Olympus E-PL2 Pen - Northern Nevada

[Photo-John]

You guys probably know I've had the Olympus E-PL2 Pen since before it was announced (my E-PL2 preview video / announcement). Unfurtunately, I've been crazy busy and haven't had a chance to use it much or share what I have done with it. So I finally made it a point to cough up some of what I've been able to shoot with it. A couple of weeks ago I drove from Salt Lake to Tahoe for an event and I used the E-PL2 while I was on the road. So here are some photos taken in Northern Nevada. Most people can't get across the state fast enough. But I love it. I've done the drive between Salt Lake and Tahoe / Nor Cal tons of times and I discover new things every trip.

The night shots were all taken in Elko, my favorite town in Nevada. The daytime "motel" photo was taken in Winnemucca. The alpenglow mountain photo was taken from the side of the freeway. I don't know what mountain it is but I believe it's the Humboldt Range between Imlay and Lovelock, Nevada. For those who don't know, Nevada is the mountainous state in the US. It's literally covered with mountains. They never end.

These were all taken in JPEG mode with ISO set to auto. These are not straighty out of the camera imaghes. They've all been processed in Lightroom and Photoshop - some of them pretty heavily. The processing isn't because of poor image quality or anything like that, though. The exposures are tricky and all the Elko night shots have some perspective correction. The alpenglow image suffers from a little bit of camera shake in spite of the E-PL2's image stabilization. I shot it with the new 40-150mm Micro Four Thirds lens and I should have been a little more careful zoomed in so much. Even with the tiny bit of blur it was too pretty not to share, though. Sometimes I'm a lazy photographer. I should have taken the time to do that one right.

[Liz]

Great shots, John......I love the last mountain show with the shadows. All of them look good to me. Beautiful place.......

BTW, how do you like the E-PL2?

Liz

[Photo-John]

BTW, how do you like the E-PL2?

I am liking the E-PL2, Liz. I haven't used it a ton but so far, so good. Performance-wise I haven't really noted it being much different from the E-PL1. The sensor is the same and most of the differences are features and not performance-related.

[fotomatix]

I am liking the E-PL2, Liz. I haven't used it a ton but so far, so good. Performance-wise I haven't really noted it being much different from the E-PL1. The sensor is the same and most of the differences are features and not performance-related.

I think the only 'performance' related improvement is the new silent 14-42mm lens part of the new kit. This makes videos better. Other than that, it's all about design improvements.

Really fun cam to bring along.

[James Emory]

I'm new here and this is my first post, but John's photos sure look great. My new PL2 will be here tomorrow. I sold all my Canon DSLR gear because I was getting to a point where I didn't feel like hauling all the gear around. Wanted good image quality with a larger sensor so I decided on the PL2. Looking forward to getting it.

[fotomatix]

I'm new here and this is my first post, but John's photos sure look great. My new PL2 will be here tomorrow. I sold all my Canon DSLR gear because I was getting to a point where I didn't feel like hauling all the gear around. Wanted good image quality with a larger sensor so I decided on the PL2. Looking forward to getting it.

Welcome James. Enjoy your new cam!

Did you consider the EPL3? What made you choose the EPL2?

[James Emory]

Welcome James. Enjoy your new cam!

Did you consider the EPL3? What made you choose the EPL2?

Well, I wanted to stay around 500 bucks, and when B&H recently shaved off 100.00 off the E-PL2 (now 499.00) I went for it. I really didn't care too much about the tilt screen on the PL3 because I planned on getting the VF-2 electronic viewfinder for my PL2. I'm an old 35mm film guy and I just like looking through a viewfinder and I believe in bright sun I will need it. From what I understand there is no difference in still image quality between the two.

I've noticed the last two days that this site loads slow and changes pages slow. Is this normal?

Cheers

[Photo-John]

I've noticed the last two days that this site loads slow and changes pages slow. Is this normal?

Glad my photos could help you make a decision, James. I am a big fan of the Olympus Pen camera system. I do think there's a difference in image quality between the new generation and the E-PL2. But the E-PL2 is still a great camera and I don't think it's anything you need to worry about. If you want to take a closer look at the E-PL3 image quality, here's a link to my E-P3 studio samples - the two cameras use the same sensor so the IQ is the same: Olympus E-P3 Studio Sample Photos | Camera News & Reviews

I'm glad to hear you're getting the EVF. I took the E-P3 to Italy this summer and came back with more motion-blur throwaways than usual. The reason is I wasn't using the EVF. Besides providing an eye-level finder, the EVF is also a third point of contact for the camera and helps steady the camera. I need to make sure I use it because I have a bad habit of pushing my luck with slow shutter speeds.

The site is slow right now. It's not normal and it's being worked on. I apologize. I think it's working better with Firefox so you might try that if you're using a different browser. And if a page hangs on you, just refresh it and try again. Sometimes the next load will work better. Believe me, I know all about it - I'm on the site about 12 hours a day.