July 16, 2013

Improving upon its popular predecessor with several key upgrades, the Olympus XZ-2 boasts a brand new 12-megapixel 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor but thankfully keeps the fast, bright f/1.8-2.5 iZUIKO zoom lens which made the XZ-1 stand out against other enthusiast compact cameras. The XZ-2's 4x zoom lens maintains a wide maximum aperture across its 28-112mm equivalent range, and paired with the new sensor -- which replaces a 10-megapixel CCD -- we found the camera delivered sharp, detailed images even in low-light situations.
Other enhancements to the Olympus flagship compact include a three-inch, articulating LCD touchscreen that -- though not a great performer in direct sunlight -- provides a great deal of shooting flexibility and makes on-the-fly settings changes easy using the camera's Super Control Panel. And while the XZ-2 doesn't come with an electronic viewfinder, we were happy that you can still add on an Olympus accessory EVF, or if you prefer an accessory flash and stereo microphone[...]