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Olympus has a strong hold in the Micro Four Thirds segment. The company has launched multiple offerings that cater to the needs of wildlife photographers, street photographers, and portraitists. Their devices have stood the test of time, offering excellent weather resistance, image quality, and retro aesthetics. However, the device that stood out the most amongst multiple models was the Pen F. A spiritual successor to the original 1963 film camera, the Pen F truly changed the way we looked at the company. Here’s why.
The Olympus Pen F was launched in 2016 and shot to cult-like fame. The camera was a first in many ways. It was the first device targeted at the high-end compact camera market, had a resolution of more than 16MP sensor, and was the first digital Pen camera with a built-in viewfinder. But that is not all, the new Pen F took design elements from the half-frame 35mm cameras and featured a metal body with leatherette wrapping. However, the camera lacked weather sealing, which somewhat defeats the purpose for outdoor shooters.
Now, coming to its specifications, the camera certainly had a high resolution of 20.3MP. It also featured 5-axis image stabilization, a 2.35MP-dot OLED EVF, 81 AF points, and the ability to shoot 80MP high-res shots in RAW and 50MP in JPEG. It also offered a burst rate of 10 fps, an exposure compensation dial, 1/320th-second speed flash sync, monochrome profiles, and an electronic shutter speed of 1/16,000.
Like the design and specifications, the camera excelled at focusing. The only time we had any challenges was when we were shooting in really low-light conditions. But even then, it was able to latch on to the scene very easily. The image quality has not been compromised either. The color JPEGs are good, but the black-and-white ones are exceptional. The latter’s quality looks similar to Ilford Delta 400 film. Similarly, images at ISO 6400 offer suppressed noise and great detail. As for recovery, it’s easier to recover details in shadows from RAW files than from the highlights. Given these stellar performance and rangefinder-style design, the device won our Editor’s Choice Award. It goes to say just how much we liked the camera.
If you look at eBay today, the Olympus Pen F sells for around $1000, which is a lot given it has a small sensor. But the black and white output from the device is truly refreshing. As we said in our review, “In many ways, it’s the almost perfect camera for many photographers.” If you are someone who is looking for a camera that changes how you make images, do try this one. There is a reason why it is so popular even after a decade.
