robin, thanks so much for reminding us that there is a joy in a more minimalist camera that results in artful images. I love clean simple things that often get overlooked by more complex things.
Thank you for the enjoyable and informative videos! I picked up a Pen Mini years ago as my first MFT camera. Since that time I was able to add another for a VERY low cost. The thing I like most about the Mini is it's small size and ease of carry. I've got more "serious" cameras but the Pen Mini is just one of those cameras that makes you smile.
Nice Video Robin...Crisp snaps on a 10 year old Micro-four thirds camera with a 12 Megapixel sensor!...I recall watching a video of Tony Northrup where he claimed that his mobile camera beats a micro-four third sensor camera!...this video and the snaps here put things in the proper perspective.
In broad daylight if you are just focusing on resolution alone, maybe. But in most less than ideal scenarios a proper camera still has the edge. And MFT cameras ARE proper cameras. Smartphones will eventually make cameras obsolete from a technical point of view. They are already competing strongly in terms of video for vloggers, but they still have ways to go in many scenarios. Computational photography is the inevitable future though.
I still use a Lumix G5 and a Lumix FZ200 bridge. How old are they? - 2012. They can still knock spots off my iPhone. He's talking out of his hat, not for the first time neither. The FZ200 has that ultra-long fast lens but the G5 is a cuddly old friend. Panasonic got the haptics right with the G5. It's a pity it doesn't have a few of the later toys, I can live without wifi but focus peaking would be nice. One of the issues with the G5 and other older cameras is the LCD/EVF don't have enough pixels to see how good the photos are. Get them onto a computer screen and yeah, she's still got it.
@@XTJ7 no. If you even zoom in to 50% every smartphone image I’ve seen completely falls apart and look like watercolor paintings. They are designed to take photos viewed on smartphones, and make passable small prints up to 4x6. The “shot on iPhone” billboards are upscaled using very advanced software, and you’re viewing them from far away usually.
@@joeltunnah Yes and no. I mostly agree with you, but while a 100mp smartphone sensor is clearly not capable of resolving 100mp through that tiny lens and can't even remotely compare to a Fuji GFX 100s for example, it does resolve more details than a 12mp camera, IF the light is ideal. Up the ISO just a tiny bit and it is all falling apart. But under ideal circumstances, some phones can provide more resolution than older cameras. Do the images look better? I would disagree on that, but that is highly subjective. Resolution can be objectively quantified though and in some very specific cases smartphones can be superior.
@@XTJ7 the first time I compared my old Canon SD600 point & shoot (6MP) to my then brand new iPhone 7 (12MP), I realized megapixels were mainly marketing nonsense. Nobody would say the iPhone had more resolution than the little Canon if you printed an 8x10 from both, or zoomed in on the screen. I think you’re right, it’s because of the tiny lens, but also the smaller sensor area, and heavy noise reduction. And the SD600 had a superior CCD sensor. Very film like rendering and colors.
I remember it like yesterday when this camera was released. I had a chance to review it right when it was fresh and I was impressed. I haven't handled one for ages, but would be nice to try it again some day.
Great video! Always enjoy watching the videos you make. This was my first step into the mirrorless market and you're right, it's still a fun camera to take around out since it's so small and compact. I still take mines out from time to time with a pancake lens and a viewfinder attachment and it makes a great discrete street shooter.
Great video. It reminds us that basically, any camera produced in the last decade could keep on giving great images, as long as the photographer using it knows its strengths and limitations. And you definitely show that the small and old EPM still packs a lot of punch! That details on the man's face (the slightly watery eye), that was impressive to think that a decade-old camera can pull that details. I never use EPM but used to have a compact Point n Shoot camera with a similar problem with its smooth body. I use the cheap metal thumb grip and glue a faux leather in the front right side of the camera. It seriously improves the grip and handling of the camera.
Just bought it, added a rubber grip that attaches with a mylar sheet with 3mm adhesive. My Lumix 9mm is going to live on this camera. Great video as usual Robin.
This was my first interchangeable lens camera, and still super fun to use, especially with a Panasonic 14mm f2.5 lens. I made a slim front grip from Sugru years ago, made everything much easier. This camera could do almost everything the big boys could, even control a couple of external flashes. It even outlived my E-M5. Battered, beaten, but still going strong.
After watching your video, I was intrigued and bought a used Penn Lite E-PL3 body for $68.00, put an Olympus 14-42 pancake lens on it, and went out shooting. I WAS impressed about how this camera that dates to 2011 produced such quality results. It was also interesting to see how its various features and controls ultimately evolved into those I work with on my E-M1 Mk IIs. And its 12 MP sensor provided a lesson about how overblown the hype may have been in the "never enough" MP marketing wars of the past. This $70 camera body produces 12 MP images that are commercially viable for anyone, like myself, shooting for clients who are completely web focused. I won't use it for that but it does make a great pocket carry-around camera for cheap.
Hello Robin. Well my PEN Mini arrived today. What a cute little camera. The learning curve sure is strange. I'm so use to buttons on the camera body (E-1,E-30) . Can't wait to get all the menus figured out , though . Again, thankx for showing this cute little camera. KB EDIT:OH, this PEN Mini replaced my, now retired C5060. KB
Hi Robin, my wife bought me the Pen E-P 1 when it first came out and I have since moved on to more advanced cameras like the Em1 mk3. The E-P 1 eventually led me to m43 instead of full frame Canon - a common story I guess but I still shoot with the E-P 1 for fun occasionally. Thanks for the video I really enjoy being reminded of such key points in my photography experience.
I got one of these a few weeks ago used ($65 CAD), and it still works except for one thing; whenever you swap the battery, it forgets date and time (have to set this every time you change the battery). I'm amazed yours doesn't do this! It retains all the camera settings however, so it's still perfectly usable.
Thank you for another informative review. Back in my '80s photo retail days, I respected Olympus but chose Pentax for my personal kit. Now retired, Olympus's Pen series' size and performance appeal to me. Finally, I so value your upbeat and positive presentation style.
You're great and any camera fits your eye!... It's really grateful seeing how you understand cameras as "simple" tools for the eye of the photographer. Thanks Robin for your always positive and energetic videos... 👏👏👏
So cool 😀. I keep using my M10 first generation for many things, it blows any smartphone away as well. Whenever I don’t want the M1 III with me, the old little brother does the job perfectly.
For me, a compact 20MP camera with a compact pancake-style lens like the PEN Mini would be a perfect walk-around, go-anywhere camera. I too, cannot understand why Olympus isn't making this camera anymore.
Over the last year or so I been purchasing older digital cameras. When you buy them, you should be aware of the limitations, but that is part of the fun of using them. Video and focus are the challenges with most of these style cameras. I have a Pentax Q with all the lens, It has been a joy to use and I was really happy with it, even with it's limitations. The best part is just the fun of having a decent camera in a small form factor. I heard the Samsung NX Mini is another great camera as well! Love to see these forgotten cameras get used again.
Samsung cameras do have some interesting concepts, especially the one with android capability built in. Too bad they stopped support for the software/app.
The Panasonic GM1 was too small and fiddly for me but I picked up a Pen Lite E-PL5 and am blown away with it. It is a similar size to the Pen Mini and I love the way it handles. Picture quality and colours are lovely. It's a great fun camera. I use it with a Laowa 7.5mm, set focus midway between ininity and 0.5 m, shoot at f/5.6 in Program mode and almost every shot is a good one. A day's shooting is fun.
Great presentation of yesterday's Olympus tech. Modern Smartphones with their way of spotting tiny sensors will never hold up with the real thing with interchangeable lenses etc. The pictures out of this 12MP sensor look so stunning! It's really not about the pixels but the size and quality of the senor. For example I was a proud owner of the Canon PowerShot S40 back in 2001. This camera only had a 4MP sensor but the pictures had been absolutely stunning, even in low light! I can watch them on a 55 inch screen today and would not be able to tell that these fotos are coming from just a 4MP sensor. Btw., if you could get your hands on a Samsung NX-Mini to compare it with this Olympus, I think that would be great, too. What do you think?
I love my Olympus E-PL1 and i provide photographic services just putting a good and appropriate lens on it. Thank you for this interesting point of view.
Robin, i picked up an E-PL1, a few months older camera, for almost nothing a few years ago. I could not believe I got an interchangeable lens camera for such a low price. All of my M43 lenses fit and work perfectly with this small body.
I have an E-PM1 and it actually power's up almost instantaneously, a good camera on its day but it's only real advantage over a premium smartphone camera now is it's lens interchangeability, the 12MP sensor isn't the sharpest all round or the best in low light though the colours and white balance are generally good. My main dislikes are lack of built in viewfinder as the screen is difficult to see outdoors, and lack of built in flash. Personally if I was in the market for a second hand pen mini I would pay a little extra coin and get the E-PM2 with the significantly better 16MP sensor.
I did have an used E-PM1 for a while but I sold it to a friend. I didn't need it because I have EPL-3 which is almost as small, has articulating screen, better buttons and mode dial.
I have EP1 and its dial/button configuration is very smart and fast. I still cannot believe how sharp and clean the jpegs are from this camera with 20mm 1.7 and super cheap
The EPM-2 has a small grip on it, and it powers on in less than one second, so that handles two of Robin's objections. I really wish OM Systems would come up with an EPM-3. I would add another dial around the shutter button that would control exposure compensation. That's the dial I use most on my M5 and M10. I would also like it to have the M10's advanced photo features. Now, add a super compact 15 mm f2.2 pancake lens to it, like the inverse retrofocus 35 mm f/2.8 on the Olympus XA, and a flip up back, and it would be the perfect street photography camera.
I bought a PM1 quite a few years ago for occasional use at work, was split from a kit with no lens so not an absolute bargain in overall terms. Despite little use (maybe a few hundred shutter actuations), the shutter failed a couple of years ago. I bought a well used PM2 as a replacement, and that also does not get much use but it does seem a little more ergonomic to use. Both the cameras take great photos if you know what you are doing and work within their limitations (avoid high ISO etc). Interesting video, Robin, and many thanks for showing that some oldies are goodies !
Great video, as always! My ep-3 is my favorite camera. I have an EM-1 also, but the one I grab consistently is the ep-3 because of it's small size, and full instant dial control. I do have the vf-2 evf, and I find that it is essential in bright light. I only wish the ep-3 had an articulating lcd! But the vf-2 allows me to look down for low shots, so it works. I have an ep-1 also, as a backup, but will watch for a great deal on an epm-1.
I got the E-PM2, I love it so much that I bought another excellent copy used at USD100 (with battery and VF-2). The E-PM2 is amazing. IBIS. 16MP modern E-M5 similar image sensor. Touch screen. I love this camera to death.
I bought a Panasonic GF5 a month ago. It's new although it's a 10 year old with a 12 megapixel camera. The photos is outstanding and the processor is fast. I got 1 year warranty by Panasonic Malaysia. Bought it at RM1K. Definetely not the price with a few cups of coffee. 😅😅😅
I had one in brown colour. After two years of usage something damaged inside the camera body and can't be used anymore. I changed it to a mark one E-M10. I'm continously monitoring marketplaces to find a used pm1 in brown colour, but there is no available.
Today im getting an used E-PM1 and after watching your video i feel it would be a wise decision to get mine as well. Small, compact and concise, and even more pocketable than a E-PL3. It just the essence of what MFT should be. Too bad it doesnt come with touch screen and quite unusable at ASM mode.
Thanks for sharing another great video Robin! The smartphone is convenient and is gaining ground. In fact, I'm doing a month-long project with my smartphone which shows both the pluses and minuses of the smartphone. If you're shooting daylight with the end result being Instagram and small prints, the smartphone will work. However, if you want the bigger prints, greater versatility, and RAW files you can work with, the PEN and other larger sensors are the best choice. By the way, I'm keeping my E-PL6! All the best!
Had a camera similarly smooth in the grip area. I got myself some velcro strips, I stuck a strip of the fluffy/eye velcro on the body,problem solved as the fingers had something to stop them sliding around. Good looking shots Robin,I like your eye for street shots.
I actually own it's little sister, E-PL1 - i once needed a cheap backup camera and i could borrow a Lumix 25/1.7(awesome lens btw). I bought E-PL1 for around $50 and it was really great! It's pretty much the cheapest camera with IBIS you can buy.
Love the PEN minis. I still use my E-PM2 alongside my EM1-II as a second body or a small camera (with small primes attached) when I don't want to carry the OMD. Still delivers great results and is super fast
I also use the PM2 with Pana 20mm 1.7 as a pocketable 2nd camera for example when skiing. Unfortunately my camera is suffering from the common problem of randomly reactions of the rear dial. Sometimes it is almost impossible to operate the camera as the rear dial causes random actions like you turn right when using the menu and the camera is instead wildly jumping left and right in the menu. And the rear dial had been repaired already but the problem appeared again.
I love My pen mini. Even though I have an EM1 most of the time I slap on the Panasonic 20mm pancake to the pen mini and go shooting. Small lightweight and way better quality than my iPhone.
Robin, I enjoy all of your video reviews. I actually came across a similar jewel find myself a few years ago. I found an Olympus E-PL1 which is from 2010 and it works perfectly. I was literally stunned at the price I found for this at a Pawn shop, they must have just gone by age and not the fact that it is a tiny interchangeable lens camera. It fits perfectly in the bag beside my more recent Jewel find, an Olympus OMD EM10Mii which has become my EDC camera. I have newer M43, APS-C and full frame cameras but I just enjoy using these and the pictures are superb.
@@robinwong I did not even know the E-PM1 existed before your video. On my OM-D and Pen-F I shoot S-AF+MF with focus peaking…. Works especially well in close-focus situations.
I own a PEN Mini 2 which I purchased refurbished from Olympus. I like the small form factor and it solved some of the gripes of the first version, namely a body grip instead of the smooth body, a touch screen so you can direct control a lot faster (especially since it only has the one back dial), and a 16mp sensor instead of the original 12mp. I liked using it for street, and it can be almost tiny with a body cap lens, but I found its autofocus problematic. Many of my photos would inexplicably come out blurred and grainy in good light where I wouldn't get that on other Oly cameras. I suspect it was an issue with its older IBIS, especially when paired with panny ois lenses. Ultimately, the full PEN and the PEN Lite offered the best examples of what's possible with the smaller PEN form factor. The PM was never that much smaller than the PL and Pen cameras but gave up a lot in utility. It's good to see you review an oldie though :-)
Damn what a great camera. Why didnt i see that years ago when i was shopping. I have an old canon dslr which i still use. I guess old cameras can still compete with still photos from smartphones but not with video stability
This is timely as I think about second cameras to go with my G9 and I’d forgotten about these awesome little units. This would be nice for days I want a casual camera better than my iPhone.
I have a G9 too, they're awesome but big bricks. Find an E-PL7 or E-PL8 (much the same thing), anything an E-M10 can do, and only a couple of millimetres larger than an E-PM1.
hi, i have this camera myself (bought it years ago when I don't know a lot), and I would like to ask your help on how to know which pancake lens would be suitable for this camera? (in terms of what specs to look for) tqsm.
My first Olympus is the Pen Lite EPL-5 and i totally agree with you Robin that small is fun. Although i now own OMDs but i still go back to the small guy often.
Liked your video, thanks. I don't have the Olympus PEN E-PM1, but I do have the Panasonic GM5, which I love. Also it is 16MP. I'd love them to make an update with a higher res sensor.
Robin, this week I found a PM1 at a pawn shop for 100 US. I thought about it but compared to my PL1 I got a few years ago for almost nothing, I could not justify another camera. The improvement over my PL1 just isn't there so I left it for someone else to get a great deal and join us in photography.
I bought one of these a couple years ago. Here is my experience. The camera underexposes the raw image and boosts the exposure for the jpegs. This helps eliminate highlight clipping but can add noise. I always shot raw and used the histogram for exposure. I could get amazing images out of it. The internal battery or capacitor inside the camera dies and no longer retains the clock. You have to set it every time you turn on the camera or else just forget about the time setting. It doesn't affect the other settings though. Probably the most frustrating issue with it and why I parted company is shutter shock. With my 12-32 and 40-150 lenses, at certain shutter speeds, my images always came out a bit soft. No IS or shutter delay setting would eliminate it. Only putting it on a tripod would give sharp shots. It isn't my hand holding ability. I can hand hold my Nikon N1 S1 and Panasonic GX85 just fine and the S1 had no IS. This was an unfortunate problem for some early MFT cameras due to their small size and light weight. Fortunately the manufactures gave us E-shutter modes in newer models and also shutter mechanisms that produced less shock. These old cameras can be great fun on the cheap but they do have their issues.
I did not encounter any shutter shock issues with 4 or 5 of my Olympus and Panasonic lenses. 12MP should not be too critical. When 16MP or 20MP sensors came about, Olympus rectified this with 0 sec anti-shock (first curtain electronic shutter). For a casual shooting machine, I thought the E-PM1 did really well. Not saying the issue you mentioned did not exist, but maybe there are sample variations?
I wonder if you saw the Tony Northrup video where he claimed that a smartphone even beats a full frame Canon R3 with kitlens nowadays. Of course he didn't show the exifs.
My other drawback is the battery. By today's standards it is bulky as is the charger, runs out too fast. and requires a standard outlet to recharge. Always carry a fully charged extra battery.
I had an E-PM1 which was unfortunately damaged beyond repair, I am considering finding another to use with my BCL lenses for a truly pocketable street setup.
What made you think I forgot the PEN cameras? I cannot just simply throw money around and buy stuff you know. It has to be cheap enough, like the price of few cups of coffee to justify spending.
Hi Robin, I once used the PEN F 3, little bit bigger than that camera you showed in your video. So I want to tell you a story, believe me it´s true. I was somewhere in Darjeeling, India and in the lodge the Head Lhama provided a ceremony. It was not possible to take a picture of the Lhama, the autofocusbox was circulating around the Lhama, so I did not get any sharp foto!!!
Thank you Robin for sharing your experience with the E-PM1, it makes a great buy for a carry around camera. I have the E-PL1 which is slightly older but still out performs mobile phones. I think the E-PL1 had the same sensor as the Olympus E5 DSLR and was a step ahead of the E-P1 & 2 in terms of image quality, I expect the E-PM1 has the same sensor as the E-PL1. The E-PL1 was slower at focusing and no orientation sensor but still a great little camera. You take great images and always love your street photography. Take care and stay safe.
I have the PM-2. It's great for a vlogger or an instagram user but not for me, who uses it for nature. The autofocus is fast but very, very unaccurate. Nonetheless, it's a pretty good camera that just doesn't fit my needs. It also has the typical IBIS problem that these have. Saving for a new camera right now!
I have two e-pm1 bodies and I also think that the image quality is still amazing! For a little extra grip I've ordered a camera leather kit at Aki Asahi. It makes the camera look even better too :) With a pancake lens is super portalble... love it!
The PM2 has better handling (tiny grip) and sensor (16 MP). Bought a pm1 and a pm2 a couple of years ago so I had a tiny spare camera and so I also could supply my grand kids with a camera when on trips. Both reset date/time when replacing battery and strangely time isn't advanced unless set after each battery shift. I haven't found any description for replacing the capacitor - yet.
bought the similarly sized, aged, and speced GF3 a few years back to act as a backup camera to my GX7s... OK that's not true I bought it for the 14mm pancake lens it came with the camera was just a bonus extra, but it used the same batteries as the GX7 so I traveled around Europe and Japan for months with this as the backup and just to have a different focal length at hand. still use both the GF3 and GX7's a lot as they are both small and more than up to the job for casual travel photography.
This year I also managed to get something affordable and compact, the Panasonic GF3 (2011)! I tried to use it as much as possible, keeping my E-M1II in my bag. Honestly, the images were very good! I really enjoyed the images the old 12MP was producing! I think I fell into the internet trap because all I heard was that the 12MP cameras should be skipped!
Conclusion of video: decade old camera is better than newest smartphone. Robin is super enthusiastic, but seems a little out of breath🤭 Give the man a thumbs up for his video.
Hi Robin! Thanks for such an interesting video. Yes, the technical characteristics (sharpness, micro-contrast, details, background blur etc) of such a camera’s images are surely and expectedly much better vs any images from any smartphones But many reviewers of cameras often forget one important thing: “Computational Photography”. Flagship smartphones possess highly advanced CP processing aimed at creating highly usable, highly optimized jpegs. Loads of processing to try to increase the chances of hvg a usable image even under unfavourable situations. Eg: If you handhold under low light (totally no support) at 1/8sec a DSLR with 50mm lens or mirrorless with 35mm lens, and compare it to doing the same with an iP13Pro (example), the smartphone’s images would be aggresively processed to make it as attractive as possible while there is no such processing capabilities on mirrorless and DSLRs. Hence, the smartphone cameras are much more forgiving and the CP greatly increases the probability of getting usably attractive images under less than ideal situations. Dont forget,…your smartphone is always with you, but not your camera.
This was my first camera. It was great overall. The power on time for mine was way faster than the unit in the video. The lack of control dials, touch screen and the poor low light performance were the reasons why I upgraded to EPL-5. Happily using an em5 III now
Robin, thanks for the cheerful review. I agree that these little old cameras still have their uses, including making casual photography fun, and not a chore. I recently picked up the PM2, which addresses at least two of the issues you cited. It has a non-slip grip on the front and back of the right side, and it's power-up is almost instantaneous. Still just one dial. I did not, however, get it for the price of a couple cups of coffee! Mine came with the 2-lens kit (14-42 (not the power zoom, the big one) and 40-150), which are a little chunky for the Mini. I picked up the Olympus 45mm/f1.8, which looks just right, although that 17mm you used in this video also fits well. Cheers!
Hi Robin, I always find your videos fun and educational to watch. Thank you! I switched from analog (Nikon) to Olympus with an E-300 and later an E-510. Then to MFT with an E-PL2. When I ordered a lens for this in 2013, the 14-150 mm F4-5.6 turned out to be together with an E-PM1. As a kit (silver) at the time only € 399, very cheap. The E-PM1 was a nice little camera that I often used with the 9-18mm. For extra grip on the too slippery body I used a Flipbac camera grip. That made a difference and the camera remained 'mini'. After the E-M10 and the E-M10 mk II, I am now the lucky owner of the OM-D E-M1 mk III.
I picked up a used E-PM2 for not much money and had it converted to full-spectrum use (IR-blocking filter removed). Put a 14-42mm EZ lens and an IR bandpass filter on it, and you've got a very pocketable / affordable rig for infrared photography.
Very true. I have an E420 Olympus DSLR and even though it was made for beginners back in 2008 it performs like a champ even with it's kit lens. OMD series is something else though, I have EM10III and I can say that it's obviously "friendlier" than the E series but a camera is a camera. Great video Robin!
