Thoughts about the Olympus Pen F from 5 different reviewers

Three days have passed since the announcement of the Olympus Pen F and since then, a handful of full reviews have appeared online. In this article, we’re featuring five of these reviews, three by independents (Ming Thein, Atmtx and Jakub Kaźmierczyk) and two by Olympus associates (Robin Wong and Mike Boening). The reviewers talk about the camera as it applies to their individual workflows, and as such, their opinions regarding certain features of the camera are quite varied.

Olympus Pen F review
Olympus Pen F

Let’s start with an independent and somewhat technical review by Ming Thein. Although his feelings about the camera are generally positive, handing out praise to the sense of security the 5-axis stabilisation gives the user, the responsiveness, and the size and design, he remains ambivalent about what he calls the “JPG-centricness of the camera” and how it seems to target the social media crowd more than the serious photographer with its in-camera processing. To quote the review:

The biggest problem here is that the camera’s LCD isn’t really adequate for assessing how the final result will appear on a proper wide-gamut monitor, limiting the usefulness of in-camera processing to serious photographers.

He is also somewhat critical of the new front knob, in part because it isn’t customisable but mostly because he feels it compromises the ergonomics of the camera.

Check out Ming Thein’s Pen F review here

The second review, which is actually part one of a two-part piece, comes from Robin Wong who focuses on ergonomics and some aspects of image quality. Despite being an Olympus employee, which he clearly states at the beginning of each post, I always find him quite honest about his likes and dislikes, a tendency that carries over to this review as well.

For instance, he does not hesitate to point out the discomfort of the front knob, stating that your “fingers need more room to breathe” and highly recommends – no, insists – that potential users buy the ECG-4 grip to improve handling, especially with large lenses.

He also comments on image quality, stating that it is rather similar to that of the E-M1 or E-M5 II with some slight improvements, such as the reduction of JPG sharpening artefacts. He concludes on a positive note, saying:

This is the kind of camera that is made to lust for: beautiful design blended with great functions and shooting capabilities.

Check out Robin Wong’s Pen F review here

Next we have a review that focuses more on imagery than technical specifications. Mike Boening is a recently anointed Olympus Trailblazer who had the camera for three months before the announcement and took over 2,000 shots in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Detroit. To accompany the review, he also made an in-depth 50 minute video with the assistance of fellow Trailblazer Jamie MacDonald, which can be found in the article.

What is interesting about Mike’s review is that he explains in-depth how the new monochrome and colour profiles work and concentrates on the camera’s appeal to street shooters. Unlike Ming and Robin, he is particularly fond of the front knob as it allowed him to quickly select the new Monochrome and Colour Profiles and avoid all post-processing.

Check out Mike Boening’s Pen F review here

Then we have an excellent independent review by Atmtx, an urban landscape photographer based in Austin, Texas. He has been a faithful Olympus user for many years and has owned many of the previous Pens, including the original Pen F film camera.

Once again, he provides a different view regarding the controversial front knob, stating that he initially thought it was a gimmick but later came to appreciate it. As for the camera itself, he feels it is better suited to small primes like the 17mm than the larger zooms, which pair well with the OM-D cameras.

Beyond going into great detail about the various film simulation modes, he also mentions an interesting idea that Olympus might want to take on board: to allow people to create their own custom filters and share them with the online photography community.

The biggest compliment he could possibly pay to the camera can be found in one of the final paragraphs:

While I own a lot of cameras, certainly more than I probably should, my primary go to camera is the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II. I like the PEN-F better. It better suits the way I shoot. If I didn’t already own the OM-D E-M5 Mark II, I would buy the PEN-F.

Check out Atmtx’s Pen F review here

Finally, we conclude with a gallery of beautiful portraits by Jakub Kaźmierczyk, a commercial portrait photographer based in Poland. From what I gathered from the translation (Google Translate still has a way to go!), Jakub sold his Canon DSLR and his shelf is now filled with mirrorless cameras. One of his favourites was the Pen E-P5 but found the lack of a built-in viewfinder frustrating, which is why he likes the new Pen F so much. For the shoot, he had to limit himself to OCC JPGs because he could not open the Raw files.

Check out Jakub’s Pen F gallery here!