OM System PEN vs Panasonic Lumix L10: Two Retro Micro Four Thirds Cameras Compared

OM System has updated its rangefinder-style PEN line, and the new model — simply called the OM System PEN — arrives at a comparatively low price. In a comparison for TechRadar, Cameras Editor Tim Coleman carried it and Panasonic's Lumix L10 on a work trip to China to shoot cityscapes and street scenes with both.

Coleman notes his full review of the OM System PEN is still in progress, so this piece is a side-by-side first look rather than a final verdict on the new camera.

Two very similar bodies

The most immediate finding is how alike the two cameras are. Coleman describes their bodies as nearly identical in size, with closely matched retro styling, layout, electronic viewfinders and articulating touchscreens. Both offer a hotshoe and broadly comparable controls.

Small differences stand out. The OM System PEN adds a color mode dial beside the lens and folds its screen flush with the body, but Coleman calls its on/off switch awkward, saying it is easy to overshoot the stills mode into video. The Lumix L10, in his view, feels classier and slicker: its shutter button sits inside the zoom rocker, and a button is set within a customizable exposure dial. He is less taken with the memory-card door on the camera's base, and he notes the retracting lens means roughly a two-second wait before the camera is ready to shoot — a drawback for street photography.

Battery ratings are close, at 420 shots for the Lumix L10 and 410 for the OM System PEN, per the article.

Lenses, sensors and stabilization

The OM System PEN uses the Micro Four Thirds mount, so it accepts a large library of interchangeable lenses. It ships body-only or with a new 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 III kit lens (28-84mm equivalent). Both the body and this third-generation kit lens are described as splash proof.

The Lumix L10 instead has a fixed 10.9-34mm f/1.7-2.8 zoom (24-75mm equivalent), which is smaller than the PEN's kit lens but extends on power-up and when zooming, raising a theoretical long-term dust concern. Panasonic does not rate the lens as dust- or moisture-proof, though Coleman says the design has been improved over earlier LX100 models.

Using the PEN with its kit lens, Coleman preferred the L10's optics: a slightly wider range, a smaller physical size and a brighter maximum aperture that helps in low light and portraiture. He adds that swapping the PEN's kit lens, such as for a small 45mm f/1.8, makes those comparisons largely moot — at extra cost.

On sensors, the L10 has a higher pixel count, but because its built-in lens cannot use the whole sensor area, the effective resolution is about the same as the PEN's 20.4MP. The more consequential difference is that the OM System PEN includes 5-axis in-body image stabilization, rated to 5.5EV, while the Lumix L10 has none. Coleman pairs that stabilization with the PEN's computational modes — Live ND, High-Res shot, focus stacking and HDR — as a strong handheld toolkit.

The Lumix L10 also offers a High-Res shot mode and is the more capable video camera, with 5.6K recording, 5.2K open gate, Panasonic's Real Time LUT profiles and phase-detection autofocus. Still autofocus is described as comparable; video favors the L10.

Price and the upgrade question

Coleman calls the OM System PEN's pricing aggressive: $999.99 / £849 / AU$1,499 body-only, or about $100 / £100 / AU$300 more with the 14-42mm mark III kit lens. He notes it is hard to think of another camera with a built-in EVF and in-body stabilization at that price, and that the PEN undercuts the Lumix L10 even in kit form.

Longer term, though, the calculus can shift. A pricier OM System lens such as the 12-45mm f/4 Pro makes the two feel like similar value, and Coleman suggests that buyers who intend to build a lens collection may find the Lumix L10's one-off price the lower outlay overall. He also observes that everyday PEN users often pair it with lenses covering roughly the same range as the L10's built-in zoom, which narrows the PEN's lens-choice advantage more than expected.

His conclusion is even-handed: each camera has distinct advantages, he likes the OM System PEN's convenience, and as a standalone package he prefers the Panasonic Lumix L10.