The battle of the latest Micro Four Thirds cameras

Digital Camera Review: Olympus PEN E-PL2
Digital Camera Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2

MFT shootout!

The battle of the latest Micro Four Thirds cameras

by Trevor Tan
Updated 03:28 PM Mar 18, 2011

You can change lenses on Micro Four Thirds (MFT) cameras, yet they're so much lighter and smaller than digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. The two most successful MFT cameras on the market, the Olympus PEN E-PL1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, garnered rave reviews with their great image quality and superb handling. Their successors are now here. Do they live up to the high standards set by their predecessors? Trevor Tan

This PEN is mightier

Digital Camera Review: Olympus PEN E-PL2

by Trevor Tan
THE E-PL2 retains the 12.3-megapixel Live MOS image sensor with TruPic V image processor and in-body image stabiliser of its predecessor. But among the many improvements the updated version sports are a bigger, higher resolution 3-inch LCD screen, a new artistic filter, an improved live guide, increased ISO setting of 6400 and an upgraded accessory port that is Bluetooth-compatible.

The E-PL2's body is well-built and it feels solid on your hand without the plasticky vibes. On a recent trip to Japan, the E-PL2 I used withstood snow and rain without any protection but still functioned admirably.

The design has also been slightly tweaked, with the angular touch of the E-PL1 ditched in favour of a more curvy, ergonomic, elegant look. The handgrip is also much improved, providing more space for your fingers and a better grip as a result. Instead of the all-button style of the E-PL1, the next-generation PEN has a rear dial that allows you to change settings and navigate menus much quicker. With the well-thought-out button layout and the accessible mode dial, this camera is a joy to handle.

It takes around 1.4 seconds to fire up the camera and about a second to shut it down. Shutter lag is minimal with pre-focusing but drops to around 0.4 seconds without it.

The auto-focusing of the new 14-42mm (28-84mm in 35mm equivalent due to 2X crop factor) second-generation kit lens is noticeably faster than its predecessor, or the 17mm prime lens. It is almost instantaneous in good lighting, compared to the slight lag of the first-generation kit lens. Even in poor lighting conditions, it takes slightly less than a second before locking onto a focus, when it would have taken around two seconds to do so on the original PEN.

The camera's picture quality is outstanding with razor sharp pixel rendition, vibrant reproduction of colours and smooth skin tones. Auto white balance is spot-on most of the time. However, without an orientation sensor, portrait pictures will end up in landscape aspect, so you will have to rotate them manually during post-processing.

Noise performance is superb with clean images up to ISO 400. At ISO 800, you can hardly see the noise artifacts that appear. At ISO 1600, the fuzziness becomes more apparent, though still at an acceptable level. At ISO 3200 and above, chromatic noise starts to appear prominently.

The 720p high-definition (HD) videos produced by this camera are quite good, but tend to pick up a fair bit of ambient noise.

The new "Dramatic Tone" art filter - first seen in the Olympus E-5 DSLR - is fun to use, especially now that you can add a frame in the E-PL2. Plus, you can also add different layers of filter to other art filters. For example, you can add more blue or red to the "Pin Hole" art filter.

You can use the Art Filters to shoot creative videos, too. Try shooting with the "Diorama" filter.

The enhancements in the E-PL2 might not be compelling enough to convince E-PL1 owners to splash out on an upgrade. However, if you are looking to make the step up from your digital compact camera but loathe the weight of a DSLR, the Olympus PEN E-PL2 (S$998, with new 14-42mm kit lens) is an interchangeable lens camera you should definitely take a second look at.



Available in black, white, champagne gold and red.

An upgrade for your GF

Digital Camera Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2

by Trevor Tan

THE 12-megapixel GF2 sports several improvements over its antecedent, such as 1920x1080 full high-definition (HD) video recording, maximum ISO setting of 6400, a built-in stereo microphone and SDXC card support. It is also 19 per cent smaller and 20g lighter than the GF1.

The GF2 looks almost similar to the GF1, but its grip is slightly different, curving slightly at the top and giving your middle finger a place to rest for greater comfort and a better grip.

Button layout is well thought through and feels intuitive enough. For example, the dedicated video recording button is close to the shutter button, allowing you to switch between shooting pictures and video easily.

However, I do miss the GF1's mode dial. On the GF2, you have to change mode and other settings via the 3-inch touch screen display. The screen is not particularly responsive at times, and you will find yourself on occasion tapping with more force to get things done.

Those who prefer to use the electronic viewfinder on the GF2 when shooting can still make tweaks without touching the display via the rear directional buttons, though this is still not as quick as turning a mode dial.

Not that the touch screen display isn't useful. You can tap on the screen to focus on certain areas when you compose your picture or during video recording. You can also use the "tap to shoot" function, where you simply tap and hold on the area you want the focus to be sharp to take a photo.

The GF2's operation is generally swift, with almost instantaneous start up, but the shutdown clocks in at around 2.5 seconds. Shutter lag is also negligible.

While Panasonic claims the GF2's auto-focusing (AF) speed can be as fast as 0.21 seconds, it clocks in at around 0.5 seconds on average in my tests and slightly faster (0.4 seconds) in good lighting conditions. In poor light, it can take up to a second to lock onto a focus. But for a camera that uses contrast measurement AF, the performance is commendable.

The image quality is superb with sharp rendition of pixels and smooth gradation of tones. However, the colour reproduction tends towards the cooler side of the light spectrum, with slight shades of blue and green. You can change the colour settings in the camera to your liking for more saturation and contrast, or warmer shades of yellow and orange.

From ISO 100 to 400, the images have no visible noise artifacts. Only at ISO 800 will you start to see slight luminance noise appearing. Even at ISO 1600, the amount of noise is still quite acceptable despite a slight loss of detail and chromatic noise appearing in the shadow areas. At ISO 3200 and above, there is significant chromatic noise and detail loss.

The HD video quality is also stellar, with smooth frame rates and little ambient or wind noise, especially when you set the Wind Cut option to high.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 retails at S$1,099 with the 14mm (28mm of 35mm equivalent due to 2x crop factor) pancake lens, or at S$1,299 with a 14mm pancake lens and 14-42mm (28-84mm of 35mm equivalent) lens.



Available in black, white, silver and pink.

Source: www.todayonline.com