Name: Olympus PEN E-PL2 Digital Camera with 14-42mm II Silver Lens, Silver
Brand: Olympus
SKU: IOMEPL2S14
Price: 599.00 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.12 (16 reviews)

Olympus PEN E-PL2 Digital Camera with 14-42mm II Silver Lens, Silver

Olympus E-PL2

Olympus

Olympus PEN E-PL2 Camera with 14-42mm II Lens, Silver

Adorama

Photography

Cameras

Digital Point & Shoot Cameras

Olympus Digital Point & Shoot Cameras

Olympus E-PL2 

20% Off: Olympus PEN E-PL2 Digital Camera with 14-42mm II Silver Lens, Silver Buy now & save $150. Media Type: SD, Resolution: 12 MP

I got this camera to compliment my Pentax K5. There are time when I do not want to carry around the weight and size of a DSLR and assorted lenses. This camera fits the bill perfectly. I like the fact that it has a full size 4/3rds sensor. I have had Olympus DSLRs in the past and always liked the photo quality. My only real complaint is I have fairly large hands and find myself inavertantly pressing the video record button when holding the camera. Over all I am extremely pleased with the purchase.

Great Small Camera

I love this camera because it is quite compact so you can take it with you easily and it takes pictures of high quality thanks to its micro four thirds sensor! It is not the latest version (Pen E-PL5 must be even better) but it's more than enough for casual photographers who expect high quality.

great camera!

We like it. It's compact, and it works well for our limited uses, and given our very limited photography skills. Hands down better than the point and shoots we used when in "auto" mode - and some of those point and shoots were nearly the price of this.

Very nice considering the price!

I take this camera with me everywhere. Has great features and flexibility. Love the portable size and it just feels great in my hands! Would recommend this for anybody who wants a nice quality camera to carry around daily instead of their professional camera.

Great Little Camera

Great

Excellent little camera at unheard of price.  Wonderful for backup camera & travel in pocket or purse. Really makes me want EM-5 now.

Great little camera.

I recently upgraded to the E-PL2 from an older point-and-shoot, and it has not disappointed.  The quality of results, especially when shooting RAW and processing with Lightroom, are spectacular, even with the kit lens.  I also purchased an adapter for an old Nikkor 50 mm from the 1970's, which while manual focus gives even better quality pictures.

My only regret is that the menu system is not especially intuitive, and I have to hunt for settings from time to time.

Why buy this year's model?

Functionally the same size as a large compact; fits in a big pocket or glove compartment and can go with you everywhere.  Much better IQ than just about any compact, plus DoF control.  AF will NOT lock/track moving things well.

Nice Compact Camera

I grew a special bond with this camera. One that might bring me back to purchasing it in the future when the price drops down to a point by which retailers are trying to get rid of them because the "next big new thing is coming out (again)". This is a camera I purchased as soon as it came out and in a year ended up selling it for the next big thing - then repurchasing it because I missed it soo much! It was my go-to travel and street photography camera for a long time. I have loads of great photos from it that print large with great resolution. Something I loved about this camera? It's soo incognito. Throw some black gaffers tape over the Olympus logo and you'll be invisible to whomever you are photographing at night or during the day. Did I say at night? The black and white grainy art photo mode is lots of fun. The tilt shift art photo mode is also lots of fun. 

This camera = my favorite customizable camera I've owned thus far. I used many c-mount lenses on this camera with a c-mount to micro four thirds adapter that Adorama sells. Voigtlander and Leica M mount lenses also work very well on this camera when adapted. Throwing on optical viewfinders is fun and cool looking. However, Olympus also offers a pretty great electronic viewfinder. I have not used the EVF myself because i felt the LCD screen and my style of photography did not permit it. This camera really has an AMAZING LCD screen with the most perfect resolution ever. 

When/if I ever do head out and feel I want to make a spontaneous Olympus purchase, I'll be buying the E-PL2 again, without a doubt....even before I buy the E-PL3...

 I'll be buying the E-PL2 again, without a doubt....even before I buy the E-PL3... 

There is a lot of noise in the shadow area, even with the lowest ISO 200 and standard noise reduction.  I hesitate to use high noise reduction because it will compromise the sharpness.  Sharpness is the second issue.  Even with vivd mode and +2 sharpness, the camera just could not render the sharp image to my taste (also fiddling with the contrast level).  The old Olympus C-2040 2.1 Mp I owned even produces sharper image at 100% zoom.  I do like the Oly color though, but, if the sharpness could not live up to the standard, I am returning the camera.

Disappointed

I just got back from Europe, and this was the only camera I took with me.  First time I've ever left my SLR at home for a big trip, and I didn't miss it.  The kit lens is OK, but I recommend adding the Panasonic f/1.7 pancake for sharper images and an even smaller, more portable setup.

Great Travel Camera

Love this camera and it's many features. I am a pro photographer that was looking for an everyday walk around camera. My DSLR got tiresome to haul around, and I was looking for a camera with the features I used on my DSLR on a small camera. I found that with the EPL2.

I found that some of the features I use allot were buried in a sub menu. This was the case with switching between manual focus and the various AF modes.

Solid Little Camera

I was looking for a camera: 
Smaller than an SLR
Best image quality in it's class
With External and customizable controls
That would take great pictures without a flash
That would allow me to blur picture backgrounds
That had excellent build quality and reputation
That would allow creative photography like my old SLR.
That cost less than $1000.

Great Camera, Perfect Price Point

I replaced my compact camera with the E-PL2 for a walk-around camera. I now sometimes use it in the wilderness when I don't want to haul gear around.  Nice for vacations for the same reason.  600mm equivelent reach with the 100-300 panny or 18mm with the super compact 9-18mm oly.  m43 is nearly a complete system and getting better all the time.

Better than any compact

There's a bit of learning curve to using the menus on this camera- there are a lot of options and I've spent more than a few hours looking through the manual to sort them all out.  It's a great camera in a nice, portable package though and once you sort out the menus, you'll love it.  Only complaint is that it takes a while to write to the card but if you shoot in continuous shooting mode, this can alleviate the issue.  This camera is great for TtV and I love using Canon FD lenses with it.