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Olympus PEN E-PM2 anyone? (IMGs)

Started Mar 1, 2015 | Discussions thread
aliasfox Senior Member • Posts: 1,375
Re: Thanks for valuable input ...
1

I have two E-PM2 bodies. One was bought as part of the $349 deal that Amazon ran for Cyber Monday 2013, and the other one was picked up as a backup body off of ebay. After selling most of the kit lenses (I kept one copy of the 40-150 f/4-5.6), I was able to get both bodies and one lens for $300.

First, the good:

- Same sensor as almost everything else Oly makes = same pictures as almost everything else Oly makes, at least when shooting in RAW.

- IBIS is not generally a concern for me as I shoot a lot of candids - with either the Oly 17mm or the PL25, motion blur kicks in long before I'm in stabilization territory, and I can generally brace myself well enough to shoot the 45mm at 1/60th. Good for the occasional posed very-low-light shot (ISO6400, f1.4, 1/15 sec.)

- With the Oly 17mm, Pana 14mm, or the 12-32, the thing is basically a large-ish point and shoot. If I throw on the 12-32 it's near-as-makes-no-difference the same size as my XZ-1, just trading a bit of zoom range for a bit more dynamic range and low light.

- The SCP is fantastic, especially when I have my VF2 attached.

- I almost always keep the camera on continuous low (3fps) - I'm fast enough to only take one shot, but hold it down and I can quickly get a little slideshow. A little too trigger happy on continuous high (8fps), but very happy it's there.

- I can throw on the VF-2 when I need it, something the GM1 can't do.

Then the bad:

- Could really use a second dial. I'm ok without the flip screen, but what's wrong with putting a spin-dial around the shutter button?

- No VF and flash at the same time. Sometimes ISO3200 doesn't cut it, but I want to be shooting with the VF2. I guess that's what OMDs or the E-P5 is for.

- Continuous AF is bad. Really bad. This by itself makes me want an E-M1, or any camera that can track, honestly.

- Build quality. My black unit has had to go in to replace the shutter, my red one has a finicky dial.

- I wish I could take these batteries and use them on an E-M1 - I have three batteries, and being able to carry one set of batteries for two bodies (one E-M1 and one E-PM2) would be great. Minor niggle though.

 aliasfox's gear list:aliasfox's gear list
Olympus XZ-1 Olympus PEN E-PM2 Olympus E-M1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 Olympus E-M5 II +17 more
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