Olympus m10mk2 vs PEN PL8

[MVPernula]

Hello people!

I am lookimg to surprise my girlfriend with a new camera. She already has 2 DSLR's and has come to the conclusion that she wants something more compact and easy to use rather than having a big DLSR around her neck.

She doesnt care too much about shooting in manual mode but likes the idea of being able to. I cant really say what she shoots either, basically anything from macro to mountains.

So; When we go to stores I always try to sneak her into the camera section to see where her hands go. My deduction is that she likes the retro look and preferably Olympus cameras by the looks of it.

She was all over the m10mk2 and thought it was a good cross between a compact camera and the ability to not do everything through a menu. You still have a seeker (though she wasnt impressed over the digital seeker) and the knobs for aperture/shutter speed. This is all perfect.

Second option would be the PEN PL8. Now I love the looks of this camera and the simplicity with it, though I am also missing the seeker and on board settings like the m10mk2.

Alright so after reading this you can clearly tell that I'm strongly favoring the m10, so why nit go for it?
..Well.

The m10 does does not come bundled with a pancake lens like the PEN does.

"Fine, just buy the house and get the lens on the side then?"

Well, sure, but that makes the thing 2000sek (swedish krona) more expensive. And that's alot.
The whole point is to make it a small compact camera, and the lena that comes with the m10 is still "big". So I'm kind of.. Stuck.

And my knowledge about Olympus overall is a bit meh, so anything helps.

Thoughts?

 

[BrentC]

If she is just going to use a pancake lens then the PEN would be the best choice. Very compact and stylish. But you said she does macro and the EM10 has inbuilt focus bracketing that is great for macro. Also the EM10 has a lot of features that the PEN doesn't have and is more versatile. Would she use those features? EM10 has 5-axis IBIS and the PEN 3-axis.
If she likes the retro look I think she would love the PEN. And there is a few colour choices. It's a simpler camera than the EM10 and from what you say it sounds like that is what she wants. Does she need and EVF or happy with just the back LCD display?
Go for the PEN and because it already comes with a pancake lens also get the Oly 60mm macro. It's a fantastic macro lens that also does really well for portraits.

 

[MVPernula]

If she is just going to use a pancake lens then the PEN would be the best choice. Very compact and stylish. But you said she does macro and the EM10 has inbuilt focus bracketing that is great for macro. Also the EM10 has a lot of features that the PEN doesn't have and is more versatile. Would she use those features? EM10 has 5-axis IBIS and the PEN 3-axis.
If she likes the retro look I think she would love the PEN. And there is a few colour choices. It's a simpler camera than the EM10 and from what you say it sounds like that is what she wants. Does she need and EVF or happy with just the back LCD display?
Go for the PEN and because it already comes with a pancake lens also get the Oly 60mm macro. It's a fantastic macro lens that also does really well for portraits.

She is in a way a person who tried everything and uses everything she finds interesting. I'm not saying she does Macro or mountains specifically, more like that she likes to shoot anything depending on what day it is. She basically shoots anything.
And yeah.. One of the tougher questions is about the EVF, she does use it on her camera now but I only think that's the case because her LCD is too worn. Or would she like the EVF more now? I really don't know. But the main thing was getting something small, and as you say there the PEN wins pretty easily.

 

[BrentC]

If she is just going to use a pancake lens then the PEN would be the best choice. Very compact and stylish. But you said she does macro and the EM10 has inbuilt focus bracketing that is great for macro. Also the EM10 has a lot of features that the PEN doesn't have and is more versatile. Would she use those features? EM10 has 5-axis IBIS and the PEN 3-axis.
If she likes the retro look I think she would love the PEN. And there is a few colour choices. It's a simpler camera than the EM10 and from what you say it sounds like that is what she wants. Does she need and EVF or happy with just the back LCD display?
Go for the PEN and because it already comes with a pancake lens also get the Oly 60mm macro. It's a fantastic macro lens that also does really well for portraits.

She is in a way a person who tried everything and uses everything she finds interesting. I'm not saying she does Macro or mountains specifically, more like that she likes to shoot anything depending on what day it is. She basically shoots anything.
And yeah.. One of the tougher questions is about the EVF, she does use it on her camera now but I only think that's the case because her LCD is too worn. Or would she like the EVF more now? I really don't know. But the main thing was getting something small, and as you say there the PEN wins pretty easily.

The EVF can be a pretty big deal. Too bad this is a surprise. See what the return policy is and get the PEN. Surprise her with it but before she opens it, ask her if she would prefer having an EVF. This way she will be surprised with the gift but you have the option of returning it and swapping for the EM10.