Would the EP2 with

I would consider the E-PL2 with VF-2 to be a better upgrade, personally. It may not be made of as robust metal (E-PL2 = aluminum, E-P2 = metal-alloy) and is missing one dial, but otherwise it has a lot of performance upgrades such as much sharper image quality, better high-ISO performance, faster AF, twice the LCD resolution, larger grip, etc.

The E-PM1 is even a slightly better performance upgrade but a downgrade in terms of control from the E-PL2... but offers a much smaller size if that's important to you.

I don't imagine either of those options will run you much more than an E-P2.

 

On my GH1 (same viewfinder as the G1) I find that my eye is particularly sensitive to the colour "tearing" that happens when you move your eye quickly and it makes the viewfinder uncomfortable for me to use. The VF2 doesn't give me the same problem. Aside from that, they are both fairly high resolution EVFs that do the same job, the biggest operational difference being the tiltability of the VF2 vs the eye sensor on the G1.

 

I woudn't think it woud be much of an upgrade. IQ is going to be really similar as are the EVFs. I had a G2 (basically the same camera as the G1 with video and some control changes). What the EP2 gives you is IBIS, warmer OOC color and the G1 gives you a bit better handling and controls. I would see it as a lateral move as opposed to an upgrade.

 

What sort of upgrade are you looking for?

The VF2 is a bit nicer than the G1 EVF, but it's not a big enough difference to upgrade alone for, IMO, and the G1 is most respects as good as or better than the E-P2.

DH

 

It's not a switch I would make. If you wanted to add an E-P2 for the different form factor or to have another m43 body I could see that but replace one with the other... probably not. I don't know if this matters to you but I find the G1/G2 form factor much more comfortable to use than the PEN form factor for a lot of things. I like my E-PM1 and E-P1 but I missed having that mini DLSR style camera after I sold my G2 that I went out and picked anther one up.

 

You seem to be leaning towards Olympus bodies, yet all except the OM-D E-M5 have basically the same 12 MP sensor as your G1 and therefore similar image quality. So why change?

I appreciate that there are many attractive looking deals at this time involving superseded Olympus bodies in kits with a lens and VF2, but you would be denying yourself the huge benefits available from the new 16 MP Live MOS sensors in the Panasonic G3, GX1 and GH2.

You not only get more resolution from 16 rather than 12 MP, you also get a dramatic improvement in image quality at high ISOs. I happily use my G3 up to ISO1600 with very little difference in noise from ISO 200. The same is true of the GX1 and GH2. You simply can't do that with any 12 MP sensor in the Panasonic/Olympus ranges.

So unless you are going to change to a far better sensor, why change at all?