Olympus Pen

Olympus Corporation's camera division since has been bought by Japan Industrial Partners, and run under the OM Digital Solutions name.

A series of derivatives followed, some easier to use with the introduction of exposure automation, e.g. the Pen EE; others with a wider aperture lens and a manual meter, such as the Pen D. In 1966 the arrival of the Rollei 35, a camera almost as compact but making normal 24×36 exposures, would announce the beginning of the end for the half-frame concept.

The original Pen is a very compact half-frame camera, with just a viewfinder, no meter and fully manual settings.

The Pen D2, launched in 1964, is the same model with an uncoupled CdS exposure meter replacing the selenium one.

The Pen EE was introduced in 1961 and was the amateur model, with fully automatic exposure and fixed focusing.

The Pen EE family is easily recognized by the selenium meter window around the lens.

[1] The Pen EE.S, launched in 1962, is the same model with a 30mm f/2.8 and a focusing ring, made necessary by the wider aperture.

The focusing ring has marking for three zones (close (1.2m), group (3m), and scene) and can be adjusted from 90cm to infinity.

[4] The Pen EE.D, produced from 1967 to 1972, is a more expensive automated-exposure model, with a CdS meter, a 32mm f/1.7 lens, a self timer and a hot shoe.

After 8 years, the main E-P series got updated in 2021, now under OM Digital Solutions' leadership.

The E-P7 shares a lot of its internals with the OM-D E-M10 Mark IV, but the design resembles the PEN-F.

The E-PL1 had a fastest shutter speed of 1/2000s instead of 1/4000s, a little bit smaller LCD screen (2.7" vs 3") and less premium material usage.

The E-PL5 was the first PEN Lite model to include the E-M5's 16 MP sensor, but maintaining the 3-axis image stabilization from the older cameras.

The E-PL7 was actually announced one month later with a design change, built-in Wi-Fi and a selfie-friendly higher resolution LCD screen.

ISO sensitivity was cut back from 25,600 to 6,400; however, it packed 4K video recording and reintroduced the built-in flash in the PEN Lite range.

It is not necessarily smaller than the higher-end PEN models, but it simplifies the controls to make the camera more beginner-friendly.

The PEN-F was also the first Olympus camera to use the new, 20 MP sensor, which later ended up in professional bodies like the E-M1 Mark II.

The app will show a live preview of your image via a Wi-Fi connection to the camera and let you control a host of camera functions from zoom to new art filters before you take the shot which will then download to your smartphone to let you post on social media.

This article was originally based on "Olympus Pen" in Camerapedia, retrieved at an unknown date under the GNU Free Documentation License.

The first Olympus Pen, 1959
Pen D3
EE.S
EE.3
EE.D
PEN F
Olympus PEN E-P1 , the first digital PEN camera
Olympus EP-5, the last of the PEN series cameras made under ownership of the Olympus Corporation before the purchase of the brand by OM Digital Solutions.
The Olympus PEN E-PL1 was a cheaper and more beginner-friendly alternative to the E-P1 and E-P2
The E-PL7 was the first Olympus camera to have a selfie-friendly LCD screen
The E-PM2 was an even more beginner friendly version of the E-PL5.
The 2016 Olympus PEN-F pays tribute to the old 1960's PEN F-series half-frame cameras with its name and design