OM System PEN: Not the PEN-F II, and that’s a good thing
For years, I have been saying that OM System should make a successor to the PEN-F. Well, they finally made a new PEN. And I am very glad it is not the camera I was asking for.
Let me explain why.
Olympus Passion recently had the opportunity to attend OM System’s launch event in Berlin, where we were able to spend some hands-on time with the new OM System PEN. These are my first impressions after several hours with the camera, rather than a full review based on extended real-world use.
But even in that relatively short time, one thing became clear to me. The new PEN is not trying to recreate the PEN-F. Instead, it takes the original philosophy of the PEN and brings it into a different part of the OM System line-up.
And perhaps that is exactly what the PEN needed.
The PEN-F was special. Perhaps too special.
The PEN-F remains one of the most beautifully made digital cameras I have ever used.
Its construction, materials and obsessive attention to detail gave it an almost jewel-like quality. The dials and switches were machined from solid aluminium, and even apparently insignificant details were carefully considered. The black version had a black hot shoe cover, while the silver version had a silver one.
Yes, we are talking about a hot shoe cover. But that tells you something about the PEN-F. It was a camera designed with an almost unreasonable level of attention to detail.
The problem was that this came at a price. The PEN-F was not exactly a commercial success, and when you placed it alongside cameras offering higher specifications for similar money, many buyers understandably made the rational choice rather than the emotional one.
The PEN-F was a camera you wanted with your heart. The market, however, often buys with its head.
So when I first saw the new OM System PEN in Berlin, I immediately realised that this was not going to be the PEN-F Mark II that so many of us had been hoping for. And that may be a very good thing.
What was missing from the OM System line-up?
There is something OM System has done exceptionally well since the beginning of the brand, and that is building cameras for people who like to be out there doing things.
This is not an opinion. It is clearly reflected in the product line.
The OM-1 is very much at home in wildlife, action and adventure photography. The OM-3 brings much of that philosophy into a more compact body with a strong emphasis on creativity and urban exploration. The OM-5 series offers a smaller and lighter approach to outdoor photography, while the Tough TG series is designed for environments where most cameras would rather stay indoors.
And there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is one of the things that makes the OM System ecosystem so coherent.
But there was still a gap.
There are plenty of photographers who do not need a big professional camera. They want something they can take on the daily commute, carry while walking around a city, bring on holiday, use to photograph their family and friends, or simply keep with them because they never know when something interesting might happen.
In other words, they want a visual diary of everyday life. They want a camera that is small, light, capable and, above all, easy to live with. Of course, almost any OM System camera can be used in this way. But until now, none had really been designed around this idea.
That is where the new PEN comes in.
Meet the new OM System PEN
The first thing you notice is that it is unmistakably a PEN.
The rangefinder-style body, the compact proportions and the electronic viewfinder positioned to the left immediately connect it to the heritage of the PEN family.
But this is not simply a nostalgic exercise. OM System has taken a different approach to the camera.
Over the years, those of us who kept asking for a modern PEN-F successor tended to return to the same requests:
- Weather sealing.
- A newer sensor and processor, without necessarily chasing more megapixels.
- USB-C charging.
The new PEN has all three. And it goes considerably further.
There is an electronic viewfinder, AI Subject Detection AF, a Creative Dial, computational photography, an updated sensor and processor, and a body that is weather-sealed to IPX1.
For the first time, a PEN can be taken out into less-than-perfect weather without immediately making you nervous. That alone feels like a significant step forward.
Form meets function
The new PEN shares its approach to construction with the OM-5 Mark II, using durable technical polymers over an internal reinforcing structure. Personally, I would have loved to see a fully metal body. But I also understand the trade-off.
The PEN-F was an extraordinarily expensive camera to manufacture, and that beautiful construction contributed to a price that put it into competition with technically more advanced cameras. If the aim of the new PEN is to be a camera that people can actually afford, carry everywhere and use without hesitation, compromises have to be made somewhere.
And despite the materials, the new PEN does not feel cheap. It feels solid in the hand, with no obvious flex or movement when you grip the body. The overall impression is reassuringly substantial considering how small and light the camera is.
There is also one small ergonomic change that makes a noticeable difference. Unlike the PEN-F, which relied on a thumb grip, the new PEN combines this with a proper front grip.
Having my own PEN-F with me in Berlin made the comparison particularly interesting. That little front grip may not look significant in photographs, but it makes the camera noticeably more comfortable to hold, especially during prolonged use or when paired with a larger lens.
It is one of those changes that looks minor on a specification sheet and makes perfect sense once you actually use the camera.
A simpler control layout
One of my favourite aspects of the new PEN is something that may go largely unnoticed. You can operate almost everything with your right hand.
Unlike the OM-1, OM-3 and OM-5 families, the power switch is positioned on the right side of the camera and can be operated with the thumb. Combined with the front and rear dials, the D-pad and the other controls, this makes the PEN very efficient to use.
The PEN-F had an impressive number of physical controls for such a small camera. I never once accidentally pressed a button or moved a dial on mine, which says something, considering how much was packed onto that body. But some of those controls were arguably redundant.
In the new PEN, the dedicated exposure compensation dial is gone, but full control of the exposure triangle remains accessible through the combination of the front and rear dials and the D-pad. Personally, I particularly like having the rear dial available for exposure compensation when shooting in the semi-automatic modes.
Less can sometimes be more. And here, less makes the camera feel more intuitive without taking away the controls that actually matter.
The viewfinder makes a difference
The inclusion of an EVF is one of the things that makes this feel like a proper modern PEN rather than simply another compact digital camera.
The EVF itself is not larger than the one in the PEN-F, but the updated optical elements make a noticeable difference to perceived sharpness. It is a competent and clear viewfinder.
However, this is also one area where I think OM System could have pushed a little further. I was not expecting the kind of enormous viewfinder found on the OM-1, but a slightly larger EVF would have made the camera even more comfortable to use. Perhaps I am asking too much from such a small body.
The Creative Dial, revisited
The Creative Dial is one of the features that connects the new PEN directly to the PEN-F and OM-3.
The concept itself made its debut with the PEN-F and was subsequently brought to the OM-3, where it remains one of that camera’s defining features. The OM-3 retains the four main Creative Dial modes: MONO, COLOR, ART and CRT, or Colour Creator.
The new PEN takes a simpler approach. Rather than reproducing the PEN-F or OM-3 implementation in full, it follows the more streamlined philosophy already seen in the E-P7.
Some PEN-F users may see that as a disappointment. I understand that reaction. But the broader idea is arguably more important than the physical control itself.
The new PEN joins a small group of OM System cameras that support extensive colour and monochrome profile customisation, allowing photographers to create their own visual signatures rather than relying solely on conventional picture profiles.
JPEGs using Mono Profile straight out of the camera
There are four adjustable Colour Profiles and four adjustable Mono Profiles, opening up a wide range of possibilities. And it becomes even more interesting when you bring the OI.Share app into the equation.
Rather than starting from scratch, you can use an image whose look you like as the basis for creating a recipe, then transfer that look to the camera.
For photographers who enjoy creating their own visual style, this is an accessible way of doing it. And for those who have never quite known where to start, it removes a considerable amount of the guesswork.
RIGHT: OM System PEN . OM 14-42mmF3.5-5.6 III @42mm . F/5.6 . 1/80″ . ISO 800
More than a pretty face
It would be easy to look at the PEN and think that its main selling point is its appearance. That would be a mistake. Underneath that familiar PEN exterior is a highly capable little camera.
The AI Subject Detection AF recognises humans and pets, bringing subject recognition technology into a body that is primarily designed around everyday photography.
RIGHT: OM System PEN . OM 14-42mmF3.5-5.6 III @14mm . F/4.7 . 1/640″ . ISO 200
During my time with the camera, autofocus felt very responsive. The bundled M.Zuiko 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III is not exactly an action photography specialist, so my time with it was not the ideal environment for pushing the AF system to its limits. Nevertheless, the overall experience was quick and confident.
The new PEN also benefits from the image stabilisation OM System is known for. In some quick tests, I was able to shoot at 1/3 second without difficulty. That is precisely the kind of feature that matters on an everyday camera. When you are walking around with a small camera and do not want to carry a tripod, every stop of stabilisation counts.
The excellent stabilisation also enables Handheld High Res Shot. It is quick to capture the sequence, although the camera does need a few seconds to process the resulting image.
Again, this is exactly the sort of technology that makes sense in a camera designed for everyday exploration.
RIGHT: Cropped Image
50MP Handheld High Res Shot
RIGHT: Cropped Image
50MP Handheld High Res Shot
A few thoughtful details
There are other changes that show that the PEN is not simply a smaller version of an existing OM System camera.
For the first time in a PEN, the SD card has its own dedicated compartment rather than sharing the battery compartment.
There is also a dedicated CP button on the rear, providing direct access to the camera’s computational photography functions.
These may not be features that sell a camera on their own, but together they make the PEN feel like a deliberately designed product rather than a collection of compromises.
The bundled M.Zuiko 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III also follows the same philosophy, with weather sealing that makes the combination much more useful for everyday photography in less predictable conditions.
That matters. If the whole point of the PEN is that it should go everywhere with you, the lens should not immediately become the weak link when the weather changes.
A PEN for everyday adventures
There is a reason the name PEN has such a strong place in Olympus history.
Yoshihisa Maitani wanted the camera to be small, light and portable enough to become part of everyday life. The philosophy was beautifully simple: a camera is of little use if you do not take it with you. That idea feels particularly relevant today.
We have smartphones that are always with us, of course, but there is still something different about carrying a dedicated camera. A camera invites you to look. It encourages you to notice light, people, architecture and those little moments that might otherwise disappear into the background.
The new PEN seems to have been designed around precisely this relationship between photographer and everyday life. It is small enough to carry without thinking about it. It is sophisticated enough that you do not immediately feel limited by it. And it is simple enough that you can concentrate on taking photographs rather than operating a camera.
That combination is harder to achieve than it sounds.
What impressed me
After spending several hours with the camera, these are the things that stood out most to me.
The size and weight. It is genuinely small without feeling like a toy.
Weather sealing. This is probably one of the most requested additions from PEN users, and it makes a meaningful difference to the camera’s versatility.
The EVF. Having a proper viewfinder in such a compact body changes the experience considerably.
The ergonomics. The small front grip works remarkably well, particularly when combined with the thumb grip.
One-handed operation. Being able to control so much of the camera with the right hand makes it fast and instinctive.
Build quality. Despite the use of technical polymers, the camera feels solid and reassuringly well made.
The design. It looks unmistakably like a PEN and manages to reference its heritage without becoming a retro caricature.
Simplicity. Compared with the PEN-F, some controls have disappeared, but the result is arguably a more intuitive camera.
Creative possibilities. The ability to create, customise and share colour and monochrome profiles opens up a deep creative side to what is otherwise a very straightforward camera.
The microphone input. I rarely shoot video, so it is not a feature I would personally use very often. But its inclusion is a welcome addition, and I am sure many users will appreciate having the option to connect an external microphone.
What left me wanting more
It would be dishonest to pretend that everything is perfect.
The first thing I would change is the EVF. I would happily accept a slightly larger body in exchange for a larger and more comfortable viewfinder.
I also miss the full Creative Dial implementation found on the PEN-F and OM-3. The simplified approach makes sense for the new PEN’s philosophy, but anyone coming directly from a PEN-F will notice the difference.
The inclusion of weather sealing is a major step for the PEN, and something many users have been asking for. The new PEN carries an IPX1 rating, which is a welcome addition, although it falls short of the IP53 protection offered by its OM-1, OM-3 and OM-5 siblings. For a camera intended to be an everyday companion, I would have liked to see the same level of protection here.
And then there is the finish. I have some reservations about how the paint will age, particularly on the silver version. The PEN-F’s finish was part of its premium character, and I suspect the new PEN may show signs of use rather more readily.
The PEN-F detail that says it all
Coming back to that hot shoe cover may seem ridiculous. But I think it perfectly illustrates the difference between the two cameras.
The PEN-F was a camera obsessed with detail. The black version had a black hot shoe cover. The silver version had a silver one. The new PEN uses the same black hot shoe cover on both versions.
Nobody buys a camera because of its hot shoe cover. And yet, for anyone who owned a PEN-F, that tiny detail says a lot.
The PEN-F was designed to be an object.
The new PEN is designed to be a camera.
And I think that distinction is important.
I wanted a PEN-F II. I am glad I didn’t get one.
As a long-time PEN-F user, I have to admit that part of me was disappointed when I realised that the new PEN was not a modernised version of the camera I had been hoping for.
I wanted the premium construction, the beautiful mechanical controls, and that extraordinary attention to detail.
But I also wanted weather sealing, a modern sensor and processor, USB-C charging and all the computational and autofocus technology that has appeared in recent OM System cameras.
Trying to combine all of that with the PEN-F’s construction would inevitably produce a much more expensive camera. And that would bring us straight back to the problem that affected the PEN-F in the first place.
Maitani’s original PEN philosophy was not about creating luxury objects for a select few. It was about making photography accessible and making the camera small enough to become an everyday companion.
Seen from that perspective, the new PEN makes a great deal of sense. It sacrifices some of the PEN-F’s luxury character in exchange for something arguably more important: accessibility. And honestly, I am perfectly happy with that.
RIGHT: OM System PEN . OM 14-42mmF3.5-5.6 III @14mm . F/4.0 . 1/1000″ . ISO 200
RIGHT: OM System PEN . OM 14-42mmF3.5-5.6 III @27mm . F/4.6 . 1/250″ . ISO 200
Five years of OM System
There is another point worth making here. Over the years, many of us have asked OM System to listen to its users and bring certain features, create certain cameras or take the system in particular directions.
But OM System is still a young brand. It has only been around for five years, and in those five years the company has achieved an extraordinary amount.
The camera and lens line-up has developed an incredibly consistent philosophy around weather resistance, compact dimensions, low weight, image stabilisation and computational photography.
The company clearly has the ability to build very sophisticated cameras. But no manufacturer can do everything at once.
Perhaps what we have seen over these first five years is OM System finding its own identity.
And the new PEN is an interesting part of that process. It is not the PEN-F Mark II. It does not pretend to be. Instead, it takes the original idea of the PEN and adapts it to the needs of a modern photographer who wants a small, capable and dependable everyday camera.
Long exposure effect using OM System Live ND Mode
Final thoughts
My expectations for a PEN-F Mark II were not met. And I am glad they weren’t.
The new OM System PEN loses some of the almost luxurious character that made the PEN-F so special. But in exchange, it gains a much more practical approach to photography.
It is smaller.
It is lighter.
It is weather-sealed.
It has a viewfinder.
It has modern autofocus.
It has computational photography.
It has USB-C charging.
And it has a surprising amount of creative potential packed into a small body.
Most importantly, it feels like a camera you might actually take with you. And perhaps that is the most important thing of all.
The PEN-F was a beautiful camera that happened to be exceptionally good at taking photographs.
The new PEN feels like a camera designed around the act of taking photographs in everyday life.
After spending time with it in Berlin, I came away with a rather unexpected conclusion.
I still want my PEN-F. But I no longer think I need a PEN-F II.
Maybe OM System got this one right after all.
Hugo Pinho
| IBIS | Built-in 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilisation (5.5 stops) |
| Video | 4K, C4K, Full HD, S&Q |
| Sensor | 20.4 Megapixels 4/3” Live MOS sensor |
| Viewfinder | 2.36M dots OLED Electronic Viewfinder |
| Monitor | 3.0” LCD Touch Panel |
| Processor | TruePic IX |
| Weather-sealing | IPX1 |
| Weight | 393g |
| Price (body only) | €999 / $999 / £849 |
| Price (with 14-42mmm III) | €1099 / $1099 / £949 |
RIGHT: OM System PEN . OM 14-42mmF3.5-5.6 III @42mm . F/5.6 . 1/500″ . ISO 200
RIGHT: OM System PEN . OM 14-42mmF3.5-5.6 III @15mm . F/4.0 . 1/60″ . ISO 200
RIGHT: OM System PEN . OM 14-42mmF3.5-5.6 III @31mm . F/4.9 . 1/60″ . ISO 250
Andrew
September 11, 2026 @ 17:56
I really enjoyed this analysis. The comparison with the PEN-F is both fair and necessary. Many of us had been asking for weather sealing and a modern processor in a rangefinder-style PEN with an EVF… and here it is at last. The fact that you can operate almost everything with your right hand, along with the improved front grip, are the sort of details that only those who use the camera every day truly appreciate.
Fabio
September 12, 2026 @ 21:01
Thanks for your article.
I’m thinking the new 14-lens is not the perfect combo for the new PEN. The impression (even without having held it) is that the lens is a bit too bulky, negating the convenience of a camera you can keep always with you. I wasn’t expecting something as compact as the Ricoh GR, but perhaps the perfect combo would be with a prime lens (12mm, 17mm, or 25mm). What’s your take on this?
olympuspassion
September 14, 2026 @ 08:45
Hi Andrew, thank you very much for your feedback.
I compare it with the PEN-F, but not to focus on what the new PEN doesn’t have, rather on what we gain with it. Of course, we’ve lost the premium build and it doesn’t have the specs of some of the existing models, but we’re talking about completely different price points compared with the OM-1 and OM-3.
For its price, I think this new PEN offers an incredible amount, and is currently one of the best buys on the market.
olympuspassion
September 14, 2026 @ 08:56
Hi Fabio, I’m the one who should thank you for taking the time to read the article.
Thinking of the new 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III as the versatile zoom that it is, it’s actually a very compact lens. And when you consider that the kit costs only €100 more than the body-only version, it’s an excellent deal.
But of course, given the target audience for this camera, comparisons with the Fuji X100VI and Ricoh GR are inevitable. Unless you pair the new PEN with one of the pancake lenses available for Micro Four Thirds, such as the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 or 14mm F2.5, although I believe Panasonic has already discontinued these lenses, you’re left without many options for a truly pocketable setup.
Personally, though, I would pair the new PEN with the Mark II versions of the 17mm F1.8 or 25mm F1.8, both of which are also weather sealed. You end up with a very compact and weather sealed setup, without the need to put a filter on the front of the camera, as is the case with the Fuji and Ricoh.
You’ll find some photos of the new PEN with the 25mm F1.8 II in the article, and as you can see, it makes for a very well balanced combination.
Andreas
September 22, 2026 @ 12:38
What beautiful photos of and from the new PEN. Thanks for the great review. I’ve already pre-ordered the PEN and can’t wait for it to arrive.
I ordered the body only and will be trying it out with my silver Panasonic G Vario 12-32, which has been sitting unused in a drawer. It’s certainly not the finest lens, but I think its silver color will look great on the PEN.
Regards,
Andreas
olympuspassion
September 24, 2026 @ 16:50
Hi Andreas!
Thank you very much for your comment, and for your feedback on this review.
I think the Panasonic 12-32mm, thanks to its incredibly compact size, would be a perfect match for the PEN. I don’t own one myself, but as far as I know, image quality shouldn’t be a concern. Like any other kit lens, its main limitation is the maximum aperture, especially when compared with the M.Zuiko f/1.8 primes. But that is where the IBIS can make a real difference in low-light situations.
When you receive it, please send us a handful of photographs and your personal thoughts! 🙂
Thank you,
Hugo
Carl
September 28, 2026 @ 14:55
Now we need more weather sealed pancake style lenses for this camera. Nice they at least updated the kit lens, but let’s be honest, there’s a lot of room for weather sealed primes to be had. A Pen pancake series perhaps… weather sealed 20mm f/2, 17mm f/2.8, 14-42mm EZ II, etc. That’s where I would start.
olympuspassion
September 29, 2026 @ 16:32
Hi Carl! Yes, I completely agree.
Although there is always room for improvement, we certainly can’t say that we are poorly served when it comes to prime lenses. The updates to the f/1.8 17mm and 25mm were a pleasant surprise, and they fit very well with this idea of cameras designed for the outdoors.
But if we look at other brands, many are choosing to offer pancake lenses, even if that means sacrificing a little in terms of maximum aperture. They make perfect sense for street and travel photographers, and provide an alternative to the Fuji X100 and Ricoh GR for those who don’t want to give up the flexibility of interchangeable lenses.
Without a doubt, a 20mm f/2 and a 17mm f/2.8 would make a lot of sense, as would a 14mm.
fratus
September 30, 2026 @ 09:46
Thanks for the detailed and fair review.
I’d push back slightly on the suggestion, in the title and closing paragraph, that PEN-F owners would be happy to move to the PEN. In my view, most PEN-F users are still waiting for a premium successor: one with an updated BSI sensor (20.4 MP is perfectly adequate), Phase-Detect AF, IP53 weather sealing, and so on.
I recently faced the same decision while looking for a replacement. I kept my PEN-F but bought the OM-3. Its image quality isn’t dramatically better in about 80% of situations, but it is a far more capable camera and can do things the PEN-F cannot. Still, I remain more drawn to the PEN-F’s design, form factor and rangefinder layout, and that is what I would choose if a PEN-F II was ever announced.
OM has said they could not recreate the PEN-F body with weather sealing. What that leaves out is that a magnesium-bodied successor with IP53 sealing should be feasible if they gave up the fully hidden screws. I suspect many buyers would happily accept a few visible screws on the baseplate or in the battery compartment in exchange for weather sealing.
I do however agree that, purely from a *business* standpoint, releasing the PEN as they did made more sense. It targets a broader market, carries less cost risk, fills a newly created gap in the lineup, and could serve as a platform for extending the PEN range upward.
However, I’d rather OM not conclude that the PEN is what PEN-F users were asking for, which is the impression I took from the review. The PEN is a very different camera, and it is priced compellingly for what it offers. I sincerely hope it succeeds, so that OM feels confident enough to release a PEN-F II.
olympuspassion
October 1, 2026 @ 09:12
Hi fratus! I completely understand your point of view, and the new PEN is definitely not the PEN-F II that many users have been asking for. In fact, as a PEN-F user myself, I had been hoping for a PEN-F II for years.
But I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s actually a good thing that OM System took this direction. Unlike the PEN-F II, which would probably appeal to a relatively small group of users, I expect the PEN to reach a much wider audience. It ticks all the right boxes for someone looking for an everyday camera, especially at such an appealing price.
With the PEN arriving on the market at the end of October, I think we’ll soon find out just how accurate these expectations are.
A PEN-F II like the one you described would of course be a dream camera, but I suspect it would enter OM-3 territory in terms of price, if not go even higher.
As you rightly said, in most situations, if we look at things purely from a photography perspective, without much action or subjects that demand a lot from the AF system, there really aren’t any significant differences between the PEN-F and the newer generations.
That’s certainly the case for me, as I tend to shoot in a more deliberate, documentary way, without much action. Of course, for those who need faster AF and more demanding performance, the PEN-F is not the ideal camera.
Thanks for reading the article and for sharing your point of view!
Ricardo
October 3, 2026 @ 16:16
I don’t mind we didn’t get a successor to PenF. But the main issue of the PenF was not that it was simply expensive back then- but that the implementation of its concept had implementation issues, like unresponsive at times, slow AF and bad AF in lower light.
Fast forward to this Pen and I see analogously similar issues- this s a recycled OM5 inside. I am ok with re-using the 2016 sensor of the Em1MarkII. I am not quite ok re-using the same CPU of the 2020 EM1MarkIII.
I wouldn’t call the AF modern in 2026. Coming from the PenF sure, it looks much improved. But that’s not where the general market is in 2026. The OM5 is pretty much 4 years old. That’s the level of tech here. Taking a hand held high res shot will still take 15-20+ seconds to resolve during which your camera is completely unusable. I really wish this had the newer CPU of the OM1/OM3.
As for the body I would take a PenF build over this plastic build any day. Not that I am against the build by itself, but they are really not in the same class.
Van Erp
October 4, 2026 @ 18:50
Why not the TruePic X processor but still the TruePic IX ??
Competition is fierce!
olympuspassion
October 6, 2026 @ 13:04
Thank you, Ricardo, for taking the time to read my first impressions of the new PEN and for sharing your thoughts.
As a long time PEN-F user, I have never experienced the camera as unresponsive. As for the AF, the limitations you mention are a consequence of its contrast detection system, but in my experience it really needs to be very dark before this becomes a significant limitation, to the point where it is almost impossible to photograph in the first place.
Regarding the limitations you mention in the new PEN, I understand your point of view. However, I think the comparison is perhaps being made with cameras that cost roughly twice as much. The new PEN is definitely not a camera aimed at Sports or Wildlife photography. Of course, it can be used for those purposes if we want it to, but there are better options for that kind of work.
The type of photography I do is slower, deliberate and intentional. It is a type of photography for which even the PEN-F is more than capable in terms of performance. But you have to give me some allowance here, considering that I have spent many years photographing with film SLRs and manual focus lenses. The new PEN is also very much aimed at Travel, Street, Documentary and Everyday Lifestyle photographers, so it is quite closely aligned with the way I photograph.
I completely understand the disappointment of photographers who have been waiting for this camera for years. I am not defending OM System, nor do I need to. But if we are being fair, as I have already mentioned in the article, we cannot realistically expect the metal construction of the PEN-F, the Stacked BSI Live MOS sensor from the OM-1 II and the TruePic X processor, all for under $1,000. Or rather, we can certainly want all of that, but we should also be prepared to pay the price of an OM-3.
I believe your criticisms of this camera are valid, but they do not change the impression I came away with from using the new PEN, nor do they invalidate the type of photographer I believe it is designed for.
olympuspassion
October 6, 2026 @ 13:14
Thanks, Van Erp. I would certainly have liked to see the TruePic X in the new PEN as well, but I think there are a few good reasons why OM System went with the TruePic IX.
The PEN is a very compact camera, using the smaller BLS-7 battery, so power consumption and heat are important considerations. The TruePic X is designed for much higher processing demands, as seen in cameras such as the OM-1 II and OM-3.
There is also the sensor. The PEN uses a conventional, non-stacked sensor, so simply adding a much faster processor would not remove the sensor readout limitations. In other words, the processor would not be able to deliver the same benefits it can in a camera designed around a much faster sensor.
And then there is the price. The PEN is positioned at around $999, while the TruePic X is part of OM System’s higher-end platform. Adding it would likely require changes to power management, memory and the overall internal design, pushing the PEN into a very different price category.
So, for me, the TruePic IX is part of the compromise that makes the PEN small, light, affordable and still capable of features such as AI subject detection and Live ND.
Would I have preferred the TruePic X? Absolutely. But I also think that would have made this a rather different, and considerably more expensive, camera.
Oskar
October 13, 2026 @ 22:52
I would still like a Pen F ii. I don’t see the reason for OM Systems to address a mass market – those buyers will go for Sonys and Canons. Better to build a reputation in the adventure and high quality street camera segment. Just like Fujifilm has done. A bijoux Pen F ii would fit that space. Add a new all metal pancake prime and they would get a lot of interest.
Miguel Tejada-Flores
October 14, 2026 @ 17:38
Intriguing article, Hugo – thank you for your thoughts & impressions. I still miss my digital Pen F which was my main camera for several years, although the camera which replaced it for me – an E-M5 mark III – has proven to be much more versatile, for many kinds of photography. But ever since learning to shoot film a thousand years ago on my father’s Leica III-c, I have an irrational fondness for small rangefinder-style bodies – and your article reminds me of some of the reasons why. The one thing I am curious about is the overall quality of the newer 3rd generation 14-42 kit zoom which OM System is bundling with this camera – I’m wondering if it is as good as it sounds? If I wind up getting a new PEN, I might use my favorite small prime on it – the PL (Panasonic-Leica) 15mm – but I am also seriously intrigued by just using this camera with the kit zoom… just to see what it might be capable of.