Olympus PEN-F review: Classic good looks and great performance, with hefty price tag

SINGAPORE — At a glance, the remastered and recently-released Olympus PEN-F pays aesthetic homage to its iconic counterpart, a popular flagship film rangefinder that first hit the streets in the ‘60s. Beyond its retro knobs and classic brushed metal exterior, however, the mirrorless PEN-F improves on the classic goodness of the original with modern upgrades, such as Wi-Fi connectivity, a touchscreen and a 20-megapixel Micro Four Thirds (MFT) sensor.

The new PEN-F feels extremely solid and well-constructed. Its stylish silver metallic and textured black body is a surefire way to stand out in a crowd.

The PEN-F isn’t easy to use though and can come across as confounding at first. For one, the camera is crammed with intimidating dials and knobs — we counted five lining the top — and nearly all of which can be re-assigned to different functions. The PASM dial comes with four customisable shooting modes for quick switching, and a lock button for any chosen mode to minimise the risk of accidentally switching to another mode.

Still, if you exercise some patience to understand the camera’s intricacies, it becomes a joy to shoot with.

On initial handling, the PEN-F comes across as a tad heavy for a camera of its class, especially if you are viewing and shooting through the touchscreen with one hand holding the camera. Switching to the electronic viewfinder makes for a different experience: With two hands holding it, its heft feels natural and well-distributed.

One small issue: The lack of a front handgrip bothered us at first and takes time getting used to especially if you shoot primarily on a DSLR.

Olympus has ingeniously added a front-facing “creative dial” that allows you to directly toggle between colour profiles (monochrome and art filters, for example) without having to comb through menus. It’s a bit too stiff — it’s impossible to twist around with one finger — but it’s a welcome addition for those who wish to shoot in different colour modes conveniently.

Switching between a 2.36 million dot OLED electronic viewfinder and fully-articulating 3.0-inch LCD touchscreen is an almost instantaneous affair with no lag. The PEN-F’s electronic viewfinder is excellent and makes for crisp viewing.

Performance-wise, the 20-megapixel PEN-F doesn’t fail to impress: Auto-focus is speedy and accurate and its 5-axis image stabilisation allowed us to take sharper images even at slow shutter speeds. Generally, details were crisp with accurate colours. While the camera’s low-light performance isn’t quite on par with those with recent APS-C sensors, it’s certainly good enough.

Olympus PEN-F sample photos (shot with an Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm f1.8 lens):

The main gripe we have with the PEN-F is that it’s much more expensive than other mirrorless cameras with MFT or APS-C sensors available in the market, even more so when it doesn’t come with a starter lens. In fact, the same amount for its body alone can get you a mid-range Nikon or Canon DSLR camera with kit lens to boot.

Nonetheless, the PEN-F is an absolute stunner with great performance, and that it is likely to appeal to those who love digital cameras that look and operate like their film counterparts.

The Olympus PEN-F is available for S$1,798 (body only) at all Olympus authorised retailers. The list of compatible lenses can be found here.