Thoughts on the E-PM2...

As my GH2 is waiting to sell on fleabay, I just got my new E-PM2 from that fire sale that Newegg ran the other day. And man, this thing is amazing. With the right lens--I'm thinking the Olympus and Panasonic pancake EZ lenses--it's the same size as an awful lot of compact cameras. And at least according to DxOMark, it tests better than all of one leading brand's APS-C DSLRs (which I guess one is only supposed to take seriously if one finds the results favorable...)

As a dual-camera shooter, my 40-150 will probably be living on this camera. But it's also a really nice little camera to just grab and go with the kit zoom or one of the Sigma primes. I've been able to get it set up just the way I like (which is the greatest virtue of Olympus' monolithic take on menu options), and this camera is going to be much faster to operate than the E-PL1 ever was.

The OLED screen is nice and bright and useable at midday (haven't tried it under snow or sand at midday conditions though). I might get the VF-4 later on, but as it stands now I'm getting rid of the VF-2 (can't stand the way the VF-2 likes to get knocked off if you look at it funny, and basically needs to have an obnoxious safety tether on at all times, and the way the EVFs make the camera so tall that they don't fit right in bags).

Yeah, it's white, but that's okay. Black lenses still look fine on it, and when I need to be taken seriously I'll have the E-M1 with big black lens anyway. Besides, if your interest lies in street photography, there's nothing, absolutely nothing more inconspicuous than a stinky diaper hold on a bright compact camera or smartphone. The people who think you need to be behind a black Leica with the name blacked out are several decades behind the times, because nothing screams "visibly judge me for photographing you" louder than bringing a viewfinder up to your eye when using a device whose sheer cameraness cannot be obscured.

Faking focus peaking with the key line art filter might actually be better in some situations than Olympus' take on focus peaking in the E-M1. Key line doesn't slow down the live view framerate as much and contrast lines are often easier to see there.

Don't like how blasé Olympus is with the placement of the tripod socket on all of their MFT cameras except apparently the E-M10. I'll try the Sunwayfoto PT-26 (which attaches with a coin screw) or maybe the Peak Design MICROplate (which attaches with a thumb screw). I don't think there's a single Arca-type plate on the market that doesn't block its battery door (and I tried the Kirk PZ-130, it doesn't fit--you'd need to always carry the hex wrench with you if you have plans to change the battery, and its anti-rotation lip doesn't do the trick on this camera).

And, because this is that kind of camera, I'm going to close with the obligatory cat:

I just got one too and am really having fun with it, enjoyed your post.

The best buy I ever made myself...sorry though, don't have any cats.... do have some toys in my office though...14-42 kit....

Klarno wrote:

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And, because this is that kind of camera, I'm going to close with the obligatory cat:

-- hide signature --

http://www.photoklarno.com

Sigma 19mm ???

Tonkotsu Ramen wrote:

I joined the club as well!

Which pancakes are you considering? I'm on a quest to find one..

I'm probably not going to be buying any lenses for a while, and I'm not really into the pancakes myself-- in the world of primes the ones I most want are going to be the 17 f/1.8, 75 f/1.8 and PL 25 f/1.4, but I don't feel held back with what I have right now. Sigma primes and kit zooms will be fine for this camera.

actually, since I just bought a Metabones Speedbooster for OM-NEX, my most likely next lens purchase will be an adaptall mount 18mm. But that's a discussion for another thread.

Klarno wrote:

snip....

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And, because this is that kind of camera, I'm going to close with the obligatory cat:

Sigma 19mm ???

Yup, that's right. I haven't used it much since my 14-54 actually stays f/2.8 from 14-21mm, but I have a feeling it'll be seeing more use these days.
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http://www.photoklarno.com

Kind of amazing that for <$450 you can get so much camera, plus a kit zoom, plus a tele, plus a solid prime... I can't help but think that if that kinda pricing/kit was more readily available and better publicized it'd be selling in droves.

I thought the Newegg deal included the tele, if not that one I could've swore another recent cheap E-PM2 deal did. Still, even at $550 that's a lot of bang for the buck.

Only thing I miss is - no automatic panorama mode. You have to stitch them manually but I haven't figured out how to do that yet or what software to use.

Microsoft ICE:

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ICE/

It's free and has stitched everything perfectly for me. Super easy to use.

Hugin is supposedly also good but haven't tried it myself.

http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

Olympus Viewer 3 will stitch them together, but not sure how it compares to the others listed....

ThePalindrome wrote:

Only thing I miss is - no automatic panorama mode. You have to stitch them manually but I haven't figured out how to do that yet or what software to use.

Microsoft ICE:

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ICE/

It's free and has stitched everything perfectly for me. Super easy to use.

Hugin is supposedly also good but haven't tried it myself.

http://hugin.sourceforge.net/