E-PL7 First Impressions / Customizability / Random Observations

As some of you may recall, I was considering either an LX100 or E-PL5, for use as a travel camera (or camera for those times when photography is not the primary objective of the outing). I wanted something that was lighter and smaller than my E-M1, offered good IQ, and was not too much of a step down with respect to easily changing the shooting parameters. After a lot of thought, I ended up getting an E-PL7. Its new and improved styling, higher resolution LCD, and control wheel were the deciding factors over the cheaper E-PL5 or E-PL6 models.

The E-PL7’s specs, sensor ratings, reviews and stock photos are all available online, so I won’t re-hash those points (other than to say that the DXOMARK ratings of the sensors of the E-PL7, E-M10, and E-M1 are very close). What I will tell you is my impressions of the camera, based on a week or so shooting with it.

To start with, it is a very attractive camera. Even my wife (who usually puts up with my obsessing over cameras with a patient “that’s nice, dear”), offered unsolicited comments about how good it looks. Yet, it is unobtrusive due to its small size. It won’t attract the attention that the E-M1 and 12-40 do.

Second (and most importantly), it takes very nice photographs. The sharpness and IQ seem pretty much the same as what I get with my E-M1. I was concerned that with my shaky hands a small light camera might give me problems, but if I take my time the IBIS seems to do a very good job. I took test shots of items ranging from automobile grills and wheels, to trees, flower arrangements, shrubs and lizards, and I couldn’t see discernible differences between those I got with the PEN, and those taken with the E-M1, using comparable lenses.

It is light and very easy to carry around. With the Panasonic 15mm or 20mm prime, it weighs about half of what my E-M1 with the 12-40 lens weighs. Even with the Oly 12-50 or 14-150 mounted, it is still significantly lighter. With the primes it is nicely balanced; even with the 14-150 it still seems easy to manipulate. The Oly 12-40 does feel (and look) front-heavy on it, but the big lens can certainly be used with no undue problems.

However, in all honesty I don’t foresee using the 12-40 on the PEN very much. I bought the E-PL7 expressly for those times when photography is coincidental to the moment, as opposed to being the primary purpose. I don’t really want to, nor see a need to, take $2200 worth of camera gear to a restaurant for my wife’s birthday dinner, or a pizza party for the great-grandson.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, the E-PL7’s menu system is the same as the E-M1’s, so that makes going back and forth from the “big camera” to the E-PL7 very easy. Also, I found that for the type of shooting I typically do (landscapes, interior shots of historic houses and museums, and family shots), the camera’s buttons, SCP, control wheel and mode dial Mysets can be used to give me darn near the same ready access to commonly used parameters as the E-M1 does. There is no “menu diving” necessary. In all honesty, it seems as easy to use as the E-M1 (unless I am switching forth between bracketing and HDR, or something like that). I have it set up as follows:

-Super Control Panel (SCP) enabled

-Fn button set to AEL

-Magnify (zoom view) button defaulted to Magnify

-Mysets for my preferred aperture mode and shutter mode settings assigned to “A” and “S” mode dial positions (to force a “reset” each time I power the camera up or select the mode)

-Two remaining Mysets currently unassigned, but available if / when I determine a need for them

-Left arrow (of four way controller) causes the AF positioning screen to appear; the left/right/up/down arrows are then used to move the focus point to where I want it

-Record button re-defined as “return AF point to home position”

-Right arrow set to bring up ISO setting menu

-Up arrow brings up Exposure Compensation (in A or S mode): the control wheel is then used to set the EC to whatever I want

-Down arrow brings up the shutter selection menu (single, sequential, timer, anti-shock, etc.)

-Focus Peaking enabled in menus, so that peaking appears when the manual focus ring of a m4/3 camera is turned

Other random observations:

The Olympus 12-50 “fits” well on the E-PL7, and together they make a good-handling and visually appealing combo. The electronic zoom ring seems easier to use than my regular zooms as well (this may be due to the small size and lightness of the camera; there’s just not as much to hold on to while twisting a regular zoom ring around). Although the IQ of the 12-50 isn’t as good as that of the 12-40, the sample pics I’ve taken look pretty decent. I may end up actually using the 12-50 as an outdoor walk-around lens, for the first time since I got it as part of my E-M5 kit back in 2012.

The FL600R and FL300R flashes both work well on the E-PL7, although the smaller flash is more balanced from a size / balance perspective (no surprise, given the small size of the camera).

One of the most advertised features of the E-PL7 is its “Selfie” mode. I don’t give a rat’s patoot about that, but I did find that it is much easier to pull the articulated LCD out from the home position and move it to where I want it, than the LCD of the E-M1. This probably has something to do with the Selfie mode (the ability to quickly pull the LCD out and position it to take a photo), but that’s just an assumption.

The bottom line is that I REALLY like this camera, and am very glad I bought it!

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read all this. I hope it is of use to someone.

Glad you like it

I actually use it more than my EP5 these days for 1) it's smaller , 2) I tend to use the latest acquisition and neglect the older one

I can still share the brilliant VF4 on both

On my next trip to Alaska, the EPL7 will accompany my EM5II

Will sport primes on it, and the zooms will go on the EM5II

Amidst all the available MFT bodies, the EPL7 tends to be overlooked but it's a d... nice and good looking camera to own, especially at today's price

Cheers,

dv312 wrote:

Glad you like it

I actually use it more than my EP5 these days for 1) it's smaller , 2) I tend to use the latest acquisition and neglect the older one

I can still share the brilliant VF4 on both

On my next trip to Alaska, the EPL7 will accompany my EM5II

Will sport primes on it, and the zooms will go on the EM5II

Amidst all the available MFT bodies, the EPL7 tends to be overlooked but it's a d... nice and good looking camera to own, especially at today's price

Cheers,

Previously, I could take either the E-M1 or Panasonic LX7 when we went places.  So, if the possibility of good photographic opportunities was there, I'd take the E-M1.  The LX7 was used only when I really wanted to go small and light, deliberately trading better IQ for portability and compactness.

Now that I have the E-PL7, I will have the option of going smaller and lighter, but with equivalent IQ of the "big" camera.  I'll still favor the E-M1 for "serious" shooting, but the PEN will get used a lot as well (e.g., museums with the fast prime, car shows with the 9-18 wide angle, etc.).

The charm of the E-PL7 is that with the right lenses, its IQ is equal to the best that m43 can offer in a small, light, discreet package. In my opinion, the single control wheel is not only adequate but in some shooting positions faster than a two control wheel system.

Thanks for sharing. Your post was very informative. About two months ago, I went of to my local camera dealer to get a backup for my E-M10. My short list was the EPL-7 and the GM5. When I got there, they didn't have either camera in stock and I scrubbed to a nice deal on an open box EPL-5 kit. I like the EPL-5 but, on hindsight, I agree the EPL-7 is a much better choice. One good thing for me; not only can the E-M10 and EPL-5 share all my lenses, the both use the same battery, charger, and cable. I revamped my mindset and have gone back to using small primes. I still have my 12-40mm f/2.8 but it is sitting on the shelf along with the EGC-1 grip I used on the E-M10 with the 12-40mm. Now I have my 12mm f/2.0, my 17mm f.1.8, and two recent additions, the 45mm f/1.8 and Rokinon 7,5mm f/3.5. I can fit the EPL-5 with any of these lenses in a jacket pocket. Of course summer is approaching and the jacket will be gone. Usually, I leave the house with one of the cameras and either the 12mm or 35mm, depending where I'm off to, plus a spare battery and the 45mm in my pants pocket.

The one gotcha for me is that I need to use my reading glasses to use the LCD, so I bought a like new VF4 from B&H. It makes the EPL-5 unpocketable unless you carry it separately until you're ready to use the camera. It also burnt up my savings plus, so in the end I should have waited to see the GM5 or just got another E-M10.