Olympus E-PL7 arrives with restyled body, flip-down LCD, better stabilization, and in-camera Wi-Fi
posted Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 1:01 AM EDT
In mid-2013, Olympus introduced the E-PL6, a camera that never came to the US market, perhaps because it was such a modest tweak to 2012's E-PL5. Today, the Olympus E-PL7 arrives as a much more comprehensive revamp, although its heart -- a 16.1-megapixel Live MOS image sensor -- is unchanged from the earlier cameras. Our Olympus E-PL7 arrived at our doorstep just a few hours ago and has already began its rigorous lab testing, so be sure to check out our first set of lab sample images!
Where the mid-range E-PL5 and E-PL6 were near-identical to the smaller, lower-cost Olympus E-PM2, save for their physical Mode dial, level gauge function, and self-portrait friendly, tilting, touch-screen LCD monitor, the E-PL7 has much more to differentiate it from the entry-level -- not to mention its predecessors.
Most significantly, there's been a pretty radical tweak to the tilting, touch-screen display, which is now higher-resolution and flips downwards instead of upwards. The Olympus E-PL7 also sports a next-gen TruePic VII image processor, and has a more generous buffer depth at its maximum rate of eight frames per second. It also sports a completely redesigned body with a fixed grip, rearranged controls, and a metal, top-mounted control dial alongside the existing Mode dial.
Other changes include in-camera Wi-Fi wireless networking connectivity, an updated image stabilization system, and tweaks to both the autofocus and metering systems. There are also a variety of new creative functions on offer.
Available in the US in either black or silver-bodied variants, the Olympus PEN E-PL7 is priced at around US$600 body-only. A kit version bundling the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42 mm f/3.5-5.6 II R zoom lens will be sold in the US market, priced at US$700. The Olympus PEN E-PL7 ships in the US market from late September 2014.
You can find out much more about the latest Olympus PEN Lite-series camera in our hands-on Olympus E-PL7 preview, and check out our extensive set of sample lab shots.
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