Pen F users - some quick questions...

MEDISN wrote:

Raist3d wrote:

MEDISN wrote:

James Pilcher wrote:

Ben Herrmann wrote:

Hey gang...

I've always been a Pen user - love the format - so lately I've been getting stressed a bit when I found out that Olympus would no longer be making this line. So last week I purchased the Pen F at B&H. I already have the E-P5 and E-PL7.

My questions are these - and I know they are simple and right in front of my eyes, but I can't seem to find the information:

1. I want to shoot in RAW only, but the only choices I have in the menu structure are either JPG or RAW & JPG. What am I missing here - no setting for RAW only?

2. I was messing around with the settings this morning and I had the IS enabled in the menu. I'm using the Panny 12-60 on my Pen F. After adjust settings to my liking (or so I thought), all of a sudden the ability for me to turn on the IS is now blanked out? I have the lens-based IS turned off since the 5 Axs version in the Pen F is better. What other setting(s) that I may have adjusted affects the ability to access IS settings?

Thanking you in advance...

Enjoy that Pen F, Ben. It's a darling.

Get the Olympus OEM grip.

Forget CAF. Really. Don't even bother.

Why? Here’s a 30-shot sequence zoomed 1:1. Two of the 30 are slightly out of focus. C-AF is not something I normally use the PEN-F for but it works when I need it. It’s a slow burst rate though, probably my only complaint.

Because it works pretty horrible. Maybe doing a very slow moving approaching subject helps. Tracking works if you have someone in a group move a bit. But other than that, C-AF on the PenF is a complete joke. The EM5 MKii even does it a bit better.

Define horrible? Examples we can see?

Not posting examples. I traditionally post a lot of examples of things in the past and I get burned with and endless discussion between people who don't believe it, or think I just started to use Olympus cameras or photography or something else.

Now, this may very well not be you, but it's kind of an overall standard policy I am following these days. My last shots can be seen in a recent-this week EPL9 thread. The EPL9 does focusing better than the PenF, and the EPL9 is equally horrible at C-AF.

Is there a threshold for subject speed and direction that dictates acceptable CAF performance?

Probably but that will work for each individual differently.  For you it seems to work ok. Generally speaking, C-AF should catch some reasonable amount of action- but again, if it works for you, what I am saying doesn't apply to you.

The subject actually does move around the frame as I’m following her.

Not really. The frame seems rather constant in terms of position and sizable area.

As I said previously, the video is cropped to her face 1:1 as though it were centered there but I’m not responsive enough to keep the face centered while shooting.

Then I don't know.

Multiple users and multiple reviewers show this.

Ah, forgot who I was talking to. Of course you read this somewhere on the internet so this is what you echo. When someone posts actual experience that contradicts your narrative you do your best to cast doubt. So predictable.

Ah yes, let's go to the personal attack attempt. I thought for a moment you were being reasonable.  But never mind I have had the PenF for like two years now, and all I can say is that my experience using C-AF with it validates what a lot of reviews are also saying.

Of course the experience of one avid fan is more objective than someone who is reviewing a camera on a website. Pretty standard logic in this forum

But if you are really curious, you can see I have lots of experience with Olympus Cameras if you bother to look.  Anyhow, I am glad it works for you. Just warning the OP that it's not that good. Of course, other people have said the same thing, like James here.  I guess he most be someone without experience too right?

But maybe for slow moving subjects like these that do not move around much it works (very narrow working envelope). Another way I have seen it work is getting a car going say from left to right and panning with it. But that's not exactly that challenging either.

Watch out for focus accuracy with the Olympus f/1.2 Pro primes wide open (my experience). I bought an OM-D E-M1.2 specifically to better-utilize my 25mm f/1.2 Pro wide open. The number of keepers I get now has skyrocketed.

I generally reserve my Pen F for my small primes now: 12mm f/2, 25mm f/1.4, 45mm f/1.8 and then the Oly 12-40mm f/2.8. I plan to pick up a Lumix 20mm f/1.7 soon.

Jim Pilcher
Summit County, Colorado, USA
Don’t trust anyone under 9100 feet