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Archive 2016 · New Olympus Pen-F

  
 
DonM2
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · New Olympus Pen-F


20 March 2016

Over the past 55-plus years with Canon film and digital and past 7 yrs with Nikon digital, I never had any impulse to review any other camera brands.

But that all changed when, quite by accident on this forum, I hit an unintended thread listed on the home-page dealing with a new offering from Olympus: the reincarnation of the Pen-F.

Curiosity snagged me and I checked out what features and specs are being declared for this new item. All I can say is: WOW!!

Question: WHY IS THERE SO FAR SO LITTLE APPARENT BUZZ ON THIS FORUM ABOUT A CAMERA WITH THIS COMPACT FORM-FACTOR AND FEATURE-SET

Unless for some reason you need a 4x5, or larger, field camera or a studio view, I don't see why this Pen-F body would not satisfy the needs in everything from fast sports to many architectural studies to product presentations.

Maybe it's the 4-3rds format that makes people balk. I don't get excited about that format either. But with the declared build and otherwise feature set in this little piece I'm going to have to at least check one out at my advanced camera store. Might even have to buy one at what seems a modest price on something this advanced!

What say you?

DonM2



Mar 20, 2016 at 08:25 PM
millsart
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · New Olympus Pen-F


I say that its going to be selling at a steep discount as soon the the EM1 mkII hits the market


Mar 20, 2016 at 08:30 PM
fotografur
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · New Olympus Pen-F


Looks promising. I have one on order. 20 MP without an AA filter looks pretty darn sharp from what I've seen. The Sony a6300 is going to be a challenger. The oly lens lineup is better and their glass is well respected.

Here's a good review

http://robinwong.blogspot.com/2016/01/olympus-pen-f-review-part-1.html




Mar 20, 2016 at 08:43 PM
Jman13
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · New Olympus Pen-F


I think the big reason is that it's very expensive and offers little over the lower priced, weather sealed E-M5 II.

I have a review sample coming Friday, though.



Mar 20, 2016 at 08:44 PM
Tariq Gibran
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · New Olympus Pen-F


DonM2 wrote:
Unless for some reason you need a 4x5, or larger, field camera or a studio view, I don't see why this Pen-F body would not satisfy the needs in everything from fast sports to many architectural studies to product presentations.


FF 35 digital fills a very large segment between sheet film and m43. Dynamic range and file flexibility in particular still seem somewhat lacking with m43 vs FF 35 and larger in my testing. DR and file flexibility are really the only things that have kept me away from m43 as the cameras and lenses are very nice.




Mar 20, 2016 at 09:20 PM
fotografur
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · New Olympus Pen-F


Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Jman13 wrote:
I think the big reason is that it's very expensive and offers little over the lower priced, weather sealed E-M5 II.

I have a review sample coming Friday, though.




Mar 20, 2016 at 09:21 PM
darrellc
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · New Olympus Pen-F


Huge premium for the aesthetics combined with loss of functionality (AF-C, weather sealing, etc.) compared to cheaper alternatives


Mar 20, 2016 at 09:25 PM
harvey steeves
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · New Olympus Pen-F


according to a Camera Store recent review, the continuous focus on the Pen is not as good as the EM5ii. That is not the reason I haven't looked at one. No weather resistance, ridiculous price.


Mar 20, 2016 at 09:42 PM
fsiagian
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · New Olympus Pen-F


+1 price. If I were still shooting mft, I would go with e-m10 for a much lower price.


Mar 20, 2016 at 09:55 PM
galenapass
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · New Olympus Pen-F


DonM2 wrote:
20 March 2016

Over the past 55-plus years with Canon film and digital and past 7 yrs with Nikon digital, I never had any impulse to review any other camera brands.

But that all changed when, quite by accident on this forum, I hit an unintended thread listed on the home-page dealing with a new offering from Olympus: the reincarnation of the Pen-F.

Curiosity snagged me and I checked out what features and specs are being declared for this new item. All I can say is: WOW!!

Question: WHY IS THERE SO FAR SO LITTLE APPARENT BUZZ ON THIS FORUM ABOUT A CAMERA WITH
...Show more

Reading specs is one thing...results are another. Reviews that I have seen that actually used this camera found that the new sensor does not provide any appreciable IQ advantage to the standard 16MP sensor that Oly has been using. As mentioned above, AF-C is not as good as an EM5ii. Moreover, the extra dial on the front of the camera for "art filters" is a little gimmicky, IMO. I don't deny the camera looks good, but there is nothing there to make me want one over what I already have. I think a weather sealed EM5ii (especially when used with the pro lenses) would be a better buy than an unsealed more expensive camera, unless you like the way the Pen looks. Give it 6 to 10 months, I expect the Pen-F price to be much lower.



Mar 21, 2016 at 07:13 AM
TMaG82
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · New Olympus Pen-F


I have one on order and I'm looking forward to it. I greatly prefer the corner EVF over the hump. Also prefer a tilt or articulating screen over a fixed screen. For those two reasons the Pen F is one of the contenders.

Pros for me
- Built in corner EVF
- Articulating screen (my first though, I'm used to tilt only screens, but I could see articulating coming in handy for say portrait orientation shooting of my kids).
- C1-C4
- Clickable mode dial. One of my biggest pet peeves with the a7rII is the locking mode dial that requires you to press down to turn.
- Smaller, the lack of hump means it'll fit into smaller bags/inserts better.
- Premium build quality.
- Visually appealing to look at.


I could see why people aren't gushing over it though.
- High price (if priced at say $999 I could see interest being substantially higher).
- Not weather sealed (not a huge issue for me since I wouldn't use any of the sealed Pro zooms with this and the only sealed prime is the 60 macro). Maybe future Pro primes if they're released will be sealed (the rumored 25 f/1.2 interests me).
- The dial on the front is beneficial for JPEG shooters. Having it for other modes makes sense (ISO, aperture, SS, etc) but the hard clickable nature of the dial would make that frustrating to use as well.
- Continuous AF is weak. But again for my needs I wouldn't use zooms with this camera so having sub par C-AF isn't as a deal breaker as say having bad C-AF on an E-M1 Mark II which begs to be used with the 40-150 and the 300.

I'm looking forward to getting mine with the 17 f/1.8. I sold the X-Pro 2 for this one, despite the fact that the X-Pro 2 is much better on paper.



Mar 21, 2016 at 08:04 AM
forestmage
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · New Olympus Pen-F


I am very curious about this camera as I have enjoyed shooting with the original OMD for the past four years. I am really just waiting on reviews and for the price to drop a bit. I have a feeling my 60mm macro would pair well with the Pen F.


Mar 21, 2016 at 09:33 AM
Vern Dewit
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · New Olympus Pen-F


I've been using this for over a month now on hiking trips in all weather conditions. Adobe supports RAW now, I've shot jpeg before this last weekend and am very impressed so far.

Lots of naysayers and complaining but this camera combined with small primes or the 14-150 II is an amazing piece of gear and produces excellent landscapes for me. I used a Sony A7s for a couple of years before this but the lens sizes (zooms) really started turning me off and I missed many great wildlife shots due to no tele-zoom and got annoyed by that.

I really like the 4mp boost - I know it ain't much but every bit helps and 20-24 is my sweet spot where my computer can still process RAW files at decent speeds.

Handling is superb and I love the ability to use a soft release. Shutter sound is great too. I'm looking forward to the EM1 II in the fall but I couldn't go another full season without trying this sensor / camera and I'm glad I tried it! Last few trip reports on my web site have been shot with the Pen F.



Mar 21, 2016 at 11:20 AM
goosemang
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · New Olympus Pen-F


I use the E-M5 ii. If this camera was a few hundred cheaper I'd consider it simply because of the corner EVF and the new black and white mode that looks really nice. And a little more resolution seems reasonable.

But there's not enough here to lure me in. I think a lot of us who shoot m4/3 are ok with sufficient performance, and not chasing every little upgrade. I mean if you're ok with a 16 MP camera in 2016 you're probably not clamoring for 20 - you would have already jumped ship. Why drop $1200 on this when you can grab a used M5.2 for much much less.



Mar 21, 2016 at 11:47 AM
anscochrome
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · New Olympus Pen-F


I would hazard a guess that the very high subscriber youtube channels, namely, the camerastore and digitalrevtv, who recently posted videos bashing it, is having an influence. Thecamerastore even posted a followup video about the continuous auto focus tested with a production camera, sayings its better but still bad. Not to mention digital rev tv also had a video questioning the need for the continuance of the m 4/3 format in general.

You can poo-pooh these sources all you want, but methinks you cannot deny that they have an influence on opinions concerning gear.



Mar 21, 2016 at 12:45 PM
TMaG82
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · New Olympus Pen-F


For those that are looking for this, Getolympus, the official Olympus direct store has the silver in stock. Canceled my order with B&H and placed it with Olympus direct.


Mar 21, 2016 at 02:45 PM
fotografur
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · New Olympus Pen-F


Vern Dewit wrote:
I've been using this for over a month now on hiking trips in all weather conditions. Adobe supports RAW now, I've shot jpeg before this last weekend and am very impressed so far.

Lots of naysayers and complaining but this camera combined with small primes or the 14-150 II is an amazing piece of gear and produces excellent landscapes for me. I used a Sony A7s for a couple of years before this but the lens sizes (zooms) really started turning me off and I missed many great wildlife shots due to no tele-zoom and got annoyed by that.
...Show more

Well said from an actual user. It's priced competitively (Sony A6300...etc) a few hundred $ more but premium build. And 5 axis in body stability. 20 MP is not much up from the 16 but compared to the Sony a6300 on dpr studio tests its on the same level. And no AA filter. Awesome lens selection too.

And you can't compare the price against a used camera on eBay. Come on....



Mar 21, 2016 at 05:42 PM
mawz
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · New Olympus Pen-F


I don't think anyone thinks the Pen F is a bad camera. Frankly, it's a very good camera at a somewhat problematic pricepoint with a somewhat odd spec list compared to the OM-D's (aside from the sensor, it's a mix of E-M5 and E-M10 spec)

The problem is it is VERY hard to justify over the more capable E-M5II, or even the E-M10II if you don't need the multi-shot modes. And you can buy 2 E-M10II's for the same money, or an E-M5II and a nice lens. The E-M5II has a significantly better viewfinder, weather sealing and better AF-C, the E-M10 gets the same EVF as the Pen-F and pretty comparable performance aside from the lack of multi-shot mode.

20MP is pretty much a phantom increase in IQ, it's not enough to be visible for the vast majority of use cases and the sensor doesn't deliver an increase in DR or noise performance over the 16MP sensor.

The main attraction to the Pen-F is styling/handling (it's actually the closest thing to a GX7 replacement available today since Panasonic porked up the GX8 badly and screwed up the ergo's). If you like the RF look & handling, the Pen F is probably the best camera of that type available new today in m43. It's also very well built despite the lack of sealing.

As to why not much chatter about it? Well there was a brief flurry up until it was realized that there wasn't much in the way of game changing here, just another iteration on m43 with pretty similar performance to other bodies.



Mar 22, 2016 at 10:11 PM
itai195
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · New Olympus Pen-F


I recently bought an E-M5mkII. Lower price and weather sealing were the big issues to me. If I didn't care about the weather sealing, the E-M10mkII would've been an even better deal. Compared to those cameras, the Pen seems overpriced. The build and styling are beautiful, granted.

As an aside, I don't generally care about weather sealing because most companies seem to pay lip service to it. That's always made me distrustful of the feature. Olympus seem somewhat more serious about it.



Mar 23, 2016 at 01:11 AM
TMaG82
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · New Olympus Pen-F


Outside of the high price, which I agree is high and would be more tolerable at $999, the other big complaint about it is the lack of weather sealing, again at its price point which is a big omission. But if you look at it, there is a total of 1 weather sealed prime that exists to the best of my knowledge. And as we all know, the quality of weather sealing varies greatly by model but also can only be considered sealed if both camera and lens are both sealed. Could this be the reason for the lack of sealing since Olymous anticipated the camera being used mostly with primes? Possibly.


Mar 23, 2016 at 04:55 AM
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