Olympus Pen-F - One and Done Legend? - A Review in 2024
A Cult Classic - The Olympus Pen-F Digital
The Olympus Pen-F Micro Four Thirds digital camera is a modern day legend in 2024. It is loved by many Olympus owners and one of the only true covetable m4/3 cameras on the used market. With the shift from Olympus to OM System, and the new brand determined to define themselves as an outdoor photography company, many are worried the beloved Olympus Pen-F will never receive an update. A couple months ago, I bought an Olympus Pen-F from a local camera store and wanted to share my review and thoughts on this camera in 2024.
Olympus Pen-F Key Specs
Original Retail Price - $1200
20 megapixel micro four thirds sensor
5-axis IBIS
Contrast Detect Autofocus
Fully articulating screen with 2.36 million dots
1080 video up to 60fps
427 grams
The Build Quality You Expect from Olympus
In the 2010s, Olympus was well know for their build quality. In recent years, that reputation has waned somewhat with OM System at the helm. Luckily for Pen-F shooters, this camera was made when Olympus didn’t skimp on quality. The camera and its dials are made from metal and they feel dense and substantial. The camera is small but it has a nice weight. It exhibits craftsmanship and stands in contrast to more recent OM-10s and OM-5s which introduce more plastic into the build, especially on the top plate.
My camera’s articulating screen and port doors have tight tolerances and show no sign of wearing out. The build quality of this camera is on par with my excellent Olympus e-m1 mark II (review here).
Compact Camera Ergonomics are Trash?
I am a big fan of small cameras. Unfortunately, bad ergonomics are to be expected when cameras prioritize size, but the Olympus Pen-F is an exception if there ever was one. To my hands, the Olympus Pen-F is the best handling compact camera I’ve ever used. Much of this comes down to the marvelously designed protruding thumb rest on the back. It’s design is an ergonomic masterpiece and it feels designed for my hands.
The button layout and dial placement are excellent. It is 1,000 times better than my Sigma FP. I have nothing to complain about ergonomically on the Pen-F. I don’t think a better design has ever been achieved on such a small camera.
EVF from 2016?
It’s impressive Olympus managed to fit an EVF on this camera. Some people complain about it being old and only 2.36 million dots (0.62x magnification). In my opinion, it is a perfectly usable EVF. Even in 2024, I have no problem using an EVF with 2.36 million dots. Anything higher than that is just icing on the cake (unnecessary icing). Nobody ever missed a shot because 2.36 million wasn’t enough.
Auto-Focus - Contrast Detect Only
When I first investigated the Olympus Pen-F, I assumed it had phase detect auto-focus because the Olympus e-m1, which was launched 2 years earlier in 2014, had phase detect. But that assumption is incorrect. Although Olympus had a phase detect system, the Olympus Pen-F was launched with a contrast detect system. To be clear, the differences between phase detect and contrast detect weren’t as stark as they are in 2024, but phase detect was still a superior system.
If you are a single point auto-focus kind of photographer, the contrast detect is perfectly fine and acceptably fast even in 2024.
What about the Image Quality?
Its no secret that the sensors in micro four thirds cameras haven’t advanced a lot in the past decade. In terms of resolution, the Olympus Pen-F has the same 20 megapixels found on the brand new OM System OM-1 mark ii. For 90% of photographers, 20 megapixels is enough. Even for those of us who like to crop, 20 megapixels provides a lot of flexibility.
In terms of dynamic range, I can tell a slight difference between the Olympus Pen-F and my Olympus e-m1 mark ii. The e-m1 mark ii does perform slightly better, especially in the highlights, but I have not been disappointed the my Pen-F results. Unless you drastically over-expose or under-expose an image, both cameras have plenty of dynamic range to push/pull +/- 3 stops of light.
I’ve mainly been shooting my Pen-F with the Panasonic 12-60 kit lens and the Panasonic Lumix 14mm f/2.5. I’ve been impressed with the images even though neither of the lenses are high priced premium options. I don’t see any reason why a capable photographer won’t get great results from this sensor.
Video Quality is Disappointing
The team that developed the Pen-F clearly weren’t targeting videographers. The Pen-F offers 1080p video at 60 fps, but doesn’t offer any form of 4k. This in itself is not a big deal for me. I’m generally happy with 1080p 60fps as long as the video files show good detail and sharpness. Unfortunately, they don’t.
The 1080 video from the Pen-F looks more like 720p. It’s soft and unimpressive. Don’t buy this camera for video.
Fun Factor
Anyone who photographs regularly knows that certain cameras give you something extra. Not something extra in terms of their spec sheets, but a subjective feeling of fun and pleasure when using the right camera. Many people who own the Olympus Pen-F confirm that the Pen-F has this special sauce. Its a fun camera, with very few critical flaws, and it makes the photography experience enjoyable. This kind of subjective enjoyment is a big factor in whether a camera stays with you for the long run or gets sold on eBay 6 months after being purchased.
I very much enjoy taking this camera on photo walks even though it isn’t nearly as “capable,” by the spec sheet, as some of my other cameras.
Will the Pen-F give you the special tingling feeling? I can’t answer that… You’ll have to try it out for yourself.
Creative Mode Selection Wheel - Gimmick or Genuinely Creative?
Olympus did something revolutionary and out-of-the-box with the Pen-F by giving it a Creative Mode Selection Wheel (I don’t know if that is the official name
This gadget allows the user to select and customize various JPEG photo modes at the turn of a wheel. There is a mode for monochrome, custom color jpegs, and Olympus’ very own film simulations known as Art Filters.
Upon its release, many reviewers considered the Creative Mode Selection Wheel to be a gimmick. JPEG photography and JPEG customization (film simulations) weren’t nearly as popular as they are in 2024, and reviewers didn’t see the point in giving JPEGs so much attention when “real” photographers would only be shooting in RAW.
Looking back, it seems Olympus was thinking far ahead of its competition, and I suspect a similar feature on a camera like the Fujifilm x100vi would be received much more positively. The new Fujifilm x-t5 features a film simulation dial, and I didn’t hear nearly as much negativity about it as the color wheel on the Pen-F.
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Creative Color Mode
Say what you want about other manufacterurs’ film simulations, but to my knowledge, no company has ever offered the level of customization to JPEGs that’s available on the Olympus Pen-F. When you turn the Creative Mode Selection Wheel to the “CRT” (Creative) setting, you’ll find various settings that allow you to adjust the colors and tones of your photographs. First, you’ll see a color wheel that allows you to manipulate the strength of each color and adjust how vividly the color will be rendered. You also have the ability to manually adjust your shadows and highlights. Besides these key adjustments, a number of smaller tweaks can be made to the image.
If there was ever a platform for making personalized “film simulations,” this is it. These customization options make the offerings of the other manufacturers seem very limited.
Unfortunately, Olympus was too forward thinking, and the market wasn’t yet ready for this great feature. If Fujifilm offered something like this in 2024, the film simulation community would lose their minds.
Creative Mode Selection Dial brings up customizable settings to adjust color balance in JPEGs - Olympus Pen-F
Art Filters
Olympus’ Art Filters were never a huge success in the photography community, even amongst Olympus shooters. I like using a few of them on occasion, but most of them look gimmicky and ugly (my humble opinion). I hardly ever use this mode.
Olympus never spent much time developing these filters after their initial release. I wish Olympus had put time into developing these Art Filters the same way Fujifilm has developed their film simulations.
I have written a few articles reviewing the Art Filters:
Monochrome Mode
The creative mode selection wheel features a dedicated monochrome setting which I’ve used on several occasions. Having such easy access to black and white photography is a nice feature, and I know several people who have chosen to use the Pen-F as a dedicated monochrome camera.
When you switch to monochrome mode, the camera gives you the option to select a color filter to manipulate the b&w profile. If you didn’t know, many monochrome photographers add color filters (red, yellow, orange, etc) to the front of their lens to adjust the tones of their b&w images. Obviously, Olympus’ software based filter simulations won’t give you the exact result of a real filter, but it is a really cool feature that gives the user more customizability.
Overall, I’m really pleased with the standard monochrome profile. The sample images below are SOOC JPEG files from the standard profile (no color filter applied). Notice the nice grain effect.
Can I Recommend the Olympus Pen-F in 2024?
At a used price of between $800 and $1000 USD, the Pen-F has some VERY stiff competition on the used camera market. There are so many good used cameras selling in that price bracket that I find it very difficult to recommend the Olympus Pen-F. The Pen-F is definitely beginning to show its age, especially in the video and auto-focus departments, and it is by no means the best all-round package for the price. Truthfully, it isn’t even the best deal in the “retro” style camera department.
I am able to recommend this camera to two very niche customers. First, those who love JPEGs and want a camera that offers unmatched JPEG customization options. Second, micro four thirds die-hards who are wedded to the system and want the most premium/stylish compact option.
All-in-all this is a tough camera to recommend in 2024 and beyond. A couple years ago, you could buy one of these at around $600. They were much easier to recommend at that price point.
OM System… Are You Listening?
I, and many others, hope OM System will take note of the wild success of the Fujifilm x100V and x100VI and realize they misread the market. There is still astounding demand for compact cameras, and a Pen-F mark ii would likely be very well received by the market. If nothing else, it might make current m4/3 non-wildlife shooters think twice before leaving a system that appears to have left them behind. Nobody wants another plastic OM-5 or OM-10, give us a premium Pen-F model!
