Pen-F, E-P7, and OM-3 Color Profiles

Last Update: 26th April 2025

Introduction.

Welcome to my Olympus Pen F, E-P7, and OM System OM-3 Color Profiles. It's been 5 years since I did the original article. I learned much about color and digital cameras in the past 5 years, and I trust you will like my new and updated color profiles. Olympus or OM System is the only manufacturer that lets us adjust or tweak specific image colors with profiles. The trend is global adjustments with LUTs or color presets. White Balance and the Olympus Color Creator function make global adjustments. Other global adjustments are clarity (Fuji), saturation, sharpness, and contrast.

Olympus Pen F with the Lumix 12 - 35mm f2.8 lens. ISO200, f3.2, 1/1000. Kodachrome 64 color profile with a Soft Focus ART filter.

My initial goal with this page was to have Color Profiles that copy the look of old analog camera films like the Fujifilm Velvia 100, Kodachrome 25, or Kodak Porta 160. I always wondered if the visitors to this page indicated what photographers liked most from cameras like the Pen F and E-P7.

Scientists and Engineers are tasked to solve problems. They were as committed to analog photography as digital photography. This raises the question of whether it's good to replicate old analog cameras. Shouldn't we focus on digital cameras while copying the image look that made analog photography so unique? The differences are subtle but critical when creating and working with profiles. The illustration below explains the digital camera and my new approach to color profiles.

Figure 1.

The above illustration shows the digital image-building process from the image signal (light) entering the lens to the camera saving the JPEG image on the SD card. This illustration lets us explain digital cameras. For instance, does the Live ND filter control the reflected light exposing the sensor? The answer is NO because the Live ND filter is a computational function. The shutter and aperture control the reflected light from the subject to the sensor. Another option is having a physical ND filter on the lens. See this article for more about the above illustration and the Enhanced Raw Format.

What is a Chrome effect for analog photographers?

What do you expect from a Chrome effect? Almost every color profile has Chrome in the title. A Chrome effect is synonymous with analog photography. Film manufacturers designed the chemical structure of film (analog) "sensors" to prevent colors like red, yellow, and green from oversaturating in bright light. Analog photographers preferred a more detailed versus an oversaturated image look. A Chrome effect meant a full but slightly desaturated look to analog photographers.

Olympus Pen F with the 9-18mm f4.0 M.Zuiko Lens. ISO200, f7.1, 1/640. I used the Fuji Velvia 100 color profile.

This is an interesting but critical difference between analog and digital. Film cameras use a chemical process to create color, whereas with digital cameras, color is a function of the Image Processor. The Color Profile tool instructs the TruePic image processor to change specific image colors.

Here are a few Web descriptions of Chrome colors:

1. Classic Chrome photos are characterized by their colors and tones. Images shot with Classic Chrome film generally have low color saturation and full-bodied tones.

2. Inspired by Kodak's color slide films—such as Kodachrome and Ektachrome—that were commonly used for documentary photography, Classic Chrome delivers muted tones, rich contrast, and a subtle warmth that evokes the look of classic photojournalism.

3. Color Chrome aims to produce deeper colors and a wider range of tones in subjects such as flowers and bright landscapes. Traditionally, when shooting these scenes in high-contrast scenes, colors can easily become oversaturated and look artificial.

Olympus Pen F with the 17mm f1.8 Zuiko lens. I used the Kodak Porta 160 VC color profile.

Here is a list of the Color Profiles in this article:

1. Kodak Kodachrome 25
2. Kodak Kodachrome 64
3. Kodak Porta 160 NC
4. Kodak Porta 160 VC
5. Fuji Velvia 100
6. Olympus E-Series 1020 RGB
7. Olympus E-Series 2010 CYM
8. My own "Everyday Chrome (red) Film Look"
9. Giuseppe Ardica "City Look"
10. Dave Herring's "Film Chrome Rich" profile (link)
11. Profile 1 - This is an open memory space to randomly use color adjustments
12. Profile 2 - Deep austere colors (Default Pen F, E-P7, and OM-3)
13. Profile 3 - Film effect with saturated colors (Default Pen F, E-P7, and OM-3)
14. Profile 4 - Soft Tones - "Painting with light" (Default Pen E-P7 and OM-3)

Why would photographers want LUTs or Color Presets? The reason is consistency. They prefer a consistent or unique image signature. The Adjust Color (color profile) tool of the Pen F, E-P7, and the OM System OM-3 is special and unique to OM System/Olympus cameras.

My photography style changed from color profiles to using the Creative Color features (Creative Dial) while photographing. The result is a more consistent image look. The iEnhance (Low) picture mode or Everyday Chrome Film profile expresses my preferred image look for Olympus cameras.

Why is it hard to get Color Presets (LUTs) to look right? Your WB, Gamma, and exposure values are likely different from the original preset. Use exposure compensation (global adjustment) and tonal adjustments (targeting highs, mids, and lows) to get the right profile look. It's critical to practice tweaking these variables to get consistent profile results. See my comments in Profile 8.

Olympus Pen F with the M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8 lens. ISO80, f3.5, 1/640. Generic Everyday Color Profile.

How to use these color profiles

I save the following variables for each profile in Workspace. The Pen F and OM-3 custom modes save the complete camera configuration in C1 to C5. The Enhanced Raw Format and Workspace is the most important part in successfully creating and applying Olympus or OM System color profiles. How does Workspace improve our color skills while photographing? Larger PC displays and Workspace are more effective than the tiny displays on our cameras. Dialing in the final profile look consists of one-step adjustments at a time. Workspace improves our skills while painting with light.

Figure 2.

• Picture Mode (Natural to activate the Color Profile or Adjust Color tool)
• White Balance (Only for those profiles with WB compensation settings)
• Noise Filter (I use the same Noise Filter settings for all my cameras)
• Color Space (I always use RGB in the camera and SRGB for the web)
• Adjust Color (My COLOR or Color Profile settings in the camera)

Notes:

- Analogue - the sensor (film) creates color. This is completely different from digital.

- Digital - the image processor calculates color from the RGB filter, WB, and exposure values.

- The color signature of the profile is embedded in the color profile (Adjust Color) settings.

- The color profile targets specific colors - this functionality is unique to Olympus (OMS).

- WB compensation is a global color adjustment. Should we add a Color Cast to film profiles?

- Exposure, Tonal (Gamma), and saturation adjustments are not part of my Color Profiles.

- To help you select the right profile, get to know them and the colors each profile changes.

Olympus E-M1 with the 12-40mm f2.8 Pro lens. The E-M1s have access to the monochrome profile function in Workspace.

1. Kodak Kodachrome 25

Set the final exposure and tweak the image look with step-by-step tonal and saturation adjustments. Don't use the saturation slider. Use the Adjust Color function for saturation. (Press the INFO button on the camera or "select All Colors" in Workspace.) Use this technique to "paint with light" and fine-tune the profile's final color look. Saturation does not change the profile's color signature.

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(-2), 1=(-1), 2=(-2), 3=(-1), 4=(0), 5=(-2), 6=(+2), 7=(+1), 8=(0), 9=(-1), 10=(0), 11=(-1)

- WB compensation:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to +1 and G to -2.

2. Kodak Kodachrome 64

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(-2), 1=(0), 2=(0), 3=(+2), 4=(+1), 5=(+4), 6=(+1), 7=(+1), 8=(-1), 9=(+1), 10=(+2), 11=(-1)

- WB compensation:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to -1 and G = +1

3. Kodak Porta 160 NC Profile

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(-2), 1=(0), 2=(-1), 3=(+1), 4=(1), 5=(-1), 6=(-1), 7=(-2), 8=(-1), 9=(-1), 10=(+1), 11=(-1)

- WB compensation:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to -1 and G = 0

4. Kodak Porta 160 VC Profile

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(0), 1=(+3), 2=(+1), 3=(0), 4=(-2), 5=(0), 6=(-5), 7=(+1), 8=(-2), 9=(-2), 10=(0), 11=(-1)

- WB compensation:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to (+1) and G to (0)

5. Generic Fuji Velvia 100

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(-1), 1=(0), 2=(2), 3=(1), 4=(1), 5=(0), 6=(1), 7=(-1), 8=(2), 9=(1), 10=(1), 11=(1)

- The (Preset WB) settings:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to (0) and G to (0)

6. Olympus E-Series "image look" with the 1020 RGB Color Profile

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(1), 1=(0), 2=(2), 3=(0), 4=(1), 5=(0), 6=(2), 7=(0), 8=(1), 9=(0), 10=(2), 11=(0)

- The (Preset WB) settings:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to (0) and G to (0)

7. Olympus E-Series "image look" with the 2010 CYM Color Profile

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(2), 1=(0), 2=(1), 3=(0), 4=(2), 5=(0), 6=(1), 7=(0), 8=(2), 9=(0), 10=(1), 11=(0)

- The (Preset WB) settings:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to (0) and G to (0)

Olympus E-M1 II with Leica 42mm f1.2 lens. I converted the Enhanced Raw File with WS (Kodachrome 64).

8. My own everyday Chrome film look

This profile applies a chrome effect on reds, greens, and blue skies. Set the final exposure and tweak the image look with step-by-step tonal and saturation adjustments. Don't use the saturation slider. Use the Adjust Color function for saturation. (Press the INFO button on the camera or "select All Colors" in Workspace.) Use this technique to "paint with light" and fine-tune the profile's final color look. Saturation does not change the profile's color signature.

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(+1), 1=(+2), 2=(0), 3=(-1), 4=(-1), 5=(0), 6=(+1), 7=(+1), 8=(+1), 9=(0), 10=(-1), 11=(0)

- The (Preset WB) settings:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to (0) and G to (0)

9. Giuseppe Ardica "City Look"

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(+3), 1=(1), 2=(-4), 3=(0), 4=(-1), 5=(-1), 6=(-1), 7=(-1), 8=(-5), 9=(-1), 10=(1), 11=(-1)

- The (Preset WB) settings:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to (0) and G to 0)

10. Dave Herring "Film Chrome Rich"

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(2), 1=(3), 2=(5), 3=(4), 4=(4), 5=(4), 6=(3), 7=(3), 8=(3), 9=(2), 10=(1), 11=(1)

- The (Preset WB) settings:-

Set the WB to 5200 Kelvin in the SCP and set A to (+1) and G to (-1)

11. Profile 2 - Deep Austere Colors

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(+1), 1=(+1), 2=(0), 3=(0), 4=(0), 5=(0), 6=(+1), 7=(+1), 8=(0), 9=(0), 10=(+1), 11=(+1)

- The (Preset WB) settings:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to (0) and G to (0)

12. Profile 3 - Film effect with saturated colors

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(+4), 1=(+4), 2=(+4), 3=(+4), 4=(+4), 5=(+3), 6=(+4), 7=(+4), 8=(+4), 9=(+4), 10=(+4), 11=(+4)

- The (Preset WB) settings:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to (0) and G to (0)

14. Profile 4 - Soft Tones - "Painting with Light"

- The Color Profile settings:-

0=(-4), 1=(0), 2=(0), 3=(0), 4=(-1), 5=(-1), 6=(-1), 7=(0), 8=(0), 9=(0), 10=(0), 11=(-4)

- The (Preset WB) settings:-

Select Auto WB in the SCP and set A to (0) and G to (0)

Olympus E-P7 with the M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8 lens. ISO200, f5.6, 1/125. I used my own everyday film look profile.

General information about Olympus cameras and Workspace

Information:

• See my review of the E-P7. My color profiles were designed for the Pen F, E-P7, and OM-3.
• Use the Adjust Color and Monochrome profile functions to edit the Enhanced Raw Files of these cameras. Firmware V1.5 allowed more cameras access to these functions. However, only newer Olympus cameras, such as the E-M5 III, E-M1s, Pen F, E-P7, OM-3, and E-M10 IV, can access the monochrome profile function in Workspace.
• The alternative is to edit JPEGS with the Color Adjust (profile) function in Workspace.
• There are 3 ways of working with color and monochrome profiles. First is Color Profiles for the Pen F, E-P7, OM-3, and Workspace. The 2nd option is on-site color adjustments, and the third is tweaking the camera's settings via the Enhanced RAW in Workspace.
• Adding profiles to Custom Modes (C1-C4) with the Pen F. Select your exposure mode (ie, Aperture Mode). Turn the Creative Dial to COLOR and use the SCP to enter your new color profiles to Profile 1, Profile 2, and Profile 3. With the Creative Dial set to COLOR, save your camera configuration to C1, C2, C3, or C4. We can't edit and save Color Profiles in C1-C4. Use the same sequence for the OM-3. The E-P7 does not have custom modes. 

Olympus Pen F with the M.Zuiko 12mm f2 lens. I converted the Enhanced Raw File in WS (Giuseppe Profile).

Related articles:

1. Study my "How-To" page on Workspace at this link. See technique #7 for more information on how to lift a profile from an image. Technique #4 shows how to save a profile as a batch file in Workspace, and Technique #19  shows how to apply the camera's Live View mode in WorkSpace.

2. This article discusses a technique to create color profiles from color cards. I prepared several DxO FilmPack 5 color cards for this purpose. You can use them to develop your own color profiles. This is a more advanced but effective way of learning how to create personalized profiles.

3. This is my final article in a 6-part series reviewing the Creative Color Strategy from Olympus. Most Olympus cameras benefited from this unique creative color strategy. Color and Monochrome Profiles can be used with Pen-F, E-P7, OM-3 raw files, and Workspace.

4. This article discusses the Olympus Pen F and the creative features unique to the Pen F.

5. This article discusses Workspace and the Enhanced Raw Format.

6. See this Fuji article discussing Chrome effects.

Color Profile Summary

The following images show the effect of targeting colors. Click on the first image and scroll...