Comments on: Olympus Pen F vs OMD EM5 II

By: David Fleet

David Fleet — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:48:23 +0000

In reply to Paul J Genin.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

All the best
David

By: Paul J Genin

Paul J Genin — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 22:00:34 +0000

In reply to Bret M. Thank you for the nicely written comparison!

By: thecotswold

thecotswold — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 19:29:59 +0000

In reply to Jeff.

Sorry I don’t know what your referring to when you mention viewfinder fail. I haven’t had a viefinder fail on any camera that I’ve owned. The only thing I think I mentioned in this review (and it was a long time ago) was that the rubber eye piece on the viewfinder kept coming off.

I owned a G9 and wasn’t a particular fan of the EVF despite it gaining praise for its resolution at the time.

I agree to an extent with weather sealing although old cameras (if were talking film) didnt have a host of fancy electronics inside them. I didn’t have weather sealed cameras when I lived in the Outer Hebrides and like you say, when it really chucked it down I put the camera in my bag or under my jacket. However I appreciate weather sealing on cameras now, not to keep rain out so much as to be able to cope with freezing or humid conditions without either failing or misting up and getting condensation inside on the sensitive electronics. I’m not talking about a few rain drops, I’m talking about the freezing conditions encountered in Scotland in winter or the torrential downpours and humidity experienced in Asia.

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 18:07:49 +0000

Eye sensor fail? The PEN-F eye sensor is alongside the EVF, spectacles can be a problem with it. I prefer to correct the EVF for my eyeball and push my glasses out of the way, without scratching the monitor. That performance is easier with the E-M5ii.
That the E-M5ii eye sensor not detecting can be down to the hole in the eyecup. I have had to change a couple of eye cups as cleaning them of eww doesn’t always seem to fix them. I use the wide eyecup (EP-16) for the E-M5ii which seem more secure than the basic one.
Higher magnification in the EVF is all very well but I want to see from side to side without swivelling my eyeball. The EVF magnification in the Lumix G9 is huge, fortunately is has three levels, I’ve had to reduce it to 120%. Bigger is not always better.
The E-M5ii, PEN-F, GH4, G7, E-PL7+VF4 all have the same pixel count in the EVF and monitor
Unless you take your camera into the shower, and why would you do that, weatherproofing is not really a thing. Cameras of old were not waterproof but we still used them in the rain, take the shot and then tuck it back inside under your coat. A few raindrops will not hurt them.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 26 Sep 2021 10:26:44 +0000

Good comparison. I’ve had the E-M5ii (and other MFT) for years but only recently got the PEN-F. Perhaps expecting a more competent E-PL7. Which it is but there again not. The PEN-F and E-M5ii are very similar on spec. The E-M5ii I would call a conventional digital stills camera, a very competent one with good haptics. The PEN-F I immediately found to be a bit different from other cameras. It lends itself to more creative work, able to emulate film stock, and pushes you to produce sooc jpeg, to get it right in the camera first go as we did with film. Which I try to do anyway, finding raw post-processing from Panalympus to be a bit redundant. I find the +/-EV wheel great, allowing you to adjust the metering on the fly even with Auto-ISO in ‘M’ mode. The Lumix G9 has that but it is the size of a half brick, and extremely competent. I could wish Olympus would let us swap metering modes on the fly as they’re used in different situations and can have their values altered e.g. spot metering for backlit usually wants a little more exposure but may well want a nudge back down or a little more added.
I’m finding the main thing on the PEN-F is that knob on the front making you want to play with colour and mono film emulation profiles.
As of September 2021, Olympus have handed the camera business over to a management company. Olympus will continue to make the cameras. But will we see as much innovation? I do not think we will see a PEN-F Mark.2

By: Ying Zhang

Ying Zhang — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 10:49:51 +0000

I’m very late to this review. But with the recent news of Oly exiting camera business I actually went and bought a whole bunch of gears from them including a Pen-F.

One thing I love is the creative dial. Not sure why so many reviews complain about it but it’s letting me taking some images I never would have bothered to create in PP.

I am travelling though and at time I will only be carrying a em1.3 and em5.3 combo. Adding a Pen-F to the travel kit would be unreasonable.

This I’ve been trying to replicate the Pen-F’s BW mode 2 on the OMDs. I can sort of getting the contrast and curve similar but I cant figure out how to simulate the grains on the OMDs.

Have you find a way to do this? Thank you.

By: thecotswold

thecotswold — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 12:52:59 +0000

In reply to Mo. Thanks for commenting. Appreciate it.

By: Mo

Mo — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 15:33:38 +0000

Thanks for a great review / comparison

By: David

David — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 04:43:11 +0000

In reply to Bret M. Hi Bret, Thanks for commenting. I don't think you will be disappointed with the Pen F. Did you get one in the end?

By: Bret M

Bret M — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 01:14:19 +0000

I really enjoyed your review. I’m looking to purchase one of these two cameras shortly – I already have the original E-M5 and a Panasonic G85 and logically I wanted the EM-5 II because I love how great the viewfinder is on the G85 compared to the lower resolution and smaller one of the E-M5. However, I think I’m going to go for the Pen F because as you say, it looks like it is inspiring to shoot. I already have a larger viewfinder m43 camera and I’d like something to take out for casual shooting where it doesn’t just stay slung over my shoulder the entire time. Plus, it’ll look nice next to my ’66 Pen F on the display shelf at home when I’m not using it!

Thanks again.