In his “Olympus PEN E-P2 DSLR Review”, Raoul Pop confirms many of the great things I have been hearing about the E-P2 micro four thirds DSLR lately. Mainly, that it’s an incredibly convenient and ultra-portable camera that produces high quality results.

The Olympus E-P2 is a DSLR that resembles a point & shoot camera in size and form. While many DSLR owners carry dedicated camera bags for their cameras and lenses, the E-P2 is small enough to fit in a jacket pocket. Olympus made a few sacrifices in order to achieve this form, such as eliminating the optical viewfinder and using a sensor size that is smaller than the 1.6x/1.5x APC-C sensors used in entry-level Canon and Nikon cameras. The result is a camera that can go almost anywhere without being a burden, and attracts much less attention than “professional-looking” gear.

The EP-2 may have a smaller sensor that other DSLRs, but it still gets big results. The sample images in Raoul’s post all look great. This shot is one that would really push the boundaries of dynamic range in a compact camera. Lesser cameras would produce either a blown-out white sky or black, featureless shadows, but the E-P2 really nailed the shot. This low light image from the E-P2 is equally as impressive. In my experience, high ISO images from compact cameras usually resemble camera phone images in terms of quality, but this shot is quite respectable with nice details and a low amount of digital noise. How is this possible in such a small camera? Don’t think of it as having a smaller sensor than your typical DSLR, but rather having a much larger sensor than your typical point & shoot camera. As Pop notes, modern sensor technology makes it possible for Olympus’ engineers to fully take advantage of the four thirds format to create a small camera with great image quality.

While I do not personally own an E-P2, it’s been on my mind since this camera hit the market and I’ll probably have one sooner rather than later. As Raoul notes, many of the popular features in the latest DSLRs from all brands — live view, video capture, self-cleaning sensors — were pioneered by Olympus. Perhaps Olympus is once again forging ahead on the next great feature. Technology inevitably shrinks as it becomes more accessible: CRT monitors gave way to flat screens, laptops gained popularity over desktop workstations, and smart phones are gaining ground on laptops. With the dedicated fan base growing around Olympus’ PEN DSLRs the format is assuredly on Canon and Nikon’s radar. I can definitely see this being a natural evolution for something like Canon’s G series. It probably won’t be long until every manufacturer has a small form DSLR with outstanding image quality.