Christmas came early!

The husband ought to thank his lucky stars that I'm not the kind of girl who fancies diamonds and pearls. It is so easy (on the pocket) to please me.

All it takes to get me hopping in joy are these...

I can't wait to play these all day! But in return for the husband's spot-on Christmas present selection, he deserves all my attention today. The games can wait till he hits the road with his cycling buddy one of the nights.

As well, he sponsored half of the cost of my latest want - the Olympus Pen. :)

This is the E-P2, one generation before the current E-P3. Functions-wise, both generations are very similar, except the E-P3 has a touch-screen. Value-wise, the E-P2 went at a discounted S$698, with a very retro-looking FL-14 external flash, an 8GB SD card and a hard case thrown in for free.

I'm no hardcore techie who buys only the latest in the market, so the E-P2 is hot enough for me. :)

The E-P2 offers eight art filters, among other functions. For now, those are the only functions I've got myself acquainted with. We are supposed to sign up for a complimentary course that will turn us into Olympus Pen experts.

The art filters aren't too bad.

This was taken using the Pin Hole filter:

This was taken using the Pale & Light filter (courtesy of the husband):

This was taken using the Soft Focus filter:

This was taken using the Pop Art filter:

This was taken using the Grainy Film filter:

Oh, the lens cap, by the way, features the famous F logo from the classic 1963 Olympus Pen F.

According to the salesman, my E-P2 set is one of the special edition kits that feature the F logo lens cap. How nice. :)

With two wonderful cameras now, we won't be fighting to take photos in Japan. We can both be extremely trigger-happy! :)

I'm signing off now to go explore the camera with the husband.