It will succeed on three counts:
1. Performance of the stabilising mechanisms.
The Olympus camera uses more stabilising elements than other cameras. It compensates more for what people and circumstance do during shooting and as a result there is a better chance of the camera returning a sharp photo. It cannot entirely eliminate the effects of vibration if the user has attached it to a hammer drill or is taking pictures in Christchurch, NZ, but pretty near anything short of that will be within limits.
2. Adjustability of the colour and monochrome parameters.
This camera features a dial on the right front face that allows the user to start the process of adjusting the rendering of the view. It is further modified by a toggle switch on the back and produces a very great many choices of saturation, curves, grain and tone. This is the experimenter's dream camera, but it can also be a workhorse in a number of fields once the user has worked out exactly what they want to set and where. There are 4 custom channels, which is a full complement by any measure. You can set it and forget it, which is what you will do if you get lost in all the options open to you.
3. Styling.
The key style features are Pen F body shape, front colour control wheel, positive on-off switch in the same position as an old film rewind knob, and the rounded housing just above the left-hand-side electronic viewfinder. It just looks right and cool.
Last night's shop launch of the Pen F was started by Domenic Papalia, continued on a technical note by Burke Flynn, and capped off with the shooting experiences of Rod Lawson-Kerr. There was a good audience and everyone would have come away with something valuable. The camera and accessories - and a bunch of attractive Olympus lenses - are all in-store right now.
Click here for Pen-F pre-order and
here for the entire Olympus range in store now
