Olympus E-PM2 Review

4.5

November 23, 2012 | Mark Goldstein |

Buy a E-PM2 Black Digital Camera Kit w/ 14-42 mm Lens (16.1 MP, SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Slot)

Buy a PEN E-PM2 Black Mirrorless Digital Camera Kit w/ 14-42mm f/3.5 II Lens (16.1 MP, 3" Touchscreen LCD, 3x Opt, SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Slot)

Lowest Price: $499.00

Specifications

Type

Body material

Metal
Lens mount

Micro Four Thirds

Image Sensor

Type

4/3'' Live MOS sensor
Effective pixels

16.1 Megapixels
Filter array

Primary colour filter (RGB)
Aspect ratio & area

4:3 / 17.3 x 13.0mm
Full resolution

17.2 Megapixels

Engine

Type

TruePic VI

Filter

Dust reduction filter

Supersonic Wave Filter
IR cut filter

Hybrid type

Live View

Displayed information
- Aperture
- Shutter speed
- Auto bracket
- AE lock
- Focus mode
- Shooting mode
- Battery check
- My Mode
- IS activating mode
- Internal temperature warning
- Face / Eye detection mode
- Record mode
- ISO
- Sequential shooting mode
- White Balance
- Metering mode
- Exposure compensation value
- AF frame display
- AF confirmation mark
- Shooting information
- Spot metering area
- Super FP
- Flash status
- Touch Panel Condition
- Focal length
- Eye-Fi condition
- Flash mode
- Histogram
AF type

Contrast detection system
100% field of view

Approx. 100%
Magnification levels

5 / 7 / 10 / 14x
Display modes
- Histogram
- Comparison
- Grid (4 types)
- Standard information

Image Stabiliser

Type

Sensor shift
Modes

Two-dimensional, vertical or horizontal activation
Effective Compensation Range

Up to 3 EV steps

Focusing System

Method

Contrast Detection AF system (when non high-speed contrast AF compatible lens is used, it works as MF assist)
Focus areas

35 points / All target, Group target (9-areas), Single target (normal), Single target (small)
Auto selection with Face Detection ON
800 points / Manual selection in Magnified View Mode
AF lock

Yes , Locked by first position of shutter release button in single AF mode, AE/AF lock button (customised)
Modes
- Manual focus
- Single AF
- Continuous AF
- Single AF + MF
- AF Tracking
- Touch target
AF illuminator

Yes
Full time AF

Yes
Manual focus

Yes , With enlarged focusing area
Face Detection extension
- Eye Detect AF: Off
- Left side priority
- Near side priority
- Right side priority
Predictive AF

Yes
AF tracking

Yes , Available in continuous AF mode

Exposure System

Modes
- Programme automatic
- Aperture priority
- Shutter priority
- Manual
- Bulb
- Time
- i-Auto
- Scene Modes
- Art Filter
Exposure compensation

+/- 3EV ( 1, 1/2, 1/3 steps )
Exposure bracketing

2 / 3 / 5 frames ( +/- 1/3, 2/3, 1 EV steps )
7 frames ( +/- 1/3, 2/3 EV steps )
HDR bracketing

3 / 5 frames ( +/- 2 / 3 EV steps )
7 frames ( +/- 2 EV steps )
Note: HDR picture can not be made by this function.
ISO bracketing

3 frames ( 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV steps )
AE lock

Yes
My Mode

4 settings storable
Enhancement function

Shadow Adjustment Technology

Scene Modes

Number of scene modes

25
Modes
- Portrait
- e-Portrait
- Landscape
- Landscape with Portrait
- Macro
- Sports
- Night Scene
- Night Scene with portrait
- Children
- High key
- Low key
- Digital Image Stabilisation
- Nature Macro
- Candle
- Sunset
- Documents
- Panorama
- Fireworks
- Beach and Snow
- Fisheye converter
- Macro converter
- 3D*
- Wide converter
- Underwater Macro
- Underwater Wide
* Only for stills and with usage of 3D lens (H-FT012)

Multi-Exposure

Max. number of frames

2 frames (shooting)
3 frames (editing)
Auto gain control

Yes
Frame assistance

Live View

Light Metering

Method

TTL open aperture light metering
Zones

324 zones Multi-pattern Sensing System
Detection range

0 - 20 EV (17mm f2.8, ISO 100)
Modes
- ESP light metering
- Spot metering
- Centre weighted metering
- Highlight
- Shadow

Art Filter

Modes
- Pop Art
- Soft Focus
- Pale & Light Colour
- Light Tone
- Grainy Film
- Pin Hole
- Diorama
- Cross Process
- Dramatic Tone
- Gentle Sepia
- Key Line
- Water colour
Variation / Effect

Available

Sensitivity

Auto

ISO 200 - 25600 (customisable, default ISO 200 - 1600)
Manual

ISO 200 - 25600 in 1/3 or 1 EV ISO steps

Shutter

Shutter type

Computerised focal-plane shutter
Self timer

2s / 12s
Custom (delay 1-30sec.,shooting interval 0.5/1/2/3sec.,number of shots 1-10)

Shutter Speeds

Shutter speed range

1/4000 - 60s (in 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV steps)
Bulb mode

Up to 30 minutes (selectable longest time in the menu, default: 8 minutes)

White Balance

AUTO WB system

Advanced detection system with Live MOS sensor
Manual White balance (One-Touch)

Yes
White balance bracketing

3 frames / +/- 2, 4, 6mired steps
One-touch white balance

2 custom settings can be registered
Custom WB

1 setting can be registered at Kelvin temperature (2000K - 14000K)
Preset values
- Tungsten
- Flourescent 1
- Sunlight
- Flash
- Overcast
- Shade
- Underwater
Auto Flash adjustment

Off / Auto WB / Flash
Keep warm colour

On / Off
White balance adjustment

+/- 7 in each R-B / G-M axis

Sequence Shooting

Speed (H)

Approx. 8fps
Speed (L)

3.6fps (IS off) , 3.0fps
Max. number of frames

27 frames (RAW)
19 frames (JPG / Large Normal mode)
Conditions

Memory card: Toshiba SDHC UHS-I card R95 W80 model Premiugate series "Class 10" 8GB
When using the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm II R f3.5-5.6
Note: Depending on shooting conditions, the sequential shooting speed may reduce speed during shooting.

Image Processing

Colour space

sRGB / AdobeRGB
Sharpness + Contrast

5 levels
Contrast

5 levels
Saturation

5 levels
Black & White filter

Yellow, Orange, Red, Green
Black & White toning

Sepia, Blue, Purple or Green in Black & White mode
Picture mode

i-Enhance, Vivid, Natural, Portrait, Muted, Monotone, Art Filter, Custom
Gradation

4levels (auto, high key, normal, low key)
Engine

TruePic VI
Art Filter bracketing

Available
Tele converter effect

2x

Internal Flash

Modes
- AUTO
- Manual (Full, 1/4, 1/16, 1/64)
- Red-eye reduction
- Slow synchronisation with red-eye reduction
- Slow synchronisation
- Slow synchronisation 2nd curtain
- Fill-in
- Off
Type

Detachable flash (bundled)
Flash compensation

+/- 3 EV ( 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV steps )
Guide number

10 (ISO 200)
X-sync speed

1/250s / 1/4000s (Super FP Mode)

External Flash Control

X-sync speed

1/250s / 1/4000s (Super FP Mode)
Type

TTL AUTO, AUTO, MANUAL, FP TTL AUTO, FP MANUAL
Modes
- Auto
- Red-eye reduction
- Slow synchronisation
- 2nd curtain and slow synchronisation
- Fill-in for exclusive flash
- Manual
Intensity

+/- 3 EV ( 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV steps )
Note: Some functions are only available if they are supported by the external flash.

Wireless Flash Control

Number of channels

4 channels
Compatible external flash

FL-36R, FL-50R, FL-300R, FL-600R
Control method

Triggered and controlled by bundled flash
Group setting

4 groups
Available when used together with cameras compatible with the Olympus wireless RC flash system.

Monitor

Monitor type

LCD - Touch Panel
Touch Control fucntions
- Shutter release
- Enlargement
- Live Guide
- AF area selection
- AF area enlargement
- Frame forward/backward
- Enlargement playback
- Super Control Panel
- Art Filter
- Scene Modes
- Shooting mode
Monitor size

7.6cm / 3.0'' (16:9)
Resolution

460000 dots
Brightness adjustment

+/- 7 levels
Colour balance

+/- 7 levels Vivid (default) / Natural

Super Control Panel

Displayed information
- Battery indicator
- Record mode
- Shutter speed
- Aperture value
- Exposure compensation indicator
- ISO
- AE bracketing
- AF frame
- Focus mode
- AEL notification
- Face detection
- Number of storable frames
- Metering mode
- Exposure mode
- Exposure level view
- Flash compensation value
- Colour space
- Gradation
- Colour saturation compensation value
- Sharpness compensation value
- Contrast compensation value
- White balance
- White balance compensation value
- Noise reduction
- Flash mode
- Drive mode
- Internal temperature warning
- Histogram

Recording Formats

RAW

12bit
RAW & JPEG

Yes parallel recording
JPEG

Yes
Aspect ratio

4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 / 6:6 / 3:4
MPO (3D)

Yes

Image Size

RAW

4608 x 3456 compressed / 17MB / frame
4608 x 3456 Fine (compression: 1/4) / 7.5MB / frame
4608 x 3456 Normal (compression: 1/8) / 3.5MB / frame
2560 x 1920 Normal (compression: 1/8) 1.1MB / frame
1024 x 768 Normal (compression: 1/8) / 0.3MB / frame

Still Image Recording

EXIF

2.2
PIM

III
DPOF

Yes
DCF

Yes

Movie Recording System

Recording format

MOV(MPEG-4AVC/H.264), AVI(Motion JPEG)
Image Stabilisation Mode

Yes Electronical image shifting (Digital IS)
HD Movie quality

Full HD 1920 x 1080 (16:9) 30p, 20Mbps (MOV)
Full HD 1920 x 1080 (16:9) 30p, 17Mbps (MOV)
HD 1280 x 720 (16:9) 30p, 13Mbps (MOV)
HD 1280 x 720 (16:9) 30p, 10Mbps (MOV)
HD 1280 x 720 (16:9) / 30fps (AVI Motion JPEG®)
Movie quality

640 x 480 / 30fps (AVI Motion JPEG®)
29min (17Mbps)
14min (SD) / 7min (HD) (AVI Motion JPEG®)*
Max. file size

4GB (AVCHD)
2GB (Motion-JPEG)
Exposure Modes
- Aperture priority
- Art Filter
- Manual
- Programme automatic
- Shutter priority
* Some Art Filters are excluded
Movie effects
- Multi shot echo
- One shot echo
- Art fade

Sound Recording System

Internal microphone

Stereo
Recording format

Stereo PCM/16bit, 48kHz, Wave Format Base
External microphone

Optional
Image footage

30s
Speaker

Yes
Microphone functions
- Wind Noise Reduction
- Recording Volume

View Images

Modes
- Index
- Calendar
- Zoom
- Slide show
- Movie
- Single
Light box

Yes
Histogram in playback mode

Yes
Shooting information

Off / On

Erase / Protect / Copy Function

Erase modes

Single, All, Selected
Image protect mode

Single frame, Selected frames, All Frames, Release protect (Single/All selected)

Image Editing

RAW data edit

Yes
Red-eye reduction

Yes
Sepia

Yes
Black & White

Yes
Resize

Yes
Correction of saturation

Yes
Shadow Adjustment

Yes
Trimming

Yes
e-Portrait

Yes

Menu languages in camera

English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Czech, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Croatian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Greek, Slovak, Turkish, Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Serbian

Customisation Options

Fn Button

Yes
My Mode

4 settings storable
Factory reset

Full / Standard
Programmable button

Yes

Interface

Media

SD Memory Card (SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I compatible) Class 6 is recommended for Movie shooting
HDMI™

Yes Micro connector (Type D) *
USB 2.0 High Speed

Yes
Combined V & USB output

Yes NTSC or PAL selectable
Wireless connectivity
- Eye-Fi Card compatible
- Bluetooth®
- FlashAir
Connection

Accessory Port 2
* "HDMI", the HDMI logo and "High-Definition Multimedia Interface" are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC.