OM System leaks new flagship retro M4/3 camera coming in 2025 — OM-1 internals with OM-5 charm

Since the Olympus camera division was sold off to OM System, fans of the storied camera brand have been somewhat disappointed by what OM System has released. While the OM-1 II and the OM-5 were fine cameras, they weren't nearly the revolutionary designs of the Pen-F that captured the hearts of Micro Four Thirds fans. It looks like the trend of OM System coasting on Olympus engineering might be over, though — at least if a series of new leaks is to be believed. 

As spotted by an eagle-eyed redditor, OM System Malaysia posted a teaser on Facebook showing off what appears to be a new camera coming in 2025. While not much is known about the new camera, there are some clues included in the leaked image. 

For starters, the image is split in two, with the top half labelled 1972 and depicting a vintage Olympus camera body. The bottom of the image, meanwhile, is labelled 2025 and contains part of a reflection, with the caption at the bottom reading "Revive the past, create the future." Right off the bat, it's clear that whatever OM System plans on releasing in 2025 will be a retro-inspired design, but there's more to glean from the information included. 

The "1972" caption and the camera body pictured in the top half of the image appear to refer to the flagship Olympus OM-1 35 mm film camera launched in the same year. This OM-1 name has been carried through into the brand's modern Micro Four Thirds cameras, as in the aforementioned OM-1 II, suggesting that this new retro camera will be a spin on the current OM-1 flagship. 

In terms of hardware, it's unclear if OM System will go the same route as the Fujifilm X100VI and Nikon Z f (curr. $1,996.95 on Amazon) and Z fc (curr. $1,099.99 with a 16–50 mm kit lens at Best Buy) and simply release existing hardware in a new body with different controls. Currently, OM Systems and M4/3 fans are hopeful that the new camera will contain a new sensor and image processor, but that seems unlikely, given the OM-1 II (curr. $1,849.99 on Amazon) launched as recently as January 2024. 

According to a subsequent leak from ubiquitous leaker, Andrea Pizzini on YouTube, the new camera will be called the OM-3, positioning the new retro camera between the OM-1 and OM-5 camera series. Whatever is coming, though, it looks to be fairly compact. In Pizzini's video, he shows off what appear to be images of the new retro camera, and it looks to have a similar form factor to the OM-5 — perhaps a mix of hardware from the OM-1 and OM-5 cameras in a body similar to the OM-5 is on the horizon. 

Pizzini's images also confirm a wealth of tactile controls for the new camera, which would again put it in direct competition with the likes of the Fujifilm X100VI, as opposed to something like the Sony A6700 (curr. $1,398 on Amazon). 

Pizzini also speculates that the OM System OM-3 may use a new 43 MP Micro Four Thirds sensor, although there is no solid evidence that this will be the case.