slow_cooker
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I've recently bought a Pen EP-7 and been playing with it. In-depth reviews of this camera were quite rare when I was doing my research, probably because it's not released in the States. I think it's quite unfair that many people seemed to have problems with it even when they haven't even tried it. So I guess I write a review here to give some perspective on the E-P7.
Let me talk a bit about my reason for buying the E-P7. I mainly do street photography as a hobby, and I shot most things with an EM1 II and a Ricoh GR III for a while. The EM1 is a tad big for street for a small woman like me. The Ricoh is fantastic but I miss the ability to change lenses. I have moved to Chicago from a much safer and more laid-back city, and I've suffered much exhaustion from work, so I started looking for a compact MFT camera, like a Ricoh with interchangeable lenses that allows me to relax and snap. My criteria are: (1) small - I don't want anything too noticeable (so Pen F is out of the question for being too gorgeous); (2) good IBIS - my hands shake a lot (so Panasonic cameras are out of the question too); (3) not too bad resolution - I prefer the 2x3 aspect to the native 3x4 so I crop often. Also I want to be able to crop when I'm too tired to cross the street and go another 3 blocks to get a photo of this cool-looking dude who probably would punch me or wouldn't be there anymore by the time I get close enough.
In short, I want a something laid-back, capable with minimal fuss. Those criteria left me with the EM10's and the Pens. I think the newer models are a bit expensive and don't really satisfy all my preferences so I waited for deals. The Pen PLs are small but a bit pricey for what they are. I kept looking at the EM10s and wished they were a bit smaller, like I can do with an EM10 IV minus the evf haha. Then boom, I came across the E-P7 for $600. Wish granted :-D:-D
It's a handsome little camera. In the places I usually go to, gorgeous things like the Pen-F do more harm then good to both photo quality and my well being. But the E-P7 is just nice looking without being too flashy. It feels solid and has a good grip. No the grip is not metal, but I don't want my fingers to fall off holding a camera in the Chicago winter anyway. The dials make sense. I read in some reviews that they're a bit cluttered and the on/off switch can be accidentally turned, but that's not the case for me (may be because I don't have large hands?). I can operate most things with one hand as long as I don't need to fuss with the touch screen.
I don't find the lack of evf/ovf a big problem. I've been doing fine with the Ricoh. Even with the EM1 I don't use the evf that often. Focusing with the touch screen is accurate and convenient . I agree it's a bit tough in many situation and many people are bitter at Olympus for it, but I imagine many are fine with it. I travel alone a lot and got picked on quite a few times. In a lot of places it's just not safe to stick my face into a camera and forget about what can come from behind me.
Image quality is great, as expected from this sensor. I like the jpegs but I shoot raw as a habit so I can't comment much on jpeg quality. IBIS works very well. Yesterday I was holding a big Amazon package on the way home from the locker with one hand and snapping whatever I see with the 45mm f1.8 in the other hand, and photos are sharp (although it was in good light and the shutter speed was fast anyway). I also used it indoor, forgot to raise ISO as I always do, and still got good shots at low shutter speed. S-AF is fast and reliable. I tried shooting a pigeon with C-AF the other day. It was far worse than my EM1 so I guess I won't bother with C-AF, although some people say it work for limited purpose. Face detection works great. It can recognize faces in profile.
The more advanced shooting features like bracketing and HDR are grouped in the AP mode which is quite neat. The color/monochrome switch is something I didn't know I want in this life time. Customizability is limited. You can only customize the video button and the AEL/AFL button. For my purpose it's enough. I set the video button to focus peaking and the AEL/AFL to manual focus.
In general I think the E-P7 is awesome. It's pretty, small, simple, and capable. When it was first released the price looked ridiculous next to the EM10 IV, but now I think they're about the same price already. With a small lens it fits in my winter coat pocket. It wouldn't fit in my hoodie pocket but I always have at least a small waist bag for little woman things that the E-P7 can easily snug in. It allows me to relax and have fun instead of giving too much thought about settings and features. Bright sunlight without evf? It's fine I'll just shoot blind and get surprised by the photo later. I'd be stoked if Olympus can stick a viewfinder in this camera, but this is a compromise I'm happy to make. To be honest I can compromise even more to bring it to the size of the Panasonic GM5, but IBIS is something I can't exist without, so the E-P7 is really the sweet spot for me.
Here are some sample photos. I don't pixel peep so forgive me if I don't do this camera justice. I also reduced the sharpness in post.
I shot this blind. It was very bright and the sun was glaring into my face.
Let me talk a bit about my reason for buying the E-P7. I mainly do street photography as a hobby, and I shot most things with an EM1 II and a Ricoh GR III for a while. The EM1 is a tad big for street for a small woman like me. The Ricoh is fantastic but I miss the ability to change lenses. I have moved to Chicago from a much safer and more laid-back city, and I've suffered much exhaustion from work, so I started looking for a compact MFT camera, like a Ricoh with interchangeable lenses that allows me to relax and snap. My criteria are: (1) small - I don't want anything too noticeable (so Pen F is out of the question for being too gorgeous); (2) good IBIS - my hands shake a lot (so Panasonic cameras are out of the question too); (3) not too bad resolution - I prefer the 2x3 aspect to the native 3x4 so I crop often. Also I want to be able to crop when I'm too tired to cross the street and go another 3 blocks to get a photo of this cool-looking dude who probably would punch me or wouldn't be there anymore by the time I get close enough.
In short, I want a something laid-back, capable with minimal fuss. Those criteria left me with the EM10's and the Pens. I think the newer models are a bit expensive and don't really satisfy all my preferences so I waited for deals. The Pen PLs are small but a bit pricey for what they are. I kept looking at the EM10s and wished they were a bit smaller, like I can do with an EM10 IV minus the evf haha. Then boom, I came across the E-P7 for $600. Wish granted :-D:-D
It's a handsome little camera. In the places I usually go to, gorgeous things like the Pen-F do more harm then good to both photo quality and my well being. But the E-P7 is just nice looking without being too flashy. It feels solid and has a good grip. No the grip is not metal, but I don't want my fingers to fall off holding a camera in the Chicago winter anyway. The dials make sense. I read in some reviews that they're a bit cluttered and the on/off switch can be accidentally turned, but that's not the case for me (may be because I don't have large hands?). I can operate most things with one hand as long as I don't need to fuss with the touch screen.
I don't find the lack of evf/ovf a big problem. I've been doing fine with the Ricoh. Even with the EM1 I don't use the evf that often. Focusing with the touch screen is accurate and convenient . I agree it's a bit tough in many situation and many people are bitter at Olympus for it, but I imagine many are fine with it. I travel alone a lot and got picked on quite a few times. In a lot of places it's just not safe to stick my face into a camera and forget about what can come from behind me.
Image quality is great, as expected from this sensor. I like the jpegs but I shoot raw as a habit so I can't comment much on jpeg quality. IBIS works very well. Yesterday I was holding a big Amazon package on the way home from the locker with one hand and snapping whatever I see with the 45mm f1.8 in the other hand, and photos are sharp (although it was in good light and the shutter speed was fast anyway). I also used it indoor, forgot to raise ISO as I always do, and still got good shots at low shutter speed. S-AF is fast and reliable. I tried shooting a pigeon with C-AF the other day. It was far worse than my EM1 so I guess I won't bother with C-AF, although some people say it work for limited purpose. Face detection works great. It can recognize faces in profile.
The more advanced shooting features like bracketing and HDR are grouped in the AP mode which is quite neat. The color/monochrome switch is something I didn't know I want in this life time. Customizability is limited. You can only customize the video button and the AEL/AFL button. For my purpose it's enough. I set the video button to focus peaking and the AEL/AFL to manual focus.
In general I think the E-P7 is awesome. It's pretty, small, simple, and capable. When it was first released the price looked ridiculous next to the EM10 IV, but now I think they're about the same price already. With a small lens it fits in my winter coat pocket. It wouldn't fit in my hoodie pocket but I always have at least a small waist bag for little woman things that the E-P7 can easily snug in. It allows me to relax and have fun instead of giving too much thought about settings and features. Bright sunlight without evf? It's fine I'll just shoot blind and get surprised by the photo later. I'd be stoked if Olympus can stick a viewfinder in this camera, but this is a compromise I'm happy to make. To be honest I can compromise even more to bring it to the size of the Panasonic GM5, but IBIS is something I can't exist without, so the E-P7 is really the sweet spot for me.
Here are some sample photos. I don't pixel peep so forgive me if I don't do this camera justice. I also reduced the sharpness in post.
I shot this blind. It was very bright and the sun was glaring into my face.
