Olympus OM-D & PEN Cameras

Choosing Olympus Mirrorless Cameras

Based on a micro four-thirds sensor, Olympus mirrorless cameras are available in two series—the compact Olympus Pen line, and the slightly larger, full-function OM-D models. Thanks to their mirrorless construction, these Olympus digital cameras are compact and lightweight. Despite their small size, these cameras have high specifications and take high-quality photos and videos.

Compact Olympus Pen Cameras

Olympus Pens are compact, interchangeable-lens cameras. Basic models use bright LCD screens for photo composition. Screens are adjustable and flip down for taking selfies. Advanced Pen cameras add built-in electronic viewfinders for eye-level photography. Olympus Pen cameras have a full set of manual and automatic controls, which include the ability to select the shutter speed, aperture, shooting mode, and focus points. In-camera image stabilization allows the use of slow shutter speeds without camera shake. Olympus Pen cameras are small enough to fit into jacket pockets or small handbags.

Full-Feature Olympus OM-D Cameras

Olympus OM-D mirrorless cameras have a traditional SLR appearance with central electronic viewfinders mounted above the lenses. There are several OM-D cameras with the model number indicating specification level and degree of sophistication. A lower number indicates a higher specification. All cameras have advanced digital image stabilization, adjustable LCD screens, and video recording capabilities. You can also find fully weather-sealed OM-Ds.

Micro Four-Thirds Sensors

Olympus mirrorless digital cameras use a micro four-thirds sensor with a wide aspect ratio of 1.33. Although this sensor is slightly smaller than an APS-C sensor, it offers comparable performance. Advantages of a smaller sensor include a smaller and lighter camera, impacting lens design, and allowing lenses to be more compact. In any situation, a micro four-thirds mirrorless camera setup is lighter, easier to handle, and more portable than any equivalent system based on a larger full-frame and APS-C sensor.
 

Lenses for Micro Four-Thirds Cameras

The crop factor of a four-thirds sensor is two, so a 100mm micro four-thirds lens is equivalent to a 200mm full-frame lens. Apart from reducing the required lens focal length, the smaller sensor size focal distance allows designers to produce extremely sharp lenses with a great depth of field. This makes it easier to capture well-focused shots, especially with action, sports, and wildlife photography. Apart from Olympus lenses, photographers can choose from a wide selection of micro four-third lenses from Panasonic and Leica as well as those from third-party manufacturers such as Sigma, Zeiss, and Voigtlander.

Capture better photographs in all situations with an Olympus mirrorless camera system from B&H Photo and Video.