OM Digital Solutions has just launched their latest camera - OM System PEN. I was really excited about this camera for a few reasons - 1) This is officially the first PEN camera from OM Digital Solutions, some sort of a soft reboot of the PEN camera line-up from Olympus previously and 2) It has been a while since I last did a full camera review! Spoilers alert, I actually really do like the camera, it has almost everything that I have wished for in a Micro Four Thirds camera, and I am buying one. I have made a video review on YouTube as well; you can watch it here (click).
DISCLAIMERS
I have no affiliation or connection to OM Digital Solutions. The OM System PEN camera was a review unit on loan from OM System Malaysia, and I have returned the camera to them after making my content. I made it very clear to OM System Malaysia that they have no control over what I am saying in this blog review, as well as the video counterpart on YouTube. I am a photographer, I am not a videographer, hence I will only comment on the photo-shooting capabilities of the camera, and I am not qualified to comment on the video part. I only have about 5 days with the camera, I did my best to cover a wide variety of shooting scenarios within the short time that I have, I am only human, there was only so much I can do. This review is based on my user experience, it is subjective. I am not testing every single aspect of the camera, many features in the OM System PEN are not new, and I have talked about them before. For full product specifications, you may refer to OM System's official product page here (click).
TESTING METHODOLOGY
I brought the OM System PEN to shoot various environment:
1) Outdoor portrait session, using Olympus 45mm F1.2 lens
2) Insect macro shooting, using Olympus 60mm F2.8 macro and flash + diffuser setup
3) Indoor tennis game at SUKMA 2026, using Olympus 300mm F4 PRO
4) Street photography, using Olympus 25mm F1.8 and OM System 14-42mm R III
5) Night urbanscape, using Panasonic 9mm F1.7 and OM System 14-42mm R III
All images were shot in JPEG, Large Super Fine setting, with Noise Filter OFF and Standard picture profile. I did change my white balance in some situations, but mostly I left it to Auto. There was no RAW compatibility with image editing software at the time of testing the camera. I did minor post-processing on the JPEG files, mainly straightening (for the life of me I could not get anything perfectly straight), slight cropping, exposure balancing and a little boost of contrast. I did not change or modify the colors, they were almost straight out of camera.
Special thanks to Lily for being such a sport!
CAMERA OVERVIEW
Here are the key features and specifications of the OM System PEN
- 20MP Micro Four Thirds image sensor (possibly from OM-5 Mark II)
- Phase Detect AF
- Weather-sealing with IPX1 rating
- 5-Axis Image Stabilization, rated at 5.5EV stops compensation at center and 4.5EV stops compensation at corners
- Built in EVF 2.36M Dots
- Phase Detect AF
- Weather-sealing with IPX1 rating
- 5-Axis Image Stabilization, rated at 5.5EV stops compensation at center and 4.5EV stops compensation at corners
- Built in EVF 2.36M Dots
- Swivel LCD screen
- Computational Features (Live ND, Focus Stacking, High Res Shot)
- AI Subject Detection AF for Human and Animal
CAMERA DESIGN
I really love the design of the OM System PEN camera. OM Digital Solutions drew inspiration from the rich camera heritage of Olympus, their PEN film cameras were legendary. The overall design resembles the older Olympus PEN E-P7 closely, with some minor changes. At a quick glance, I'd think it is the E-P7. The camera takes the shape of a classic rangefinder look with flat top and the viewfinder to the left side of the camera. The retro-vintage charm works very well, I had the Silver version (they also have Black) looks very sleek. It is one of those cameras that will beg you to pick them up to go out and shoot more.
I appreciate that OM Digital Solutions managed to maintain the compact form factor of the PEN camera. For the number of features it is packing in, it is considerably small and lightweight, weighing only 393 grams. Pairing it with small lenses, the combo just works so well, for everyday carry or casual snapshot use. I'd see this camera being popular among street photographers, as well as for travel. OM Digital Solutions mentioned that they targeted the consumers who are stepping up from their smartphones, as well as hobbyists and enthusiasts. Certainly, this is not a PRO grade camera, and from what I have experienced, this sits far above entry level as well. I'd say the OM System PEN is a mid-level Micro Four Thirds camera.
BUILD QUALITY
OM System PEN feels quite solid in hand. According to OM Digital solutions, the camera body material is made of premium plastic construction. There were no creaky parts, it feels very reassuring, definitely you know this is a well-made camera when handling it. I guess plastic material was used to keep the weight down.
WEATHER-SEALING
Yes, finally, the first ever PEN camera to be fully weather-sealed against splash and dust! This definitely opens up more opportunity for shooting in harsh and difficult environments, especially here in Malaysia where it rains so much throughout the year. I can continue shooting without worrying about the water ingress into the camera. OM Digital Solutions rated the weather-sealing at IPX1.
CAMERA EXTERNALS
Here are some observations and comments on the camera externals of the OM System PEN
1. The ON/OFF switch is situated at the right hand side for easy access. The switch also goes striaght into photo or video mode, with camera settings stored separately on each mode
2. There is the mode dial (PASM) and dual command dials, much like an operation from a DSLR, which I prefer to have for quick and efficient camera control
3. There is a built in EVF (electronic viewfinder), situated at the left of the camera. Unfortunately, the resolution isn't great, using an older OLED panel with 2.36M dots. I wish the resolution was higher, but I guess to keep the price of the camera down, some compromises had to be made, and this was one of them. I must add that the shooting experience through the EVF was very positive despite the lower resolution, it was large enough, brigher, clear, stutter-free and very pleasant.
4. The LCD screen is articulated swivel, good for video, but I'd much prefer to have tilt up and down for street photography. I admit this is a minor inconvenience, having the swivel screen is still better than not having one at all. Also, the LCD screen has single touch, which is outdated now, I expect multi-touch operation
2. There is the mode dial (PASM) and dual command dials, much like an operation from a DSLR, which I prefer to have for quick and efficient camera control
3. There is a built in EVF (electronic viewfinder), situated at the left of the camera. Unfortunately, the resolution isn't great, using an older OLED panel with 2.36M dots. I wish the resolution was higher, but I guess to keep the price of the camera down, some compromises had to be made, and this was one of them. I must add that the shooting experience through the EVF was very positive despite the lower resolution, it was large enough, brigher, clear, stutter-free and very pleasant.
4. The LCD screen is articulated swivel, good for video, but I'd much prefer to have tilt up and down for street photography. I admit this is a minor inconvenience, having the swivel screen is still better than not having one at all. Also, the LCD screen has single touch, which is outdated now, I expect multi-touch operation
5. There is a Profile Switch at the front of the camera, similar to the Creative Dial from Olympus PEN-F and OM System OM-3. Instead of a dial, it is now a switch, much like the one found on E-P7, which does not have sharp edges that can dig or cut into fingers. This implementation is better, as it does not get in the way of handling the camera. The Profile Switch goes into Color and Monochrome Profiles, as well as a new Profile Library function which I am not able to talk about yet at this moment. At the time of the testing the camera, the Profile Library feature is not ready, I will explore this further in the future given the opportunity.
6. There is a CP button at the top right corner of the camera, to directly access Computation Photography features such as Live ND, Focus Stacking and High Res Shot. I will not cover these features as I have talked about them extensively before.
7. There is no built in flash, but there is a Hotshoe on top of the camera. Unfortunately, it isn't compatible with Olympus FL-LM3 flash, which I think is one of the best clip-on flash units out there. You can take in almost any other external flash units out there.
CAMERA HANDLING
Handling of the OM System PEN was very good. Generally, I'd say I prefer the DSLR larger shaped, beefier hand-grip design on a camera, but that will just increase the bulk of the camera and defeats the purpose of making it compact in the first place. There is an art in making small cameras that actually handle quite well. The handling won't be as comfortable as larger cameras like OM-1, but the OM System PEN is quite nice to hold. There is a slight bump at the hand holding area, which helps with securing the fingers holding the camera, and the thumb rest area at the back also helps maintain balance while handling the camera. The textured body and thumb rest area also prevents the camera from slipping off from grip easily. This is a good example of how to make a small camera that has very well-thought out handling.
My torture test for handling was always insect macro shooting. Hand-holding high magnification macro shots with a macro lens is not easy, especially going super close to the bugs, steadying the shots and maintaining focus. The OM System PEN handles this very well, I did about 3 hours shooting session in the hiking trail, no issue whatsoever. I also, for being overly enthusiastic, mounted the Olympus 300mm F4 PRO lens on the OM System PEN to shoot some tennis action. This is best avoided, I won't recommend using such a large and heavy lens on such a small camera body, but to be entirely honest, it was still totally manageable. If I were to do some serious tennis shooting, OM-1 (Mark I or II) would be the better camera.
CAMERA INTERNALS
1. The camera has a 20MP Micro Four Thirds image sensor, similar one from OM-5 Mark II, which means this was also from E-M1 Mark II that was released about 10 years ago.
2. 5-Axis Image Stabilization built into the sensor has been the core strength of Olympus and OM Digital Solutions cameras. The official claims from OM Digital Solutions are 5.5EV stops compensation at the center, and 4.5EV stops compensation at the corners (based on CIPA testing). Doing a quick and dirty test, which you can see a demonstration on my video, I can easily hand-hold down to 4 seconds shutter speeds confidently. I am sure I can stretch longer, but it has become pointless and anything longer than 2 seconds exposure, I'd rather use tripod anyway. The 5-Axis IS boosts confidence in slower than usual shutter speeds capture, as well as handling longer lenses that are more sensitive to shake.
3. There is a NEW battery! It is BLS-7, chunkier than the older BLS-50 it replaces, but is still smaller than BLX-1 battery on OM-3 or OM-1. When I did burst shooting for sports and portraits, I get about almost 3000 images in a single charge. Using just single shot without burst, I managed to clock in 1200 images before the battery warning started blinking. Your style of shooting and usage of the camera may vary from mine, so these numbers were from my personal shooting experience and should not be used as a reference.
4. USB-C port supports charging. I am not sure if there is a charger included in the box, OM System could not clarify at this point, and I charged the battery via a USB-C cable.
5. There is an audio in jack! FINALLY!
6. There is also a Micro HDMI port for video out
IMAGE QUALITY
There is nothing new to report when it comes to the imaging capabilities of the 20MP Micro Four Thirds image sensor in the OM System PEN. I am thoroughly familiar with its performance since Olympus E-M1 Mark II, my main workhorse camera today, shares the same image sensor. I'd argue that the output from this image sensor, while not being the latest available today, is no slouch either. It can easily match or even surpass what the latest image sensor from OM Digital Solutions and Panasonic can do today in terms of resolution, dynamic range and high ISO noise control. The evidence is everywhere; you can verify this yourself at reputable sensor test sites like Photons to Photos.
I find the image output, shot in JPEG to be exceptionally good. The colors are excellent. The camera, combined with the right lenses can produce sharp images with incredibly dense fine details and realistic looking contrast. I think I almost forgot how good Olympus/OM System JPEG really is, as I shoot mostly RAW these days. The camera also manages to balance the bright and dark regions very well, and overall, I never had an issue using this same image sensor over the years where I did not have enough dynamic range to work with. I'd say for general photography, anyone should be quite satisfied with what the OM System PEN can do.
AUTOFOCUS
The biggest improvement I noticed in OM System PEN is the autofocus performance. While it is utilizing the older phase detect AF built on the image sensor similar to the OM-5 Mark II, somehow, they have managed to optimize it and made a significant improvement. The first time I noticed the big difference in AF speed and reliability was when I did insect macro shooting. Using the Olympus 60mm F2.8 macro, it was well-known to hesitate and hunt a lot, giving just as many misses as hits, sometimes more misses. This round with the OM System PEN, the camera managed to stay locked on subject much longer, and the focus was a lot more confident as I half-pressed the shutter button. It was almost a night and day difference! I was shooting with both S-AF and C-AF just to see if both modes have been improved, and they have. Shooting non-macro subjects from a further distance was a breeze and pose little challenge to the camera. I did not expect this to happen, but such a big boost of AF performance was much needed, and they did it without using the latest tech or processing engine! All the problems I have complained about OM-1's poor AF in low contrast was gone. They have finally fixed this issue, and the AF is even better than the flagship OM-1 and OM-3! Well done, OM Digital Solutions.
AI SUBJECT DETECTION AF
There are two modes for the AI AF Subject Detection, human and animal. I only tested the human mode. Again, to my big surprise, the AI Human subject detection works effectively. It stayed locked on any human face and stuck to the face throughout the entire time.
I have complained about the reliability of the OM-1 and OM-3's human AF, where it seemed like the faces were in focus on the camera screen but as I pixel-peeped later on my computer screen, there was a slight miss, and this happened more frequently than I liked. There was that minor softness, a little bit out of focus that you cannot detect while you were shooting. I am glad to report that this issue is completely gone now, using the OM System PEN. The new AI AF Human Subject Detection works so well, it surpasses what the OM-1 and OM-3 can do. Again, I am genuinely impressed, OM System! Finally, Micro Four Thirds had caught up in terms of AF capability in today's market!
OM DIGITAL SOLUTION LISTENS
When I was testing the OM System PEN, I cannot help but to wonder how all the feedback that I have given over the years about the previous OM Digital Solution products were actually taken into consideration when making the new camera. They really listened!
I have complained about the OM-3 being too large and heavy, as well as too pricey. To bring the cost down, I suggested them to use older internals, the image sensor and processing engine from older cameras like OM-5 instead of flagship OM-1. I don't need to shoot 120fps, or that Live Grad ND, I can live without them. Put them aside, using slower burst, but the same, good reliable 20MP image sensor, we can still get a decent camera that can be smaller in size and also not too expensive. They did just that in the OM System PEN!
I also commented in my OM-5 Mark II video that just because they have used the older image sensor and processer, it does not mean they could not make improvements. They can still push what is possible with the AF performance and enhance it, including AI subject detection. They did all that in the OM System PEN, and look at the AF performance, it is even better than OM-1 and OM-3! I knew it can be done, and it should have been done sooner!
I have also lambasted OM Digital Solutions for over-emphasizing on nature and wildlife photography in their product strategy. I often mentioned that other photographers were being sidelined, and they needed a more diverse product portfolio. Making bigger, heavier, more expensive high-end products just to appease the wildlife crowd will not help market share - look at 2025, the two companies that gained the most, Ricoh and Fujifilm both have deep investments in street photography-oriented products. That is where the money is! Finally, OM System PEN is the camera that will fight head on with the other brands in these categories.
I know it is quite late now, the damage over the years is quite severe, but I see the OM System PEN as the step into the right direction. It may take more than one camera to recover, but I have faith that the new management in OM Digital Solutions will steer the ship to clearer waters. I believe in Micro Four Thirds, and I hope OM Digital Solutions will win back the market share.
The OM System PEN is a big win in my books.
THE NEAR PERFECT MICRO FOUR THIRDS CAMERA
OM Digital Solutions has always had all the ingredients to make the perfect camera, and finally they have put all the best recipes together into the OM System PEN. Retro-classic design, weather-sealing, 5-Axis IS, improved AF, reliable human AI Subject Detection, computational features, good handling, built in EVF, all that in a compact-ish body size. More importantly, the camera is retailing at a very tempting price of RM4290 body only, or USD1000.
While I admit the camera isn't 100% perfect, as I wanted tilt screen for street photography, with multi-touch capability, also perhaps higher resolution EVF, but all that can be forgiven for the suggested retail price. If they have included better EVF, the price would have costed higher.
Looking at competition from other brands at similar price range, either they lack EVF, or did not have weather-sealing, or no 5-Axis Image Stabilization, or camera looking damned ugly (Sony is pure ugliness), they just don't have all the goodness in one camera. Seriously, for USD1000, I doubt you can find something else in the market that has "everything" in one beautiful looking package.
I am pre-ordering one. I have a feeling the OM System PEN will be a camera that I will love for a long, long time.
