My Olympus SH-2 After Two Years
My first photo with the SH-2 is from June 30th 2015. My most recent is from June 25th 2017.
A few months ago a friend asked me to set up his Panasonic ZS-60, and I had it for a month. Briefly, the ZS-60 outperforms the SH-2 in good light, and with night-time 1-2 second exposures on a tripod. These JPEGs and RAWs will print to A0 paper size (64x33 inch). I did a ZS-60 A1 (33x23 inch) print of a flying gannet that matches the best of my SH-2 flying gannet prints.
But the one night video I did before returning the ZS-60 is unusable. The ferry moving in front of the wharf illumination constantly changes shape, and the sky is a pattern of large colored blotches. The corresponding SH-2 videos need an increase of mid-tone brightness, and an increase in contrast to make the sky black, without noise in it.
The SH-2 has far fewer setting options, but they all work for me. The multitude of ZS-60 options requires that the user knows what he is doing - which was the reason for being asked to set it up (the owner is happy with what I have done).
With the SH-3 not being officially distributed in New Zealand, the SH-2 remains my preferred travel zoom for the following reasons:
I regularly get 33x23 inch prints from it that tolerate inspection with a magnifier.
The portrait shots I did of Sandra (56) are accepted by her, and get the praise of her niece Sasha (19), who did Sandra's makeup for them.
The harbor illumination videos can be salvaged with AVS Video Converter.
The batteries typically last for one hour of HD720p video (with WiFi switched off).
My SH-2 has survived several heavy showers, and it has not sucked in any dust so far.
Focusing is faster and more reliable than that of the Canon G3X.
For me therefore, the SH-2 is still the best compromise in a pocket travel zoom.
There are negatives: Without an EVF, in sunlight I do need the 'ClearViewer' magnifier attachment. The LCD resolution is just useable with the 'ClearViewer'.
So, while Sandra currently allows me to demand an 'urgent' replacement for any old item, I will request a new portable radio to replace my 30-year-old SONY ICF-7600G - not a new camera.
My detailed SH-2 assessment assumes you expect the performance of a 1" sensor camera.
Henry