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OM System Will Do Anything Else But Make the Pen F2. So Here’s What You Do

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 02/11/2026
02/11/2026
3 Mins read
A vintage Olympus camera with lens and cap rests on an open book next to a loose camera lens.
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Last Updated on 02/11/2026 by Chris Gampat

After yesterday’s announcement of the OM System OM3 Astro edition, something became really evident: this company will do literally anything else but make the Pen F2. The Olympus Pen F is, without a doubt, the single most beloved digital camera that the company (in all its iterations) has made. When I reviewed it a decade ago, I was absolutely smitten with it. And I remember going on the press trip and telling all the journalists that I’m not going to do lab tests and instead shoot only in black and white mode. Lo and behold, that’s what all the other journalists were doing too. Seriously, I still can’t remember a single product that had journalists that excited about a camera. Yet if you spend money on cameras, you’ll believe that OM System is acting like a local grocery store that can sell you everything but the one yogurt brand you really want.

I woke up this morning realizing something: in the past few years, I’ve gotten really sick of behavior like this. One of my very good friends would say that this is enshitification. Instead, I think that it’s blatant disregard to the requests of customers.

And behavior like this from big companies has made me start to do so many other things involving looking into the past.

  • I bought the Music Man Stingray bass guitar that I always wanted but couldn’t afford
  • I got sick of big music companies ripping off musicians and promoting the use of AI. So I stopped my Apple music subscription, went to Tidal, bought a special customized iPod Classic and now purchase the highest quality audio to listen to when I’m not connected to my phone at all.
  • I haven’t bought a new phone in years.
  • I got rid of almost all the bluetooth speakers in my home because they can’t give me the highest quality audio, and so I went back to hardwired connections.
  • I started subscribing to magazines again and reading them front to back.
  • I’m currently searching for ways to turn my Gameboy Photo into a game boy color that I can really use to play the games I used to love.
Camera and two lenses on a laptop keyboard.
The Olympus Pen F

Predecessors may call this mid-life crisis: but I am truly embracing this as my mid-life renaissance where I’ve started to tell companies that I’m sick of their BS — and to get out of my life because they won’t get any more of my dollars.

But it really got me thinking: if OM System comes out with a new Pen F, it’s bound to have nearly the same things that its predecessor had. I mean, look at the Sony RX1R Mk III. It took them pretty much a decade to make it, and it was a major letdown in nearly every single way.

So now here’s where I get to what I truly want to say: Go buy the older Pen F if you really want the camera. I doubt that a new one will be coming. So here’s what you do:

  • Go to eBay and find a Pen F in good enough condition that you’d want.
  • To get around the weather resistance issue, protect your camera with a skin from a place like Lifeguard.
  • Get a nice vintage-style lens like the Voigtlander 17.5mm f0.95. This will help you embrace the aesthetics.
  • Grab a strap from a company like Tap and Dye. This will further embrace the aesthetics.
  • Go on Kolari Vision’s website and get a mist diffusion filter that’s clip-in style to protect the camera sensor.
  • Now go shoot, be happy and live your best life

Why adapt this mentality? Well, they’re not going to repair the camera anyway if you buy it because it’s not a current product and they’d probably say that it’s out of warranty. So you should just make the best of it.

I’m really done with companies that have tons of money stringing consumers along and telling us nothing but lies. And to be frank here, if the camera ever hits the market, it’s going to be mostly the same camera.

eBay olympus OM SYSTEM pen f pen f2 used
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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