Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II vs Olympus PEN-F — Which Is Better?

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II and the Olympus PEN-F are both mirrorless cameras built around the Micro Four Thirds system, so either one takes the same wide range of native lenses. The E-M10 Mark II arrived in 2015 and the PEN-F followed in early 2016.

Their measurements differ in shape as well as weight. The E-M10 Mark II stands 120 x 83 x 47 mm with a taller grip area, while the PEN-F is a flatter 125 x 72 x 37 mm. The PEN-F also carries 427 g against 390 g, making it 9.5 percent heavier.

The PEN-F is the stronger choice for heavy cropping and larger prints, with 20.3 megapixels against 16.1 for the E-M10 Mark II. Those 4.2 extra megapixels give landscape and travel photographers more latitude to reframe a shot after the fact.

Action photography also favours the PEN-F. Its 10 fps maximum burst outpaces the 8 fps of the E-M10 Mark II, and its 1/16000 second top shutter allows exposures four times shorter than the E-M10 Mark II's 1/4000 second, useful at wide apertures in bright daylight. Both share the TruePic VII processor, 81 autofocus points and in-body stabilisation.

Anyone shooting family clips or travel movies gets matching recording limits on either body. Full HD is the maximum resolution on each, the top frame rate is 60 fps, and both include built-in timelapse for interval work with no extra gear.

Editing convenience is where they differ. The PEN-F records in MOV as well as AVI, while the E-M10 Mark II records AVI only, so PEN-F files drop more readily into common editing timelines without conversion.

The E-M10 Mark II is the easier camera for casual indoor and evening shooting because it carries a built-in flash, giving instant fill light without packing a separate unit. The PEN-F has no built-in flash, so it relies on an external flash, which both bodies support.

Both carry a 3-inch touch LCD that flips out for waist-level and self-framed shots, plus Wi-Fi for transferring images to a phone. Neither body offers GPS, Bluetooth or weather sealing.

Storage works the same way on both bodies: each takes one SD, SDHC or SDXC card, with no second slot on either for backup or overflow. Anyone moving between the two bodies can keep the same cards.

Battery ratings sit close together, at 320 shots for the E-M10 Mark II and 330 for the PEN-F, a 3.1 percent gap. They use different battery types, though, the BLS-50 and the BLN-1, so spares are not interchangeable between the two bodies.