Olympus Pen E-P2 announced

"The next chapter: Back to black"

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4 November 2009 21:52 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Olympus has followed up the June launch of its retro-chic Pen E-P1 with the new E-P2 Micro Four Thirds digital camera.

Adding a port for an electronic viewfinder or external microphones, the E-P2 gets two additional "Art Filters" as well as the new i-Enhance function, said to be "for even more creativity and image enhancement", AF tracking, remote slideshow control (via HDMI) and perhaps the biggest improvement of all - the ability to record 7 minutes of AVI format movies in 30fps at 1280 x 720p HD resolution.

Specs include a 12.3-megapixel Live MOS sensor with dust reduction and image stabilisation, up to ISO 6400, 3-inch HyperCrystal LCD, 20 shooting modes, face detection and the camera takes SD or SDHC memory cards.

Available in classic black from January 2010, Olympus are hoping these improvements over the original will see consumers shelling out around £850 for the new snapper - a £100 more than the dearest E-P1 bundle.