PHOTO QUALITY. This 16-megapixel mirrorless camera captured images with very good quality. Pictures were sharp, which means you can see most details and subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations without a flash, pictures were sharp. We judged this model very good for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; very good for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym; very good for performance under natural light without a flash, such as shooting under an overcast sky; and very good for low-light performance without a flash, such as capturing a birthday party. Photos taken in our low-light performance tests displayed little image noise; subjects retained most of their correct detail and color.
FLASH. The Pen E-PL7 with the 14-42mm kit lens captured flash shots that were very good. In our distance test, we found the camera's flash could illuminate subjects very well, both near and far. The flash also has excellent, very even coverage.
LENS. This camera has a standard 3x optical zoom lens. The lens also has wide-angle (28mm) capability that's useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.
IMAGE STABILIZER. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. In low-light settings, it performed excellently and almost never produced blurry photos.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Olympus Pen E-PL7 powers up in a moderate amount of time.
VIDEO. The Olympus Pen E-PL7 takes good video, lower quality than some other in its class. It captures full HD video at 1920 x 1080 30p. As for sound, it captures very good audio in stereo.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. It has HDR (high-dynamic range) settings. Unlike most mirrorlesss, this camera does not include a viewfinder, which means you'll need to rely on the LCD to compose your photo or video. The display also swivels; this can be helpful when shooting self-portraits or hard-to-reach shots. Like all cameras of this kind, it can capture RAW files, which gives you the most flexibility when manipulating image files with software, and has a hot shoe for attaching an external flash (generally sold separately).
