olympus pen ep-l7 review – the bloggers essential

27th April 2015

Since I’ve been a blogger, never before has a camera caused such a stir as the Olympus Pen EP-7. Hailed as the “Blogger Essential” it was released at the very moment I realised, I simply couldn’t lug my 5D around anymore when travelling or to events. Not only does that camera make you a target it also weighs a tonne and if I broke it I’d just never forgive myself. So I looked around and noticed quite a few bloggers were test driving the Olympus. The moment I heard it linked with your iPhone I called my nearest store, reserved one and picked it up the next day. I hadn’t even tried the damn thing out but I had a vibe, and whether it’s about people, shoes, cars or cameras – my vibes are rarely wrong. I had no idea of the impact this little camera was going to have on my life as a blogger. I never thought it would be possible to get images to the same standard as I have on my blog from such a little compact camera. But sure enough the little Olympus Pen now proudly plays a fundamental part in the content production of my blog and social media. Once you switch the camera on it starts up with ease and you can instantly begin snapping great quality pictures on Auto. But learn to play around with the camera and it’s settings on Manual and you will really bring your images to life. It’s great for snapping beautiful Parisian buildings as well as capturing the froth of your cappuccino perfectly thanks to the F-stop dropping down to a nice 3.5. The Pen then links seamlessly with your iPhone via the Olympus app, enabling you to scroll and pick out the perfect pictures to edit and […]

Since I’ve been a blogger, never before has a camera caused such a stir as the Olympus Pen EP-7. Hailed as the “Blogger Essential” it was released at the very moment I realised, I simply couldn’t lug my 5D around anymore when travelling or to events. Not only does that camera make you a target it also weighs a tonne and if I broke it I’d just never forgive myself.

So I looked around and noticed quite a few bloggers were test driving the Olympus. The moment I heard it linked with your iPhone I called my nearest store, reserved one and picked it up the next day. I hadn’t even tried the damn thing out but I had a vibe, and whether it’s about people, shoes, cars or cameras – my vibes are rarely wrong. I had no idea of the impact this little camera was going to have on my life as a blogger. I never thought it would be possible to get images to the same standard as I have on my blog from such a little compact camera. But sure enough the little Olympus Pen now proudly plays a fundamental part in the content production of my blog and social media.

Once you switch the camera on it starts up with ease and you can instantly begin snapping great quality pictures on Auto. But learn to play around with the camera and it’s settings on Manual and you will really bring your images to life. It’s great for snapping beautiful Parisian buildings as well as capturing the froth of your cappuccino perfectly thanks to the F-stop dropping down to a nice 3.5. The Pen then links seamlessly with your iPhone via the Olympus app, enabling you to scroll and pick out the perfect pictures to edit and share across channels, or even blog on the go. But not only that, the app enables you to turn your phone into a remote control with a built in screen making group shots possible without fussy timers.

The Pen had been my trusted companion for the last 4 months when running round London and snapping flat lays. But whilst the kit lens produced exceptional quality images, when it came to outfit photos the depth of field was about as deep as a puddle so the Canon 5D and it’s nifty fifty were never far behind. That was until last week.

Olympus and Topshop decided to take myself and Leanne for a trip to Paris (more on that tomorrow) to test drive their new 45mm lens and how it shaped up taking outfit photos, once again my world was rocked. With the addition of this lens to my camera kit they have single handedly revolutionised how I blog on the go. The camera and additional lens fit easily into my array of handbags meaning trips to London for meetings can be the perfect opportunity to snap outfit pictures as the change of a lens whilst I’m there, without lugging a full frame DSLR on my poor little shoulder.

Why am I telling you all this? I mean I’m effectively giving away my photography secrets. Well the fact is, I was once very eager to learn how to take beautiful pictures but I didn’t know where to start. I longed for the beautiful blurry backgrounds and vivid colours yet whenever I asked or questioned others about where to start, I was met with silence. I’m by no means a professional photographer now but I have devoted time and money to doing my best and I’d like to help others too because I know how it feels to have all the passion in the world, but not a clue how to start. I’d say the Olympus is a great place to start. You don’t need to go and spend thousands on a 5D but a little investment goes a long way and if you’re truly passionate about learning, you can sacrifice a few pairs of shoes this month.

This week I’m going to be sharing some posts using the two different lenses to show you the kind of images you can expect to get from both, so don’t forget to check back in tomorrow for a first hand look at the standard of images produced with the Olympus Pancake kit lens.

Buy Now

Olympus Pen E-PL7      Olympus 45mm 1.8 lens