Soon Olympus will announce the PEN version of the E-M10 🙂 This means same E-M10 sensor, same autofocus, same ISO range, same screen and so on. What we still don’t know is the price but it will be certainly lower than the current E-M10 kit price ($799). This is also likely the only PEN we will get this year. So the question now is:
[poll id=”238″]
78 Responses
No dials, no buy.
Exactly, even if it is 200 GBP, which it surely is not.
The e-pl series will probably never be for you then, but that’s ok.
I know the omds have plenty of nice controls, but I can’t help but lust for the old school ss dials and aperture rings of the Fuji system…
No .
Not for a person that already got GX1 & GX7 . If I really have to get , the GM1 or RX100 m3 fit my bill better .
why would you need a 3rd camera? gx1/7 already sounds like a good combo for all purposes
For my sister .
I always thinking to buy her a camera & at the mean time can use it as well when my GXs are not with me .
Buy a flash and learn to use it. You will love it.
Yes , a flash .
Any recommendation ?
Yongnuo, fully manual. They cost nothing and you set them off with the on-camera little flash. No cables required.
Ok . Thanks .
OT: E-M5 for sale here(shuttercount: 011654)
no, because i already have an GX7
Hopefully, it will have at least the 3-axis IBIS. Together with the VF-4, the E-PL7 might amount to anything, then. Let’s see …
True, but then it would be at least as expensive as the E-M10. And it’s not much smaller to begin with without EVF.
(VF-4 is bit better then VF-3 in the E-M10, but being external also less practical)
3-axis IBIS, tilt VF4 + WiFi and newer video/jpeg engine might get me to upgrade.
I think Olympus should ditch either the EPM (and replace it with fixed lens compact with primes) or the EPL (and replace it with fixed lens compact with primes). Or maybe both. Call the new cameras the XA-D. I have been mildly interested in an EPM1 due to size, have never been interested in any EPL – I always go for EP instead at the price point. Besides, you now have the OM10 to guard that gate.
An Olympus competitor to the new Canon G1Xii (what a terrible name) would be great. The Canon was an intriguing fixed lens camera- nice range, nice fast lens, lots of controls, etc., but the sensor quality fell short and the lens quality is still up for debate too.
I feel if Oly made a similar product, we would know what we’d get as far as sensor, and based on their track record I’d be pretty optimistic about the lens.
How about a fixed lens cam where they basically take an OM-10 body (including controls, screen, evf, flash, etc) and stick on a fast lens similar to an oversized XZ-2 lens, something like 28-112 1.8-2.5. I don’t think that’s crazy, Canon managed a 24-120 2.0-4.0 with an ever so slightly larger sensor. I just want at least 28 or wider, at least 90 or longer, and as fast as possible. 😛
I would not mind even if they took the EPM body and stuck fixed pancake primes on it, with 2 or 3 models like Sigma. 28mm & 40mm at f2.8, and a limited edition 21mm f4.0 model would work for me. That would be a nice companion to either an OM5 or OM1 user. Closer to Trip than XA, though. Maybe the digital XA could be a zoom, like the G1X.
Oh man, I would love an XA-D. I’ve been on the fence about a fixed-lens compact for awhile. The XA is my favorite 35mm film camera I’ve ever used, if they had a similarly-sized m43 compact I would definitely go for that. The Ricoh GR is pretty close, but I would really rather have a 35mm equivalent lens. 28 is a little wide for me. Insert ‘shut up and take my money’ meme.
Can use the GR in crop mode to get 35mm. You lose a bit of resolution but still, 12mp is not so bad.
12mp would be fine, too. Maybe when the GR drops in price a little bit. Not that it’s super-expensive, it’s just a hard camera for me to justify when I don’t *need* it, it wouldn’t really fill a gap in my equipment. I just want one haha!
So basically the only difference from the E-M10 will be the lack of an EVF. OK Olympus, so does that mean there will be a great pricing strategy to get this device out the door? Body only for $499 would be a bold move and is probably still too low for Olympus’s standards. Even at that price, it is unlikely to get this camera to sell. From a business-strategy view, they should take a page from Panasonic and disband the PEN line for the time being to focus on the O-MDs, which seem to be having much better success lately.
No, or at least not until it is remaindered out at $250 a year from now.
May be : if there us a white one available, then may be that I could get one to complement the E-M5 : the 12-40mm on the E-M5 and the 75mm on the E-Pl7 would make a perfect combo.. No more changing lenses in the field !
I bought an all-white EPL6 , but to complement my E-P5 (surprisingly to me I sold my EM5 as after using the E-P5 I just stopped using it). It is a nice combo to go out and shoot with and a nice set of choices to have if I am just taking one camera…as the EPL6 is so much smaller and still loaded with plenty of features! Both are great little cameras.
I prefer using a VF, so after I got the E-M5, my white E-P3 stayed home : the VF is quite cumbersome when added to the E-Ps or E-Pls.
I was going to get an E-P5 too, but there were rumors of bad shuttershock.. so I delayed it. I’m also considering an E-M10… but after all I may just wait to see what the successor of the E-M5 and E-P5 will be. I hope that the E-M5 successor will stay small, but that it’ll get the VF4 EVF you can find in the E-M1 or separate VF4.
But I like white cameras.. 🙂 so may still give a white successor to my E-P3..
Also, in the mean time I have got an A7r.. so may not give a companion to the EM5.. we will see.
yeah…I get it…I do not mind the detachable viewfinder…what took me away from the EM5 was the VF4 was soooooooo much better than the EM5 VF…and the dual dials with the toggle…. I really love the form factor…it surprised me too….I got the EP5 as my back up! LOL! That with the little, power-packed EPL6 really floats my boat..unless I am going FF.
Funny…we are all so different when it comes to what we like.
I love white cameras too (but not with the human flesh grips!! LOL!)…I made a custom grip for min…got a black grip, pulled out the black pad and then remounted the white pad that came with my EPL6.. put a white stitched handmade small black leather half case on the bottom so that I could hold the little beast better in my big hands and the set up is really cool looking and fuctioning. People come up to me all the time to check it out!!!!!
I might, some time in the future, as a second body beside the yet-to-be-bought-but-already-on-top-of-the-shopping-list E-M1. After all, the E-PL series always had the most attractive Olympus-MFT cameras before the OM-D series came up, much more attractive than either the E-P or the E-PM. Although I still feel a camera without built-in viewfinder is no real camera (and I do know them, I’ve got a NEX-C3, too)…
If this will be the only PEN than, will it be the only OMD?
If yes, that will make E-M5 3yrs old and that is quite an achievement in todays tech time.
Will it be the longest lived m43 camera?
I would find value in the PL7. I own a slew of PEN camera bodies as well as an E-M10 and and E-M1. Size seems to matter to me in camera bodies as well as lenses. I tend to carry the PM1 and PM2 with primes mounted more than the other camera bodies because they are light and “palmable” with nothing more than a wrist strap. My favorite zoom is the Panasonic 12-32mm that is no larger than a prime, A VF-2 in a pocket covers the times I might need a viewfinder. My E-M1, much heavier and larger, is special purpose — birding.
I cannot see buying a camera with basically the same sensor as my EPL-6 and E-P5.
Dress it up all you want..but the image quality will be exactly the same, so no purchase. Even if Oly included a rangefinder-style VF I would not buy it as I think that the above two cameras are just spectacular with their pop-on VF-4’s!
You can currently purchase an EPL6 shipped from Hong Kong wit kit zoom for $407 so there is a big financial incentive not to buy a new Penn of this type which will surely have a much higher price tag.
No, because I think GX7 is better value for money.
But I don’t know why it’s an E-M10 clone. Those specs ( sensor, autofocus, ISO range, screen ) are similar to every 2012/3 Oly m4/3 except E-M1, so you can call it E-PL5 clone or E-PM2 clone…
I think this is probably not the place to ask as it will mostly go to new buyers & some as second cameras to others. For me the E-M5 was a good way to go but now that is taking 2nd place since Oly brought in a nice cash back offer for the E-M1 (here in Australia), so no, I won’t be buying one, but that doesn’t mean it won’t sell.
POLL: would you buy a Pen with EM1 specs (PDAF, weather sealing, etc) and a big, integrated left corner EVF?
No: I already use an Em5 and Em1 so I don’t need it, no matter if it has a left, middle or right EVF. Since there are no improvements in IQ I don’t need another m43 body.
You clearly are not in the demographic for a PEN, you’re an OMD user, different needs for different people, but that doesn’t mean a more advanced PEN is not necessary, there’s a huge demand for non-OMD type cameras, otherwise there would be not Fuji XE2 or Sony A6000 or Pany GX7. Oly is the only remaining company that has not released a comparable body out of stubbornness (to protect the more properly advertised and well received OMD line).
An integrated left corner EVF is a must have for me to buy such a thing. I don’t see the point to have a compact camera on which having to plug a protruding (and much needed) EVF.
Oly should listen to customers the way Fuji does
Do you even have to ask?
🙂 Seems like a rhetorical question, I know. But if we keep asking on forums like this one, maybe Olympus will get the message. Or the Fuji product team will beat them to it and release a weather sealed XPro-2 with PDAF.
If it is indeed the only PEN release this year, I hope Olympus wil make the deal real sweet. I would strongly consider the E-PL7 if:
– it has the new 3-axis IBIS
– it has electronic first shutter like the E-M1 (and the E-P5 after the delayed firmware upgrade)
– the 14-42 PZ pancake is the kit lens
– there is an affordable kit with VF-4
It would become a must-buy if:
– it had PDAF like the E-M1
– the M.Zuiko 25 1.8 is the (a) kit lens
I know PDAF seems impossible as the sensor is said to be the same as in the E-M10, but the rest might/should happen to make the E-PL7 a worthy upgrade.
WOW…so you want all the features of the top of the line Oly cameras at half the price.
Seems reasonable……yeah..right!
Huh? The only feature of the “top line” would be PDAF, and I already wrote that it’s the most unrealistic one (and not a deal-breaker). 3-axis IBIS and 14-42 PZ kit lens are exactly what the lowly E-M10 already has. The rest (VF-4, 25 1.8) are just bundling options that I would like to see and which would of course be more expensive than just body or body + kit zoom. Electronic first curtain is just a firmware change/upgrade and should be standard in ALL Oly bodies from now on as not having shutter shock problems is not a “feature”, but a bare necessity.
electronic first shutter and 3-axis ibis is on the more expensive cameras too…who are you kidding?????
Who are YOU kidding ? those features are in the entry level EM10 as Flexxer said already, and the EM10 is in the same tier as the PL5, do not confuse a 2 year old discounted price with the actual price tier of the PL model, at the time of release the PL5 was about the same as the EM10, so it’s not more expensive (unless you add the VF-2, but then again as pen user you probably already have one)
I hear DSLRs are good and cheap these days.
Yes, and also big, heavy and ugly 😉
Ugly, nope. Beautiful, in fact. But big and heavy yes
That’s why M43 is dying, or ailing at best.
Show us your data and statistics ? How come so many companies have joined m43 in recent months if it’s a dying platform ? How many companies are developing cameras for your pitiful canikon besides canikon themselves ? Where’s your cross compatibility of lenses and bodies between different brands and type of cameras ? where are your small feather-light APSC primes ? How many types of camera bodies does canikon have ? JUST ONE repetitive blob.
If you hate m43 so much then why are you wasting your time here ? if m43 is so irrelevant for you then why are you wasting your precious limited time on earth here ? how can you feel so threatened if m43 was in fact dying ? Just get a life.
That hurt huh?
I also hear they’re humongous, bulky and heavy, have outdated tech and features and the lenses are huge, so yeah, no thank you
I would buy two E-PL7 to replace my E-M5/E-PM2 combination if it is a clone of the E-M10 with all the same features – especially 3-axis IBIS and WiFi. I need to do more investigation if the E-M10 has better video with less compression artefacts than the E-M5/E-PM2 as that might also sway me.
I would move to Panasonic Gx7/GM1 combo in a heartbeat if they had a decent IBIS in video. I like a minimal setup and I think for stills the newest Panasonic cameras = the Olympus bodies.
It should be wi-fi. If I am not mistaken the epl6 already has it
The e-pl6 did NOT have wifi.
I think the question to this forum ‘Will we buy a new E-PL7’ is always going to have a high negative value as most of us have something fairly similar – I know some will have EP-3s and similar (I still do + EM1 & 5).
The EPL 7 will no doubt attract new forum members though – it is surely targeted at a new audience, so we have to wait and see if it becomes the flagship of the light pens!
I wouldn’t mind a PEN for my next camera is the rear screen were higher resolution, to aid in manual focus. Phones have a staggering high resolution, so high res screens should be plenty cheaper now.Seriously, I’d like a 1080p screen at the back,
Why would anyone buy this over a GX7? Seriously…
Cheaper (probably), more compact without built-in EVF sticking out and smaller kit zoom, better IBIS…
Except that a PEN with add EVF is even MORE bulkier than the GX7 (which is not bulky at all IMO), the 12-35 is actually smallet than Oly’s pancake kit zoom and both cameras have the same 2 axis IBIS (although it seems Pany made some improvements on their version). I would say modularity is the only saving grace of the PL series at this point, which IMO is a huge selling point for some people. Oly should not abandon the PEN series tough, they only need proper marketing and re-structuring of the line up kinda like:
PM: GM1 sized but inexpensive (sub 300), entry level camera.
P: GX7/A6000 competitor, pretty much an E-P5 with EVF but priced reasonably
PL: same as the P model but modular and cheaper, like an E-M10 for the Pen series.
3-axis IBIS (which works in video), (better, removable) VF-4 viewfinder?
My first real digital camera was a PEN. I left film slowly and had digital pocket cameras for convenience only. I kinda want another PEN, but the camera is not the item I am waiting for. I want a fast pancake zoom lens that starts at f2.0. That would cinch the deal. I am very distracted by Canon’s G1X Mk II which has a 5x f2.0 to f3.9 zoom. The sensors in the OM-D cameras give it a spank to go along with lack of a lens mount, but the combination is better than anything that starts at f3.5. I am still saving for an EM-1 as my next bulky, lens-in-bag camera, but in the range-finder size, which is to say the PEN size, I might could live with the less flat m.Zuiko 17mm f1.8 mounted nearly all the time as my kick around camera. That’s the thing. I seem to be moving toward many cameras in the bag instead of many lenses.
Since I already own an E-M10 as my second body, it would be pretty pointless to buy the new PEN. Particularly since I often shoot outside and find the EVF to be extremely useful.
And really, the PENs may have good sensors and be capable of taking nice pictures, but in terms of build quality and usability of controls, they’re pretty much junk. I can’t fathom going back to one under any circumstance,
The E-P5 has excellent build quality and controls, but of course it’s much more expensive than the E-PL and E-PM models. I wouldn’t call them junk, though, as far as entry-level models go.
My GX-7 is the PEN I always wanted. I don’t see myself replacing that body in the near future. As long as Olympus keeps to their “no viewfinder in PEN” policy, I expect that the GX line will continue to be what I buy.
Most of my lenses are, and will probably continue to be, Olympus though. Aren’t compatible systems nice?
I’m with you 100%. I waited 4 years for Oly to get their act together and release a proper PEN camera but they never delivered hence why I bought the GX7. It’ll take a quantum leap in sensor tech for me to upgrade from this camera, if Oly ever decides to stop being so obtuse about the whole EVF issue I might consider complementing my GX7 setup with a Pen for a dual RF-esque m43 team up, but I’m afraid for the vast majority of people it’ll be too little to late, specially if Pany upgrades the GX IBIS to 3 or even 5 axis.
Why would anyone buy a camera at all, when there are so many more fulfilling and worthwhile hobbies to pursue? I will never understand this. What drives you people to walking around with devices that makes flat, two-dimensional imperfect copies of reality? What do you hope to accomplish with this bizarre behaviour? Are you insane, is that it? Yes haha, that must be it, you’re completely out of your minds. Hahahahaha.
There’s a lot to be said for insanity.
Same tripe you posted over at SAR.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/ft4-rx100m3-announcement-next-thursday-may-15/#disqus_thread
Well, I’m not specifically against m4/3 or Sony Alpha, but photography in general. So I will spread my message anywhere where there are photographers.
I guess that posting silly comments makes a much better hobby?
Admin: How about updating the PEN poll to: “Would you be more interested in a PEN with “Pro” features like an integrated left side EVF, weather sealing and PDAF? Might help demonstrate to Oly just how much interest is here…
I will wait until I can get the body for cheap.
Woot!
Yes, but probably in about two years. However, I am moving very close to buying the E-pl5. Finally beginning to see the price come down — at least on ebay. I live in Italy, so no Mother’s Day deals, no street price to speak of.
I might buy this, if it costs 250 EUR with kit lens.
Keep in mind the the kit lens will be f/8-f/16 equivalent.
You’ll have to buy 1000 EUR of primes or 2000 EUR of f 5.6 equiv. zooms to make it work. And a 300 EUR viewfinder.
Alternatively, you can buy a premium compact, a premium superzoom and a fixed lens compact for less money at the same total weight and size.
WTF?
“To make it work” is totally subjective.
You can get the excellent 45mm prime for around $300, or $400 25mm, or $150 Pano 14mm…. great value lenses and one of them alone is enough to “get it to work” with good or great IQ depending on your needs.