Olympus E-PL2

The basics

The Olympus E-PL2 is the latest camera to be join Olympus' PEN range, offering an incredibly compact design, stunning build quality and great photographs. You can also switch lenses, letting you get up close to the action, whatever you're photographing.

The good

We love the styling and quality of the Olympus E-PL2. It's a lot more compact than most cameras with interchangeable lenses, and it looks great. The metal casing is robust and tactile, and feels a lot more expensive than it actually is.

The Olympus E-PL2 comes with a new kit lens as standard. Offering a 14-42mm focal length, you'll be able to shoot pretty much anything close up without having to resort to a second lens. Quality of the lens is also top-notch, matching the high standards set by the body of the Olympus E-PL2.

Photograph quality is excellent, with the Olympus E-PL2 providing sharp and clear images. The Olympus E-PL2 also offers vibrant and punchy colour reproduction, with snaps coming to life. It's only above 400 ISO where noise starts to become a slight issue.

The bad

Video quality isn't quite as good as you'll find on some of the Olympus E-PL2's rivals. Sound is only recorded in mono – unless you invest in an external microphone – and video is shot in Motion JPEG rather than AVCHD.

The bottom line

Despite that, the Olympus E-PL2 is a fantastic little camera. Photo quality isn't far off that of DSLRs, yet the packaging is a lot more compact and easy to carry round with you. The Olympus E-PL2 is well worth a look if you're in the market for a premium camera with interchangeable lenses.