Olympus PEN E-PM2 Twin Kit

I have had this camera with th 14-42 2R and the 40-150 kit lenses for 24 hours.

I am a serious photographer owning a Pentax 645D with legacy lenses and a Sigma DP2 Merrill. I Have an Olympus XZ-2 Stylus as a pocket camera but was never satisfied with its IQ. Its flexibity and pocket-ability were the draws that made me purchase it.

I wished to have a small, flexible camera with the ability to shoot in low light (which all my other cameras cannot do well at all), HD video and family / casual snaps all at a reasonable price point but getting to a "reasonable" IQ.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Easy to customise to make operation simple. This needs 30 mins spent on it to disable many of the default settings. After that it is MUCH easier to use than the Stylus XZ-2

IQ is a big notch above the Stylus XZ-2 and is enough for casual use. It cannot compete with the Sigma DP 2 Merril except at high ISO where it wipes the floor with the Foveon sensor. It in no way could compete with my medium format DSLR (645D).

It has a good sensor and many really useful features such as the Olympus art filters which are a joy to use. The Olympus PEN E-PM2 has OUTSTANDING high ISO performance for  such a small sensor.

The kit lenses !!

The Zuiko 14-42mm R - is acceptable but only just. I have been spoilt by MF !. But with tweaking in Lightroom one can get quite acceptably pictures at about f5.6 to f8

Zuiko 40-150mm - this is a surprisingly good lens ! I did not expect that at all.

The lenses are all plastic but build quality is very reasonable. AF  and all other functions of both lenses are admirable.

CONCLUSION

The camera and lenses do what I wanted them for and at the price point of NZ $470.00 I have no issues with this kit. I think the micro 4/3 manufacturers make their profit on their (overpriced) non kit lenses and entice buyers into the system with heavily discounted high quality bodies.

But that is an industry standard anyway.

Conc

Your overview pretty much matches those of most of us who've bought and used the E-PM2.  I'd give the 14-42 II R a higher rating, though, than you did.  Mine is tack sharp wide open and rich in contrast and color.  A real joy to use and just as much a surprise to me as the 40-150.

Another lens for the E-PM2 is Olympus' highly regarded Zuiko 50mm f/2 macro.  It makes the camera a bit front heavy, and with the adapter extends the length quite a bit.  But from the standpoint of IQ, the lens works well on that small body, as does the 25mm f/2.8.

Thanks for posting.

Thanks Tony

You have some lovely images on Flickr that demonstrate well the capabilities of this camera matched with good glass

Malcolm

Thanks

I am getting an M42 adapter to use with some of my old Russian and Pentax primes.

There seems to be a consensus about these cameras that they give reasonable to good IQ in a small package at a low price point.

Malcolm