Then there’s a downward slope to a lower section with the shutter release and zoom collar in matt black plastic followed by the mode dial on the right corner. Twin stereo mics are positioned in front of the hotshoe and the on/off button with a cool blue LED surround that illuminates in power-saving mode is positioned to the right of it. The pop-up flash is located on the left end, to the right of it, slightly offset but directly above the lens is the hotshoe with the Olympus accessory port at the rear. The XZ-2’s top panel is almost identical to the XZ-1’s aside from the revised profile. But though the S110 may be small and light, it lacks a hotshoe and has quite poor battery life. The PowerShot S110 measures 99 x 60 x 27 and weighs 198g, a totally different class of compactness to the XZ-2 and LX-7 and the only one I even attempted, successfully, to slip into the pocket of my jeans. These protrusions make both models a little trickier to remove from a coat pocket than the Canon PowerShot S110 which looks and feels much more like a ‘proper’ compact. The fixed grip on the LX-7 provides the same sort of secure handling as the removable one on the XZ-2, and where the XZ-2’s flip-out screen protrudes further at the rear, the LX-7’s lens sticks out further at the front. So it’s a little taller, a little thinner and around 15 percent lighter. The LX-7’s dimensions are 111 x 67 x 46 and it weighs 298 grams with the battery and card. Side-by-side with the Lumix LX-7 there’s little to separate them in terms of portability. Round the back there’s a moulded thumb grip made of the same textured soft plastic which makes for secure and comfortable single-handed operation. But if you don’t like the additional (negligible) bulk and weight, or don’t feel the need for it, it’s easily removed. Once attached with the integral plastic screw it looks and feels like part of the camera and provides a more secure and comfortable grip for your fingers. The detachable grip is an excellent idea. The front plate is a little busier with the addition of a detachable handgrip and manual focus lever with a function button at its centre. The top panel is no longer a flat plane, but dips on the right to accommodate the shutter release and mode dial. From the front, the XZ-2 looks more angular, less consumer compact and more enthusiast orientated than the XZ-1.

The Olympus Stylus XZ-2 is a little bigger and heavier than its predecessor, measuring 113 x 65 x 48mm and weighing 346 grams including the battery and SD card. Read my full review to find out which offers the best balance of quality, features and performance for the demanding enthusiast photographer. So these three manufacturers are pulling out all the stops to dominate this market.

With a large APS-C-sized sensor and no optical low pass filter, the COOLPIX A promises unsurpassed image quality from a compact, and the Lumix LX-7 recently snatched the title of brightest lens on a compact camera from the XZ-2. I’ve compared the XZ-2 against its biggest rival, the Panasonic Lumix LX7, and also against the Nikon COOLPIX A which represents a different proposition. But since the XZ-1 appeared at the beginning of 2011 things have of course moved on, and there’s now a much wider field to chose from if you’re looking for a fixed lens compact with a big sensor and a bright lens. The new sensor and processor improves the XZ-2’s continuous shooting performance to 5fps and it now boasts 1080p30 full HD video recording.Īll told, the XZ-2 represents a significant evolution on the XZ-1 a model that owed its success and popularity to its combination of excellent low light performance in a compact format and which remains, for now, in the Stylus line-up. The AF system is improved with a 35-area contrast detect system similar to that on the Olympus PEN models and the sensitivity range is extended beyond the XZ-1’s 6400 ISO to a new maximum of 12800 ISO. The processor is also updated to the latest TruePic V and the XZ-1’s 610k dot OLED screen is updated with a 920k dot LCD touch-screen. Successor to the XZ-1, it sports the same 28-112mm equivalent 4x zoom with a bright f1.8-2.5 maximum aperture, but swaps its predecessor’s 1/1.63in 10 Megapixel CCD sensor with a 1/1.7in CMOS chip with 12 Megapixels. The Olympus XZ-2 is a compact aimed at the demands of enthusiasts.

Olympus xz 1 dpreview