Olympus PEN E-PL7 Lens Review

Olympus Pen E-PL7 Lens Review

There’s tons of brilliant reviews about of the Olympus PEN E-PL7 so I saw little point in doing that – I highly recommend it and that is my review. If you are looking for an all round review, here’s some useful ones:

Lydia Elise Millen

At Home with Abby

This post is more specifically about the different lenses that I have, and to show the results from the different lenses. If you’re a beginner (or even if you are not – I have a degree in Photography but lenses still confuse me), lenses are a lot to get your head around so hopefully this will help if you are struggling with what lens to get.

olympus pen e-pl7 review

Generally it seems that most people start off their Olympus PEN collection with the Olympus PEN E-PL7 body which comes with the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL standard 14-42mm lens and then add lenses to their collection later on. If you’re a blogger, everyone will advise you to get the 45mm lens for the best shots, however there are things you can do with your standard lens to give them a more professional edge without breaking the bank immediately. If you’ve already invested in an Olympus PEN E-PL7 then you should spend some time finding your way around it technically – this will help you create better images too.

Let’s face it, whenever you get a new piece of technology, nobody every reads the manual – theres too much text and it seems to complicate things further. I found Stylonylon’s Tips and Tricks for your Olympus PEN E-PL7 the most useful guide for understanding your your way around. It’s easy to follow and completely uncomplicated.

Back to lenses.

If you only have the standard 14-42mm lens at the moment – don’t worry. There’s still plenty you can do with this lens. Blur is the main reason for getting the 45mm lens, but a lot of people don’t realise you can actually control the blur on your camera manually using the standard lens. Click OK on the back of your camera and you will see some icons on the right hand side, the fourth icon down is the blur background meter, here you can control the blur yourself depending on what kind of image you want – just toggle between blur and sharp.

It is worth noting that all of the photographs in this post were shot on iAuto so there is little variation except focal difference.

Olympus Pen E-PL7 Standars Lens 14-42mm

The 45mm lens -the blogger favourite and definitely my favourite. This lens is going to give you the most beautiful depth of field, none of the other lenses will compare. The downside with this lens is that you have to stand a good couple of metres away from your subject – the below image was taken over a metre away where as the images taken with the standard lens were taken with the camera directly in front of the pencils. So don’t be surprised if you’re taking shots in your bedroom and you end up pressed up against the wall just to get your subject in the shot. Regardless – the 45mm lens is my go to every time.

Olympus Pen E-PL7 Lens Review 45mm

The 17mm lens. This lens will allow you to capture crisp images with great depth of field but you won’t need to stand a million miles away from your subject. I find it’s a half way between the standard lens and the 45mm lens. It’s a great lens for on the go as it’s not quite as long as the 45mm so us girls can fit it into our bags easier.

Olympus Pen E-PL7 Lens 17mm

As you are probably aware, the Olympus PEN E-PL7 is controlled with the screen on the back, there is no eye view – just the screen. This allows you to easily focus on what you want. Just tap the screen on the part you want to focus on, simple!

Olympus Pen E-PL7 Lens Review

If you’re an instagram nerd like myself you will find the image aspect tool extremely useful. If you click on menu on the back of your camera, you will see ‘Image Aspect’ on the Shooting Menu 1. Here you can select what image aspect you would like to shoot with. If you use the wi-fi on your Olympus PEN to transfer photos directly to your phone for social media purposes, such as instagam, then you find shooting with the 1:1 image aspect really helpful.
Olympus E-PL7 Review Image Aspect 1:1

Olympus E-PL7 Review Image Aspect 16:9

Obviously Olympus have lots of other lenses to offer, but as I’m sure you are aware they aren’t the cheapest! The 75mm is next on my list. When you’ve decided which lens you are going to choose, make sure you shop around – Olympus’ website is almost always the most expensive place to buy them. I have bought my camera and lenses from John Lewis and Wex Photographic and each purchase was significantly cheaper than on Olympus’ website. Olympus have a cashback offer on too at the moment so don’t forget to apply for your cashback soon before their offer expires!

I really hope you find this helpful. Let me know below if you did and if you have any other questions!

x

 

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6 Comments

  1. Hannah

    Hello I am about to buy an Olympus pen e-pl7 and want some advice on lenses. So I have heard lots about the 45mm lens and for the same price as buying the pen with the lens it comes with, online I have found just a body (without a lens) for quite cheap where I could just get the 45mm lens instead and it would come to the same price- however is it essential to have the normal lens too? I mainly want it for travel pics and outfit posts/ selfies! So does the 45mm lens do the same as the normal (and more) or would it just be better to have as an extra lens? Thanks xxx

    Reply
    • Olivia Silk

      Hi Hannah,
      I would definitely recommend getting the 45mm lens but you do have to stand a fair distance away from the subject to get the entire shot in. For example outfit posts would be great with the 45mm lens but a standard lens would probably prove useful to have a back up for travel shots etc. For selfies, if you mean using the flip down screen – you will definitely need a standard lens of some sort – if you use the 45mm for a selfie you will get just about your nose in the shot and that will be it haha! I hope that helps!

      Olivia xxx

      Reply
  2. Jana

    I just ordered this camera and the 45mm lens! I can’t wait to receive it. It was your post that made me decide to order the 45mm lens as well because that photo of the pencils is just so beautiful. The most beautiful photo of pencils I have ever seen! Haha!! I am just curious about your lighting in that photo. I suck with lighting. Are you right close to a window? Was the sun shining in or just mid day natural light. Do you have to attach the flash to this camera often?

    Reply
    • Olivia Silk

      Hi Jana,
      Thank you for the lovely comment! It really is a great lens you won’t regret it! I think that day it was just mid day natural light – It was a couple of months ago so I don’t think it was particularly sunny. Shot not far from a window but it’s quite a light room in my bedroom. Natural lighting is always the best lighting! I never use the flash just because I’d rather wait for the natural light to shoot in 🙂 hope that helps!

      Olivia

      Reply
      • Jana

        Thanks! Yes I love it already! This 45mm is amazing and effortlessly gives beautiful background blur! I am finding taking pictures of my little baby right by the window is giving the best lighting. I tried the flash too and it fired on auto and gave it a little extra without looking fake so I am just loving everything!

        Reply
  3. Olivia Silk

    Really pleased to hear it! I’d love to see some of the images! Tag me on instagram 🙂 xxx

    Reply

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