It’s official, I’ve sold off my last DSLR and 35mm lens. The only “high end” camera I own is the Olympus EP-2 along with the 20mm 1.7 and 45mm 2.8 (remember, Micro 4/3 cameras have a 2X lens factor). Today, I took that little baby out on the town to see what it could do.
Just for fun, I set myself up with some constraints. I only shot in manual, only used the two lenses listed above. Additionally, just for something different I only shot in 1:1 and 9:16 panorama format. After shooting in 2:3 ratio for so long, I want something a bit different, a bit fun. For me square format means those old Hasselblads that I could never figure out how to use. The 9:16 ratio has something about it. With all of the wide screen TVs, widescreen cinemas, and panoramic cameras out, the format really interests me.
Exposure
Shooting in manual is sooo easy with this little thing. While the electronic viewfinder seems a bit odd at first, the bonus is that you have a live histogram all of the time. Just watch the histogram fall into place as you adjust the aperture or shutter speed. Getting proper exposure is pretty much a 100% guarantee.
Manual Focus
One of the bonuses of shooting with the EP-2, is that whenever you adjust the manual focus ring, the viewfinder auto 7x or 10x zooms in. So, you have a mega close up of where you are focusing. It works like a charm. I did have a few shots out of focus due to moving around after focusing. User error. But, when it is on, the focus is on.
Quality
Overall, the quality looks incredible. Is it on par with a high end DSLR? No, of course not, the sensor is half the size. But, as you can see, the clarity is far from in this 100% crop. This image was actually taken with the 1:1 ratio option, so I didn’t even use the full frame. As a test, I did a vertical crop at 5:4 and did some quick test prints at Costco. The 16×20 looks incredible. Absolutely no issues at all. It is sharp as a tack. The 20×30 print, lost a little resolution, but at arms length, in a frame, you would be hard pressed to find any fault with it.
Some More Shots
Here are the rest of the shots from the day. I hope you enjoy them.
Fundy
