Olympus—er, I mean OM System—just released a new camera simply called PEN. I’ve had a few requests to talk about it, and give my opinion. I wasn’t going to, but I had the opportunity to see the new PEN in-person while I was at the FocusPoint Expo in Denver, and got a brief demo from the OM System staff at the event. I was surprised by something, so I thought maybe I should discuss it.

First of all, I think a lot of the excitement around this release is because there are so few Micro-Four-Thirds cameras announced each year. Between Panasonic and Olympus, there are usually only two or three new M43 models annually. Last year saw two, and, so far in 2026, this is it. The last camera before this one was the OM-5 Mark II, released 14 months ago. If you are in that system, this must feel like Christmas morning. From the outside looking in, M43 seems to be barely holding on, nearly on the brink of extinction. I’m not even sure if Panasonic is actually still in this market, as it’s been approaching two years since their last M43 camera, but maybe they’ll continue to trickle out new models every few years. The PEN at least proves that Micro-Four-Thirds still exists, and I think that explains much of the hype.

The camera is paradoxical. On one hand, it’s got decent spec sheet stats: IBIS, some level of weather-sealing, computational photography. I don’t think there’s anything especially revolutionary about this camera compared to prior releases, but it seems pretty solid overall for M43. On the other hand, it feels really plasticky and cheap. It’s very lightweight, which is especially good for travel, but I doubt it will survive a hard fall. Build-quality wise, the Fujifilm camera that it seems most comparable to is the X-A series, like the X-A5 or X-A7, which have been long discontinued; the X half is the closest of the currently available models.

In my opinion, I think it was smart for Olympus to offer mid-tier features in a low-tier body. First, it keeps the camera affordable. If it costs too much, people are less likely to buy it. Fujifilm is selling a whole lot of X-M5 and X-T30 III cameras because the price makes it more accessible. In my opinion, there’s a shortage of affordable cameras for those just starting out in photography. Second, there’s something to be said for a lightweight camera, especially for travel photography. That’s one reason why I think the X-E4 was special: it was the smallest and lightest of all Fujifilm interchangeable-lens X-Trans models with an EVF. In a sense, for Olympus that’s what the PEN is, except that it’s more plasticky than the X-E4, but has IBIS and some weather-sealing.

I’ve seen some people compare the PEN to the Fujifilm X-E5, but that’s apples-to-oranges. Aside from a general rangefinder shape, the two models have very little in common: APS-C vs M43; 40mp vs 20mp; traditional tactile controls vs PASM; metal vs plastic; $1,700 vs $1,000. It’s kind of like comparing the Audi A7 to the Hyundai Sonata—they may look somewhat similar, but they are very different.

Most likely OM System will sell a whole lot of these, and they need to—when you release so few models, it’s important that the ones you do offer are commercially successful. I hope they make gobs of money from the PEN, for no other reason than they need to buy the rights to the Olympus name. OM System is probably the best they could do with what they had, but it’s not nearly as good as Olympus, which is strong and iconic and has a whole lot of history behind it. OM System sounds like some forgotten computer program found on a floppy disk in a dusty old box back in the dark corner of a supply closet that nobody uses anymore. They really need to go back to being Olympus, and if this camera is a big success, perhaps it will provide them with the means to achieve that.

The PEN will sell almost exclusively to those already in the M43 system, or those new to photography. I don’t see anyone from the larger brands abandoning their system to jump into M43, that seems like a silly thing to do at this point, especially with so much uncertainty around its future. I could see someone in the market for their very first camera to take a close look at the PEN, as it offers a lot at an affordable price point. In order to step back from the brink, that’s probably who Olympus needs to attract, and this camera might be the best one for that. If I were them, I’d also put a lot of energy into a fixed-lens model, something they’ve never done in the digital age, maybe using the Trip 35 as inspiration. Call it the OM System Trip 17, and it would be a colossal success. Right now, they could really use some back-to-back colossal successes, or else they risk becoming the next Pentax (but at least Pentax has Ricoh…).