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EP2 or EPL1, EPL1 or EP2? Argh!

ZoranC

New member
For a while I have been sitting on a fence when it comes to m43. Now I am ready to buy one and have a hard time deciding which one, EPL1 or EP2.

One I buy will be serving me as tool I will take when I want something at convenience/IQ spot between my S90 on one side of spectrum and my D700 on other side of it. In other words, when I want more power than compact provides but would find D700+lens too inconvenient and/or attracting too much attention.

Shooting will be covering many varied areas, and good part of it will be people oriented, both outdoors and indoors, not just "street".

Which brings me to my dilema(s):

1. I would prefer something that would not to disturb atmosphere around me. EPL1 might be better fit for that. At same time I would like to use fast lenses like ones from CV. When you take a look at them they are not really "low profile" (for example take a look at size of CV 25/0.95: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&thread=36867695&page=1 ).

Which makes me wonder if I will be using lenses that stabd out should I care does body stand out, and which body would be better fit ergonomics wise with such lenses?

2. I had very very briefly both EPL1 and EP2 in hand and EP2 _seemed_ to have better ergonomics in _my_ hand. How do you find ergonomics of one vs other in your hands? Which one you feel is better fit to balance lenses I have in mind?

3.Image quality, especially at high ISO: EP1 seems to have an edge there, am I correct?

4. IS: Image Stabilization will be of great value to me. How much better is IS in EP2? If I go with EPL1 will I notice difference due to "not as good" IS?

5. Auto focus: Is there a noticable difference in AF speed and accuracy between two, especially in low light?

6. Manual focus: Is there anything in them that would make manual focusing with one easier and quicker than with other, especially in scenarios I will use them in?

7. Dials/buttons: How detrimental you find lack of them on EPL1 in "street" photography?

So EPL1 or EP2, EP2 or EPL1 for me? Input will be appreciated.
 
B

boyzo

Guest
For a while I have been sitting on a fence when it comes to m43. Now I am ready to buy one and have a hard time deciding which one, EPL1 or EP2.

One I buy will be serving me as tool I will take when I want something at convenience/IQ spot between my S90 on one side of spectrum and my D700 on other side of it. In other words, when I want more power than compact provides but would find D700+lens too inconvenient and/or attracting too much attention.

Shooting will be covering many varied areas, and good part of it will be people oriented, both outdoors and indoors, not just "street".

Which brings me to my dilema(s):

1. I would prefer something that would not to disturb atmosphere around me. EPL1 might be better fit for that. At same time I would like to use fast lenses like ones from CV. When you take a look at them they are not really "low profile" (for example take a look at size of CV 25/0.95: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&thread=36867695&page=1 ).



Which makes me wonder if I will be using lenses that stabd out should I care does body stand out, and which body would be better fit ergonomics wise with such lenses?

2. I had very very briefly both EPL1 and EP2 in hand and EP2 _seemed_ to have better ergonomics in _my_ hand. How do you find ergonomics of one vs other in your hands? Which one you feel is better fit to balance lenses I have in mind?

3.Image quality, especially at high ISO: EP1 seems to have an edge there, am I correct?

4. IS: Image Stabilization will be of great value to me. How much better is IS in EP2? If I go with EPL1 will I notice difference due to "not as good" IS?

5. Auto focus: Is there a noticable difference in AF speed and accuracy between two, especially in low light?

6. Manual focus: Is there anything in them that would make manual focusing with one easier and quicker than with other, especially in scenarios I will use them in?

7. Dials/buttons: How detrimental you find lack of them on EPL1 in "street" photography?

So EPL1 or EP2, EP2 or EPL1 for me? Input will be appreciated.
As a E-P2 and PL1user the P2 wins on ergonomics controls and looks

The PL1 has the edge in DR and IQ and has a better MF zoom option, downside is A EV are more fiddly to adjust.

The P2 comes with an Amazing EVF and if set to MF for your 25/0.95 and using the EVF magnification is not always needed MF zoom less easy to implement the PL1 is quicker here

Up to you to decide
 

kahren

New member
nex3 + CV 35mm 1.4 same dof as m4/3+25mm f.95, cheaper and less profile, thats what its all about right?
 

Jerry_R

New member
CV 35mm bokeh is so so... For sure better would be PEN, GFx or NEX with Nokton.
There is adapter allowing putting NOKTON on NEX, question what area of sensor would be covered.

PS: Of course it is much more easier and quicker to focus manually in EVF, like with Gx or GHx.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I decided for the E-P2 because I prefered the overall feel and ergonomics. From what I saw on the net I can live with the slightly stronger AA-filter.
 

paparazzi666

New member
get both. buy the ep2 with evf. the epl1 can use the evf as well. keep the epl1 with a panny 20mm f1.7. then keep the 25mm 0.95 on the ep2 with evf. use the epl1 20mm as snapshot of people on street etc. it looks just like a compact. the 20mm is slightly wide and great for people/street. Pretty unobstusive stuff.
then when it gets dark, take the ep2 with the nokton out for low light stealth shooting.
 

madmaxmedia

New member
The E-P1 is a screaming bargain nowadays if you don't really care about EVF (or can use an optical viewfinder.)

Focusing of all Olympus M 4/3 is essentially the same, pretty good if paired with something other than the kit 14-42.
 

paparazzi666

New member
As of yesterday EPL1 is $399 :)
There you go. digital bodies become obsolete real quick. but that does not mean they are not good.
its the lenses that retain their value.
i would buy the 20mm f1.7 for street snapshot and the nokton 25mm f0.95 and then buy the olympus body that my heart feels happy with and that I can use like an extension of my eye.

forget about pixel peeping for that 5% extra sharpness, or 10% extra pixels. the technology in both ep2 and epl1 are so mature today, they can produce pro results that can last you the next 5 years or more, providing the electronics dont break down.

by then you can get the olympus EP5 pro version with 24MP, noise free to iso100,000. waterproof shockproof. and bulletproof for the same price as todays ep2.

my advise, in short, dont fret so much about the camera, instead invest in lenses. the picture wont look much different between the epl1 and ep2, but if you used the nokton, versus the kit zoom, the difference is huge.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
There you go. digital bodies become obsolete real quick. but that does not mean they are not good.
its the lenses that retain their value.
i would buy the 20mm f1.7 for street snapshot and the nokton 25mm f0.95 and then buy the olympus body that my heart feels happy with and that I can use like an extension of my eye.

forget about pixel peeping for that 5% extra sharpness, or 10% extra pixels. the technology in both ep2 and epl1 are so mature today, they can produce pro results that can last you the next 5 years or more, providing the electronics dont break down.

by then you can get the olympus EP5 pro version with 24MP, noise free to iso100,000. waterproof shockproof. and bulletproof for the same price as todays ep2.

my advise, in short, dont fret so much about the camera, instead invest in lenses. the picture wont look much different between the epl1 and ep2, but if you used the nokton, versus the kit zoom, the difference is huge.
Actually I could not agree more ;)

But since yesterday you also could go for the EPL1s it - even better (especially kit lens) and pretty cheap!
 

wyip

Member
I was in the same boat as you, but I've decided to go with the E-PL1.

Coming from Sony Alpha DSLRs, a big requirement for me was in-body image stabilization, so that ruled out the GF1 and NEX-5. I was then stuck in the same dilemma of E-P2 vs E-PL1. Here is what I've gathered from reading reviews and watching hands-on reports on youtube:

1. As appealing as the 25mm f/0.95 sounds, its fairly large for what will be my "compact kit". I'm looking at eventually getting the two Panasonic pancakes (though I read some mixed reviews on the 14mm f/2.5) and selling the kit lens.

2. From what I've read, E-P2 wins in ergonomics but the E-PL1 is still quite usable and I've read plenty of positive reviews from happy E-PL1 users. This seems like it is more an issue of personal preference too.

3. E-PL1 seems to have the edge here, especially with in-camera JPEGs (moot point if you shoot RAW)

4. E-P2 is supposed to provide about 1 more stop of stabilization over the E-PL1.

5. AF speed is supposed to be about the same, but slower than other cameras like the GF1. Still usable though.

6. E-PL1 can zoom in a bit more to assist with MF.

7. The wheel-less physical user interface of the E-PL1 seems less than ideal and sounds like an acquired taste. The GUI also sounds a little convoluted. This is the area that worries me the most. I figured this is another one of the subjective things and the best way to find out is to try it out.

The E-PL1 with kit lens is $450 shipped on Amazon.com which seems like a great deal to me. I'll report back when I receive mine.
 
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