Olympus PEN E-P2

The E-P2 is a relatively minor upgrade to the E-P1, with the addition of a port for a new high resolution electronic viewfinder (or external microphone), two new Art filters and a pearlescent black finish. It also gains AF tracking and includes a new i-Enhance 'colour boosting' function. The E-P2 represents almost as subtle an enhancement as the company's E-450 does, compared to the remarkably similar E-420. The two models will sell alongside each other, with all E-P2 kits including the plug-in viewfinder. Although at first glance the E-P2 seems remarkably similar to the E-P1, Olympus has done a lot to address the concerns we had about the first-generation model.

In our testing, the E-P2 is a great improvement over the E-P1 when originally launched and is now able to focus lenses as quickly as the best mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The other major change made to the E-P2 also improves the camera significantly. The addition of an accessory port isn't usually the sort of thing that excites us but, when it allows the use of such a good electronic viewfinder, it does make quite a big difference. Image quality is up to the high standard set by the E-P1, with some of the best JPEG output we've encountered on any camera. Understandably the high ISO performance isn't quite up with those DSLRs that have APS-C sized sensors but it's not far off.