Olympus E-PL2 surfaces ahead of CES

A sequel to Olympus' entry E-PL1 mirrorless interchangeable camera has been tipped today that hints at a significant boost to its image quality and a unique sharing trick. The E-PL2 should have a slightly sleeker body but will focus on movies with a new 14-42mm, f3.5-5.6 kit lens designed to work more effectively with video capture. Its light sensitivity should jump to ISO 6,400, according to 4/3 Rumors, and the three-inch LCD will double in resolution to 460,000 pixels to better preview shots.

The camera may also revolve around a special companion to help smartphone owners offload photos. Nicknamed Penpal, the module would slip on to the hot shoe and send photos over Bluetooth to a paired Android or Windows Mobile (but not Windows Phone) device. Resulting images could then post to Facebook, Flickr and others without having to bring a computer into the equation.

Most other changes if any aren't public; the pop-up flash and Art Filters are known to be making the transition. Olympus is purportedly ready to show the E-PL2 at CES and may have it in stores as soon as February, although whether it will climb above the E-PL1's $500 price isn't evident.

By Electronista Staff