Olympus Pen E-P7 announced, specs, price, availability confirmed

OM Digital Solutions has announced the Olympus Pen E-P7, which blends the ease of use of the Olympus E-PL range with some of the most popular features of the Olympus Pen-F.

Inside the Olympus Pen E-P7 is a 20.3Mp Four Thirds type sensor paired with the TruePic VIII processing engine, which is the same processor as is in the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II. This combination enables 4K (3840×2160) video to be recorded at up to 30p and at 102Mbps with the 5-axis image stabilisation. Alternatively, full-HD footage can be recorded at up to 60p or 720P video can be recorded at up to 120p.

The Pen E-P7 can also shoot at up to 8.7fps (frames per second) when the mechanical shutter is in use, or at up to 15fps with the electronic shutter.

OM Digital Solutions has given the Pen E-P7 a dual-dial control system for easy and fast setting adjustments. In addition, the top plate has a mode dial for setting the exposure mode with the enthusiast’s favourites of program, aperture priority, shutter priority, manual and Bulb mode featuring alongside Auto, Scene, Art Filter, video and Advanced Photo (AP) mode.

A control on the front of the Pen E-P7 enables it to be switched between shooting colour and monochrome images, applying one of a collection of colour profile presets. These profiles can also be customised using on-screen controls.

There are also 16 Art Filters available on the Pen E-P7 to give Jpegs a particular appearance, and the options within Advanced Photo mode (Live Composite, Live Time, Multiple Exposure, HDR Backlight, Silent, Panorama, Keystone Compensation, AE bracketing, AF bracketing) are designed to make it easy to capture tricky scenes.

The autofocus system uses contrast detection and there are up to 121 points available for selection. In addition, the Pen E-P7 features Face Priority / Eye Priority AF to make it easier to get portraits sharp.

While the Olympus Pen E-P7 doesn’t have a viewfinder, its 3-inch 1,037,000-dot touchscreen can be tilted for easier viewing. It can also be flipped through 180° to face forwards to help with shooting selfies and vlogging.

As we’d expect, the Olympus Pen E-P7 has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity on board to enable fast image sharing as well as allowing the camera to be controlled remotely by a smartphone. In addition, the battery can be charged in-camera via a USB connection to the mains or a power bank such as the Biolite Charge 80 PD.

Olympus Pen E-P7 price and availability

The Olympus Pen E-P7 price tag is £749/€799 body only and £849/€899 with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ lens. The camera is set to go on sale in mid-June 2021 and is available in white and silver or black and silver.