The most fun I’ve ever had with Micro four thirds cameras has always been doing street photography and when using classic-feeling lenses with rangefinder-style cameras. And I know I’m not alone. go through YouTube and you’ll see tons of photographers asking for the same thing. But the Japanese brands just constantly refuse to make more rangefinder camera bodies unless they’re targeted to video shooters. So when I tell Côme Courteault, one of the founders of the Esquisse camera project about my affinity for the older Voigtlander 17.5mm f0.95 lens, he sends me an image of his co-founder’s Pen f and Voigtlander lens collection. And for the first time in many years, I don’t feel like a camera rep is being condescending to me. This team gets it: the camera world has become a formulaic lack of imagination and has far removed itself from the sensory experience.
My writings about the Pen F on the Phoblographer almost seem like an emotional roller coaster. I reviewed the camera back in 2016 and gave it very high marks. And even as I opened up my older review to read it, I immediately fall in love with my own originally shot product photo — the same one used to open up this story.
By 2019, it seems like Olympus gave up on the idea. And during the 2020 pandemic, I still hadn’t given up hope. But I surely did in early 2025, and OM System even told us that they’re still considering the camera.
Being a small team gives us the freedom to make bold choices, such as focusing entirely on stills rather than video.
That’s almost 10 years of playing with my emotions. If there were held in accordance with any other thing in life, it would be considered maniacal. I, like so many other gamers, was so hyped to see Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 get announced, then bewildered by what happened to the game, and now that it’s finally coming out, I’m not sure that I want it. At the same time, Valve would have to do a lot to win me back for a new Half Life game.
And if we ever brought that back to photography, it would be like trying to tell boomers that Kodachrome was coming back and they were making the process so much easier.
I have to be very honest and frank here. I, like so many of you, have become disillusioned with the Japanese lies about cameras and how they’re all basically sharing the same components and tech with one another that hinders real innovation and imagination. They’ve fetishized realism in a way that has truly killed art and simply just gone along with what smartphones and social media algorithms have told them works. So to see a new European company pop up and take a stand for photographers is so nice.
Photographers, after all, shoot photos. Not content. And we should be making more art, not content.
I spoke with Côme Courteault, one of the founders of Esquisse about the project. And here’s what you need to know.
Phoblographer: Photographers have been waiting for a Pen F successor for many years. So what made you guys want to make one for yourself?
Côme Courteault: We’re passionate photographers, and like many others we loved the Pen-F for its design and photographic approach. With Esquisse, we want to pay tribute to that heritage while putting forward our own vision: a compact, intuitive camera dedicated to photography in its purest form. Being a small team gives us the freedom to make bold choices, such as focusing entirely on stills rather than video. We deeply respect the choices made by larger manufacturers, who face different constraints and expectations, but we want to offer an alternative that speaks to photographers looking for a unique experience.
Phoblographer: I did the original review of the Pen F for our website. And I appreciate and adore the fact that you’re addressing many of the concerns like weather resistance and making it a solid block of metal. Can you talk to me more about the screen please?
Côme Courteault: Thank you, we’re glad you like those choices. The unibody metal construction and weather resistance make the camera both elegant and robust. To be clear, we’re not trying to make a direct successor to the Pen-F, but rather a body that builds on what Micro 4/3 offers: compactness, intuitiveness, and focused on pure photography. The screen will be 3 inches, which is standard, and to preserve compactness and a clean aesthetic we’re leaning towards a fixed screen with wide viewing angles. The final decision will be made during development, but the camera will also feature a high-quality EVF.
Phoblographer: Can you tell us about the challenges of making this from a solid block of aluminum please?
Côme Courteault: Unibody construction has been used for a long time across different industries, so the challenge is less about feasibility than cost. We believe it’s worth it. We’re aiming for the high-end segment, and the way the body feels in the hand is essential. In the end it’s about emotion. Great cameras don’t just take good pictures, they make you want to take pictures. That’s what we’re aiming for.
Phoblographer: You’re saying this camera is for photographers. Do you mean photographers first, or will there be video aspects to it too?
Côme Courteault: You’ve perfectly understood the spirit of our approach. We see this camera as 100% dedicated to photography, with no video functionality. This is a deliberate choice that reflects our ‘pure photography’ vision. By leaving out video, we preserve a clean, streamlined design and an ideal compactness for stills, free from the additional considerations that video would have required in terms of heat management or ergonomics.
Great cameras don’t just take good pictures, they make you want to take pictures. That’s what we’re aiming for.
Phoblographer: It sounds like the sensor will be a lot like the older Pen F sensor. Do you plan for this camera to also embrace film simulations like the original camera did?
Côme Courteault: We can’t comment on the sensor yet, as we’re still considering different options, but our target is to use something newer than the Pen-F. On the creative side, we’re definitely exploring ways to give photographers powerful tools for their editing, but we can’t comment much in that section either just yet.
Phoblographer: Do you also plan on making premium lenses for the camera?
Côme Courteault: Not at this stage. One of the strengths of Micro Four Thirds is the fantastic range of lenses already available. In the future, we’d love to explore compact, fast primes with weather sealing, but right now our focus is fully on releasing this body.
Phoblographer: Why did you make the decision to not add a hot shoe?
Côme Courteault: Our vision pushes us towards a very clean design and maximum compactness, especially for street photography where discretion is key. Many photographers prefer to work without extra accessories mounted on top of the camera, so for us a hot shoe isn’t essential. That said, we’ll remain attentive to feedback and if a solution (it could be a cold shoe as well) proves important to users, we’ll take it into account during development.
Phoblographer: How do you plan on funding this camera?
Côme Courteault: We’re funding it privately for now, and will raise capital from professional investors when needed. We don’t want to take money from customers until we have a fully working camera, so preorders will only open when the first production run is ready.
For more, you can check out the Esquisse camera project’s website.
