OLYMPUS PEN E-P7

The first camera from the new owner of the Olympus brand impresses

- James Artaius

www.olympus.co.uk £749/€799 (body only)

The Olympus PEN E-P7 is a surprising camera. While the world was waiting to see what OM Digital Solutions, new steward of the Olympus brand, would do with its first product, nobody predicted that it would resurrect the E-P series of PEN cameras. In doing so, however, it has not only breathed new life into the pedestrian PEN line, it has also shown that it isn’t afraid to shake things up.

There hasn’t been an entry in this series since 2013’s PEN E-P5, a cult classic among Micro Four Thirds users. The PEN E-P7 combines the finesse and form factor of its predecessor, a Profile Control switch inspired by the fan-favourite PEN-F, and the functionality of the new OM-D E-M10 Mark IV. The result is the best nonOM-D Olympus camera we’ve seen since the PEN-F, as well as one of the best cameras around for travel and street photography, as well as vlogging.

Key features

While the PEN E-P series has been dormant since 2013, the PEN E-PL (‘PEN Lite’) line has undergone a disappointing rinse-and-refresh for the past few years. Indeed, the PEN E-PL10 and E-PL9 were both lumbered with an outdated 16MP image sensor and three-axis in-body image stabilisation that were holdovers from the original, seven-year-old OM-D E-M10.

By contrast, the E-P7 takes its spec cues from the latest E-M10 Mark IV. It packs the same 20.3MP sensor with improved AF performance (though it is still contrast-detect), the same five-axis IBIS that’s good for 4.5 stops of stabilisation, and the same 4K 30p video – which benefits from the silky smooth IBIS in a way that larger APS-C and full-frame sensors can only dream of.