Just to warn you this post will be a long one as I have so much to say about this camera so get comfy!!

Also I am no way an expert when it comes to this stuff so I wont be to technical in this review.

I have wanted to do a blog post about my pride and joy the Olympus pen EPL-8 for a while now but I wanted to wait until I had used it and really got the hang of it before I did a proper review, if you read my blog regularly or follow me on social media you would have seen I got this camera for Christmas, I was very lucky and got this along with some other accessories and lenses.

It’s the camera every blogger raves around and is seen all over Instagram, I’ve got to be honest I was in love with my Sony nex 6 although the pen range is beautiful and very stylish, I was always happy with my Sony and didn’t think I needed to upgrade just yet anyway, but it didn’t stop me admiring the pen though whenever I went out shopping in John Lewis and Jessops but I never even thought about buying it myself.

But to my surprise. My boyfriend surprised me with this for Christmas as he saw me looking at it in John Lewis one time, along with the 45mm lens and a personalised nude neck strap and the black Olympus camera bag, I couldn’t believe how pretty everything was,  And so stylish, I was hooked there and then if im honest, the fact the accessories you can buy for this camera is so girly and chic, even the box it came in was amazing and you can definitely see they cater for bloggers with the pretty packaging and design.

I got the white epl8 and I love anything white, it came with the standard kit lens which I believe is now the pancake 14-42mm I actually think this kit lens is really good definitely better than my Sony kit lens, but because I have been used to using prime lenses on my Sony as they give gorgeous bokeh (blurry background) he also got me the 45mm which is very popular with bloggers as it gives gorgeous depth of field while still being really sharp, I do love a bit of back ground blur so I would have definitely bought myself a separate lens anyway, if you feel like your camera just isn’t doing it for you anymore or you aren’t liking the pictures definitely upgrade your lens as I feel like the lens really make a camera not the other way round. I will explain a bit more about my lenses later and what I think about them etc.

The Camera

I was obviously really excited and was playing around with it straight away all over Christmas and taking pictures of all my stuff I got, first thing I noticed was it was definitely more technical than my Sony, it has way more settings and functions that I had to understand which is really overwhelming to start off with especially when you have been used to a different brand for so long, but I did read Julia’s post from Stylonylon which helped me out so Much and I was able to get up the smart control panel which had everything I needed, like ISO, White balance etc. Her post is here if you want a read she has so many posts on her Olympus pen and also does fantastic photography podcasts.

I always shoot in Aperture mode as I love being able to set it myself, I’m still not 100% sure on shutter mode if I’m honest it scares me so I will only shoot in A mode and I have  played around with Manual mode but again because I can’t work out shutter etc I tend to stay off that and stick to aperture, if you’re wondering why I don’t keep it on Auto mode it’s because I love to be able to control the camera myself, like the aperture, ISO and the WB. On my Sony it would only have a couple of options to increase the contrast / brightness where as this Olympus pen has so many settings it lets you customise the WB yourself with using the Kelvin scale, auto WB, cloudy, sunny, fluorescent, and shadow to name a few so it really has lots of options to play around with, I think that’s what made me feel so intimated to start off with. I’m still working out how to mange the Custom white Balance option as I find my pictures can sometimes come out a little bit to cool toned or a little bit more warm toned so I have been leaving it on auto WB lately.

I love that the camera is touch screen, it’s so much easier to use, and with the smart menu everything is just easily accessable, I also love that you can touch the screen to focus on a particular area and also just press on the screen again to take the image. The camera also feels bulky and well made, plus with the design it’s really comfortable and fits in the hand nicely.

The screen flips all the way out which makes it perfect for flaylays and selfies, plus it has a selfie option so when the screen is completely out all you have to do is touch the screen to take the image, its perfect for us beauty bloggers who want to take photos of  makeup swatches or makeup looks.

not only is it an amazing camera that produces high quality sharp photos it also looks the part too, I love the white with the nude and beige detail, it really stands out against all its competitors and I think that’s the reason so many bloggers are attracted to it.

I’m not sure what else I can say other than the fact I really love it, I’m definitely getting the hang of it now although I still have a lot to learn, but im enjoying playing around with it. I mostly just love how detailed and sharp the photos are, and so much better than my Sony, every thing looks crisp and brighter which I love, I hardly have to do any editing now.

 

Lenses

like I said before it came with the standard kit lens the 14-42mm pancake lens, which I have to say is actually a pretty good lens, it doesn’t give amazing blur or detail when zoomed in which is one of the reason I love using prime lenses, as you do the zooming yourself with your feet.

I got the 45mm f1.8 lens for christmas as well which is the beloved blogger lens, its perfect for fashion photography and also more close up photos, although I love the depth of field this lens produces it is a little bit too zoomed in for me especially in my small bedroom where I take my blog photos, so I do find im up against the wall trying to get everything in frame, which isn’t ideal. But don’t let that put you off, it’s an amazing lens and is one of the cheaper lens Olympus has to offer.

 

Next up is the newest lens I have purchased the 17mm f1.8 which was definitely an investment as this one is a lot more pricey than the 45mm for some reason, I’m not sure why as the 45mm is way more popular. But I got this because the 45 just wasn’t practical for me for everyday use, so I was trying decide between the 17mm and the 25mm but after testing them out in jessops I went with the 17mm as its perfect for me, its great for everyday, flaylays and even beauty products I want to take close up photos of, I also wanted this lens to take away with me when we go to america in September that’s was just perfect for landscape shots.

Next I definitely want to get the new 30mm macro lens for more detailed and close up pictures, macro is always a must for us beauty bloggers who like close up detail of makeup and swatches etc.

Olympus Accessories

Olympus offer the best fashion accessories in my opinion, again perfect for us girls and bloggers, I have spent a fortune on all the accessories but I feel like my camera is my baby and because it’s an investment I obviously want to protect it.

I got the leather black like my dress bag for christmas which is gorgeous and doesn’t even look like a camera bag it’s that stylish it has a nude interior, which is lovely and so soft and padded so really protects the camera, it also has dividers in so you can fit your camera and other bits in nicely, it even comes with a gorgeous box and dust bag to protect it.

I loved it so much that I recently bought the just nude leather bag as well, as it was half price on the john lewis website, I just couldn’t say no, plus I did get it mainly as I will be taking both bags away on holiday with me, I don’t carry much when I’m away but I just wanted to be able to protect my camera and I also can easily fit my sunglasses and a little money wallet in here too.  The nude bag is the exact same but it has a grey interior, and I have to say it goes a lot more with my camera. what I love about these bags is you can also use the strap as a camera strap too which is so handy.

 

I picked up the Olympus leather hand strap, as It makes me feel safer when taking photos out and about if I have the hand strap, these were also half price on john lewis so I got the white and nude colour. And look how pretty the box is they came in! so cute!

My neck strap I got for christmas from Sail london, it’s a gorgeous thick leather strap which was personalised with my name on it, it matches the bag perfect too which is a bonus.

 

And the last thing I bought recently was this camera leather jacket (yes a jacket really!!) Olympus do think of everything, this white one has actually been discontinued on the Olympus site but I managed to find it on wex photographic. it’s so cute and I love how it protects the camera from getting dirty, again I only really got this for when im out and about and for when I go on holiday.

That’s pretty much it, If you’re thinking of purchasing the Olympus pen I say do it!! I don’t think you will be disappointed at all, its such a gorgeous camera that takes crisp clear images, It does take a little getting used to but then what camera doesn’t, I am no way a camera expert so I havent gone into to much technical detail in my review, but its perfect for me and what I need it for.  So is the Olympus pen worth the hype?! absolutely yes it is!!

Do you have a Pen? what do you think of it, let me know below.

thanks for reading