Who is shooting Pen F and E-M1 (either version)?

I have my Pen F as my only m4/3 body since May of last year. I recently purchased the M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro. I find it a bit large, but certainly not unmanageable, on my Pen F; it made a wonderful one-camera-one-lens kit on my recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I'm now thinking about adding a second m4/3 body in the form of an E-M1. My thought is generally to split my zooms and primes between the E-M1 and the Pen F. The Pen F really excels with smallish lenses, while the E-M1 seems to be designed with bigger lenses and zooms in mind. My favorite lens on the Pen F continues to be my Oly 12mm f/2.

Are any of you splitting time between OM-D and Pen? Do you have any anecdotes to share? Is my thinking sound or faulty? I'd like to hear your experience.

Jim Pilcher
Bonita Springs, FL, USA
Life is a breeze by the sea

Jim, I have two EM-1s.  I got one of them as soon as I could get one after it was available.

I love this camera.  I know it's obsolete now, but I will use them for a good bit longer.  The camera for some reason has three problems.  The "skin" is prone to come loose.  That happened to my older camera.  The rear dial stops working properly.  That happened too.  However it works normally for all functions except viewing photos on the LCD (Chimping),  that is irritating, but relatively minor as I don't really use it that much.  Also there have been a lot of complaints about the strap lugs coming out! Now that can be serious.  I've not had that problem at all.  I have no idea what percentage of EM-1s have had that happen.  However the loose skin and malfunctioning rear dial I think are fairly common.  I bought a new one from Korea for 600.00 about 6 months ago.  So far nothing has happened to it.  My son bought one from the same source about 2 years ago and he's had zero problems.  So with those caveats I'd recommend the camera.  It handles extremely well I think and the 12x40 works very well on it and feels just right to me.  I dislike "brick shaped" cameras and have not bought the Pen series.  I have to think the EM-1 would be more comfortable with the larger lenses.  The cameras are so cheap now I think it would be worth your while to get one.  Just remember the things I mentioned here and if you can live with those you should enjoy the camera.  I will likely soon buy a MKII, but not because I don't like the MKI.

I am currently using the E-M1 Mkii and the Pen F.  The E-M1 Mkii is my serious camera and is usually used with the Pro lenses.  I do a lot of wildlife and BIF photography and the E-M1 Mkii is great for this type of photography.  The Pen F is my fun/social camera and I usually use it with the Premium prime lenses or the Pro 12-100 f4.0 lens.   Because I do use this larger zoom on the camera I added a RRS grip.  So far I love this combo.

hallo James, I also have the Pen-F and the M1 II and 12-40/2.8 Pro, 40-150/2.8 Pro, 7-14/2.8 Pro, 17/1.8, 25/1.8, 45/1.8, 75/1.8 and 60 mm Macro.

I don't use a certain body with a special lens. I use the Pen-F when I have time to take photos (holidays, for fun, as take-it-everywhere-with-me-cam) and the EM1 II when the speed is needed (weddings, sports, birds ...)

I use all lenses on both bodies, maybe the big 40-150/2.8 Pro I prefer on the EM1 II.

Loose skin easily fixable with a small amount of glue. No other issues with my EM1 after 4 years.  It's not obsolete at all.  I'm not planning on purchasing the mk2 for two years.

James Pilcher wrote:

I have my Pen F as my only m4/3 body since May of last year. I recently purchased the M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro. I find it a bit large, but certainly not unmanageable, on my Pen F; it made a wonderful one-camera-one-lens kit on my recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I'm now thinking about adding a second m4/3 body in the form of an E-M1. My thought is generally to split my zooms and primes between the E-M1 and the Pen F. The Pen F really excels with smallish lenses, while the E-M1 seems to be designed with bigger lenses and zooms in mind. My favorite lens on the Pen F continues to be my Oly 12mm f/2.

Are any of you splitting time between OM-D and Pen? Do you have any anecdotes to share? Is my thinking sound or faulty? I'd like to hear your experience.

Jim Pilcher
Bonita Springs, FL, USA
Life is a breeze by the sea

I use both as I also prefer to go out with two bodies. I just don't like changing lenses in the field...but I will do it. Though sometimes when I want to go really small and may do video I take the GX85 instead of the E-M1. Much to my surprise I found it focuses faster in low light.

I put the Oly grip (bit the bullet and bought used) on the Pen F because I will often go out with 12-40 on the Pen and 100-300 on the E-M1.

When I go street, I use the 12/2, the old silver one works and looks great on the silver Pen and the 25/1.4 on the E-M1. This is my museum set-up too.

I've often been tempted to sell the E-M1, but it's really my only weather-proof camera and will bring it for travel.

I've been shooting with an E-M1 for nearly four years and added a Pen F about a year ago, mainly because I wanted to use the hi-res mode for product photography. It's been great for that, but I found myself using the Pen F more and more and it has also become  my primary body for landscapes and portraits.

For events, I'll often shoot with both bodies on wrist straps, switching between a zoom on the E-M1 and a prime on the Pen F. That works well, though it takes a bit of thinking to switch between the different controls, with a few things in different places.

The E-M1 is still the video camera, because the Pen F has no external mic input and it also excels at action shooting and has in-camera focus stacking, which I like to use at times.

Hi I own and use both the pen-f and a second hand em-1 I picked up for 600.00 just recently.

On the pen I primarily use the 14-42ez, and the Panasonic 35-100 3.5 "very small and light for its range" both lenses for me at least have great color, contrast, and sharpness. I like the pen for street shooting and during social occasions.

I use the em1 when weather may be an issue with my 12-40 pro lens.  Also on the em1 I use the cheap but very sharp Olympus 40-150 and finally for extended reach I use the Panasonic 100-300 mark II lens.  That's my kit and after 30+ years of shooting I cant be happier. Well maybe once the price comes down I see an em1 mark ii in my distant future. Hope this helps you and good luck.

I have a Pen F and an E-M1ii. The Pen lives in a small Mirrorless Mover 20 bag with the 12, 17, 25 and 45 primes. The E-M1ii in a slightly larger Billingham bag with the Pany 7-14, 12-100, Sigma 30/1.4 and something attached to the body - usually the Samyang 7.5.

They are very complementary cameras and I think with this split of lenses it provides a good shooting experience for each.

I have both. The EM1 is my serious-looking, heavy kit. The 12-40 pro is more or less permanently attached. I take it when the purpose of the expedition is just photography, or I want to impress people that I have a big, black camera. I like the one-touch possibilities for focus stacking and HDR, of which I do a lot. My photography is artsy, and I almost never bother with RAW because I don't suffer from the conceit that I must somehow make the photographs as accurate as possible; they reflect what I want the scene to be, which can mean lots of post processing but never RAW.

The Pen F replaces my EM 10 as my light, or travel, kit. The body, a 9 mm body cap lens, 12-32 Panny, 25 f 1.8 oly, and my new 60 mm Sigma 2.8 all live in a roughly 12 X 12 hard shell Pelican case along with a couple of batteries, a charger, some odds and ends, and the cute little Barbie's First Flash it came with, that I never use but I'd feel bad if I left it behind. It travels well as a kit and I just take the camera and at most another lens when out and about, depending on what I'm up to.

Realistically, the IQ is basically the same from both, it's the ergonomic difference that i notice most The EM 1 feels somehow more serious and purposeful, and handles the 12-40 well. It looks silly with the little 12-32 or the body cap lens. That, and I really, really like the creative dial on the Pen F. I had  back side of the mode dial (you know, all that stuff you won't use like movie and scene) on the EM10 set up with mostly B&W mysets, the Pen F is far more elegant. Plus, the Pen F looks so amateur and non-serious and hipster film camera that I can get away with just about anything, and it's a joy to look at and hold.

James,

My situation is similar to yours and also to that of Sam in Hawaii.  I've been shooting with the EM-1 for almost three years and with the Pen-F for about three months.  I generally use the EM-1 for "serious stuff" like tripod supported nature shots or macro work.  On that camera, I use the Oly 12-40 F/2.8 Pro and the Oly 60mm F/2.8 macro lens.  I use the Pen-F for street shooting and for walking around casual shooting.  On that camera, I mount a prime lens, either the Oly 17mm F/1.8 or the Oly 25mm F/1.8.

Bill

Yes, I have a Pen-F & EM1-II. Both are great cameras, but when possible I prefer to use the EM1-II, with the 12-100 being the most used lens on it at present. When travelling the Pen-F becomes my backup body, with several smallish primes and if going out somewhere that needs a more discreet setup, then the Pen-F + primes is perfect. I agree that the larger Pro zooms feel a bit too big on the Pen-F, even the 12-40. On a recent trip I had the 75-300 on the Pen-F, to save lens changes on the EM1-II, but didn't fell this was an ideal matching of body to lens. However, because of bad weather I didn't want to be changing lenses in the field and needed the 12-100 on the EM1-II.

Prior to getting the EM1-II my combo was the EM5-II & Pen-F and prior to the Pen-F, a GM5 (great little camera for size vs results, but not as much pleasure to use as Pen-F).

I have both, and sometimes carry both. The E-M1 II will usually  have the PanLeica 100-400 on it and the Pen F with something for the wider view...Panny 12-32, Rokinon 7.5 or other. Sometimes I'll choose the Lumix LX100 in place of the Pen F if I want an even more compact sidekick to the E-M1 II.

PEN-F with the grip attached at all times. Usually used with prime lenses but the balance is much improved with zooms having the grip on.

E-M1 Mark II with grip used primarily with the 12-100mm lens and 300mm lens & 1.4X.

I find them to be a perfect combination!

Lots of sample images on Instagram under @old_steve1

I've had an E-M1 for three years (2 of them now), and picked up a used Pen F last Christmas. I have an E-P5 as well.

I use the E-M1 with the Pro lenses most of the time, but still really love my numerous Oly primes. The 25mm 1.2 lives on the Pen, and I usually carry the 12mm and 45 along with it.

Like most here, I use the E-M1 for serious large lens shooting, and the Pen F with the primes for a more casual shooting experience.