PEN-F HSL alpha — 17 October 2026

PEN-F HSL alpha for Olympus PEN-F firmware 3.1.

New since the 13 October alpha:

• Hue, Saturation and Lightness now cover −7…+7.
• H/L are preserved by ordinary OM Workspace settings backup/restore.

The ZIP contains the patched BIN, stock-restore BIN, instructions, checksums
and patch details. Both firmware BINs include main and
OSD components (44,433,408 bytes each), so the Value bitmap is included and
no previous HSL installation is required.

Release README
· Installation and downgrade instructions

Install BIN SHA256:

4f9a36e6742728ded3d9b443915355f1d1eea0371e1da673f322de970994f717

Stock-restore BIN SHA256:

e13f9813d01d15441082ed907966aec54356d70ba0f75ae9b6c2b259ff01f26a

Before downgrading, bring every saved COLOR saturation value within −5…+5,
including custom modes. The firmware menu continues to display 3.1.

Stock restoration followed by installation of this exact combined release
BIN passed on the project camera on 17 October 2026. Offline updater and
checksum checks also pass. Experimental firmware is used at your own risk;
recovery from every failure is not guaranteed.

Pen-F HSL alpha-20261013

PEN-F HSL -- alpha
13 October 2026

Unofficial firmware for the Olympus PEN-F (E122), starting from official
firmware 3.1. For a camera on an older version, install official 3.1 first.
This firmware adds Hue and Lightness adjustments to the camera's existing
12-color Saturation editor. Install the included patched BIN using the SD
card procedure below. A stock-restore BIN is also included.

The native execution checks and exact combined updater checks pass offline.
The project camera owner reports normal operation, successful restoration
to stock, and successful reinstallation of this alpha from stock. These
are owner-reported camera checks, not an exhaustive regression test.
Recovery from every possible failure is not guaranteed. This is an early
alpha for voluntary testing.

WHAT IT DOES

• Adds Hue and Lightness to the existing 12-color Saturation wheel, with
  integer values from -5 to +5 for each axis.
• Works in COLOR1, COLOR2 and COLOR3. P/A/S/M share three profiles; C1-C4
  each have three more, for 15 user-facing profiles in total.
• Added values affect live view, EVF and recorded JPEGs, persist through
  normal power-off, and follow the stock custom-mode save/recall workflow.
• New ORFs contain the captured HSL look in native Olympus processing data.
• In-camera RAW development can apply a selected profile's current H/L.
• Shows Hue/Saturation/Lightness and a Switch [trash] hint in the editor.
  The lower Vivid graphic becomes Value. Added labels are English.

The firmware menu still displays 3.1. This alpha is identified by the file hash,
not by a new number on the camera. Internal main build remains 3101.

FILES AND HASHES

Install: install-alpha/DCOLYMP/E1229999.BIN
SHA256: c68a97cc66644d8fb23914a40cd10096d75f552f98c8d3638f41d51b5992cb4a

Stock restore: restore-stock/DCOLYMP/E1229999.BIN
SHA256: e13f9813d01d15441082ed907966aec54356d70ba0f75ae9b6c2b259ff01f26a

Both BINs are 44,433,408 bytes, containing the main program and OSD graphics
components. This kit includes only the patched firmware and stock restore.

The install changes 4,566 bytes relative to matching stock 3.1/build 3101,
including checksums: 3,833 main payload, 725 bitmap, eight checksum bytes.
Neither component changes size. See PATCH-SUMMARY.txt and PATCH-RANGES.csv
for the locations and extent of the modifications.

SHA256SUMS covers all kit files. On Linux, open a terminal in the extracted
kit directory and run: sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS
On Windows PowerShell, to check the install BIN run:
Get-FileHash .\install-alpha\DCOLYMP\E1229999.BIN -Algorithm SHA256
Compare the full result with the install hash above (case does not matter).

INSTALLATION

1. Confirm the camera is a PEN-F with firmware 3.1 installed.
   Note any important settings before testing. A Workspace settings backup
   can preserve the stock settings, but does not preserve added H/L values.
2. Select A with Natural picture mode, switch off, fully charge the battery
   and disconnect USB. Use a working SD card; back up its photos first.
3. Copy the DCOLYMP folder from install-alpha to the SD card root. The path
   must be /DCOLYMP/E1229999.BIN. Do not copy the outer release or
   install-alpha folder to the card. Use only one selected update file.
4. Insert the card with the camera off. Hold OK and switch the camera on.
   Release OK once the update indication starts. The screen stays black;
   the AF-assist lamp is steady during updating and blinks rapidly when
   complete. Do not interrupt the steady-light phase or remove the battery.
   Allow the update to finish. There is no established safe forced-stop
   timeout for an unexpected indication.
5. After the rapid completion blinking, switch off. Remove the update card
   or remove its update file on the computer, then restart normally without
   holding OK. Start with the brief checks below.

USING THE EDITOR

Turn the front creative dial to COLOR, choose COLOR1/2/3, and use the usual
creative lever to open the color wheel. The existing camera dials select
a color and adjust its value. Tap Delete to cycle:
Saturation -> Lightness -> Hue -> Saturation.

The title, number and wheel follow the selected axis. Switching axes alone
does not change the picture. The selected color is shared across axes.
The last axis is remembered when reopening the editor until power-off;
the next startup begins on Saturation, with saved H/L values retained.

INFO/ALL retains the stock group-edit behavior and Delete also works in ALL.
A group step stops if any color is already at the relevant -5/+5 boundary.
Some extreme combinations retain the stock INFO toggle restrictions.

Hold OK on Hue or Lightness to reset that axis to zero for the current
profile. The other axes are retained. Holding OK on Saturation restores
that profile's stock saturation defaults, which may not all be zero.
To neutralize both added axes, reset H and L separately.

The first installation starts with neutral H/L. Save/register custom modes
through the normal camera menu. Registration replaces the whole custom setup, not just HSL;
editing a recalled profile does not automatically re-register that mode.

BRIEF FIRST CHECK FOR A NEW USER

Check Natural, menus and playback, then open each COLOR profile and verify
H/L starts at zero. In one profile, set Lightness +5 for a visible color,
check preview, and take RAW+JPEG. Try a small Hue change and another pair.
Check recorded JPEGs, profile independence and retention after a normal
restart. Reset H/L separately afterward if desired.

RAW FILES AND WORKSPACE

Newly captured ORFs store the native HSL processing parameters. In Workspace,
leave Adjust Color UNCHECKED to use that captured look. The first displayed
image may be the embedded JPEG; force actual RAW development/export when
checking. Enabling Adjust Color explicitly overrides the embedded look.
Its sliders do not initialize with the saved H/L values.

Native HSL metadata has passed offline serialization and rendering checks.
Fresh Windows Workspace GUI export of camera-created files from this release
remains unverified. Older ORFs are not retroactively changed, and native HSL
support in other RAW converters is not established.

In-camera RAW Data Edit Current/Custom uses the selected COLOR profile's
current H/L. RAW Custom1/2 do not gain separate H/L banks or their own H/L
editor. This is not a new in-camera loader for the ORF's as-shot HSL recipe.

KNOWN LIMITS

• Workspace settings backup does not include added H/L. Restoring such a
  backup neutralizes H/L in the restored banks. Photograph/write down
  important recipes before using settings restore.
• JPEG appearance includes H/L, but JPEG profile-sharing metadata has not
  been extended. JPEG profile import is not a way to transfer the full HSL
  recipe yet. USB/Wi-Fi recipe transfer is also not part of this alpha.
• Range remains -5..+5. No recording-limit, grain, sharpening or unrelated
  feature modifications are included. Delete remains its stock action
  outside the COLOR editor; it is not a new live-view editor shortcut.
• Value replaces a bitmap shared with other COLOR/CRT screens. CRT and
  monochrome do not acquire an HSL editor.

RETURNING TO STOCK

Repeat the installation procedure using restore-stock/DCOLYMP instead.
That restores stock main firmware and the original Vivid bitmap. It keeps
the displayed version at 3.1 and does not perform a settings factory reset
or deliberately erase the stored extension cells. Stock firmware does not
apply the added H/L. Reinstalling this alpha may restore your saved H/L values.

The included stock restore and reinstalling this alpha afterward have both
worked on the project camera. The complete early boot/recovery path is not
proved; the restore file is not a guarantee that every malfunctioning camera
can still reach the updater.