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Both cameras are coat pocketable, but once it’s in there you can easily forget the GF7, something that’s not likely to happen with the E-PL7 banging against your thigh. However, the E-P7 is a superior creative tool thanks to the mono and color modes offered by the Profile Control dial –and it's a beautiful camera both to look at and use. The E-P7 offers a 20mp Four Thirds sensor, 4K video recording, a wealth of manual and advanced shooting modes, a tilting 3inch touchscreen that can also be used as a selfie screen, plus a new colour/monochrome profile switch on the front. The E-PL7 features built-in Wifi which you can use to connect to a smartphone for picture sharing, GPS tagging and remote control.
OM Digital Solutions became independent from Olympus Corporation on 9 October 2020 and took over the OM-D, PEN and ZUIKO brands.It’s great to see dual control dials on the top plate as this makes adjusting the exposure quicker than using a single dial combined with a button.
Whilst the camera’s screen can be tilted down enough to become a forward facing “selfie” screen, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this camera as particularly suited to vlogging as any tripod, monopod or selfie stick is going to block your view of the screen. It’s something Olympus has addressed with the OMD EM5 II, so I’d hope to see other frame rates offered on future PENs. You’ll also benefit from face and eye-detection AF, something that Olympus cameras have featured since the Olympus OM-D E-M5 released in 2012, so it’s no surprise that this works extremely well. In one respect, it's great to have a proper power switch instead of a fiddly button; on the other, that means there are four dials crammed onto the top panel –and the power one is situated so close to the mode dial that switching between modes often leads to inadvertently knocking the power off. Although vloggers might be tempted by the small size and weight of the E-P7, the lack of a headphone and microphone socket, and the fact that the screen tilts from the bottom, probably don’t make it as appealing as other video-orientated cameras like the Sony ZV-1 and Panasonic GH5 Mark II.
Panasonic does, however, equip most of its zooms with optical stabilization, including of course the common kit options. The E-P7's form factor might be attractive for vlogging, but its specs mean there are better options out there for shooting video.
A touchscreen that tilts down (behind the tripod mount) and the lack of headphone or microphone sockets mean its pretty average on the video front. If you have the custom self timer set up just the way you want it, you’re good to go, but it you want to, say, change the number of shots, that’s an operation that requires button pushing on the rear of the camera. Auto White Balance plays a big part in the camera producing good colour output, and can be trusted in most lighting conditions. stops of stabilization, and the same 4K 30p video that benefits from the silky smooth IBIS in a way that larger APS-C and full-frame sensors can only dream of.Depending on your own personal tastes you may want to use the Vivid colour setting, or alternatively you can customise each Picture mode in the advanced menus, with options to adjust the sharpness, contrast, saturation, and gradation. Using the Micro Four Thirds lens mount, which has been around since 2008, there is the widest choice of lenses available for any mirrorless camera system, with lenses available from Olympus, Panasonic, Sigma, Tamron, Samyang, and many more. The E-PL7 supersedes the E-PL5 which remains in the lineup for now, with the E-PL6 slotting in-between.
Summary The Olympus PEN E-PL7 is a mid-range mirrorless camera aimed at those who want a step-up in quality and control over a point-and-shoot or smartphone. This could be because the former two markets are the most receptive to travel-friendly mirrorless cameras, or it could be a case of testing the waters before releasing the camera to a wider audience. What the design tells you is that this is a finely crafted, sophisticated and stylish piece of photographic equipment that won’t look out of place alongside your Louis Vuitton. The E-P7 eschews the E-PL series' more modern look and two-tone grip for a vintage-inspired design and textured leatherette finish.There hasn't been an entry in this series since 2013's Olympus PEN E-P5, which has remained a cult classic among Micro Four Thirds users. Olympus has gained a reputation for outstanding stabilisation with the five-axis systems built into its OM-D E-M1 and EM5 bodies. This is just a characteristic of all contrast detect AF systems (the GF7 does the same thing) that you have to live with. There’s an art fade movie effect which transitions from one picture mode to another or into any of the Art filters and a One-push tele-converter movie crop feature. The two images above were shot with the 14-42mm pancake lens and show the coverage you can expect with either of the kit zooms.
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