Photoxels

Olympus PEN E-PL8 Entry-Level Mirrorless: Stylish, Compact & Lightweight; High-Speed Touch AF; Selfie Mode Activates When LCD Monitor Flips Downward; Video Selfie Mode; e-Portrait Mode to Smooth Skin Tones; Enhance Your Creativity with Olympus Image Palette; Easy Connectivity Via Built-in Wi-Fi and Olympus Image Share Smartphone App

The following video presents The Distinctively Stylish & Compact Olympus PEN E-PL8:
The Olympus PEN E-PL8 offers brilliant image quality in a fashionable, compact body.

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (White)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (White)

PRESS RELEASE

OLYMPUS PEN E-PL8® CREATES BRILLIANT PHOTOGRAPHY AND SELFIES IN STYLE

The new PEN E-PL8 packs stunning image quality and creative control into a camera designed with the sophisticated, stylish shooter in mind

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Brown)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Brown)

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., September 19, 2016 — Olympus introduces the Olympus PEN E-PL8, a compact interchangeable-lens camera featuring stunning image quality, simplified selfie functions and creative control, all in a stylish design that’s perfect for every occasion. As the newest model in Olympus’ renowned PEN® lineup, the Olympus PEN E-PL8 combines a sophisticated, lightweight body with Olympus imaging technology and multiple creative functions to deliver photographic expression beyond a smartphone for those looking to capture the brilliant details of their active lifestyle. To further enhance users’ creativity, the new Olympus Image Palette (OI.Palette) smart device app brings popular creative features from Olympus interchangeable lens cameras to smartphones and tablets.

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (White)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (White)

The Olympus PEN E-PL8’s distinctive look is highlighted by modern, rounded body lines, an embossed Olympus PEN logo, intricately detailed metal dials, and premium metal and leather-grained finishes that perfectly complement each color option — white, black and brown. Each color palette is tailored to suit the user’s personal style, whether it is vintage, elegant and sophisticated, traditional or relaxed.

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black) with LCD Facing Forward
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black) with LCD Facing Forward

The 180-degree flip-touch LCD monitor takes the guesswork out of selfies, with a straightforward user interface that automatically switches the camera to Selfie Mode when the LCD monitor is flipped downward to its front-facing position for easy stills and video. With high-speed Touch AF, the Olympus PEN E-PL8 instantly focuses and shoots with a simple touch of the monitor. Use e-Portrait Mode to automatically smooth skin tones or one of 14 Art Filters to capture unique and creative shots, then wirelessly upload and share them using the Olympus PEN E-PL8’s built-in Wi-Fi® and the Olympus Image Share smartphone app.

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Brown)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Brown)

Enhancing the Olympus PEN E-PL8’s stylish design and ease of use is the Olympus imaging technology inherited from the acclaimed OM-D® series. The TruePic VII Image Processor is paired with a 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor to deliver beautiful stills with high resolution, superior color reproduction and excellent low-light performance for stunning nighttime images.

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black)

In addition to the Olympus PEN E-PL8’s robust creativity functions, the new OI.Palette free photo editing app provides popular features from Olympus interchangeable lens cameras, including Art Filters, Art Effects, Color Creator, and Highlight and Shadow Control, for convenient use on smartphones and tablets with intuitive controls. Joining the existing Olympus apps OI.Share® and Sweet Photo, OI.Palette will be available for download beginning September 20, 2016 and includes all 28 Art Filter options that may also be combined with eight Art Effects. Features included for the first time on a smart device app include Color Creator, which lets users control hue and color saturation, and highlight and shadow control, which makes it possible to adjust highlights and shadows that are difficult to control with exposure compensation. Users can directly post edited images to social networks using OI.Palette.

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black) Top View
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black) Top View

Main Features

Premium PEN Design
The Olympus PEN series is highly regarded for its compact and lightweight bodies, excellent operability and premium design. The Olympus PEN E-PL8 carries on the features of the Olympus PEN series with a sophisticated design that’s perfect for every occasion.

The camera’s soft, modern body lines are incorporated into a rounded shape that fits perfectly in the user’s hand. The embossed Olympus PEN logo[1], aluminum finish on the upper part of the body and metal dials show Olympus’ commitment to detail.

The front of the body features synthetic leather and carefully selected grained finishes for each color option. The bundled strap and the triangular split ring color compliments the body color[2] for a cohesive premium look and feel.

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black) + optional Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B (Black) + bundled Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II (Black)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black) + optional Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B (Black) + bundled Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II (Black)

The camera body is available in three colors, including white, black and brown. The white is elegant and sophisticated with contrasting beige tones, the black provides a traditional camera look with silver accents, and the brown offers relaxed vintage appeal. Pick the color that best suits your style.

Downward-Opening 180-Degree Flip-Touch LCD Monitor and Creative Shooting Functions
Selfies are easily captured as both still images and videos with the Olympus PEN E-PL8’s tilt-touch LCD monitor. A wide range of shooting functions provides high-quality selfies with unique and creative expressions.

  1. Downward-Opening 180-Degree Flip-Touch LCD Monitor
    The Olympus PEN E-PL8 is equipped with a large high-definition touch-enabled LCD monitor that rotates downward 180 degrees to enable simplified operation without accidentally capturing the user’s finger in the shot. The compact grip on the front makes holding the camera more comfortable.

The optional Fisheye Body Cap Lens, BCL-0980 (9mm f8.0 Fisheye), can capture the entire background in the shot, perfect for group photos and selfies while traveling.

  • Selfie Mode
    When the LCD monitor is flipped downward, Selfie Mode is automatically activated and the image shown on the monitor turns into a mirror display. In addition to the e-Portrait[3], shutter release, custom self-timer and brightness adjustment buttons[4], video Clips and movie recording buttons have been added to the monitor display for a variety of touch operations. The video Selfie Mode makes recording selfie movies smooth and easy, and displays a movie effect button as well as a movie recording button, brightness adjustment button and video Clips button.

The shutter release button is designed to capture a photo one second after it’s touched so you can shift your eyes from your finger to the lens for better selfies. e-Portrait makes skin look smoother in photos. When an electronic zoom lens is attached to the camera, it automatically switches the zoom to a wide-angle setting[5] for quick selfie shooting with the optimal wide angle.

  • Creative Shooting Functions
    Art Filters may be used with selfies for expanded expressions. Users can check the effects in Live View while selecting filters for shots that perfectly fit their image. Art Filter options may also be applied to each frame[6] in Photo Story, a feature that allows users to combine multiple shots into a single image for a greater variety of expression.

Built-In Wi-Fi for Remote Shooting and Wireless Uploading and Sharing
The built-in Wi-Fi and dedicated Olympus Image Share smartphone app allows users to wirelessly connect the Olympus PEN E-PL8 to their smartphone for instant sharing of high-quality images on social networks. Users avoid troublesome initial settings by simply scanning the QR code that appears on the camera monitor with their smartphone to complete the connection with a few easy steps. Remote shooting allows users to use their smartphone as a remote control. They can adjust camera settings and compose on a smartphone screen to capture the best shot.

Clips and Art Filter Movie
Users are increasingly posting videos to social networks. To meet this need, the Olympus PEN E-PL8 is equipped with enhanced movie recording features.

  1. Clips
    This feature combines multiple short video clips and adds background music and effects to create a single video. With Clips, users can easily turn everyday scenes into impressive short movies. They can also download and add background music that suits users’ tastes[7].
  2. Art Filter Movie
    Art Filters are available for video capture, just as they are for still-image capture. Everyday scenes and precious moments can be captured with an artistic finish in videos for lasting memories.
  3. Movie Effects
    Four different Movie Effects can be applied to videos. The Old Film Effect allows users to record videos that look like antique films and Art Fade Effect provides smooth transitions from one effect to another.
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black)

Excellent Imaging Performance
The camera’s high image quality, inherited from the Olympus OM-D series of interchangeable lens cameras, allows for quality and performance that satisfies professional needs. The 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor retains details in shadow and faithfully represents night scenes and dark indoor scenes. The wide dynamic range provides smooth transitions from light to shadow to beautifully capture high-contrast scenes. The TruePicVII Image Processor (also used in Olympus’ flagship OM-D E-M1) brings out the best of the excellent optical performance and quality of M.ZUIKO® Digital lenses for high resolution and vivid color reproduction. The powerful VCM in-body image stabilization makes it possible to capture sharp, blur-free images even in low light.

Other Features

  • iAUTO captures beautiful shots with a simple press of the shutter release.
  • Live Guide lets users capture photos exactly as they imagine with easy-to-understand on-screen displays.
  • Nighttime Live Composite Mode allows users to capture impressive trails of light.
  • Fast AF instantly focuses when users touch the monitor.
  • 5 fps[8] high-speed sequential shooting captures every moment.
  • The Quick Start Guide is bundled so you can start shooting immediately even if you are a beginner.

Optional Accessories

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black) + optional Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B (Brown) + optional Genuine Leather Lens Cover, LC-60.5GL (Brown) + bundled Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II (Brown)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (Black) + optional Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B (Brown) + optional Genuine Leather Lens Cover, LC-60.5GL (Brown) + bundled Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II (Brown)

Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (White) + optional Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B (Light Brown) + optional Genuine Leather Lens Cover, LC-60.5GL (Light Brown) + bundled Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II (Light Brown)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (White) + optional Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B (Light Brown) + optional Genuine Leather Lens Cover, LC-60.5GL (Light Brown) + bundled Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II (Light Brown)

This body jacket helps protect the camera body from scratches and gives the premium feel of genuine leather. It is available in light brown, brown, black and white. Users can also enjoy the coordinating Genuine Leather Lens Cover, LC-60.5GL and the currently available Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II.

Olympus PEN E-PL8 (White) + optional Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B (White) + bundled Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II (White)
Olympus PEN E-PL8 (White) + optional Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B (White) + bundled Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II (White)

Genuine Leather Lens Cover, LC-60.5GL
The Genuine Leather Lens Cover, LC-60.5GL, is especially made for the M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ. It covers the entire lens, protecting it from shocks, scratches and blemishes. It can be used with Lens Cap LC-37B, Automatic Opening Lens Cap LC-37C, Protective Filter PRF-D37 or PRF-D37 PRO attached[9]. It is available in light brown, brown, black and white, and can be coordinated with the Genuine Leather Body Jacket CS-45B and the currently available Genuine Leather Shoulder Strap, CSS-S109LL II.

Multi-Purpose Case, CS-50SF (Beige): open
Multi-Purpose Case, CS-50SF (Beige): open

Multi-Purpose Case, CS-50SF

Multi-Purpose Case, CS-50SF (Beige): close
Multi-Purpose Case, CS-50SF (Beige): close

This compact, soft case may be used to store the camera with an interchangeable lens attached[10]. It can be folded when not in use. A small pocket on the inside is convenient for storing SD cards. It is made of polyester and available in beige and black.

Multi-Purpose Case, CS-50SF (Black)
Multi-Purpose Case, CS-50SF (Black)

Sales Outline: Optional Accessories

Product Name SRP Launch Date
Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B

(Light Brown / Brown / Black)

$59.99 USD
$59.99 CAD
Now on sale
Genuine Leather Body Jacket, CS-45B

(White)

$59.99 USD

$59.99 CAD

October 2016
Genuine Leather Lens Cover, LC-60.5GL

(Light Brown / Brown / Black)

$44.99 USD
$44.99 CAD
Now on sale
Genuine Leather Lens Cover, LC-60.5GL

(White)

$44.99 USD
$44.99 CAD
October 2016
Multi-Purpose Case, CS-50SF (Black / Beige) $29.99 USD
$38.99 CAD
October 2016

U.S. Pricing and Availability

Olympus PEN E-PL8: (left to right) white, black, brown
Olympus PEN E-PL8: (left to right) white, black, brown

The Olympus PEN E-PL8 will be available in black, white and brown beginning in October 2016 for an estimated street price of $549.99 USD / $649.99 CAD for the camera body only and $649.99 USD / $749.99 CAD for the 14–42mm IIR kit. For a complete list of specifications, visit the Olympus website: http://www.getolympus.com/digitalcameras/pen/e-pl8.html

[1] Logo is embossed in gold on the white and brown bodies, and embossed in silver on the black body.
[2] The color of the triangular ring split cover is beige for the white and brown bodies, and black for the black body.
[3] When set to iAUTO.
[4] Except for iAUTO, SCN, and M modes.
[5] After automatically switching to the wide-angle setting, you can manually change the zoom setting.
[6] Only when Layout is selected.
[7] Download page URL: http://support.olympus-imaging.com/bgmdownload/index.ja.html. “Happy Days” (new track) is set as a default track. Users can download 14 tracks from the website, including three new tracks.
[8] With IS off.
[9] When Protection Filter PRF-D37 or PRF-D37 PRO is attached, the Automatic Opening Lens Cap LC-37C does not work correctly.
[10] There are some limitations to which lenses can be stored in the case while attached to the camera.


The following video presents Introducing The PEN E-PL8


B&H Photo VideoPlease support this site. You can pre-order / buy the new Olympus PEN E-PL8 and accessories from our Trusted Sponsor B&H Photo-Video, the Professional’s Source, satisfying millions of customers for over 35 years (prices are in USD):

 

Support Photoxels

There are various ways to support Photoxels. Whenever you click on an ad or make any purchase from an Amazon, B&H, Adorama or other link, it does not cost you a cent more, but I earn a small commission or referral fee.

  • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Visits and/or purchases you make through a qualified link (e.g. B&H, Adorama, Google ads, or any other ads on this site) may eventually earn us a commission fee from the advertisers.
  • Thank you for your support!

Advertisements: Google

Camera Buyer’s Guide

Advertisements: B&H

Advertisements: Adorama

Advertisements: Amazon

Advertisements: Skylum

Categories

Archives

Sponsored Links: Accessories