redpony
Member
I received a gift of an EP-2 and have been evaluating it in light (ahem) of my D300, which gets very little use since getting back into film. I shoot a Zeiss Ikon (amongst others) with a 50mm Sonnar and a 35mm Biogon, and I was intrigued by the possibility of using these lenses on a micro 4/3rds body. Here's a setup shot with a D300 with the much heralded 85m 1.4 and the EP-2 with the 50mm 1.5 Sonnar processed in Lightroom 3 Beta.
D300:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidcomdico/4212606124/in/photostream/
EP-2:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidcomdico/4211843765/in/photostream/
My take away: the D300 with the 85mm is a great portrait combo, especially for commercial applications, but the EP-2 shot is closer in feel and rendering to shooting with the Ikon, and is no slouch itself. At the pixel level the larger sensor of the D300 can be appreciated, but I'm perfectly content, and maybe even prefer, the EP-2/Sonnar combo even though the D300 is objectively "better."
I should mention that the test wasn't exactly fair as I shot the EP-2 in jpeg mode and the D300 in raw and was able to rescue some detail in the highlights and shadows.
The Ep-1/2 has gotten so much slack online that I feel compelled to say a few words on it's behalf. For me, the EP-2 is a way of consolidating by digital gear to the barest minimum as I've realized that I prefer shooting film. Being able to use my growing collection of m mount lenses is a real plus (the cheap adapter I bought on Amazon works well enough but I wonder if the Voigtlander may not in fact be worth the price differential).
I was happily surprised by the EP-2's EVF. It works really well. It's not as nice as the Ikon's viewfinder, but I actually like it better than the D300's finder, which is cramped, dark, and causes me a bit of eye strain. The focus assist on the EP-2 helps a lot in this regard; you can set up the camera so with a single click you can zoom in for critical focus. The result is a pleasing combination of old and new technologies working in concert.
There has been a lot of hullabaloo about the EP's poor autofocus. From my perspective, as someone who doesn't trust autofocus, I can't see what the fuss is. I wish every camera had the kind of manual focus assist you get with Oly lenses, and the zoom focus assist with m mount lenses is, as mentioned, very effective.
In short, I'm using the EP-2 as a poor man's M9. Considering the EP-2's comparative cost and that it was built to a certain price, it's astonishing how satisfying settling for less can be.
D300:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidcomdico/4212606124/in/photostream/
EP-2:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidcomdico/4211843765/in/photostream/
My take away: the D300 with the 85mm is a great portrait combo, especially for commercial applications, but the EP-2 shot is closer in feel and rendering to shooting with the Ikon, and is no slouch itself. At the pixel level the larger sensor of the D300 can be appreciated, but I'm perfectly content, and maybe even prefer, the EP-2/Sonnar combo even though the D300 is objectively "better."
I should mention that the test wasn't exactly fair as I shot the EP-2 in jpeg mode and the D300 in raw and was able to rescue some detail in the highlights and shadows.
The Ep-1/2 has gotten so much slack online that I feel compelled to say a few words on it's behalf. For me, the EP-2 is a way of consolidating by digital gear to the barest minimum as I've realized that I prefer shooting film. Being able to use my growing collection of m mount lenses is a real plus (the cheap adapter I bought on Amazon works well enough but I wonder if the Voigtlander may not in fact be worth the price differential).
I was happily surprised by the EP-2's EVF. It works really well. It's not as nice as the Ikon's viewfinder, but I actually like it better than the D300's finder, which is cramped, dark, and causes me a bit of eye strain. The focus assist on the EP-2 helps a lot in this regard; you can set up the camera so with a single click you can zoom in for critical focus. The result is a pleasing combination of old and new technologies working in concert.
There has been a lot of hullabaloo about the EP's poor autofocus. From my perspective, as someone who doesn't trust autofocus, I can't see what the fuss is. I wish every camera had the kind of manual focus assist you get with Oly lenses, and the zoom focus assist with m mount lenses is, as mentioned, very effective.
In short, I'm using the EP-2 as a poor man's M9. Considering the EP-2's comparative cost and that it was built to a certain price, it's astonishing how satisfying settling for less can be.
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