Olympus's $1,200 PEN-F focuses on street photography

As far as I can tell, Olympus' marketing for its interchangeable-lens cameras has devolved into left-brain/right-brain distinctions (despite the theory being discredited). Its OM-D series is the serious, performance-oriented left-brain model, while the PEN series, as evidenced by its new PEN-F, is your artsy right-brain option. If so, Olympus feels the right brain needs quick access to color and filter controls for moody street photography, but doesn't require a grip or weather sealing, despite that you'd expect both for the camera's hefty $1,200 (£1,000; approximately AU$1,700 directly converted) body-only price tag.

Olympus rejuvenates another classic PEN (pictures)

+6 More

See all photos

That's not to say it doesn't have a lot of Olympus' most current technology packed into it. In July, Panasonic beat Olympus to the punch by incorporating the highest-resolution 20.3MP (for the Micro Four-Thirds mount) sensor into its GX8 interchangeable-lens model, and with the PEN-F Olympus comes back with a direct competitor to that model.

The rest of the camera, save the design, is pure OM-D E-M5 Mark II, except the viewfinder and electronic shutter (for fast, silent shooting) which it gets from the E-M10 Mark II. That means Olympus' excellent Sync IS stabilization (a hybrid of optical and sensor-shift) and fast autofocus system.

It also features novel capabilities like 4K Time Lapse (it takes up to 999 shots and automatically creates a movie with frames in 3,840x2,160-pixel resolution); Live Bulb, for continuous preview of long-exposure shots; Live Time, which is essentially the same thing except for the way you control the length of the exposure; and Live Composite, which takes multiple exposures of varying duration and combines them in such a way as to keep from blowing out brightly lit areas while still capturing dimmer lights, with continuous display of the cumulatively updated image. And if offers the 80MP high-resolution mode when shooting on a tripod.

Although named after a classic Olympus film camera of yesteryear, the PEN-F bears more resemblance to current OM-D series models than its film predecessor, or even than the company's original retro PEN design, the E-P1. But you can tell it's a premium camera because some of its major distinguishing selling points are aluminum dials, no visible screws, rounded controls and enticing leather accessories.

The most notable aspect of the design -- which it mimics from the film version -- is a large dial stuck to the front. On the film camera it was used for shutter speed, but here it controls color settings and art filters, which the PEN-F has in abundance. It will also let you save custom profiles for legacy and oddball lenses so that they register properly in EXIF metadata.

My take

The PEN-F looks and sounds like a fine camera but the similarly sized GX8 seems to offer so much more for the same money (or less in some regions): dust-and-weather sealing, a bigger tilting viewfinder and 4K video. It's not quite as quirky looking, and Olympus' Art Filters are nicer to work with than Panasonic's equivalent, but I guess how heavily you weigh those attractions depends upon how Instagrammy you are. I don't know about you, but I'd find the weather resistance and a tilting viewfinder more useful for street photography. Since this becomes Olympus' current image-quality flagship, however, it will be interesting to see how it compares to Panasonic on that front.

Comparative specs