Here are the first OM System PEN hands-on reviews and sample photo galleries. Reviewers call it a sealed, stabilized everyday-carry MFT body with an EVF and Color/Mono profiles, at $999.99 body. The main drawbacks they name are 20MP and 8-bit video.
September 11, 2026 · Score 68 · Real · Material follow-up
Official OM shop front cutout — Black body (V210080BU000). Image: OM SYSTEM. Same verified front used on the Sep 9 launch page.
HIGHLIGHTS
This card exists because the first wave of opened hands-on / early reviews landed after the Sep 9 official announce. The launch article already has Mina Daimon official outputs; this follow-up adds shooting impressions and third-party sample galleries so readers see how the PEN behaves in reviewer hands, not just the PR sheet.
Hands-ons reinforce everyday / travel / street / festival one-hand carry, JPEG-first Color/Mono profiles, and computational stills (Live ND, Hi-Res, Pro Capture) in a compact sealed MFT body with an EVF — not a vlogging-first camera (8-bit video; subject detect stills-first per Digital Camera World). It remains an entry / everyday OM SYSTEM PEN versus the OM-3 / OM-5 class, reviving a rangefinder PEN under the OM SYSTEM brand.
Sources still do not say it replaces a named current SKU as “PEN-F II”; reviewers were briefed that it is not a named PEN-F II, even when they call it a spiritual successor. The defining tradeoff at $999.99 is a sealed body + IBIS + EVF + profiles + CP modes in a small rangefinder package versus plastic (not milled-metal PEN-F) build, 20 MP native resolution, and an 8-bit video ceiling.
What the first hands-ons say
James Artaius at Digital Camera World calls it the finest PEN ever made for everyday carry — better than PEN-F in IQ, IBIS, AF, video, sealing, and computational modes despite no “F” name. Cons he flags: limited native resolution and 8-bit video. Handling notes: about PEN-F size; plastic vs milled aluminum; side SD door; COLOR/MONO switch (not the old Creative Dial); BLS-7 CIPA 410, with the reviewer seeing more than 600 shots in practice. Subject detection is human + pet on stills only, not video.
Joshua Waller at Amateur Photographer: one-handed everyday MFT with IBIS + weather-seal rare at the price; EVF ~0.62× / 2.36M-dot; kit 14-42 III splashproof; sharp handheld around 1/6 s at 42 mm in his test; personal noise comfort ~ISO 6400. Video “good enough” with a mic jack and S&Q — he wants 10-bit later.
Chris Gampat at The Phoblographer: Editor’s Choice for street; AF Human/Pet strong including deeper skin tones in low light; JPEG Color Creator preferred because Capture One RAW support was not ready. Wish-list (not dealbreakers): more metal, sensor shield, dual cards, joystick. Pre-production LCD glitch noted — hope production fixes it.
Photo Review (AU) scored an early production sample 8.9 and frames it as travel/discreet; if you abuse cameras outdoors, a higher-sealed OM SLR-style body may still be better. UK/AU secondary street prices in reviews (£849 body / AU$1,499 body) stay secondary — US body remains $999.99.
Ship window: official PR and OM shop are late October 2026. DCW text that said late September / early October is a conflict — we keep late October. Fstoppers’ Alex Cooke piece is an announce/spec feature with official press embeds, not an independent hands-on gallery.
Sample photos
Primary set is official output by Mina Daimon (re-hosted; JP gallery 403 from this origin). Secondary frames are reviewer output, hotlinked with credit — not product cutouts.
Mina Daimon · OM SYSTEM PEN (official JP feature).Mina Daimon · OM SYSTEM PEN (official JP feature).
Mina Daimon · OM SYSTEM PEN (official JP feature).Mina Daimon · OM SYSTEM PEN (official JP feature).
Reviewer sample — PEN + 40-150 R · Mono 1. Photograph: James Artaius / Digital Camera World. Hotlinked with credit.Reviewer sample — PEN Mono / film B&W. Photograph: Joshua Waller / Amateur Photographer. Hotlinked with credit.
Specifications (unchanged from launch)
Camera
OM SYSTEM PEN
Sensor / processor
20.37 MP Live MOS · TruePic IX
IBIS
5-axis · up to 5.5 stops center / 4.5 edges (CIPA 2024)
EVF
Built-in ~2.36M-dot OLED (AP cites ~0.62×)
Weather
IPX1 with a splashproof lens; not during charging/HDMI
AF
121-point all cross-type PDAF · AI Human + Pet (stills) · Starry Sky AF
Video
4K / C4K / FHD · 8-bit ceiling in hands-ons
Weight / size
393 g with battery+card · 125.8 × 74.5 × 43.3 mm
US body / kits
$999.99 body · $1,099.99 kit · $1,299.99 double kit
Ship
Late October 2026 (official — not the earlier DCW window)
US. $999.99 body (Silver or Black). B&H Black MFR V210080BU000 · $999.99 on the opened listing.
Ship. Late October 2026 (OM shop / PR).
Verdict
Pros
First reviews back the $999.99 brief: sealed rangefinder PEN with EVF, IBIS, profiles, and CP modes for everyday/street
New reviewer galleries plus Mina Daimon official output — you can see JPEG color/mono and Live ND, not just cutouts
Cons
Still not a named PEN-F II; plastic build, 20 MP, 8-bit video, and stills-only subject detect are the recurring nits
Late October ship; body-only Amazon listing now verified (not the double-lens kit)
Our September 3 tease had no specs. Our September 9 official locked name, $999.99, SKUs, late October, PR specs, and Mina Daimon samples. Those pages stay as the historical record.
This follow-up is still the same shipping product. What is new is the first opened hands-on wave (Artaius, Waller, Gampat, Photo Review) plus reviewer sample frames alongside Mina Daimon. Specs, US body price, and late October ship are unchanged. B&H Black V210080BU000 is the verified body listing.
