Olympus Pen E-PL7: review, specifications, reviews. Olympus PEN-F – retro design and modern technology Olympus PEN-F: Conclusions
Olympus has always had a vintage style to its cameras, but with the new PEN-F they've taken that style even further. This camera is a modern interpretation of a device from the 1960s. Externally, the camera is made in the style of mid-20th century rangefinders, but its technical characteristics will give odds to many modern mirrorless cameras.
PEN-F is available in two colors: black and silver. The camera looks great with the silver 17mm F/1.8 lens.
The Olympus PEN-F is perhaps the most retro-like camera since the release of the Nikon Df. The camera body is generously covered with leather substitute. The control dial on the front panel is not the most convenient solution and is not particularly necessary. It is simply a tribute to style. The large on/off switch could also have been smaller, but had to be made that way for style reasons.
The new digital Olympus PEN has a built-in electronic viewfinder. This viewfinder immediately sets this camera apart from earlier models such as the E-P5. The 2.36 million dot viewfinder gives you a very clear and clear view of the world beyond the lens. Also quite modern is the 81-point contrast-detecting autofocus system with face and eye detection. It's a shame that this system can't match the hybrid autofocus of the OM-D E-M1 when tracking moving subjects.
At the center of the PEN-F there is a 20MP Four Thirds sensor. The Micro Four Thirds system assumes a 2X crop factor for lenses. This means that a 17mm F/1.8 optic actually behaves roughly like a 34mm F/3.6 on a full-frame camera. Like its big brother OM-D E-M5, the PEN-F features 5-axis image stabilization, which Olympus says should provide stabilization 5 stops. This type of stabilization is also extremely useful when shooting handheld videos.
The PEN-F's video specification is pretty standard. The camera can only shoot Full HD video at up to 60 frames per second with a maximum bitrate of 52Mbps. Sound is recorded through a built-in stereo microphone. There is a hot shoe on the top of the camera.
By default, video recording starts when you press the red button in the upper right corner of the PEN-F. Most of the other major controls that will be familiar to users of the OM-D and PEN series cameras are also located there. The shutter button is located in the middle of the main command dial. There is also a thread for a screw-in cable remote shutter release. There is also a secondary dial protruding from the back of the camera. The ±3EV exposure compensation dial can also be found there.
The PEN-F has a 3" fully articulated LCD screen with a resolution of 1.037 million dots. The screen is touch-sensitive, allowing you to control various functions such as focus point selection and shutter release, as well as menu navigation. In terms of overall build, the PEN -F feels like a solid, not too heavy camera. The body is made of aluminum and magnesium alloy. The connections between the body and the button areas are not weather sealed.
There is a diopter adjustment dial on the back panel next to the viewfinder.
On the right side of the PEN-F, under the spring flap, you will find USB and HDMI ports. The USB port can also be used as a connector for the optional RM-UC1 remote release. The camera lacks a connector for connecting an external microphone and headphones. As with most modern cameras, Wi-Fi is built-in.
The battery and memory card are accessible at the bottom of the PEN-F. They are located in one compartment. The battery is familiar to Olympus camera users. This is BLN-1. It provides the camera with energy to take about 330 shots. As you can see, the PEN-F's tripod socket is located on the central axis of the lens and is far enough away from the battery compartment that you can change batteries and memory cards without removing the camera from the tripod.
The Olympus PEN-F is not a big camera. Without a lens, the device can easily fit in the palm of an adult. PEN-F has dimensions 125x72x37 mm. The camera weighs 427 grams with battery and memory card. The camera will go on sale in March 2016 with a price tag of $1,199.99 for the version without a lens.
Olympus PEN-F Specifications
|
Frame |
|
|
Style |
Rangefinder style mirrorless camera |
|
Housing material |
Magnesium alloy and aluminum |
|
Matrix |
|
|
Working resolution |
|
|
Full resolution |
|
|
Matrix size |
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) |
|
Notes |
In high-resolution mode, you can receive photos in RAW with a resolution of 10368x7776, and in JPEG - 8160x6120 |
|
Matrix type |
|
|
GPU |
|
|
Color space |
|
|
Pictures |
|
|
Minimum light sensitivity |
|
|
White balance presets |
|
|
Custom white balance |
Yes (4 slots) |
|
Image stabilization |
Sensor shift, 5 axes |
|
JPEG quality levels |
Super good, good, normal, basic |
|
File formats |
|
|
Optics and focus |
|
|
Autofocus |
|
|
AF Illuminator |
|
|
Manual focus |
|
|
Number of AF points |
|
|
Lens mount |
Micro Four Thirds |
|
Focal length multiplier |
|
|
Display and viewfinder |
|
|
Tilt/Rotate |
Articulated |
|
Display size |
|
|
Display resolution |
|
|
Touch display |
|
|
Display type |
|
|
Live View |
|
|
Viewfinder type |
Electronic |
|
Viewfinder coating |
|
|
Viewfinder magnification |
|
|
Viewfinder resolution |
|
|
Photo |
|
|
Shutter speed |
60 sec - 1/8000 sec |
|
Electronic shutter |
|
|
Exposure Modes |
|
|
Story Modes |
|
|
Built-in flash |
|
|
External flash |
Included |
|
Flash Modes |
Flash Auto, Red-eye compensation, fill, Flash off, Slow sync + red-eye compensation, Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (2nd curtain) |
|
X-sync speed |
|
|
Maximum shooting speed |
10.0 fps |
|
Timer |
Yes (2 or 12 seconds, custom) |
|
Metering Modes |
|
|
Exposure compensation |
± 5 (1/3 step) |
|
Exposure bracketing |
± 5 (2, 3, 5, 7 frames of 1/3 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV steps) |
|
White balance bracketing |
|
|
Video shooting |
|
|
Permissions |
1920x1080 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280x720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p) |
|
Format, codec |
MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG |
|
Microphone |
|
|
Speaker |
|
|
Memory cards |
|
|
Types |
|
|
Interfaces |
|
|
USB port |
USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) |
|
HDMI port |
Yes (micro-HDMI) |
|
Microphone port |
|
|
Headphone port |
|
|
Wireless communication |
Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b/G/N |
|
Remote control |
Yes (wire or smartphone) |
|
Physical characteristics |
|
|
Environmental protection |
|
|
Battery |
Lithium-ion battery BLN-1 and charger |
|
Battery life |
330 shots per charge |
|
Weight including battery |
|
|
Dimensions |
125x72x37 mm |
|
Other Features |
|
|
Orientation sensor |
|
|
Interval recording |
Yes (video) |
Olympus PEN-F is a mirrorless camera with interchangeable Micro-4/3 lenses. Formally, the PEN line is junior compared to OM-D. The PEN brand produces models for which style and image, appearance and ease of use are especially important, while OM-D cameras are intended more for advanced photo enthusiasts, and only among OM-D cameras there are models that Olympus itself considers corresponding to the professional level.
However, the new PEN-F camera has technical characteristics that are at least as good as, and in some places even superior to, the level of top-end OM-D models. For the first time, Olympus cameras of the Micro 4/3 system use a 20 megapixel resolution matrix. Until now, all PEN and OM-D cameras had 12 MP (in the first models) or 16 MP (in recent years) matrices. The manufacturer notes that, despite the higher resolution, the level of digital noise has not increased (which allows us to call the new matrix “low noise”), and the dynamic range has not narrowed.
PEN-F is the second Olympus camera to feature the innovative Hi-Res mode. In this mode, the camera takes eight frames in quick succession, performing a micro-shift of the matrix from frame to frame and, as it were, collecting the information generated by the lens into one resulting frame. Until now, the first and only model with Hi-Res mode was Olympus OM-D E-M5 II, which can take 40-megapixel pictures, and now a similar mode is implemented in PEN-F - with the difference that since the matrix resolution is higher (20 MP versus 16 MP), PEN-F Hi-Res pictures have a resolution of 50 Mp. In principle, this is the highest resolution implemented to date in compact system cameras, however, it should be noted that since the Hi-Res shooting process lasts about a second, this mode can only be fully used from a tripod, and it is not suitable for shooting moving objects .
The Olympus PEN-F camera uses the same TruePic VII processor as other recent models, as well as a highly effective five-axis image stabilization system - the same as in the OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera, providing up to five stops of exposure gain .
The PEN-F has a built-in 2.36-dot electronic viewfinder, a freely rotating rotating touchscreen monitor, the camera can shoot video in Full HD 1080@60/50/30/25/24p, and also stitch time-lapses in 4K resolution (like the latest OM-D models, with a frequency of 5 frames per second).
The manufacturer calls PEN-F “the standard of style and build quality,” combining elements of modern design and the retro style of film eras. The quality of the materials used and the high level of finishing are noted. It is especially emphasized that there is not a single visible screw on the surface of the camera. Indeed, PEN-F looks very impressive, it’s hard to disagree with this.
The model will be produced in two color options - with silver elements (as in the illustrations above) and completely black:
The PEN-F does not have a built-in flash, but you can install external flashes in the hot shoe connector. The kit includes a miniature FL-LM3 flash with a rotating head and a guide number of 9.1.
Main technical characteristics of Olympus PEN-F:
- Compact, rugged and lightweight design in the style of rangefinder cameras.
- New LIVE MOS matrix with a resolution of 20 megapixels, 4/3 format (17.3x13.0 mm).
- Five-axis sensor-shift optical stabilization system (working for both photo and video shooting), with automatic recognition of the optimal mode taking into account panning (S-IS Auto).
- Dual-core TruePic VII processor.
- Touch monitor with a diagonal of 3″, resolution 1.04 pixels, 3:2 format, freely rotating in two axes.
- The ability to operate the display in “Touchscreen AF” mode - you look into the viewfinder, and indicate the focus point on the display.
- Built-in high-resolution OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) 2,360,000 dots with eye sensor and 100% field of view.
- The ability to switch the EVI to the “Optical viewfinder simulation” mode (in this case, the entered exposure compensation and other settings are displayed immediately on the main monitor, but not in the EVI).
- Sensitivity range from ISO200 (with ISO80 expansion) to ISO25600.
- Fast shutter speeds from 1/8000 second (and from 1/16000 with electronic shutter).
- Continuous shooting up to 10 fps (or up to 5 fps with working autofocus).
- Contrast autofocus with 81 zones (9x9), with selectable groups, with face and near-eye detection.
- Picking function for manual focusing (outlining objects that are in focus).
- Focus bracketing function (Focus BKT), with adjustment of the number of frames and the amount of focus plane shift.
- New control - Creative Dial, providing instant access to four creative image modes - CRT (Color Creator), ART (Art Filter), COLOR (Color Profile Control) and MONO (Monochrome Profile Control) .
- On-the-fly correction of perspective distortion.
- Video recording in Full HD 1080@60/50/30/25/24p resolution, ALL-I format with a stream of 77 Mb/s (at 30/25p), IPB with a stream of 52 Mb/s. Options for fast and slow video recording.
- Record stereo sound when shooting video.
- Interval shooting with the ability to stitch time-lapse videos.
- Connector for connecting an external flash and other accessories.
- Built-in Wi-Fi for remote control and file transfer to external devices.
- Overall dimensions (according to the manufacturer, body without protruding parts): 125 x 72 x 37 mm.
- Weight (with battery and memory card): 427 g.
We now combine for easy comparison in one table the most important characteristics of three Olympus cameras released recently - OM-D E-M10 Mark II, E-M5 Mark II and PEN-F. The winning moments highlighting one of the models are marked in green, comparatively weak moments are marked in red.
| Olympus camera | OM-D E-M10 Mark II | OM-D E-M5 Mark II | PEN-F |
| Matrix | 16 MP Live MOS |
16 MP Live MOS |
20 MP Live MOS |
| CPU | TruePic VII | TruePic VII | TruePic VII |
| Image stabilization | 5-axis (4EV) |
5-axis
(5EV) |
5-axis
(5EV) |
| Electronic shutter | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum shutter speed | 1/4000 s |
1/8000 s
(1/16000 with electronic shutter) |
1/8000 s
(1/16000 with electronic shutter) |
| ISO range | 200-25600 (with extension 100-25600) |
200-25600 (with extension 100-25600) |
200-25600 (with extension 80-25600) |
| Monitor | 1.04 Mtochek 3″ LCD Inclined Sensory |
1.04 Mtochek 3″ LCD Rotating Sensory |
1.04 Mtochek 3″ LCD Rotating Sensory |
| Built-in electronic viewfinder |
2.36 Mtochek OLED 0.62x |
2.36 Mtochek OLED 0.74x |
2.36 Mtochek OLED 0.62x |
| Touchpad AF mode | Eat | No | Eat |
| Continuous shooting | 8.5 fps | 10 fps | 10 fps |
| Built-in flash | Eat | No | No |
| Video shooting | Full HD 1080@60/50/30/25/24p |
Full HD 1080@60/50/30/25/24p |
Full HD 1080@60/50/30/25/24p |
| Time lapse 4K | Yes (5 fps) | Eat (with firmware v 2.0) |
Yes (5 fps) |
| Microphone jack | No | Eat | No |
| Focus bracketing |
Eat | Eat (with firmware v 2.0) |
Eat |
| Secure execution | No | Yes | No |
| Dimensions | 120 x 83 x 47 mm | 124 x 85 x 45 mm | 125 x 72 x 37 mm |
| Weight | 390 g | 469 g | 427 g |
| Cost guide | 40,000 rub. | 63000 rub. | 90000 |
The Olympus PEN-F will go on sale in February 2016, and will be offered in two color versions - all black and with silver elements. The main configuration options will be.
The presence of an electronic-mechanical shutter made it possible to realize a fairly wide range of shutter speeds. The shortest value worked was 1/16000 of a second, so in this regard, the Olympus PEN-F performs better than Sony mirrorless cameras. However, some cameras (the same X-Pro2 from Fujifilm) allow you to shoot at twice the shutter speed - 1/32000 s.
Continuous shooting is possible at a speed of 10 frames per second. You can shoot up to 25 frames in RAW format in one burst, after which the rate of fire drops to about one frame per second. If you shoot in JPEG, you can take up to 50 photos in one series.
How does it shoot?
After the market became saturated with excellent full-frame cameras (mainly Sony, Nikon, Canon), the bar for high-sensitivity image quality has risen significantly. I would even say that Micro Four Thirds is now difficult to take seriously. If you want minimal noise and the ability to shoot the starry sky at night at long exposures, then you should definitely look towards a full-frame camera. But if you compare the PEN-F with mirrorless cameras and compacts with a comparable sensor area, it performs surprisingly well.
Nowadays, a traveler without a camera is like an eater without a spoon. True, a hungry person can eat without utensils, with his hands, but how can one calmly “eat” food for the mind and heart - wondrous beauty, the delights of the earth, sky and water - if you have nothing to take a photograph with, and the talent to draw with a pencil or paint in oils is not granted from nature? In general, a traveler without a camera, as Poligraph Poligrafovich Sharikov used to say, “is strictly forbidden to exist”...
For field testing, I was given an Olympus PEN-F camera and lenses covering the entire range of focal lengths required in practice, from 24 mm to 300 mm (35 mm system equivalent). These are two zooms, the “standard” Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro and the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro telephoto, as well as a faster equivalent of the “fifty kopeck” (focal length) so beloved by photographers 50 mm for a 24x36 mm frame) - Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm F1.8.
Memories of the sixties
The Four Thirds standard was developed by Olympus in conjunction with Eastman Kodak, initially for digital SLR cameras, and is named for the size of the sensor used (4/3 inches diagonally). In 2008, Olympus and Panasonic announced Micro Four Thirds (MFT), already for mirrorless digital photography.
MFT matrices are four times smaller in area and half as wide as full-frame ones. Therefore, the scale of the image formed on them by optics is twice as large, that is, the crop factor is two. This means that a 25mm lens becomes equivalent to a 50mm lens on a full frame system.
The Olympus PEN-F is the digital MFT incarnation of the world's first "half-frame" single-lens reflex camera from the film-and-paper era, first announced in 1963. The film PEN-F produced an image half the size of normal (24x18mm rather than 24x 36 mm), and standard film could hold twice as many pictures (72 rather than 36). Unlike modern MFT cameras, the veteran's crop factor was 1.45, and the "stock" Olympus F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm F1.8 lens was the equivalent of a 55mm lens for full-frame DSLRs, and the Olympus G. Zuiko Auto-S 40mm F1.4 - 56mm.
Many sources indicate that the design of the new camera is supposedly inspired by the Olympus PEN-F of 1963. Perhaps, if we are talking about the shape and size of the case, then this is so. But the overall layout and arrangement of controls for the digital descendant cannot but differ.
Olympus PEN-F single-lens reflex "half-frame" camera, announced in 1963, with Olympus G. Zuiko Auto-S 40mm F1.4 lens
Let me draw another connecting thread: the veteran was the first SLR camera with a frame size half the size of the traditional one, and the new Olympus PEN-F, in accordance with the MFT standard, also has a sensor half the size of a full-format frame.
We present the characteristics of the Olympus PEN-F camera based on the results of our measurements.
| Name | Olympus PEN-F |
| Announcement date | January 27, 2016 |
| Camera type | Mirrorless |
| Matrix type | CMOS Micro Four Thirds (MFT, 4/3) |
| Crop factor (focal length multiplication factor for full frame) | 2 |
| Image formats | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 |
| Effective matrix pixels | 20 million |
| Light-receiving matrix cells | 22 million |
| Matrix size | 17.3×13 mm |
| Dust removal | Ultrasonic wave motor |
| CPU | TruePic VII |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 200-25600 (extended to 80) |
| Shutter speed range | 1/8000-60 s (mechanical shutter) 1/16000-60 s (electronic shutter) |
| Formats and frame sizes | RAW (ORF), JPG 5184x3888 (10356x7776 in high resolution mode) |
| JPG quality levels | High quality, quality, normal, basic |
| Video formats and sizes | MPEG-4, H.264, Full HD 1920×1080, frequency 60, 50, 30, 25, 24 fps |
| Burst speed | 10fps |
| Image stabilization | in-camera, five-axis, up to 5EV |
| Autofocus | Multi-zone, center, spot (location selectable), tracking, single-frame, continuous |
| Manual focus | Yes |
| Number of autofocus sensors | 81 |
| Autofocus sensitivity range | −2EV to +20EV |
| Display type | TFT LCD |
| Diagonal display size | 3″ |
| Number of effective picture elements on display | 1 037 000 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Viewfinder type | Electronic |
| Viewfinder Frame Coverage | 100% |
| Magnifying the viewfinder image | 1.23x |
| Viewfinder resolution | 2 360 000 |
| Correction of eye refraction | from −4 to +2 diopters |
| Field of view | 100% |
| Shooting modes | Shutter priority, aperture priority, manual mode, 24 scene programs |
| Built-in flash | No |
| External flash | Included |
| Flash modes | Automatic, red-eye reduction, fill flash, slow first-curtain sync, slow second-curtain sync |
| Self-timer (delay) | Yes (2 or 12 s, optional) |
| Exposure metering | Multizone, Center-weighted, Spot, Highlight, Shadow |
| Number of metering zones | 324 |
| Exposure compensation | ±5EV in 1/3EV steps |
| Exposure bracketing | ±5EV (2, 3, 5, 7 frames in steps of 1/3EV, 2/3EV, 1EV) |
| White balance bracketing | Yes |
| Time-lapse photography | Yes |
| Storing footage | SD, SDHC, SDXC |
| Interface | USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) |
| HDMI output | Micro-HDMI |
| Microphone input | No |
| Headphone output | No |
| Wireless communication | Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n |
| Remote control | Wired remote control, smartphone app |
| GPS | No |
| Protection from dust and moisture | No |
| Battery | Li-ion BLN-1, separate charger |
| Battery capacity | 1220 mAh (330 frames) |
| Weight (including battery) | 427 g |
| Dimensions | 125×72×37 mm |
| Average price (without lens) | T-13415280 |
I think that if you can’t figure out a camera in half an hour, then this is a serious problem. I often have to switch from one system to another several times a day (up to four such shifts), so it is completely impossible to work effectively with a technique that requires a long period of adaptation and getting used to. But that's not the case with the Olympus PEN-F! In the sense that everything is simple and clear with it: I picked it up, inserted a memory card into the slot, formatted it, set the desired mode and started shooting without worrying about anything.
So I started filming immediately after receiving the equipment. I got into a taxi and immediately took a photo of the driver (with his kind permission).
“Please buckle up!” Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm F1.8, F1.8, 1/500 s, ISO 200 (overexposure +1 exposure stop).
Honestly, this photo would not have suffered one iota if I had taken it in black and white, both with the camera itself and in post-processing. But still, you need to start with a more holistic picture, which is unthinkable in black and white, so let everything here remain in color.
The details of the face are well done. A sly squint and a mischievous sparkle in the driver’s eyes are noticeable - or am I imagining this? The rendering of skin tones is very good, the undertones are calm, with smooth transitions. Details in the highlights are preserved in significant areas of the frame, excluding the sky, which, of course, is completely overexposed. Why "natural"? Yes, because in the camera settings the overexposure is deliberately set to +1, so that when shooting in backlight, the face would be worked out, otherwise it would “fall” into the shadow.
I arrived at the office. Friends and colleagues offered coffee and put a cup on the table. Here it is, the frame! - I thought.
"Black coffee". Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, 30mm, F2.8, 1/1000s, ISO 200.
By the way, the image here is in color. The light, the cup and the surface of the table were simply such that the result was a black and white photo. The most valuable thing that this photo illustrates is soft, smooth light-tonal transitions and a good dynamic range. Let's look at the table in the sharpness zone and note the good elaboration of the surface texture with the reproduction of details both in bright lights and in deep shadows.
Gutta-percha display
The main advantage of the Olympus PEN-F from the point of view of ergonomics and user convenience is its display, which not only duplicates the image in the viewfinder and makes it possible to view the footage directly on the spot, but also allows you to visualize the scene when shooting from the most unexpected angles.
Let's start with the fact that under normal conditions the very presence of a display in front of my nose during shooting bothers me. You always take care not to accidentally hit it, get it on your face or hands, or scratch it. On the Olympus PEN-F, the display can be folded to the left, rotated around its long axis, turned over to face the camera body and folded in this state, reliably protecting it from dirt and damage. This is an obvious plus.
Olympus PEN-F with display folded "inwards" and protected from damage and dirt
In the traditional working position, the display is bright enough even in daylight and allows sighting without any complications. However, when shooting in the open sun, he, of course, “goes blind”, and then there is no other choice but to put his eye to the viewfinder (which some modern amateur photographers do not like to do).
The Olympus PEN-F display in working condition allows viewing in not too bright daylight conditions
In special cases, you can use all the capabilities of the display mount, which allows you to orient it in any of the most bizarre positions. It allows you not only to take selfies (that is, self-portraits) by turning the folded display and the camera itself with the lens facing you, but also to literally take photographs from around the corner, above the heads of those around you, or, conversely, from a low point, lowering the camera to the ground. This, so to speak, super-flexibility of the camera design gives it an undeniable advantage over those devices in which the display has no mobility at all or rotates only around a transverse axis.
Olympus PEN-F display in corner shooting position
In the land of the crescent moon
A day and a half later I was already in Turkey. But because of a sleepless night on the day of the flight, I decided to spend a day in the city with the symbolic name of Side before the long journey.
Side, Manavgat province. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro, 150mm, F2.8, 1/5000s, ISO 200.
A good illustration of the color rendering capabilities of the system. I like the blue, yellow and dark red colors in the photo. I also liked the way I constructed the frame (this statement is only partly a joke).
With little time left, I began researching the camera, which was to become my faithful travel companion.
Looks and feels
I can’t help but say that the controls are located somewhat unusually. What is puzzling is the switch, which is made in the form of a wheel, albeit a large one, but without any “appendage”, so it is not very convenient to use. In addition, it is located on the left, not on the right. When you put the camera in a backpack or bag, you can easily slide this switch wheel to the “On” position. Of course, I am more to blame for this than the camera developers, but during my trips this happened all the time, and I was simply tired of blaming myself.
Olympus PEN-F on top
On top of the camera there is a “hot shoe” for connecting additional equipment, in front of it there are stereo microphone holes, a shooting mode selector, a shutter button framed by a corrugated ring for controlling the selection of parameters (the purpose depends on the operating mode), a button to activate video recording and an exposure compensation wheel. The latter is located on the far left. It protrudes beyond the edge of the case, and you can touch it as easily as a switch, unnoticed by introducing exposure compensation.
To select an operating mode, you must press the unlocking button on top before turning the selector. A similar principle is common in most photographic systems, but it seems to me that in our case a stopper would also be appropriate on the camera switch and on the exposure compensation wheel.
Olympus PEN-F rear
At the rear are: a display, an optoelectronic viewfinder eyepiece, its diopter adjustment wheel, function buttons 1 and 2 (Fn1, Fn2), a parameter selection control wheel, a profiled rest for the thumb of the right hand, buttons for magnifying the image, menu, information, erasing, playback and five-way joystick.
It is not clear to me what motives guided the camera developers; in any case, it seems that the ease of handling the device clearly faded into the background. Olympus PEN-F is a very modest camera in size, but it does not have any handle or even a thickening for holding in the right hand. The thumb rest should offer something, but I had trouble with that too. Firstly, it is located too low, and to control the exposure compensation wheel you have to move your finger up from the stop. Secondly, not only the little finger, but also the ring finger of my right hand cannot grasp the device and hang down: they simply have nowhere to go.
Olympus PEN-F front
On the front panel, to the left of the lens, at the top there is a wheel for selecting creative shooting modes, at the bottom left there is a preview button, at the top right there is an autofocus illuminator and a self-timer delay indicator, and at the bottom right there is a button for unlocking the bayonet mount of the lens.
In my opinion, the creative mode selector is of the greatest interest and practical value. With it you can almost instantly activate black and white shooting, which is very convenient. I strongly disagree with those colleagues who claim that this wheel on the front panel of the camera is useless. I repeat once again: this is a very convenient detail, which I have repeatedly used for its intended purpose.
The bayonet lock to the right of the lens is also correct and very useful. I have seen many times how convenient it is to change the lens with your right hand by “weighing” the camera in your left hand and pressing the lock button with your index finger. In some other systems, this lock is located to the left of the lens, and is not so easy to operate.
Olympus PEN-F from below
On the bottom panel of the camera there is a battery compartment and a memory card slot, and they are located next to one another under one cover. In the center, towards the front edge, there is a standard 1/4″ thread for mounting the camera on a tripod.
Valley of Cave Churches
I was to spend a week in Cappadocia - “the beautiful country of horses,” as the translation of this word from a mixture of Greek, Aramaic and Turkic may sound. Cappadocia is distinguished by incredibly beautiful natural landscapes. But even more important is that this land can rightly be called the cradle of Christianity. It was here that those who believed in the Resurrection fled from Rome, Sinai, Syria, and the Balkan lands from the persecutors of their teaching.
It was convenient to start your journey through Cappadocia from Guzelyurt, a small village on the mountain at the southern gate of the Ykhlara gorge. By the way, “guzel yurt” in Turkish means “beloved home.” Below this village, at the foot of the surrounding mountains, is the Monastic Valley - a mountainous area full of ancient churches, human habitations, cattle sheds, stables, workshops and other premises, partly occupied by caves and partly by halls carved out of stone. Some of them are still used by the local population for their intended purpose, for example as warehouses, cheese factories and wineries.
For archaeologists, this is a lot of work, because the depth of “digging” of the object is very poor. And with the dating of the buildings, the situation is not at all unimportant: there is only scattered evidence that the first settlers appeared here during the Neolithic, then the Phrygians began to settle, and in the 1st-4th centuries. n. e. - “dig in” ancient Christians. At first they hid in Cappadocia from Rome, then from Byzantium, Arab conquerors and the Ottoman Empire.
However, now for me all this is of secondary importance. Another thing is important: there are very few people here, and no one interferes with systematically and slowly exploring and photographing. This time I didn’t meet a single person in the Monastery Valley. And one more thing: it’s very interesting here. Climbing over scattered boulders and crawling along the stone passages of caves, you experience such delight and pleasure as if you had returned to your own childhood.
For filming in these places, I used exclusively the “standard zoom”, and only in the maximum wide-angle position, that is, at a focal length of 12 mm.
At the end of the road. F2.8, 1/6400 s, ISO 200.
Excellent sharpness and detail wide open.
Utility room in a processed cave. F2.8, 1/25 sec, ISO 250.
It's good to know that automation is very smart when it comes to setting exposure parameters. When the resource for lengthening the shutter speed is exhausted, it does not immediately double the sensitivity (by one step), but does it carefully, in fractions of a step - in our case, up to 250 ISO units.
Stone steps in a cave church. F2.8, 1/25 sec, ISO 400.
A good example of good elaboration of the texture of the surface of a stone and small details of vegetation (bottom left) when illuminated with doubly reflected light.
Looking out. F2.8, 1/1600 s, ISO 200.
Let's pay attention not to the fact that the landscape in the open air is worked out flawlessly. Excellent detail is also noticeable on the web. But it's very important that the sensor had enough dynamic range to show detail in the dark stone walls around the entrance doorway. But she could have “plunged” everything into darkness.
Kömurlu Rock Church (“Coal Church”). 10th century F2.8, 1/25 sec, ISO 400.
When I first saw this place, for some reason I remembered Minas Tirith from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. The entrance to the vestibule cave is located at a height of about one and a half meters above the ground. In ancient times, they probably used a wooden staircase, which was removed to protect against uninvited guests. Now there are several stones lying here, but getting inside is still very difficult, especially with a backpack.
Interior of the Kömurlu (“Coal”) Church. 10th century F2.8, 1/25 sec, ISO 400.
The church caves (three floors!) were carved into the rock during the period of iconoclasm and do not contain paintings. However, inside there are images of the Maltese cross and later inscriptions in Greek from the 19th century. There is very little space in all the rooms, barely enough to turn around.
In addition to the Monastery Valley, in the vicinity of Guzelyurt there is another remarkable place - the Church of the Ascension of the Lord. In fact, this is not a church, but a monastery with a fairly large courtyard. But the most interesting thing is the location of this monument: on a mountain above a river valley.
Monastery of the Ascension. 10th century Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, 25mm, F8, 1/640s, ISO 200.
A mountain road leads to the Monastery of the Ascension, along which these stone giants stand here and there. This is not a quirk of nature, but an act of human hands: the stones stand stacked in twos.
Let's note the good work of the camera matrix, which was able to reproduce the smallest details in the thick shadows on the stones, and head to Gaziemir, an underground city that, like the cave churches, served as a shelter for ancient Christians.
City underground
The underground city of Gaziemir. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, 18mm, F2.8, 1/1600s, ISO 200.
This is the shallowest city among the underground cities of Cappadocia. Strictly speaking, many of its rooms have their own access to the surface, so it is easier to consider it as a collection of caves.
Here are quite suitable conditions for testing the capabilities of the camera and optics: a large difference in brightness in the open air and indoors, an abundance of small details on the surfaces of the stone. As you can see, the results of the test shooting are very good: the picture is adequately reproduced outside and inside the room, there are many distinguishable details in the shadows and highlights.
Entrance to the caves of Gaziemira. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, 12mm, F2.8, 1/40s, ISO 200.
Stone discs, like the one we see in the picture, were used in all the underground cities of Cappadocia as doors. They were rolled into special niches, blocking the entrances. It is simply impossible to open such a “door” from the outside.
Nowhere to the right. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, 17mm, F2.8, 1/8000s, ISO 200.
There is such a city in Cappadocia. There is nothing particularly interesting here, except the name itself. True, in Turkish it is read “niyde”. I was not tempted by this, and I turned left, towards Goreme - a city in the very center of this protected land, where I was to spend seven days.
Stone Wonders
Just another hour's drive and we are at our destination. Here is the view from the mountain terrace from the entrance to our apartment at the Natureland Caves Inn.
Goreme Valley. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, 12 mm, F8, 1/500 s, ISO 200. Panorama of 8 frames, stitched in Kolor Autopano Giga.
This was filmed, so to speak, “from the back door.” Below us is a horse breeding farm, and in the background are ancient caves, which, as mentioned above, the local inhabitants continue to use today.
We have not yet rested after a long journey and an abundance of impressions, but we really want to take a closer look at what is there in the distance. Therefore, we will not move anywhere yet, but will simply change our standard zoom to a telephoto.
Stone miracles. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro, 90mm, F2.8, 1/6400s, ISO 200.
Actually, the town of Goreme, where we settled (more precisely, its old part), is just such a termite mound: caves have been carved out in the mountains, in which hotels, cafes, workshops, warehouses, etc. are located.
Telezoom works well. Let's appreciate the high sharpness (already at an open aperture) and pleasant colors. Let's end this long first day with a farewell to the sun.
Minor spectator. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, 17mm, F2.8, 1/1600s, ISO 200.
In the vicinity of Goreme there is a place chosen by tourists for contemplating sunsets - this is the Aktepe mountain plateau above the Red and Rose valleys, which diverge from here in the directions to Cavusin and Avanos. The place is famous, and the nimble local authorities imposed a tribute of three Turkish lira per person on access to this site. Here we say goodbye to the day.
The sunflower turned away from the idol. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 25mm F1.8, F1.8, 1/10000 s, ISO 200.
The photo is backlit, but the camera and optics captured the details well. The contrast is, of course, reduced, but much less than one might expect.
The next day and the following days I was filled with impressions: the underground catacombs of Derinkuyu and Kaymakli, the city of caves in the Monastery Valley, the rock churches in Zelva and the Yhlara valley, the “fairy houses” created by nature in the Görselid and Pasabag valleys, the cave fortresses of Çavuşin and Uchisar, the abandoned cities of Old Gore and Ibrahim Pasha. And then there was a trip to Commagene - the ancient kingdom of the late 2nd - early 1st centuries. n. e., from which the ruins of the sanctuary of Antiochus I on Mount Nemrut and the stone reliefs of Arsamea, the capital of Commagene, on the top of another mountain have reached us.
I sincerely hope that the Olympus PEN-F and the three lenses helped preserve some of my memories. Separate materials will be published on the lenses, in which it will be possible to evaluate the quality of work of each of them separately. In the meantime (below) are examples of their work in the general gallery.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |
Results
I used the Olympus PEN-F camera for three weeks and had fun doing it. It allows you to quickly react to what is happening without losing the opportunity to take a photo. It has a very good display that can be installed in any position, including for shooting in unexpected positions and from angles that are impossible to do with many other cameras.
Some inconveniences are caused by the location and design of individual selectors and switches, as well as the device for holding with the right hand (taking into account the need to simultaneously operate the controls).
The matrix, which has 20 million light-receiving cells, allows you to take pictures that can be printed on paper up to 40x30 cm in size and even larger, without sacrificing either sharpness or contrast.
The functionality of the Olympus PEN-F is very rich, not only due to the presence of in-camera image stabilization, the ability to take photographs in series, bracketing, exposure compensation, but also due to a large set of scene modes, creating photo panoramas, shooting Full HD video (1920x1080 with progressive scanning) .
The lightness and compactness of the camera make it easy to travel and travel, hiking and horseback riding and multi-day hikes.
Olympus PEN-F is a modern high-class camera that, in its capabilities, will satisfy the needs of not only amateur photographers, but also professionals.
Set includes:
- Olympus PEN-F,
passed field tests in dry and humid hot climates, in a rocky desert, by the sea, in the mountains at an altitude of up to 3 km, in gorges up to 300 m deep, with excess and lack of natural and artificial lighting, at dawn and sunset, at noon and after at night.
Verdict: Suitable for travel photography.
We thank the company Olympus for the camera and lenses provided for testing
Olympus unveils new flagship mirrorless camera PEN-F in retro style. The camera has an all-metal body with no visible screws
Olympus unveils new flagship mirrorless camera PEN-F in retro style with interchangeable Micro Four Thirds optics. The camera has an all-metal body without a single visible screw. Olympus considers this to be one of the most beautiful cameras in the company's history. The camera is used 20-megapixel Live MOS sensor with physical dimensions of 17.3x13 mm without a low-pass filter.
The seventh generation True Picture graphics processor is responsible for image processing, and there is a 5-axis image stabilizer. The camera is equipped high resolution mode of 50 megapixels, as in the line OM-D (apparently, combining several frames). The mechanical shutter can shoot at shutter speeds up to 1/8000, and the electronic shutter can shoot at shutter speeds up to 1/16000. Continuous shooting up to 10 frames per second is supported.
The camera is capable of shooting Full HD video with a bitrate of up to 77 Mbps and frame rates of 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p and 24p, 4K Time Lapse (time-lapse burst shooting that can then be stitched together into 4K video) and Live Composite (a mode for capturing star trails, lightning and light painting). There is an ultrasonic filter Supersonic Wave Filter to automatically clean the sensor from dust.
Camera equipped with an electronic OLED viewfinder with a resolution of 2.36 million dots and a rotating touch screen. The camera will be supplied both without a lens and with M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm 1-3.5-5.6 EZ Pancake or M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm 1:1.8. The price of the “carcass” is $1200.
The new PEN-F camera is designed to meet the highest demands. This is the most advanced camera in the iconic PEN series and one of the most beautiful system cameras ever produced by Olympus!
It is the ideal tool for those who seek the best image quality with maximum freedom of creative expression. It is the world's first compact system camera capable of shooting at 50 megapixels. The camera is equipped with the world's best 5-axis image stabilization, a built-in high-precision OLED viewfinder with a resolution of 2.36 million dots and a rotating touch screen.
Thanks to an all-new image sensor, the PEN-F's images feature low visual noise, wide dynamic range and accurate color reproduction.
Never before has a camera this high-end looked so good.
PEN-F is the standard of style and build quality. The creators of the new PEN-F put their souls into combining the highest technical characteristics and rich historical heritage. The result of their work is luxurious design and true innovation.
PEN-F is a collector's item. You will not see a single screw on the surface of the camera, which once again emphasizes the highest level of workmanship.
Our designers did their best to make it feel as good in your hands as it looks. The metal mode dials are a signature feature of the renowned PEN school of design, combining modern and retro elements with luxury metal materials and a high-quality finish. Just like the classic “film” silhouette of the body, the look, feel and performance of the camera will evoke special sensations that you will want to remember forever.
All the innovation and beauty of the PEN-F would be meaningless if it couldn't deliver high image quality in a compact package, but this is where the Olympus camera's edge over the competition is greatest. Equipped with the latest sensor and image processing technologies, PEN-F provides the highest quality images.
The camera will be available in mid-February 2016 in black and silver, body kit, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm 1-3.5-5.6 EZ Pancake lens kit and lens kit M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm 1:1.8.
When art and innovation come together
PEN-F is the embodiment of technical and aesthetic perfection. All our best developments, based on 80 years of experience, have been embodied in this camera:
- · New low-noise 20-megapixel Live MOS sensor for gorgeous photos in any light;
- · Best 5-axis image stabilization;
- · Advanced seventh generation True Picture graphics processor;
- · 50-megapixel high-resolution mode for exceptional detail in static frames;
- · Ultra-high-resolution OLED electronic viewfinder with 2.36 million dots and a rotating touch screen for comfortable shooting in any conditions;
- · All metal body and exceptional build quality - not a single visible screw.
- · A unique “Creative Mode Dial” that provides for working with artistic filters, fine-tuning the Color Creator color solution, as well as a new “Black and White Mode” function with a huge number of sub-settings;
- · Mechanical shutter with the ability to shoot at shutter speeds up to 1/8000;
- · Electronic shutter for silent shooting with the ability to shoot at shutter speeds up to 1/16000;
- · High-speed continuous shooting 10 frames per second;
- · Full HD video with a bitrate of up to 77 Mbit/s, and a wide selection of formats with different frame rates - 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p or traditional 24p for cinema;
- · 4K Time Lapse - interval shooting mode for taking a series of images, which can then be combined into a high-quality 4K video;
- · Live Composite - a revolutionary mode for shooting star tracks, lightning and painting with light;
- · Supersonic Wave Filter (ultrasonic filter for automatically cleaning the sensor from dust, without additional cleaning programs).
Design breakthrough of the PEN model
PEN-F is more compact and lighter than massive DSLRs. She also looks much more attractive. This impression intensifies when you pick up the camera. Pleasant to the touch and elegant to look at, it makes it clear that this camera is for people who know a lot about beauty. The Olympus design team has come a long way to create the PEN-F, a potential style icon worthy of joining the F series.