SHOOTING TO THE TOP OLYMPUS STYLUS XZ-2

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1 56 OLYMPUS STYLUS XZ-2 SHOOTING TO THE TOP If you thought the XZ-1 was yummy, its successor is even yummier, and closer than ever to realistically being the fixed-lens alternative to a Digital Pen model. Report by Paul Burrows. T here s somebody at Olympus who thoroughly understands the tactile element of camera design and has done for a very long time. From the OM-1 onwards, Olympus has built cameras that you just can t resist picking up the XA-series 35mm compacts, many of the mju-series models, the E-400 line of pretty little D-SLRs, the classically-styled Digital Pens and, of course, the E-M5. And it s the same with the Stylus XZ-2. Olympus is returning to the Stylus brand for its fixed lens compacts, and it will be used in all markets, replacing the more prosaic mju. The XZ-1 had similar attributes, but Olympus has gone all out with its successor, from the name badge etched onto the body rather than screen-printed and in the traditional typeface to the neat little detachable handgrip, the plethora of classic controls and the matte black finish. It looks simply gorgeous, with more than a few echoes of the E-P3 in terms of the gentle curves to the main bodyshell which, of course, is magnesium alloy. The sizes are also similar, so the XZ-2 isn t going to fit into a pocket unless it s a particularly generous one (such as in a rain jacket), but the extra millimetres give it real presence and this translates into the nicely weighty heft of a serious camera. At a whisker under 350 grams, the XZ-2 is no lightweight, but it s not meant to be, as Olympus has really designed it to be pretty much a Digital Pen with a fixed lens (which sounds like a contradiction in terms, but you know what we mean). In the light of Sony s Cyber-shot RX-1, you might think Olympus could have shoehorned a Four Thirds Standard sensor into the XZ-2, but this probably would have resulted in the lens being limited to a prime, and not a very wide-angle one at that. As it is, the Olympus s CMOS sensor has an imaging area of 5.58x7.44 mm (versus 13.0x17.3 mm for Four Thirds) which isn t as tiny as some of the chips being used in fixed-lens compacts even the higher-end models and there s some clever work being done by the TruePic VI processor to optimise its performance. The sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 100 to 12,800, the latter an indication that there s some fairly serious noise reduction going on behind the scenes. A WIDE CHOICE OF SIZES Like the Digital Pen models, the XZ-2 offers a huge choice of settings for image size and quality, plus it

2 has RAW capture at 12-bits per RGB channel. In essence, there are eight image sizes from 3968x2976 pixels to 640x480 pixels and four JPEG compression settings representing 1/2.7, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/12 downsizing (a.k.a. Super Fine, Fine, Normal and Basic). The RAW+JPEG capture can also be configured with any desired combination of compressed image size and quality level. Furthermore, there s a choice of four aspect ratio settings 4:3, 3:2, 1:1 or 16:9 each with a selection of three image sizes. Four combinations of JPEG image size and quality level can be configured in the camera s custom menu (as are four RAW+JPEG set-ups) for selection in the shooting menu or via the camera s control panel displays. The TruePic processor enables continuous shooting at up to 5.0 fps with maximum resolution capture, but the autofocusing and exposure are locked to the first frame. There s also a High Speed mode which operates at 15 fps, but at the much lower resolution of 1280x960 pixels and in the program exposure mode only neither of which you re told by the instruction manual. As we ve noted with the Digital Pens and the E-M5, Olympus s manuals both printed and on CD need some improvement, starting with the basic addition of an index. Consequently, there s a lot about the XZ-2 that you re going to have to figure out for yourself. Image stabilisation is provided via sensor shifting with the choice of three modes: one correcting for movement in both the vertical and horizontal planes, the other two only compensating in the one plane to allow for panning. The camera s low-light capabilities are further enhanced by the speed of its i.zuiko Digital zoom lens which has a maximum aperture range of f across its focal range of 6-24mm. This is equivalent to mm in 35mm format terms, so it s not as wide-angle as, say, the Lumix LX7, but it s longer at the telephoto end with the still usefully fast aperture of f2.5 (the Panasonic has 90mm at f2.3). The zoom s optical construction comprises 11 elements in eight groups, and there s a total of six aspherical sides to correct for distortion and optimise sharpness. The minimum aperture is f8.0 a restriction imposed by combining the diaphragm and shutter in one assembly so, as is common practice in this class of compact, there s a built-in neutral density filter which delivers a further three stops of exposure reduction. The Olympus s lens sports a control ring which is used for manual aperture selection, mostly in one-third stops with nice, fat detents at each setting. A scale appears in the monitor screen and, in the other control modes, this ring is used to set shutter speeds (something that will be familiar to users of the original OM-series 35mm SLR), program shift (with a very nifty aperture/speed scale which cleverly shows exactly what s happening), and select the scene programs. TAKING EFFECT The XZ-2 s various in-camera processing options for JPEGs are quite similar to what s on offer with the latest Digital Pen models, starting with a set of 11 Art Filters, most of which are adjustable. Most can also be combined with one of five Art Effects, and there s also an Art Filters bracketing function which includes the camera s Picture Modes as well. If so desired, you could have all 16 possible variations of the image, but otherwise it s necessary to uncheck all the effects that aren t wanted, which seems the long way around (although you can always simply uncheck everything at the beginning and then re-instate what you want when you want them). While the Art Filters can be accessed via the main mode dial and the camera operation is fully automatic, they re also available for use with the PASM modes as an extension of the XZ-2 s Picture Mode presets. There are five Picture Modes, four for colour and one for B&W or Monotone capture. The colour From the OM-1 onwards, Olympus has built cameras that you just can t resist picking up and it s the same with the Stylus XZ-2. The built-in flash has extensive functionality, including manual control of its output down to 1/128 and serving as the commander unit in a wireless TTL flash set-up. The main mode dial has settings for the XZ-2 s scene modes, Art Filter effects and iauto fully automatic control (which includes auto scene selection). The Art Filters are also available with the other exposure control modes. The 7.62 cm LCD monitor screen is adjustable for up/down tilt. 57 OLYMPUS STYLUS XZ-2 The rear control layout is fairly conventional and includes a sub-command wheel located around the navigator keypad. Note the Stylus branding on the monitor screen. Olympus has decided to adopt it across all markets for its fixed-lens digital compacts.

3 58 modes are Vivid, Natural, Muted and Portrait, each with adjustable parameters for sharpness, contrast, saturation and tonal gradation. The latter has Normal, Auto, High Key and Low Key settings. The auto adjustments are made using Olympus s Shadow Adjustment Technology (SAT) which is designed to balance the amount of detailing reproduced in the highlights and the shadows. The darker areas of the image are selectively brightened by adjusting the tone curve while the highlights are selectively underexposed. The high key and low key settings obviously shift the tonal gradation to suit images that are predominantly brighter or darker respectively. The Monotone preset has adjustments for sharpness, contrast and gradation, plus B&W contrast filters and four toning effects (Sepia, Blue, Purple, Green). In the camera s iauto full auto mode, the most appropriate Picture Mode is selected automatically, but there s also a set of handy adjustments collectively called Live Guides. These are slider-type controls arranged down the righthand edge of the monitor screen and are available for adjusting the colour saturation, colour balance, brightness, background blur and the degree of blurring or freezing for moving subjects. Of course, for those who like to have more control, the XZ-2 has the works. So, as just noted, there s a full set of PASM exposure modes with program shift, an AE lock, exposure compensation of up to +/-3.0 EV and auto bracketing. The latter is over a sequence of three shots with an adjustment of up to +/-1.0 EV per frame. Metering is via a 324-zone Digital ESP multipattern measurement with the option of centre-weighted average or spot measurements, the latter adjustable to give a bias towards either highlights or shadows which has been an Olympus tradition since the OM system days. There s a choice of 15 subject/ scene modes, including Backlight HDR and panorama capture, the latter providing all the guides to ensure the correct overlap between up to ten frames, but in another Olympus curiosity, stops short of in-camera stitching. FLASH FEATURES The XZ-2 s shutter speed range is 30-1/2000 second and with a B setting that has a maximum duration of 16 minutes. Being an in-lens shutter, flash sync is possible at all speeds, but this is just the start of the camera s remarkable suite of flash photography functions. It also has a flash hotshoe, but you can do a lot with the built-in flash too. For example, it offers manual output adjustment down to 1/128 and it can serve as the controller in a wireless TTL flash set-up, offering four channels of operation over three groups with remote adjustment of the mode and output power. Flash exposure compensation is available over a range of +/-3.0 EV, and there s a flash bracketing function as well. The autofocusing system uses 35 distance detection zones arranged in a 5x7 grid pattern which covers a large proportion of the image area. The points can be manually selected and the pattern switched to a 5x5 grid if a larger zone is preferred. The AF operation can be set to single-shot, super macro (with focusing down to just one centimetres), continuous, continuous with subject tracking, or manual. The face detection function can frame up to eight faces and has the option of finetuning for both eyes or just either the left or the right eye. The manual focusing regime is really very nice indeed. A lever on the front panel easily switches the camera to MF mode and then adjustment is made by the control ring around the lens, which has now lost its detents and provides a lovely, smooth continuous adjustment; you re further assisted by both a distance scale and a magnified image. The sub-control dial on the camera s rear panel (and which surrounds the navigator keypad) is used to move the focusing zone around the frame and the whole set-up works the most efficiently and seamlessly of any MF control we ve seen on either fixed-lens compacts or CSCs. Likewise the fully manual exposure control, which uses the same combo of controls with, this time, a plus/minus scale and real-time histogram for guidance. ON BALANCE The XZ-2 s white balance control options are also extensive, starting with auto correction, which can be set to neutral or to maintain a warmer colour balance. There is a choice of seven presets, provisions for making two custom measurements, manual colour temperature control setting, bracketing and fine-tuning. As on the Digital Pen models, the The XZ-1 turns in a much bigger imaging performance than its small sensor would imply. Sharpness, colour fidelity and dynamic range are all well above average for this class of camera (and we re talking a pretty talented class here). The degree to which fine detailing is clearly defined is quite exceptional and the high ISO performance is also surprisingly good given the sensor s size. Noise is negligible up to ISO 800 and acceptable at both ISO 1600 and The XZ-2 doesn t just look like a Digital Pen model it pretty well performs like one too!

4 fine-tuning is performed using slider-type controls for the amberto-blue and green-to-magenta colour ranges. Olympus also bucks convention by continuing to call the manual colour temperature setting which, incidentally, has a wider-thannormal range of 2000 to 14,000 degrees Kelvin custom white balance. Finally, white balance bracketing is performed over a sequence of three frames over the amber-to-blue and green-to-magenta colour ranges. The XZ-2 records Full HD video clips using the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression format. The camera has built-in stereo microphones, but can be fitted with an external microphone via an adapter which plugs into the dedicated accessory port immediately below the back of the hotshoe. This same connection is used for fitting an eyelevel viewfinder, so obviously both devices can t be used at the same time. Start/stop is via a dedicated button astern of the shutter release, but compared to when shooting stills, there s little in the way of manual controls beyond exposure compensation, the optical zoom and engaging the microphone s wind filter. The Art Filter effects can be applied, but that s your lot with video so it seems this is very much a camera aimed at the still photographer. The XZ-2 s support of the SD format memory card format extends to SDXC, UHS-1 and the FlashAir wireless data transmission standard as well as Eye-Fi. IN THE HAND As noted at the beginning, the XZ-2 has a fair collection of external control, but it also has touch-screen controls plus a set of control panel displays to complement the standard menus. Consequently, there s quite a range of ways to fly this camera. Does it get as confusing as the E-M5? Well, sometimes. For example, there s still the strange business of having to switch on the Super Control Panel separately for each of the camera s main operational configurations iauto, PASM, Art Filters and Scene Modes along with the alternative Live Control screen which allows for the image to be displayed alongside selected adjustable settings. Basically, the best option is to simply switch everything on and then leave the camera configured this way so you can simply pick and choose what you want via the Info button. In OLYMPUS STYLUS XZ-2 practice, the Live control screens prove to be the most practical, as you can continue to view the image largely uninterrupted and navigation is performed easily with the fourway keypad. However, touch control is only available with Super Control Panel, with successive taps on an icon serving to change the settings rather than bringing up the submenu, which could seem to have been more logical. Alternatively, after highlighting the function, pressing the OK button will bring up the sub-menus, which are navigated conventionally rather than by touch. The other touch operation are focusing (but you can t drag the zone around the frame) or touch focusing with automatic shutter release when focus is achieved. The live view image can be configured to show a real-time histogram, dual-axis level displays, both highlight and shadow warnings and a superimposed grid (from a choice of four). Similarly, the image replay/review screens can be set up to include a thumbnail with a full set of histograms, a brightness histogram superimposed over the image, and the image displayed with highlight and shadow warnings. The highlight and shadow warnings have adjustable thresholds and the real-time histogram includes an internal section shown in green which indicates the brightness values within the selected focusing point or cluster. Olympus certainly hasn t left anything out, but again you ll need to switch it all on separately (i.e. for live view and playback) via the Custom menu and it s quite a sequence for example Custom Menu>Display>Info Settings>LV Info>Level Gauge, and so on for each component. The replay modes include zooming, 4/9/25 thumbnail displays (again separately selectable in the Custom Menu), a slide show with a choice of background music and transitions, and a set of editing features which include i-portrait to touch up in-camera. RAW images can also be processed in-camera. There are now two Fn buttons which can be assigned a range of duties. The new addition sits inside the MF/AF lever on the front panel and has a menu of 16 possible operations, including metering modes, AF modes, ISO settings and white balance settings. The Fn button at the camera s rear can be set to operate the AE lock, among other things, Consequently you can configure the XZ-2 to operate pretty much entirely using external controls (which is perhaps why Olympus allows for all the display elements to be switched off). As with the Digital Pens and the E-M5 you will learn to live with the various operational quirks and, on balance, it s still a straightforward camera to use, especially in terms of its manual operations. The tiltadjustable monitor is a plus in terms of enhanced usability, but traditionalists will probably want to invest in the EVF SPEED AND PERFORMANCE Against the clock and with a 16 GB Panasonic UHS-1 SDHC memory loaded, the XZ-2 fired off a sequence of 21 JPEG/large/super fine frames in seconds. This represents a continuous shooting speed of fps, which is a little off the quoted 5.0 fps, but for the first handful of frames the camera was definitely going faster than 4.0 fps speed (which is an average over the 21 frames). With a few other time trials, it appeared the XZ-2 can sustain around 4.0 fps for very long sequences, but that 5.0 fps is only attainable with short bursts. Are we fussed? Nope, 4.0 fps is still pretty good and, with the Class 10 card, the buffer empties pretty quickly. Probably the biggest challenge for the Stylus XZ-1 is that in terms of pricing, it s not far off the entry-level CSCs, but it s probably strong enough to withstand these comparisons. The hotshoe incorporates an accessory port for connecting an EVF or a stereo microphone via an adapter module. Touch screen controls include shutter release (as indicated by the icon at the lower left) and autofocusing. The replay screens include one which shows a thumbnail with a full set of brightness and RGB channel histograms. The Picture Mode presets can be selected via the shooting menu or the XZ-2 s various control screens. There s a choice of 11 Art Filter effects (which can be combined with one of five Art Effects ), including Cross Processing which random alters the colours and contrast. The XZ-2 offers an extensive choice of auto bracketing functions for exposure, white balance, flash, ISO and the Art Filter effects (with also includes the Picture Modes. 59

5 60 And we re prepared to forgive the XZ-2 quite a lot in return for its imaging performance, which is extremely good for a sensor of this size. The sharpness, detailing, colours across the spectrum and dynamic range are all above average, so the super-fine large JPEGs are beautifully crisp with lots of well-defined detailing and nicely smooth tonal gradations. In reality, the image quality wasn t all that far off what we d expect to see from the Micro Four Thirds sensors in the Digital Pens, with the inevitable exception of the high ISO performance and even this isn t all that bad. Everything holds together up to ISO 800, but both the ISO 1600 and 3200 settings are still fine as long as you aren t expecting to make big enlargements. ISO 6400 is pretty smudgy and ISO 12,800 is jointhe-dots stuff, but the good thing about the XZ-2 is that you probably won t ever have to go there because of the combination of the fast lens and the image stabiliser. The lens is well corrected with minimal distortion at either end of the focal range and virtually none in between. Chromatic aberration was only evident in the most contrasty of situations, and even then it was quite slight. THE VERDICT Probably the biggest challenge for the Stylus XZ-1 is that in terms of pricing, it s not far off the entrylevel CSCs (in fact, Olympus s own E-PM2 is cheaper). But it s probably strong enough to withstand these comparisons. For starters, its fixed zoom has a wider focal range (and you don t have to worry about dust getting onto the sensor), and it has quite a number of higherend features, such as the tilting monitor screen and capacity to accept an EVF. Then there are the unique elements, such as its exceptional efficient controllability when being used manually, either for exposure control or focusing. The way the lens control ring works is simply delightful. You might think the smaller sensor would also work against it, but Olympus has done a mighty job squeezing every last drop of performance out of the XZ-2 s imager, so it s strong here too. There s still a strong argument for the fixed-lens compact with high-quality optics, a comprehensive feature set and and the Stylus XZ-2 just adds more weight to it. OLYMPUS STYLUS XZ-2 $649 Type: Fully automatic, fixed lens digital compact camera. Lens: i.zuiko Digital 6-24mm f (equivalent to mm). 4.0x digital zoom. Built-in ND filter (three steps). Focusing Type & Range: Contrast detection with 35 focusing points. 20 cm to infinity; macro focusing down to 6.0 cm (down to 1.0 cm in super macro mode). Subject tracking and face detection modes. Single-shot and continuous operation plus manual override. Low light assist via built-in illuminator. Shutter Type & Speeds: Electronically-controlled leaf. 60-1/2000 second plus B (maximum duration is 16 minutes). Metering: Multi-zone (324 points), centre-weighted average, spot and spot with highlight/shadow bias. Metering range is EV 0 20 (ISO 100/f2.8). Exposure Control: Program, shutter- and aperture-priority AE, manual plus 15 subject/scene modes with auto selection in iauto mode. Up to +/-3.0 EV compensation, an AE lock and auto bracketing. Sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 and 12,800. Sensor: 9.5 mm CMOS, million pixels (12 MP effective). Image Size: 4:3 aspect ratio 3968x2976, 3200x2400, 2560x1920, 1920x1440, 1600x1200, 1280x960, 1024x768 and 640x480 pixels. 3:2 aspect ratio 3936x2624, 3216x2144 and 1296x864 pixels. 16:9 aspect ratio 3968x2232, 3200x1800 and 1280x720 pixels. 1:1 aspect ratio 2976x2976, 2400x2400 and 960x960 pixels. RAW files captured at 3968x2976 pixels. RAW+JPEG capture. Video Recording: MPEG4 AVC/H.264 compression at 1920x1080 pixels, 25 fps, 16:9 aspect ratio and two image quality settings. 1280x720 pixels, 25 fps and 16:9 aspect ratio. WAVE format stereo sound. External stereo microphone connects via accessory port. Video clips limited to 29 minutes in duration or 4.0 GB maximum file size. Continuous Shooting: Up to 5.0 fps for a burst of 200 frames (JPEG/large/fine). Formats: RAW, JPEG, MOV. PictBridge and DPOF compatible. Flash: Built-in with auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in, slow sync, first/ second curtain sync modes and manual. Up to +/-3.0 EV flash exposure compensation. Flash range = 60 cm to 11.1 metres (ISO 1600). Flash hotshoe provided for connecting external units, and wireless TTL control for up to three is available. White Balance: TTL measurement via image sensor. Auto, seven presets, two custom measurements and manual colour temperature setting (2000 to 14,000 degrees Kelvin). Fine-tuning over the amber-to-blue and greento-magenta colour ranges. ranges). AWB may be preset to Keep Warm Colours. Viewfinder: 7.62 cm LCD monitor screen (921,600 pixels) with touch controls and adjustments for up/ down tilt. Optional VF-2 or VF-3 EVFs connect via dedicated accessory port and hotshoe. Storage: SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards (UHS-1 support) plus 39 MB of internal memory. Compatible with FlashAir and Eye-Fi. Interface: USB 2.0/AV composite output, mini HDMI output (Type D), accessory port. Additional Features: Image stabilisation via sensor shift (three correction modes, including horizontalonly and vertical-only), Adobe RGB and srgb colour spaces, five Picture Modes (Vivid, Natural, Muted, Portrait and Monotone), adjustable Picture Mode parameters (Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation and Gradation Auto, Normal, Low-Key, High-Key), Monochrome mode has four contrast filters and four toning effects, 11 Art Filters applied at capture (Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Colour, Light Tone, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Cross Process, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic Tone and Key Line), five Art Effects (Soft Focus, Pinhole, Frames, White Edges, Starlight), multiple auto bracketing modes (AE, WB, flash, ISO and Art Filters ), real-time luminance histogram display, grid displays, dual-axis level display, Super Control Panel display, multiple exposure facility (with auto exposure adjustment), noise reduction for long exposures (Off, On, Auto), noise reduction for high ISO settings (Off, Low Standard, High), dual-delay self-timer (two and 12 seconds), grid displays (choice of four), highlight and shadow alerts (adjustable thresholds via histogram), adjustable image display time, auto image rotation, slide show (with a choice of music and transitions), playback zoom (up to 14x), 4/9/25 thumbnail displays (also available in slide show mode), in-camera editing functions (Shadow Adjust, Red-Eye Fix, Trim, Aspect, B&W, Sepia, Saturation, Resize, e-portrait), in-camera RAWto-JPEG conversion, copyright info, two custom camera set-ups, picture with sound recording (four seconds). DPOF support. Power: Rechargeable Li-90B lithium-ion battery pack. Dimensions (WxHxD): 113.8x65.4x48.0 mm. Weight: 346 grams (with battery and memory card). Price: $649. Distributor: Olympus Imaging Australia, telephone or visit Among the high-end fixed-lens digital compacts, the XZ-2 has the most classical styling, including the old-style Olympus legend. New lever on the front panel allows for instant switching between automatic and manual focusing (and incorporates a second user-assignable function button).

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