Olympus Pen-F announced!

Olympus Pen F was officially announced today.  You can read the whole press release and all the specs over at DPReview.  I won’t bother repeating every spec over and over.  Basically here is the run down.  You get what is on the inside an E-m5 mkII with the following updates:

-A sleek and beautiful body that is quite small

-Slimmed down direct controls with a threaded shutter release (all releases should be threaded…)

-A left position viewfinder

-20mp sensor

-Color filters moved to a dedicated button and the mode wheel turned into all custom settings.

So this is not a review…just my initial thoughts.  I will for sure do a review of this when a production sample is available.  (i might just buy one…)

Take note, the material covering is also on the back of the screen!  This will feel like a manual camera when its closed.  That means when you hit the playback button, the image will appear in the viewfinder instead.  I LOVE shooting like this.  Now the back will have grip instead of being smooth like the E-m5 mkII when the screen is flipped.

The mode dial has custom settings!  Thank you!  All four of them are now instantly available without having to reprogram other buttons and trying to remember what you replaced as a myset.  The color selector wheel on the front is a bit odd.  I assume that won’t be customizable.  I also wonder how fast it will be to utilize if you are a jpg shooter.  If you select art mode, you will still have to select which one.  I would think the SCP will still be quicker for a seasoned shooter.  Then again, that is the LAST thing I will be adjusting if I am street shooting or working quickly.  On a similar note, I prefer to shoot in raw and apply art filters later.  That’s why I sat for days and created my Olympus Art Filter set for lightroom.

See that dial under the mode wheel…its to change color specs and filter settings.  I am curious to see how programmable that will be outside of shooting JPGs.  The movie button and the screen button are also labeled as second function buttons.  These will be customizable…i am just curious to see how this plays out in implementation and actual use.  Luckily there is a Fn1 button for the thumb!  Rear focus button!!!

The rear diopter and sensor position worry me a bit…nothing some gaffers tape can’t fix!  That is the last thing I want get inadvertantly adjusted when the camera is swinging on my side.

For those that shoot with the prime lenses…this camera is going to be awesome for you.  It’s perfectly matched to the size and doesn’t have a pentaprism style top.  Its a camera that will take up even less space in your bag.  It will also make a great backup for your E-M1.  In fact I am highly considering this for myself.

Only two catches to this camera so far…

1. No weather sealing
2.  Insanely high price relatively speaking.  ($1200)

The weather sealing I can live without…I prefer it…but no big deal.  If I am intentionally shooting in rain, I will have an E-M1.  The high price is kinda odd.  I think this slots into the same position as the E-M5 mkII.  It should have been the same price.  Especially if you get the Olympus extended warranty (HIGHLY RECOMMEND if you keep cameras more than a year) and the tripod Arca style base/grip.  You are looking at a camera that costs more than an E-M1 at the moment.  That’s a tough sell.  It’s only redeeming feature is for the very few that can take advantage of the Hi-Res mode.  Now that the sensor is 20mp, hi-res mode is delivering an 80mp raw.  20mp is already fantastic and gets us to the point where no more is really needed for 90% of printing.  20-24 range is a sweet spot.  80mp will take having a SERIOUS tripod, excellent technique, and patience to extract all you can from it.  That is on top of the limitations of the electronic shutter in that mode.  However, for art repro, product shots, and limited landscape or architecture, this will be awesome.

Also, consider if you are a left or right eye shooter.  This will be a very comfortable camera for right eye shooters.  I am a left eye shooter.  I used to travel with only a Leica M8 and a Fuji X100.  I had to learn to shoot with my right eye because the camera was too far over to be comfortable shooting with my left.  My nose would hit the controls.  I can shoot with both now…but its still weird.  Regardless, I think this is going to be a winner for Olympus and should hold a lot of people over nicely until the E-M1 successor is finally announced.

One final thought.  Olympus has at least got one thing down.  The battery is the same as the OMD cameras, and the menu system and options are still the same.  That means you don’t have to relearn a new camera.  If you jump from an E-M10 to this, or from a different pen…you will be right at home.  SCP, options, configurations, should all apply to this camera as they did in your current Olympus.  Nice!  You can also reuse your batteries and charger.  No need for new ones or carrying different chargers.

If you are going to preorder (March delivery), you can check it out on amazon by clicking here!