Picture: Terri Tan, Guest Reviewer, Olympus XZ-2
Photo by Yu Ling.

My Brother-in-Law, Allan LEE – the Editor of this site who is a commercial photographer, a photography instructor &
an avid photograhy gear review editor – is no doubt a camera freak. The whole family knows about his huge
collection of cameras & lenses. Recently, he came home with a few Olympus Cameras and I knew he is reviewing new
cameras again. Unexpectedly, he passed me one of the camera and told me “just shoot with this and pass me the photos”.
Since a family outing was planned for the coming weekend, I took the camera from him and decide to try out this new camera.

The camera is an Olympus Stylus XZ-2. According to Allan, this is the replacement for the previous much raved about XZ-1.
I have totally no idea what was he talking about but as for me, a new interesting journey begins – with the XZ-2.

While on a cruise down Singapore River, a tourist family were on the same boat. Their little curious toddler
was pretty restless during the cruise and I took out the XZ-2 and took a shot. The camera was set to “iAuto”
which I presumed is the regular “Automatic Mode” in most cameras. The focusing was fast and precise and
I managed to get a decent shot of the little boy – still trying to climb the bench inside the bumpboat.

Looking out of the boat, the scenary that was very familiar to me somehow looks different this time. Probably
it’s because I am now looking at the same scenary from a very different perspective or angle, I am inside a
tourist cruise boat! Then I saw another cruise boat coming from the opposite direction and I quickly took a shot.
From the photo above, you will know that I didn’t missed the shot and the photo captured was tack sharp and
so full of details. I can never take photos like this before with my other digital cameras.

We moved on to Gardens by the Bay after the cruise. I saw the above scene while walking in to the Gardens and decided
to take a quick shot. I was very happy to report that the photo has a very balanced exposure and nicely contrasted the
scene details. I was expecting a blown out photo (or what you guys call “over-exposed”) but nope, the photo above
was shot and came out beautiful. I am very impressed with the XZ-2 by now.

I tried shooting some flowers and you can see from the photo above, the petals of the flower are nicely exposed,
sharp with lots of details and the color quality is excellent! I am not a photographer like my Brother–in-law (Allan)
or my sister (Yu Ling) who does wedding stuff, but I can recognize a good photo when I see one and here it is!
This is probably the best flower shot I had ever shot!

I like the Olympus XZ-2 probably due to the compact size and its weight, it is very light and easy to handle.
And its overall design looks more like a very high end bridge camera rather than a regular compact.
I particularly like the aperture ring which I can turn to override some settings in “P” mode. (Taught by Allan).
The touch focus shutter function was very refreshing too.

This plant above was in a shade, darker than the sun light that was outside the dome. This is inside the Flower Dome
so light is diffused but shooting the XZ-2 is a breeze. It seems like the camera can sense that the surroundings are
darker and somehow, it auto compensates the light. As I said, I am not a photographer so I do not really know how things work inside the camera, but I am very happy to get the above shot without much effort.

While inside Cloud Forest, I saw this waterfall and decided to take another shot. The artificial waterfall was much darker
than what the above photo shows. When I loaded this photo to my PC, I went “WOW”! Every details I can remember
of this place are captured, every details!

Picture: Terri Tan, Guest Reviewer, busy with the Olympus XZ-2
Photo by Yu Ling.

The angle of view is pretty wide, I can actually do a bit of landscape with it without any problem.
Shooting had never been so easy before. I know there are a lot more functions available inside the mighty XZ-2,
but since this is a camera review, importantly I know what people are looking for – good picture quality and
ease of use. Because I am such a person too. 🙂

Picture: Terri Tan, Guest Reviewer, Olympus XZ-2
Photo by Yu Ling.

I had so much fun with the XZ-2 and I am considering a purchase too. The Olympus XZ-2 is so lovable, a nice little camera packed with tons of
goodies, need me to say more? 🙂

Rounding up this review, I would like to thank Allan for giving me this opportunity to review the XZ-2
in the most layman view (as what he calls it) & Olympus Imaging Singapore too.

I heard that Allan will be doing a XZ-1 vs XZ-2. Maybe his review article will appeals to the serious enthusiasts, do look out for it.

About Olympus Imaging Singapore

Olympus Imaging Singapore is the unparalleled industry leader in opto-digital technologies, delivering award-winning digital imaging products for the consumer and professional markets in Singapore. Driven by a strong commitment in providing innovative products and solutions of the highest quality, Olympus Imaging Singapore works closely with industry partners, customers and other Olympus business units in producing leading-edge products. These include analogue and digital cameras, professional SLR imaging systems, and voice recorders, amongst others. Olympus Imaging Singapore’s unrelenting efforts in superior customer service also bear testimony to its brand promise of delivering the best user experience to all consumers and professional users in the imaging field.

For more information, please visit http://www.olympusimage.com.sg.