September 2026
I purchased this camera myself and have no commercial relationship with OM SYSTEM or any photography-related company. I’m hoping this can help people who are seriously considering pulling the trigger on this new Micro Four Thirds camera.
I’ve just received this camera and this is an initial impression based on approximately one day of use, not a final long-term review. This is the first time I have reviewed a camera.
I won’t delve too deeply into the specs as that information is readily available elsewhere. Instead I’ll try to focus mainly on info that is harder to come by for prospective purchasers. You are welcome to ask any questions in the comments below.
For context I primarily use Canon Equipment but I also need a much more portable system. I would love to just have one photographic system and benefit from the familiarity and muscle memory advantages that go with that. However if tramping or biking deep into the backcountry, carrying Canon gear, especially the lenses, is not usually an option. I have owned Micro Four Thirds (M43) cameras for a number of years including a number of Panasonic and Olympus cameras.
There were five main criteria a new camera had to satisfy:
#1 weather sealed
#2 highly portable. The M43 system fits this portability requirement not particularly because the size of its bodies, but because of the size of the lenses.
#3 image stabilisation
#4 A viewfinder was essential
#5 modern autofocus tracking
When the rumour came out in August that there was a new OM SYSTEM PEN my interest was piqued. And then the announcement on the 9th of September confirmed that my above requirements would generally be met. There was one of the above necessities however that cannot easily be verified, that being the autofocus tracking. My use case in this regard is trail runners, mountain bikers, children, snowboarders – anything that moves in the outdoors. (Birds in flight I however accept as a bridge too far for the ultraportable adventurer). Note there are other M43 cameras that have excellent AF Tracking but are larger (and more expensive) than I’d like.
When the main photography websites and YouTubers released their initial reviews (often not completely unbiased as they have varying relationships with manufacturers), the autofocus tracking capability remained unclear. For example, DP Review’s opinion was lukewarm, whereas Robin Wong gave the AF a glowing appraisal. In this initial review I will hope to shed a bit more insight into that.
Initial impressions – Ergonomics
The camera is a little bit larger than I’d like. I used to own a Panasonic Lumix GM5 and that was extremely portable. The flipside is that the controls were too cramped. If you look at the excellent Camerasize resource and compare the new PEN with other bodies you’ll see that it is a pretty similar size to the OM SYSTEM OM5. However because of the PEN’s rangefinder design it will be easier to slip into bags and large pockets as it does not have a viewfinder hump protruding.
Regarding the On/Off switch, I was initially concerned that when powering on the camera to photo mode, it would be difficult to not move the switch too far and end up in video mode. Indeed this has proved the case so far. Hopefully I’ll get used to it and my thumb muscles will become more precise. It is however nice to be able to power on with the right hand.
Petapixel criticised the placement of the AF On button and I’ve also found that to be less than ideal. I’ll get used to it though and if needed I can always swap that functionality with the CP button. The camera is very customisable for an entry level body which is a big plus.
The EVF is noticeably smaller than on my Lumix G80 but still usable.
The Articulated Screen flips out with a firm hand. Canon do a slightly better job here – the groove to get your finger into is more intelligently placed in the bottom right of the screen – as opposed to the centre as it is with OM and Panasonic.
Initial battery charging took about 2 hours. It appears that fast charging is not supported. (I was however also able to charge it off a powerbank).
The menus are much more friendly to my way of working than the Lumix, possibly because OM’s menu structure aligns more closely with the well-regarded Canon menus. And the touch screen now works with all menu items (unlike the OM-3). Furthermore you can customise a ‘My Menu’ menu page. A nice touch at this price.
Weather Sealing
The big differentiator in the market between this OEM system PEN and other entry level interchangeable lens cameras is the fact that the PEN has a rated weather resistance of IPX1. That’s not a very stringent rating so what this means in the real world only time will tell. However I was pleased to see rubber gaskets around the battery and SD Card slot. (Not sure if you can see this from the image of the battery door below).
Note that for weather sealing a weather resistant lens is also required.
Image Quality
Raw Image Quality has barely advanced in the past few years so for a modern camera this is no longer a significant factor in the buyer’s choice. (There are of course IQ differences between formats i.e. M43, FF, Medium Format etc).
You can compare image quality between different cameras at the DP Review IQ tool.
This sensor’s IQ is very familiar so I won’t dwell on it. It’s been around for a decade and is quite well regarded. Of note is that it has a fairly quick readout speed therefore rolling shutter (image skewing of fast motion objects in photo and video) is minimised.
I haven’t yet played with the custom colour recipes. I shoot RAW 99% of the time so this won’t be a big feature for me. However, I will investigate and they may convert me to an occasional JPG shooter.
The computational photography modes are also untested. However Live ND and Handhold Hi Res will be certainly useful. However the slow processing (camera locked up and unavailable) of these modes is a shame, as is the lack of the Graduated ND function.
In ordinary daylight, image quality is unlikely to distinguish this camera from recent 20MP Micro Four Thirds bodies.
Image Stabilisation
This is another area where M43 has traditionally had an advantage due to the manufacturing ease of stabilising a smaller sensor. I’ve achieved tack sharp results at 100% view hand holding (unbraced, e-shutter) the Sigma 56mm 1.4 lens at 1/3 second and could probably go slower. (Note this is 112mm equivalent in FF terms).
The OM SYSTEM 17mm 1.8 was fine at 1 second (I haven’t tried any slower than that so far). Despite the lack of Sync IS and the apparent lesser IS capability compared to other OM SYSTEM cameras, I am so far happy with what I’m seeing here.
AF Tracking
In my opinion, interchangable lenses and excellent autofocus is one of the really important reasons for stepping up from a phone camera. Older Contrast Detect systems just don’t cut it in 2026 and OM SYSTEM know this. They wisely went for a Phase Detection AF system. However it is based upon an older design and uses the camera’s slower TruePic IX processor. So how would it fare in real life?
AF is not an easy thing to test as there are many variables: subject, lens used, light levels to name a few. And even on an entry level camera like the PEN there is a plethora of settings to optimise the AF which I have not fully mastered yet. My testing will not be scientific.
I used the excellent Sigma 56mm 1.4 (Full Frame depth of field equivalent of f2.8), which provides a stern test. As for SD card, a Sandisk Extreme Pro v30 170/MBs was used. (The PEN doesn’t support UHSII cards).
(Note that image samples are all out of the camera Jpegs as RAW files are not currently supported by the major Software providers. You can download om workspace software to process the Raws (camera serial number is asked for) from this website: https://download.omsystem.com/pages/owdownload/en/)
Exposure values, F1.4 @ ss, ISOxxxx
Images and AF info coming in next 12 hours.
Video
The spec sheet shows that this is definitely dated technology in the video world – no 4K60, no 10 bit compression, etc. Frankly the video specs here have been roundly rubbished. However there a few points worth making – the stabilisation as mentioned is good and that’s a major for video. It has a mic jack which at this price point is nice. (DP Review criticised it for not having a headphone jack but at this price that seems a bit harsh). It has a tally lamp. And the extensive in camera colour customisation applies to video so hopefully I’ll be able to obtain a reasonable look straight out of camera.
I have however noticed some slowness in operation. For example, when you push the Rec button to stop video recording, there is a couple of seconds delay before the red record frame goes away.
But it definitely won’t be my primary video tool.
Conclusion
There’s no such thing as a perfect camera but so far first impressions are generally very good. However, I’ve only had the camera for a day so haven’t touched on everything by a long shot.
Perhaps the best thing about the OM SYSTEM PEN is not covered on any spec sheet – and that’s the likelihood that, wherever you journey, you’ll actually take this camera with you for the ride.
Feel free to hit me up with any questions below.