Olympus EP-2 coming?

[totifoto]

Been seeing some rumors on the internet that Olympus is coming with EP-2 before the year ends ,now with a viewfinder. If that is true and the viewfinder is useable then this is the camera I have been waiting for.......until I can afford the M9

Anyone here that knows soemthing reliable about this camera?

[BillBingham2]

Looks like a logical next step.

I wonder how fast the old Pens evolved into the Pen FT? How many months between them were there? How does this compair to the current length of life cycle between digital cameras?

B2 (;->

[PatrickT]

I'll take the one on the left!

[coelacanth]

This might be it?

http://43rumors.com/october-31-2009-...-announcement/

I don't care for the flash, but EVF would be really really nice.

[Traut]

It looks like a digital Werra to me. I like it

[Photon42]

They should stop bringing up these nice MFT cameras. How shall I ever raise funds for something else ...

[Trius]

Where's the new fast primes without the distortion of the 17?

[urban_alchemist]

Originally Posted by Trius

Where's the new fast primes without the distortion of the 17?

That's be over at the Panasonic stand

[rover]

Originally Posted by Trius

Where's the new fast primes without the distortion of the 17?

Endless delays of buying decision. Buy the Panny 20 or wait to see if Oly will offer any new lenses in the near future? I won't be making any decision until at least November regardless.

[Joe Leung]

This is the one I am waiting for!

[Trius]

LOL! But I figure Panasonic has what, one fast prime? Is it shipping yet? If not how do we know it's better than the ZD 17 wrt distortion?

I could be uninformed about other Panasonic primes, and the Leica 25 doesn't count!

[principe azul]

This is beginning to p me off.

I'm all set for the GF1, having waited a year because I didn't like the G1, then the E-P1, and now this.

Have given up on Samsung, who appear to have appalling customer service and won't reply to emails asking about the NX. And then there's rumours of everyone else jumping on the mirrorless camera idea that we've been sold on for years.... Grrr!!!!

20/1.7 okay, but where's the 10/2.8, the 12/2?

[count_zero]

I would like to see a 45-200mm f4-5.6 similar to Panasonic's except faster, maybe fixed at f2.8 if that's possible without making the lens ridiculously huge.

[Tom Diaz]

Originally Posted by count_zero

I would like to see a 45-200mm f4-5.6 similar to Panasonic's except faster, maybe fixed at f2.8 if that's possible without making the lens ridiculously huge.

I hear you, but really, there is a lot to be said for that lens as is: goes out to 200mm, image stabilized, good images, and a very very reasonable price.

Want something way better for shooting animals at twilight on your African photo-safari, or [humans] at a night ball game? Maybe bolt on a 90mm f/2 Summicron, or one of those nice 4/3 Sigma lenses.

Exciting times we live in.

Tom

[peepete77]

Now, seeing this today, I feel very upset buying the EP-1 last week. Used it and liked it, but I really miss the viewfinder... Oh well, perhaps I can manage with the live view alone...

One other thing, I think the good reviews for the EP-1 is well deserved, but having used it extensively now for over a week, e.g. shooting at night and in churches, I am still not as impressed as some of the reviewers are in terms of the high ISO performance. The noise is not pretty, and had it only looked grainy, film-like. I think it's not. In my humble opinion, Olympus still has a bit to go on their ISO capacity. When reviewers praise this models ISO performance over the previous Olympus DSLR's, it really only shows how bad the DSLR's are.
My advice: stick to RAW when shooting in low light.

[Tom Diaz]

Originally Posted by peepete77

Now, seeing this today, I feel very upset buying the EP-1 last week. Used it and liked it, but I really miss the viewfinder... Oh well, perhaps I can manage with the live view alone...

One other thing, I think the good reviews for the EP-1 is well deserved, but having used it extensively now for over a week, e.g. shooting at night and in churches, I am still not as impressed as some of the reviewers are in terms of the high ISO performance. The noise is not pretty, and had it only looked grainy, film-like. I think it's not. In my humble opinion, Olympus still has a bit to go on their ISO capacity. When reviewers praise this models ISO performance over the previous Olympus DSLR's, it really only shows how bad the DSLR's are.
My advice: stick to RAW when shooting in low light.

Think about selling it! Life is short.

[rover]

fyi, the real e-p2 is to have an external optional evf, not a built in one.

[theRenaissance]

Originally Posted by rover

fyi, the real e-p2 is to have an external optional evf, not a built in one.

And where did you heard it from?

[rover]

Originally Posted by theRenaissance

And where did you heard it from?

I probably should have said it is widely speculated that the E-P2 will have an external EVF as the new Panny does.

This has been widely reported and all but comfirmed on the photo rumor sites since OLY announced they will introduce a second body before the end of the year.

I would bet there will not be an in body EVF.

[count_zero]

Want something way better for shooting animals at twilight on your African photo-safari, or [humans] at a night ball game? Maybe bolt on a 90mm f/2 Summicron, or one of those nice 4/3 Sigma lenses.

I can only dream of owning a 90mm Summicron in today's economy. Sigma makes the 4/3 70-200mm f2.8, but it's too big to fit in my bag and a little too expensive. Maybe asking for the equivalent m43 lens at a cheaper price is too much to ask.

Now, seeing this today, I feel very upset buying the EP-1 last week. Used it and liked it, but I really miss the viewfinder... Oh well, perhaps I can manage with the live view alone...

I don't miss an EVF. The 3" Hoodman Hoodloupe solved my outdoor glare problem. It's a little expensive, but much cheaper than the GF-1 EVF, and it has a diopter that you can use to adjust eye relief.

[Tom Diaz]

Originally Posted by count_zero

I can only dream of owning a 90mm Summicron in today's economy. Sigma makes the 4/3 70-200mm f2.8, but it's too big to fit in my bag and a little too expensive. Maybe asking for the equivalent m43 lens at a cheaper price is too much to ask.

Maybe I drifted from my main point, but just so. The Panasonic lens is amazingly good, especially for the money. You can ask for faster but, in any form (Summicron, Panasonic that has not been built yet, etc.) that would cost you a lot.

It is true that something like a Sigma 105mm or 150mm f/2.8 would cost a lot less than a Summicron ($500 or $800 resp.) and probably be really sweet on the G1 or E-P1. Or maybe you have an old Nikkor 105mm or something like that lying around. Or your dad's old Vivitar Series 1. That's the beauty of it all. You can probably adapt just about anything to these cameras if you are willing to focus manually, and (in my view, especially with the G1) that is not an onerous thing to do.

Tom

[count_zero]

The Panasonic lens is amazingly good, especially for the money.

Yeah, your right. It's a great deal for the money and size/weight. I have a Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 that I consider too big and heavy to lug around with my Pen. The Voigtlander 90mm f/3.5 is not much smaller than the panny 45-200mm. Plus, you get the AF and OIS. I'm not sure how much better the OIS is vs. the EP-1 IS.

[Tom Diaz]

Originally Posted by count_zero

Yeah, your right. It's a great deal for the money and size/weight. I have a Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 that I consider too big and heavy to lug around with my Pen. The Voigtlander 90mm f/3.5 is not much smaller than the panny 45-200mm. Plus, you get the AF and OIS. I'm not sure how much better the OIS is vs. the EP-1 IS.

Well, I do think in-body IS, like Olympus has, is a great thing, for situations like we're discussing--adapting old lenses that aren't auto anything (not even auto diaphragm on a modern camera).

With a manually focused, manual everything telephoto the E-P1 would be fast enough, and the IS would be nice, but for that application I would want a TTL viewfinder like on the G1 or GF1.

So maybe we're still waiting for just the right combination of features.

I'm OK for now, because I am not a frequent telephoto shooter. Most of my stuff uses normal and wider lenses, or short telephotos. So it is especially easy for me to live with the Panasonic lens.

Tom

[NDAv]

The camera pictured on the left is not a good fantasy design. Three command dials on the back for just the right thumb is a little excessive don't you think?

I would like a m4/3 camera design similar to the Panasonic LC1 or the Olympus C7070 (my cam). A focus distance scale and a DOF scale on the LCD/EVF for manual focusing is a must also. A programmable custom mode is also a must.

My 5 year old C7070 has both an electronic focus distance scale and a custom mode. Why has there yet to be a m4/3 camera with a focus distance scale for manual focusing? Why has Olympus not released a camera with a custom mode in over 4 years?

They can perhaps go even further and have add a mode where the camera automatically sets the hyperfocal focus distance as you change focal length of aperture, similar to the way the custom mode for my C7070 is set up. Great for street shooting.

If they can do all this, then I will happily upgrade to m4/3. Until then, I will continue using my C7070.

[count_zero]

e. Why has there yet to be a m4/3 camera with a focus distance scale for manual focusing?

I think it's a physics problem. There are no mirror(s) and prism in the m43 body, and the manual focus (assuming non 4/3 lenses) settings are not transmitted back to the camera digitally. So, it simply can't triangulate distance. But, they should have something like a DoF and focus distance scale for the digital lenses at least. They probably think more numbers on the screen will confuse point-n-shoot users who want to upgrade, or they have other pressing firmware bugs that are higher priority to fix first.