A new PEN-F camera

The Olympus PEN-F is a small pocketable camera released in 2016 which, though I rarely use it anymore, I know I will never sell. Apparently, it’s a fan favourite too; its second-hand price is higher than what you’d expect for an 8-year-old camera, and every time OM-System releases something, inevitable comments turn to “Will they make a new PEN-F one day?”

Which is understandable. There are a few reasons why one might gravitate to a Micro-Four-Thirds camera, and without going into depth on sensor size and the benefits and drawbacks (I’ll save that for a follow-up); size is definitely one valid reason for choosing the M43 camera system.

The Olympus PEN-F, originally released in 2016.

The PEN-F was a great small camera: excellent hardware, interchangeable lenses, it slides into any pocket, and it just feels great in the hand. The dials are beautifully tactile and turn with exactly the right amount of effort. The exposure compensation dial is harder to dial, but that’s the exact point. While I would drop some dials – more on that later – they are all really well done.

Another favourite of mine is its flip-out tilting screen, and I much prefer it to a screen that only tilts. I love shooting in portrait mode closer to the ground and trying slightly unusual perspectives, and these flip-out screens are perfect for that.

Olympus PEN-F – The tilting screen allows for ultimate flexibility in camera angles.

Leica Q – Practical in landscape orientation, but in portrait they’re of no help.

The PEN-F also has great image stabilisation. I can easily hand-hold a long exposure and take pictures in low light, it’s impressive. It has great autofocus, white balance, colour reproduction and all that. In short, it was a great camera when it was released.

Making a better PEN-F
However, it’s 8 years old now, so, if OM-System were to release a new PEN camera, what should they change, add, or improve? Here are a few things I would love to see. I’ve got 5 obvious ones and three perhaps surprising ones. Let’s start with the obvious ones:

1. Updated sensor & processor. This is the obvious one, of course. Just take the same ones that are in the OM-1. Yes, this would keep the camera at 20MP and that’s totally fine, stick a small zoom lens on it or take an extra tiny prime lenses with you and you never need to crop really. OM-System’s range of f1.8 prime lenses is great.

2. A new menu system. The OM-1 shipped with a great new menu system, and the newer OM-5, for inexplicable reasons, stuck to the old menu system. One looks modern, works great and the other one looks distinctly year 2000-ish and has an inscrutable menu structure.

3. USB-C charging. I should be able to charge the camera with a USB-C cable, the same cable I can use to charge my laptop, my phone, my tablet and everything. For something pocketable, travel-ready, I think it’s a must. My OM-1 does, and once again, for inexplicable reasons, the OM-5 does not.

4. Weather sealing. This was the main thing people held against the original PeEN-F and rightly so. Fortunately, OM System excels at weather sealing, so I don’t doubt it’ll make its way to a new version.

5. Upgrade the display and EVF. I’m not exactly sure what pixel density and refresh rate it uses, but the OM-1 has a superb EVF, which the moment I looked through it, I knew I wanted that camera. Honestly, that is the first thing I noticed that immediately convinced me I wanted to upgrade.

New menu system left, on the right the old one. Of note are the gradients, and the picture of the camera to remind you what you’re holding. On the left, though, I’d argue we don’t need those grey boxes, but I’ll write about that another time.

Off the beaten track
The above improvements would all make sense, I think, and should be in no way contentious. They’re also not really worth writing about – it’s been 8 years, bring the hardware up to 2024 levels. It would only be surprising if OM System didn’t make these changes!

I do also have three possibly less obvious requests though:

1. Simplify the hardware. I want fewer dials! The PEN-F is a beautiful camera, but it has too many buttons and dials. There are 4 dials on top and one on the front; the classic P/A/S/M dial,  front dial, a back dial, an exposure compensation dial (which only works in some modes) and an “Art” dial on the front – more about that later. At a fundamental level though, I never felt like I really understood my camera: the menu system and overload of buttons and dials that did different things in different modes is just too much for an amateur photographer. The PEN-F was never meant to be a professional’s camera anyway; I don’t think we need three extra programmable FN buttons?

2. Buttons. While early on I raved about the quality of the dials on top of the camera, the buttons on the back of the camera feel distinctly cheaper, almost as if the top and front of the camera were designed by different teams than the back. I’d love to see those buttons improved and feel more tactile.

3. Ditch the Art dial. As rare as it is to argue for fewer features, I would argue that case here. The Art dial on the front of the camera leads you into a very finicky and hard to learn UI for choosing different art effects – and gradations in those – that get baked into your JPG files. Camera makers are generally not great at making good user interfaces, and I can hold this entire section up as a prime example of that. I think the camera is better off without it. We all know how to edit images on our phones; focus on getting the pictures off the camera as fast as possible instead. While the promise of the ‘fun’ Art filters could be considered interesting, if you can’t find your way around, it only makes the experience worse; nobody likes to be made to feel stupid.

That’s a lot of dials – too many if you ask me.

I’m really hoping there will be a refreshed PEN-F camera. While OM System, after the rebrand/relaunch, focussed (probably justly) on the nature and wildlife photographers, I hope they’ll try their hand again at the PEN-F; I’m sure they could do an amazing job.