Having not added a lens or camera to the arsenal in almost a decade, that changed yesterday with the arrival of a 25mm Panasonic Leica f1.4 lens. In the language of photography gear, that’s known as a fast normal.
I had a nice walk with it; first around the house and then in a local park. The extra stop beyond my old reliable just-shy-of-normal 20mm was a delight. So far, I’m enjoying the out of focus experience as much as the in.
Sadly, my Olympus Pen F is no longer serviced here, so a new camera may join the bag as well.
JOHN TODARO 
That’s a beautiful lens, John. You’ll get some excellent shots with it. I’ve been using the OM1 (which I bought used) for about 4 years now. That makes it about 9 or 10 years old but it’s built like a tank. I would hate the idea of replacing it.
I’ve been thinking about the OM 1, but also the OM 1 mark ii and the new OM 3. They play with the prices as much as the airlines do, so it requires staying on top of that craziness if you’re trying to buy the camera new. Glad to hear the OM 1 been a reliable one for you. The main problem with my Pen F is battery life. They don’t last that long and they’re not manufacturing new ones for it since OM Systems resurrected the company. I currently have three Olympus batteries and occasionally go through ’em all in a shoot.
Great lens! I had one for my OM-D a few years ago. The extra depth of field control made quite a difference for MFT. Incidentally, even if Olympus ones aren’t available, you should also be able get third party batteries to fit the Pen F. A quick look at Amazon shows a whole bunch of different options for not much money, including from some respectable brands like Ansmann. You could get a lot of batteries for the price of a replacement camera, if battery life is your main problem with the Pen F
Thanks for the info, Matt. I’ve not had good luck in the past with third party batteries but I’ll take a look at Ansmann. There are a few other minor issues with my Pen F that might be rectified by the final firmware update. Curiously, OM Systems advised me not to attempt it since they’re no longer servicing the camera in the US. (There’s a risk, in other words, of erasing the camera’s OS.).
I do love my Pen F (and the new lens is an impressive tool). But to be honest, no digital camera has ever felt as intuitive and balanced as my Hasselblads. That being said, there’s no getting away from the fact that the best digital cameras can deliver far more to an imaginative eye than we could’ve dreamed possible back in the day.
Yeah, the cheap battery thing can be a bit hit and miss, but at that price, a few misses may be tolerable. I’ve used quite a few of the cheap knock-offs (including the OM-D, which used the same batteries as yours, I think), usually as back-up to the genuine items when a bit of extra juice is needed. My current cameras all have circuitry to identify genuine batteries, so this avenue is closed. Which is a shame. Leica batteries, in particular, are an advanced form of extortion with menaces.
Great points. Your comment about Leica batteries made me laugh. I recall paying some ridiculous amount for a Hassie cable release once.
It’s great to see you back here and nice to hear about the new lens. This photograph has a surplus of buttery warmth. I like the unexpected reflections – by that I mean that they’re unsual shapes. Oh, it must be fun to play with that lens on the wide end of things!
Not having read up on the details, I’m guessing the OM-3 might be more your kind of camera than the OM-1 Mark II. Good luck figuring it all out and watching prices. (Is it possible that Ken meant the OM-D E-M1? OM System cameras are newer than 10 years old. I made the mistake of calling my OM-D E-M1 an OM-1 at least once – the branding is confusing!).
Thanks Lynn. Marguerite reminded me that these are actually dinner knives but I preferred “butter” and maybe it was because of that warmth 😊
I’m not sure what Ken meant, but now that you mention it, the OM 1 came out in ’22. Hmm
It does seem like OM Systems is marketing the OM 3 for people like us, but I’d say there’s an equally good argument for either camera (the other being the OM 1 mark ii). No matter which box gets unpacked, there’s a camera inside that is incredibly loaded with technology. The retro styling on the OM 3 is interesting I guess (as it was on the Pen F), but I say that remembering how much I wanted to move up to medium format from my original Minolta SRT 101 (a camera which couldn’t get any more retro in styling).
I don’t know about you, but I prefer my grip on the Pen when using my longer and heavier lenses (including the new 25mm).
Loaded with tech, for sure. I use so little of it – but I did try some simple, in-camera multiple exposures a while back and would like to pursue that. Gotta getta grip! Sorry, feeling a little crazy this morning. But I do love to have a good grip.
The one I bought was the MEKE MK-ECG4
Oh, good. I never bought one for my Pen-F. I still have the camera but have not used it much since I bought the E-M1 MarkIII a while back – that camera has a good grip and of course, it’s weather-sealed and has other features I was missing in the Pen-F. I’m comfortable with it but I don’t feel the same instinctive comfort I felt with the OM-D E-M1 that died years ago. That one felt better in my hand, like it was part of me.
Strangely, a few Olympus lenses are tight on the E-M1. I can’t remember which one (I think it’s the 17mm) but it really surprised me – I never had that problem before.
My vintage Super-Takumar 50mm 1.4 with its adapter doesn’t want to go onto the EM-1 at all! It went on the old OM-D E-M1 easily. And it goes onto the Pen-F. Crazy. I could try a different adapter – that would probably solve the problem. But I haven’t been tempted to use that lens. When you posted the knife photos I was reminded of how much I enjoyed it though.