Olympus PEN-F review in 2024

Pros

+ Superb construction and finish
+ Evocative retro styling
+ Affordable compact prime lens choice
+ Flip-out vari-angle screen
+ Integrated EVF
+ Very effective IBIS

Cons

– No 4K video, only FHD
– Contrast AF not phase-detect (though still fast)
– Expensive to buy used

Olympus PEN-F introduction and context

Olympus digital cameras were split into two sub-ranges. The PEN range echoed the design and style of Olympus’s celebrated PEN half-frame film cameras and were compact, rectangular cameras which were not technically advanced but were chic, affordable and rather charming. The OM-D range adopted more sober DSLR styling and was aimed at more serious enthusiast and professionals.

These days, the Olympus photography division has been rebranded OM System, following its split from the parent company, so you will see a mix of older ‘Olympus’ branded models and newer ‘OM System’ gear. For example, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III was the last ‘Olympus’ OM-D model before it/they evolved into the OM System OM-1.

The PEN-F was the pinnacle of the PEN design ethos, going all-out for a discerning, style-conscious audience that wanted a camera that was compact, portable and affordable, but also exuded a touch of class. The PEN-F pulled that off brilliantly. Serious camera buffs were unimpressed by its modest 20MP resolution and its smaller Micro Four Thirds sensor (half the size of APS-C and a quarter the size of full frame), and at the time of its launch it was always going to come of worse in a specs comparison with larger sensor cameras. Remember, this was a time when photographers didn’t realize that a beautiful camera actually made a difference.

Fast forward to the present day, and the PEN-F still looks up to date. It’s a camera with a 20MP sensor with all the resolution of a modern OM System camera, a rangefinder-style body with an integrated EFV that’s still quite rare today, and a retro design that preceded and anticipated the viral success of the Fujifilm X100V and VII. But with interchangeable lenses. (I had a Fujifilm X100V for a while but sold it – it just didn’t do it for me.)

The nearest modern equivalent is the Olympus PEN E-P7, which has a charming retro look of its own and is, in some ways more advanced than the PEN-F (it has 4K video for a start), but lacks a viewfinder and the quality of materials and construction of the older camera.

See also
• Best used cameras to buy today
• Are used digital cameras any good for photography today?

Olympus PEN-F specifications

• Type: Mirrorless
• Lens mount: Micro Four Thirds
• Sensor: MFT Live MOS, 20MP
• ISO range: 80-25600
• Autofocus: 81-point contrast AF
• Continuous shooting: 10fps
• Video: 1080p up to 60p
• Viewfinder: EVF, 2.36m dots, 100% coverage, 0.62x equiv. magnification
• Rear screen: 3-inch 1.04m dot vari-angle
• Storage: 1x SD
• Battery: BLN-1, 330 shots
• Dimensions: 125 x 72 x 37mm, 427g

Olympus PEN-F key features

The PEN-F uses a 20MP Micro Four Thirds sensor. It’s an un-stacked design so not of the latest and fastest type, and it’s a little behind the 25MP MFT sensors in the latest Panasonic Lumix G cameras, but in terms of outright resolution it’s still on the same level as current OM System cameras.

There are a number of good Olympus/OM System prime lenses that suit the PEN-F very well, including compact 12mm f/2.0, 17mm f/1.8, 25mm f/1.8 and 45mm f/1.8 primes – the 12mm is more expensive, but the rest are very affordable.

The PEN-F uses contrast AF rather than phase-detect AF, so it’s likely to be less effective at tracking moving subjects and people, though the lack of 4K video and the design of the camera mean that this is perhaps largely irrelevant. In regular stills photography, its contrast AF system is both fast and precise.

The lack of 4K video will rule out the PEN-F for hybrid shooters and vloggers. It can shoot good-quality full HD video at up to 60p, but that’s unlikely to be enough in a market where 4K has become the norm, the baseline video resolution that everyone expects to get.

In terms of physical design, the PEN-F does rather well. Its rectangular rangefinder-style body incorporates both an EVF and a flip-out vari-angle screen. Both are of a decent quality, even by today’s standards.

The PEN-F is all about creative photography, and on the front is a dial for accessing highly-configurable Mono, Color, Art and Custom modes. These produce JPEG images but you can of course shoot RAW files too.

Olympus PEN-F build and handling

In design terms, the PEN-F kind of stands alone in the Olympus/OM System range. It’s the only PEN model with an EVF and is both larger and more serious-feeling than the regular PEN models, which have more appeal for beginners. It’s also quite unlike the OM DSLR-style models, with a stronger retro feel and different controls.

The camera powers on with a small but firm dial at the left and off the top plate, while the rest of the controls are clustered over on the right. These include the main mode dial, which has an unusual contrast adjustment lever below. To the right is the shutter release surrounded by control dial and a smaller rear control dial just behind that. Finally, to the right is a separate EV compensation dial and a Record button just in front of that. It’s a pretty busy top plate, but never feels crowded, and all the controls have a firm, quality feel.

The back of the camera is simpler, with a somewhat small four-way control pad and surrounding buttons. These work well enough but could maybe have been a little bigger.

The color dial on the front of the camera is interesting. It looks as if the whole dial will rotate, but in fact the surround is fixed and it’s a smaller knob in the center that rotates.

Overall, the PEN-F has a very high quality feel. The controls on the back are a little small and ordinary, but the rest of this camera exudes all the class and quality that Olympus was pushing home in its marketing campaign.

Olympus PEN-F performance

The image quality delivered by the PEN-F is practically indistinguishable from what you get from current OM System cameras, except perhaps at high ISOs. The PEN-F does not have all the computational features of the modern cameras, but if these are not priorities for you then it’s not going to matter much. The actually still image quality is much the same.

You might imagine the contrast AF system might be a limitation, but for stills photography it really isn’t. Olympus’s contrast AF has always been so fast and positive that it’s hard to see the difference against later phase-detects systems. It might come into play for subject tracking in burst shooting, but this is not really what the PEN-F is made for, and if that’s your particular interest then you’re much more likely to be drawn to OM-D E-M1 and OM-1 models.

There’s probably no point spending too much time talking about video, since the PEN-F’s 1080p maximum puts it out of contention for today’s video audience. It can shoot video if you need it to, but if you’re into any serious filming then you’d be much better off with one the later Panasonic Lumix G models.

As a stills camera, the PEN-F operates perfectly. It’s fast and responsive, and while the top plate controls may look a little overwhelming, you very quickly learn which dial does what even with the camera held to your eye.

Olympus PEN-F verdict

The PEN-F was, perhaps, ahead of its time. It came and went before the today’s retro revival had gained any real momentum. If it was still around today, it would have made a terrific rival to the now-legendary Fujifilm X100 series – in fact the whole Olympus PEN series anticipated the demand for compact, classy, retro-styled cameras.

The PEN-F doesn’t just have historical interest, though. As a stills camera it has almost all the capabilities and performance of modern Micro Four Thirds cameras, but with an extra dash of style and class. Having a viewfinder in the top left corner feels a lot more natural than a top-mounted viewfinder on a ‘mini-DSLR’ like the OM-5 and it contributes to the PEN-F’s ageless design.

If you want to shoot video and action, this is the wrong camera for you. But if you like the idea of a classy ‘walkaround’ camera paired up with some equally classy little prime lenses, the PEN-F is perfect. What a pity they stopped making it! You can still get excellent examples on the used market, but you’ll need to be prepared to pay near-new prices.