My next step - OMD 5.3 or Pen F

Many thanks to all for taking the time to respond with your experiences and views. I have purchased the PEN F and await its delivery later this week. From the posts, I am a little anxious about low light focus - I have found the EP5 teamed with either the 25 or 45 f1.8 lenses to be great low light companions so hope the F won’t be a backwards step here.

kind regards

Edward

cba_melbourne wrote:

You do not use CAF. You do not need WS. You have no old FT lenses that would work better with PDAF. You prefer the rangefinder look.

Simple diagnosis: you have fallen in love with the Pen-F. She is calling you. Now you seek a rational confirmation. I try to help you with that:

- She looks gorgeous

- She has a very premium finish and build quality, with no visible screws

- She is made of solid durable metal

- She has that magic art wheel that lets you play with black and white nostalgia

- You already own a set of prime lenses that will suit her perfectly

- She will keep her value longer than others, as she is collectable. But you will keep her for life, of course

- She is less intimidating to her victims, particularly in black

The only caveat, if you are left eyed you will have to get used to her, as your nose will want rub with her touch screen. You may find setting the focus area with your nose an interesting possibility though.

I am left eyed, but my cameras rear screen is set to turn off when bringing your eye up to the EVF, thus disabling the touch screen function. Best of both worlds!

Edward Lowy wrote:

AllFlawed wrote:

Edward Lowy wrote:

Dennis1972 wrote:

This is an easy one - 100% em5.3.

Pen-F is mediocre - all looks with no substance.

Really? What is it missing?

I would hope 4 years of development or the m43 system is really standing still.

Saying the Pen-F is mediocre is harsh but it was a camera when I saw it in the flesh rather than posed in photographs it was a bit underwhelming.

Given the obvious merits of the EM5.3 then the retrospective charm of the Pen-F the obvious sentiment for the camera can be a bit of a siren call that needs cold analysis.

Same sensor in both, and would think IQ very similar?

What are the obvious merits of the 5.3 that your cold analysis throws up?

Not the same sensor, just the same resolution. The dynamic range, noise performance, and readout speed are different, not to mention lack of PDAF in the Pen-F.

Just get the VF-2 (or VF-4 if $$ is no object) and be happy.

TEdolph

No need to worry - your EP5 will still be around ...

tedolf wrote:

Just get the VF-2 (or VF-4 if $$ is no object) and be happy.

TEdolph

I have a VF2 and really enjoy being able to look down into it. That and the tilt screen on the EP5 will be missed.

Progress, schmogress.

Edward Lowy wrote:

I have a VF2 and really enjoy being able to look down into it. That and the tilt screen on the EP5 will be missed.

Progress, schmogress.

In moving on from an E-P5, these 2 things are going to be really hard to let go! Somehow, looking down into the vf instead of holding it up to my face just feels better, sometimes. And I hate flip-out screens.

I guess there's always the GX9..

Edward Lowy wrote:

Hi folks, I wonder if I could ask for your views.

My digital DNA started with an E500 -> E510 and then into m43 with an EPL2 and for the last 7 years or so an EP5. I live in the UK and typically take family / holidays / family event type of shots.

Low point was probably the E500, the other cameras in their own ways I have really enjoyed and got - for a rank amateur - some wonderful digital memories.

My sister has just moved from Panasonic to an OMD 5.3 and it is a lovely thing and of course it gives me an itch to scratch.

Apart from a couple of Canon compacts years ago, I have really only been an Olympus kind of guy - two reasons (1) it keeps choices simpler (2) my Dad bought an OM1 all those years ago and when I was younger, I so admired it's look, build and compactness, all characteristics that epitomise m43 today. I see no reason, for my purposes, to stray outside of m43. The lenses I use most are all Oly - 45 f1.8 / 25 f1.8 / 12 f2. I have a 75-300, it is the lens I least enjoy, the 45 when I got it was a revelation.

Using the EP5 over many years now, particularly with a compact prime, it is very unobtrusive and - I think - I have got some good shots because it does not intimidate in any way. No hump = no problem?

Am tempted with a new OMD 5.3 (around £999 in the UK at the moment) - clearly a very competent piece of kit. When I sit it alongside my EP5 (with VF2 viewfinder), the 5.3 is every bit as compact and of course it has the latest tech.

On the other hand, I would probably have bought a PEN F sometime back if the prices were more reasonable. I have found a couple on eBay with shutter actuations around 2,000 in very decent condition for about £650. I can buy new from the Netherlands for about £860.

What to do folks? My guess is that the majority of "better" in both the 5.3 and the F are the 20 mp sensor when compared to my EP5. Am sure the 5.3 will do some peripheral things better / faster / smarter, but do I need best / fastest / smartest in reality?

My ideal would be a PEN F2, but I just don't see Olympus doing that and think that the F may well be end of line for this style of camera. I could of course just stay as I am!

TIA

Edward

I see you are a PEN user, therefore...I salute you sir:) Hmm, maybe time to switch it up and buy the EM5 3 and given the AF performance, perhaps it'll open new opportunities for you...or, just keep collecting PEN bodies.

Thanks THKPIC

I notice suddenly a few threads on DPR about the PEN F just at the moment - I am definitely behind the curve in coming from an EP5 to the PEN F (my choice was F or 5.3 but I have decided to go for the sheer gorgeousness of the Pen.

Inevitably when posting, there are genuinely supportive comments from some (much appreciated), and definite barbs from others (why do they need to do that?). It seems to me that a lot of folk can't see beyond the allure of the technical specs of the latest camera but I'm being honest in saying the the EP5 is way better than me, let alone anything newer than it.

When I look at the photos that I have taken over many years that I most treasure, few of them are technically the best, but in terms of bringing back memories and emotions of the moment, they mean a lot to me, and I recall the enjoyment of taking the photo in the first place.

Joy is in the imperfection. It's never been about the clinical stuff for me.

My only gripe with MBP is their refusal to  publish any shutter counts ,( along with Jessops , )at leasr WEX and Park cameras provide that info

Edward Lowy wrote:

Thanks THKPIC

I notice suddenly a few threads on DPR about the PEN F just at the moment - I am definitely behind the curve in coming from an EP5 to the PEN F (my choice was F or 5.3 but I have decided to go for the sheer gorgeousness of the Pen.

Inevitably when posting, there are genuinely supportive comments from some (much appreciated), and definite barbs from others (why do they need to do that?). It seems to me that a lot of folk can't see beyond the allure of the technical specs of the latest camera but I'm being honest in saying the the EP5 is way better than me, let alone anything newer than it.

When I look at the photos that I have taken over many years that I most treasure, few of them are technically the best, but in terms of bringing back memories and emotions of the moment, they mean a lot to me, and I recall the enjoyment of taking the photo in the first place.

Photo's that appeal to you because they have a personal meaning, and photo's that appeal to the general population are very different animals.

Joy is in the imperfection. It's never been about the clinical stuff for me.

For most 3rd party viewers, technical perfection isn't even perceivable.  For me, the most important thing is how easy is the camera to use.  In that regard, I still miss my E-pl1.  It was very simple.  The E-p5 is very complex and I have never really made peace with it.

Tedolph

So I went for the PEN-F.

The Tulip

The camera is a thing of beauty, joy and wonder. However, once I've got over that, I have to agree that it seems to struggle more than the EP5 to focus in low light conditions. That maybe a perception as without trying precise back to back comparisons with both bodies and the same lenses, it is difficult to be rigorous about the facts. I just sense that where the EP5 would have locked focus, the F puts up more of a fight.

My second point is who on earth thinks that a fully articulating screen is an improvement on the oh so functional so street friendly so unobtrusive just tilt perfection of the EP5? Madness. Twisting the pesky thing out is obtrusive, slow and presents a much bigger presence to the subject to whom you are trying to be invisible.

But what a lovely device to hold and use. I need to spend more time with it, to really get to know it, the EP5 fitting me like a glove through many years of use. Love the dial on the front for instant Mono and Creative effects - why would anyone object to this? It lets you try things, experiment and learn, what is not to like about that? If you don't approve, don't use it.

Is IQ actually better than the EP5 - in everyday use, I have to say it's marginal if at all. Perhaps if you're blowing things up substantially, it maybe.

Anyways, pleased with my purchase from a charming gent on eBay and loving the excuse it gives me to take more pictures and learn more about Lightroom and photography generally.

My vote is for the Pen-F.  A lovely, lovely camera that is infinitely enjoyable to shoot.

if you want super fast AF, the e-m1ii has come down in price quite a bit.

The e-m5iii, with its plastic body and flimsy tripod socket prone to breaking, is just not in the same classics league.

Edward Lowy wrote:

My second point is who on earth thinks that a fully articulating screen is an improvement on the oh so functional so street friendly so unobtrusive just tilt perfection of the EP5? Madness. Twisting the pesky thing out is obtrusive, slow and presents a much bigger presence to the subject to whom you are trying to be invisible.

But what a lovely device to hold and use. I need to spend more time with it, to really get to know it, the EP5 fitting me like a glove through many years of use. Love the dial on the front for instant Mono and Creative effects - why would anyone object to this? It lets you try things, experiment and learn, what is not to like about that? If you don't approve, don't use it.

Ha! I could not agree more with both of these points! The E-P5 needs a real successor, and I'm not quite sure the Pen F is it. I'm glad you like it; hopefully Olympus will continue with this design trend.

I must be the only Pen F photographer that has no issues photographing in low light. I have been a paid photographer for the last 7 years (42 live plays). The vast majority of these plays are photographed in low light, just the nature of most plays. Three of the last 7 years have been using an Olympus Pen F with an Olympus 12-40/2.8 lens. I shoot the dress rehearsals which allows me to walk back & forth directly in front of the stage w/o worry of an audience. In those 3 years using the Pen F w/12-40/2.8 lens, I have only had one instance where the camera really struggled to focus. That was a scene where the stage was in darkness with the only light being a small 12" tv lighting up their faces as they sat on a couch looking at it. All these reports of how bad the focus is in low light just has me shaking my head.

Here are a few images that show the typical type of lighting that the Pen F has no problem with. The second image is the only image where the AF struggled. What wasn't moving is rather sharp but their heads were moving & they are somewhat blurred. Image 3, 5 & 6 are of the actors on a second floor balcony & me looking up. Oops, the first image was shot with my OM5.2 with my OM 14-150 lens

FIRST true profundity I have seen here today!!!  

<<Progress, schmogress.>>

For its weather-sealing, I was thinking of the E-M5 III myself, since my E-M10 II seems more prone to throw tantrums with humidity and temperature changes than my remaining pocket zooms Olympus SH-50 and SH-1 do.

But there are too many reports of the E-M5 III bottom plate shattering. Photos shown suggest that the bottom plate has enough thickness to be mechanically stable. My feeling is, a cheap quality of plastic is being used, possibly chosen for price alone. I have come across one production manager last century who did that with solder baths.

To my knowledge, the Pen F has no reports about shattering bodies, or excessive sensitivity to weather conditions.

The lack of complaints about the Pen F implies it is one of the Olympus models that just keeps on working - hence no big discussions about it.

True, I am not in the market for either, but in this time of industrial disruption, I would choose an established model.

Henry

Henry Falkner wrote:

For its weather-sealing, I was thinking of the E-M5 III myself, since my E-M10 II seems more prone to throw tantrums with humidity and temperature changes than my remaining pocket zooms Olympus SH-50 and SH-1 do.

But there are too many reports of the E-M5 III bottom plate shattering. Photos shown suggest that the bottom plate has enough thickness to be mechanically stable. My feeling is, a cheap quality of plastic is being used, possibly chosen for price alone. I have come across one production manager last century who did that with solder baths.

To my knowledge, the Pen F has no reports about shattering bodies, or excessive sensitivity to weather conditions.

The lack of complaints about the Pen F implies it is one of the Olympus models that just keeps on working - hence no big discussions about it.

True, I am not in the market for either, but in this time of industrial disruption, I would choose an established model.

Henry

The Pen F has a full magnesium body. No plastic here.