r/M43•
hexahedron17

OM system (under JIP) was too generous?

With the release of the OM Pen, I'm feeling that the lineup under OM System simply lacks enough differentiation. product sales consume each other instead of standing as their own.

The OM-3 released, and it's very cool to have a high spec medium-small body. but it eats some of the OM-1ii sales; though it drops on shutter, Evf, stabilization, and handling, it retains or is competent enough on so many of the features it makes the OM-1 look like a worse deal. The OM-3 can comfortably take the OM-1ii's sports and wildlife job (maybe go for cheap added grip).

The OM-Pen released, and it's very cool to have a midrange camera stuffed into a smaller body. it's pretty much everything people wanted out of an updated Pen F (pdaf, weather protection). BUT: again it retains enough of the features of the cam above it that it makes me seriously reconsider the audience. The OM-5ii is to the OM-Pen as the OM-1ii is to the OM-3. Really not terribly higher specced, but more expensive and more niche (now that the OM-3 and OM-Pen exist).

This is to say that possibly the majority of people looking to OM System for a midrange or end camera now are likely to gravitate towards the Pen and OM-3, and the OM-5ii and OM-1ii become secondary niche offerings. of course these two sets aren't identical, but I think they lack differentiation especially when OM system is retiring the truly entry level Olympus Pen and Olympus OM-D EM-10iiii.

to rain on everyone's party a bit, I think an entry level pen should have lost the fully articulated screen (maybe just flip for waist level?), and maybe dropped a processor gen. I'm very happy as a potential buyer that the Pen has these things but I think JIP demanded a safe product that may pan out meh for OM System.

In the opposite direction, I think a photo focused OM-Pen F with the OM-1ii/Om-3 sensor/AF but OM-5ii computational & video features would slot nicely into the lineup.

Thoughts?

Posted Sep 12, 2026, 8:44 AM UTC

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