It’s interesting, the PEN-F has a few really prominent flaws, arguably more so than the E-P5 had, but I love it more than any other camera before. Why?
The built-in view finder is quite OK, but compared to the VF-4 on the E-P5 or the E-M1’s viewfinder it is tiny. It also lacks a proper eyepiece. The result is, that light from the sun in your back is often not blocked out and it reaches the sensor for the automatic switch between viewfinder and LCD. When this happens, the viewfinder turns off. It’s annoying, or at least it should be.
Then there is the mandatory grip. It looks quite good, has excellent ergonomics, but it makes it impossible for me to remove the SD card without resorting to pincers. Really, I have pincers in my photo bag for pulling the SD card out of my camera! How ridiculous is that?
Then there is this function button Fn1. I can assign “Mulit-Function” to it (like on all my other cameras), but in picture review mode, while all my other cameras have “Zoom” in that position, the PEN-F has assigned “Lock Image” to it. I can configure every button’s function in shooting more, but in review mode I can’t change anything. It’s annoying, or at least it should be.
Then there is this useless knob on the front. I could use it to quickly switch between various JPEG modes. Only I don’t. It’s a perfect dial in a perfect position, perfectly wasted.
And it all doesn’t change a thing. I love this camera. Much of it must be connected to its aesthetics. While I hardly cared about the looks of my lenses on a camera before, I almost never use this camera with a plastic lens. Shiny, silvery primes made of metal, that’s what this camera deserves. Crazy, huh?