PEN E-P7 HERALDS RETURN OF THE OLYMPUS BRAND

New travel camera is first under new owners – and it looks familiar

OM Digital Solutions has announced the Olympus PEN E-P7 – the first new Olympus camera of the new era, under new ownership – and it’s a familiar-looking travel camera with upgraded specs.

Almost exactly a year ago, the Olympus Corporation announced it was selling its cameras division to a Japanese investment fund, which led to the creation of a subsidiary called OM Digital Solutions. It’s this company, which will continue using the Olympus brand name, that has launched the Olympus PEN E-P7, making it the first camera released under the new owners. But the E-P7 is by no means a break from the past – in fact, its spec sheet suggests it’s very much a product of its previous owners, and was probably already in the pipeline prior to the sale.

The PEN E-P7’s name suggests that it’s the spiritual successor to the Olympus PEN E-P5, which launched back in 2013. But it’s perhaps more fitting to call it a compact, viewfinder-less version of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV from last year.

Like the E-M10 Mark IV, the E-P7 combines a 20MP Four Thirds sensor with a Truepic VIII processor, a combination that has historically

produced impressive, smartphonebeating snaps with good dynamic range. A Four Thirds sensor might not be as large as an APS-C chip, let alone the sensors inside the best full-frame cameras, but it’s large enough to produce superior results to the best camera phones.

This image quality is boosted by the inclusion of a 5-axis in-body image stabilisation system (IBIS), which gives you up to 4.5 stops of compensation. This is still relatively unusual in such a small body, and is helpful for both shooting in low light (where you need longer shutter speeds to preserve image quality) and handheld video.

The main differences between the new camera and the pricier OM-D E-M10 IV are in the E-P7’s design.

While you miss out on an electronic viewfinder, which can be helpful when shooting in brighter conditions, you do get a stylish, compact body that weighs just 337g, or 430g when combined with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-f/5.6 EZ kit zoom.

And while the E-P7 is very much a photography-centric camera, it does at least shoot 4K/30p video too, albeit without the phase-detection autofocus or microphone inputs of true vlogging cameras like the Sony ZV-1.

Strangely, the Olympus PEN E-P7 will only be going on sale in Asia and Europe initially, with no US release in the cards right now. This is perhaps because those two markets have proven to be the most popular for classic travel cameras of this kind.

On paper, the E-P7 could certainly repeat the success of some of its PEN forebears, which are all inspired by the design of Olympus’ film cameras from the 1960s. It has almost identical specs to the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV, which is one of our favourite beginner cameras and also one of the best travel cameras, so the omens are promising for the E-P7.

On the other hand, it remains to be seen how many people will be looking to upgrade their travel camera this year given pandemic-related restrictions, and the E-P7 doesn’t exactly reinvent the genre. It’s effectively some existing tech repackaged in an albeit charming and attractive body.

Another slight downer is the price. The Olympus PEN E-P7 is available in either black-and-silver or white-andsilver for £749 (body-only) or £849 with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 EZ kit lens.

This seems a little pricey considering you can currently buy the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV, which has an electronic viewfinder, for less.