I’ve been using Olympus Pen cameras for the last five years now and as you know I’m a huge fan! All my blog & Instagram photography is shot on Pen… But recently I’ve been getting to grips with the Olympus OMD E-M10 and am loving it too! There are some amazing deals on both right now – the Pen E-PL8 at a crazy low price (with STYLO150) – so which one is right for you?…
The offers!
Use STYLO150 to get £150 off the models below until October 15 2019.
Olympus Pen E-PL8 now £249, down from £399
Olympus OMD E-M10 ii now £299, down from £449
Olympus Pen E-PL9 now £354, down from £504
And STYLO20 for any other kit (eg. any fab prime lenses like my fave 17mm f1/8) anytime at Olympus for 20% off.
*This post is a paid partnership with Olympus
So, the Olympus Pen E-PL9 or OMD E-M10?
I’ve made a video too to help explain things!
The most important thing to understand is that the menu system is the same on each camera, so if you know how to navigate one you will be fine with the other! Also it’s worth noting that the inner workings of the cameras are essentially the same, both the Pen E-PL series and OMD E-M10s take great quality pictures! They really pack a punch for such a small package, and with a lovely prime lens you’re hard pushed to tell the difference from a DSLR camera.
Both models use similar images processors, producing same size high-resolution pictures and most importantly for editing on the go, have the Wifi functionality which let’s you import images straight onto your phone and also (life-changing if you need photographs of yourself for your content!) allows you to use your phone as remote where you can see yourself on screen. (See what I mean in my Olympus Pen For Blogging & Instagram post here.)
Buy Olympus OMD E-M10 ii here for £299 – down from £449 – with code STYLO150
What differs is that the Pen and OMD have slightly different software and hardware details, so I’m going to talk you through these:
• The OMD has a viewfinder, which the Pen doesn’t. The viewfinder is essential to some, although people are more and more comfortable with using the screen I’m finding. BUT the viewfinder is amazing when you’re shooting in sunny conditions when it’s too bright to use the screen. So this summer, away in Corsica and Portugal, I favoured the OMD for this reason.
• However, the Pen has a much higher flipout screen, so if you are a foodie type who likes to take ‘from above’ photos, the Pen screen means you can do this without having to stand on a chair or table, lol. The OMD screen only flips out a little. (see pic below)
• Size – the OMD is slightly heavier and chunkier, not much, but the built-in flash does mean I can’t slip it in some of my smaller bags, whereas the Pen I can.
• Buttons & dials – the OMD has more (which if you like assigning certain functions to things means you have more options!). The Pen still does all the same things, just in a more streamlined way.
• Design – entirely up to personal taste this one! Though the Pen design evolved from the original 1960s Pen camera and some feel is just more beautiful and retro looking than the OMD! I have to say I like them both now, but I only had eyes for Pen for the last few years lol!
Buy Olympus Pen E-PL9 here for £354 – down from £504 – with code STYLO150
But if you’ve decided the Pen is for you, should you go for the latest model E-PL9 or last year’s E-PL8?
If you have decided that the Pen is for you, but don’t know whether to snap up the E-PL8 (currently at its lowest price with STYLO150) or to spend a bit more on the E-PL9 (also reduced tho!), have a read of the differences below. Overall, unless the flash, 4k video & triggering video recording remotely is an essential to you, I would definitely go for the E-PL8 as the price is unmissable! But here are the main differences, so you can decide…
• Flash – the E-PL8 doesn’t have a built in flash, the E-PL9 does.
• Video recording can be triggered remotely on the E-PL9, but not the E-PL8.
• The E-PL9 has the new AP mode which allows easy access to things like Double Exposure and HRD. The E-PL8 does do all these things, just deeper in the menu system.
• The E-PL9 has the latest Olympus image processor, so will produce slightly better quality images, but IMHO not noticeably so.
• The E-PL9 has a few new art filters to play with.
• The E-PL9 has a timer when using the screen flipped out for a selfie.
Buy Olympus Pen E-PL8, £249 with code STYLO150
The Olympus E-PL8 also comes in my favourite tan (You can buy here – with code STYLO150)
Or if you love the Limited Edition blue, then this comes in the E-PL9 model. (Buy Olympus Pen E-PL9 here for £354 with code STYLO150)
I hope this had been useful! And please do shout me any questions in the comments below or DM me on Instagram @stylonylon
After a full 10 years of using micro 4/3 cameras I am now using only Olympus cameras, an EM5 11 with the 17mm f1.8, 25mm f1.8 and 45mm f1.8 prime lenses. The OMD EM5 11 uses the same sensor as the Pen 8/9 and the EM10 11/111 so the results will be much the same. I know that you like the 17mm f1.8 but the 45mm f1.8 is about the same physical size with the 25mm f1.8 being just a fraction longer ! I do not know how Olympus manage to pack such high quality in to such small lenses, other than to say that micro 4/3 is a wonderful format. I have been involved with photography for about 50 years now and think the Olympus range are the best that I have ever used.
Some people ask why Olympus use the “OM” letters in the name of the cameras with viewfinders. Olympus wanted to honour Mr Yoshihisa Maitani, the designer of the original OM1 in 1972, hence “OM”. Useful information indeed !
Yes so agree! And I could not be happier for it – dragging around a bigger DSLR was not for me! Yes, the 17mm f1.8 is def my preferred lenses, but I was thinking how good it is to use a different lenses every now and then to change things up, and the 45mm f1.8 does take completely fabulous shots. Wow, it’s amazing to hear from someone with such experience so impressed with these cameras, glad I am not wrong 🙂 and I always wondered that about about the OM – I have an old OM lens I bought from eBay which is a beauty, and I never knew! Thanks for commenting!
When the OM1 first arrived in 1972 I worked in photo retail. The OM1 was small and light and it attracted a lot of interest. In those days there was no Olympus UK, the importer was David Williams at Glasshouse Yard London and I remember going there. Have you ever used one of the original Pen half frame cameras ? Our big seller was the Trip 35, the original metal body version with a D (D = 4 element ) Zuiko lens. It was really easy to use, a selenium light meter so no battery.