with the Panasonic Lumix GF-1 you can adjust the aspect ratio of the image, shooting in 16:9 ratio in order to display your shots on a widescreen TV.
Returning to exposure controls, you need to watch the Auto White Balance. It struggles to deliver consistently accurate skin tones, so we'd recommend adjusting it each time according to the lighting conditions. The bespoke modes are reliable enough.
METERING:The metering system is really reliable, delivering well exposed shots in a variety of conditions. The 14-42mm lens maintains sharpness and detail when zoomed out
Other useful features on the Olympus PEN E-P2 include a dust-reduction mode, Face Detection and Shadow Adjustment Technology. And as you'd expect in a camera of this price and calibre, you can shoot in RAW for maximum image detail and tonal felicity.
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