Olympus E-M5 16.1 Megapixel Mirrorless Reviews Roundup
On February 7 2012, Olympus announced the Olympus OM-D (OM Digital) Series of Micro Four Thirds camera. The dust- and splashproof metal-bodied Olympus OM-D (also called the Olympus E-M5) is a retro styled 16.1 Megapixels compact camera featuring a body-integral 5-axis image stabilizer to compensate for multi-directional camera shake during both still photography and HD moviemaking, 1.44-million-dot 120 fps refresh rate EVF and auto focus with 3D subject tracking at up to 9 fps sequential shooting. It also comes with a tilting 3.0-inch touch screen OLED and new Movie Effects: One Shot Echo, for a semi-transparent frame at your whim and Multi Echo, for a multi-motion trail effect.
In sequential shooting mode, the camera is capable of capturing up to 9 frames per second (4.2fps with AF, when fitted with the M.Zuiko DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens). The OM-D has an eye proximity sensor that allows automatic switching between the EVF and the articulated OLED touchscreen. The camera is capable of recording Full HD videos and can store them in either AVI or MOV format with M.JPEG or MPEG-4 encoding. Along with the OM-D camera, Olympus also announced a number of new accessories including the dust- and splashproof MMF-3 four thirds mount adapter, the HLD-6 power battery holder grip and the FL-600R flash with a guide number of 36 (in metres at ISO 100/21°), improved recharge time as well as a wireless control option. The Olympus E-M5 will be available in April and ships in body-only (black and silver) for $999.99, or $1,299.99 with black M.ZUIKO Digital ED 12-50 mm f3.5-6.3 EZ lens, or $1,099.99 with black M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42 mm f3.5-5.6 II R lens.
Olympus E-M5 Sample Photos on Flickr
Olympus E-M5 Camera Reviews Roundup
| SansMirror: "Right now, my choice for landscape work would go: E-M5, X-E1, NEX-7, in that order. For travel work, the NEX-7 would be closer to the X-E1 due to the additional lens choices right now, but I think it would probably still be the same order for me. For action work, ugh. I might be tempted to go with the X-Pro1 in optical view and manually or zone focus. For carrying around all the time, the E-M5 and NEX-7 can travel v..." - Jan 29 2013 More » | |
| NeoCamera: "The Olympus OM-D E-M5 takes Micro Four-Thirds to the next level by delivering the best image quality for its sensor-size along with a truly fast autofocus system. There are a lot of similarities with the already excellent E-P3 yet the E-M5 adds a sharp 1.4 megapixels EVF with Eye-Start sensor plus 9 FPS continuous shooting in a weather-sealed body of similar size. Image quality is top-notch with low image noise unti..." - Nov 08 2012 More » | |
| Fstoppers: "The OM-D E-M5 has a lot going for it. Its 16MP micro-four-thirds sensor is plenty to keep you going and that micro-four-thirds means it's compatible with a slew of lenses floating around out there. It's not your largest format, coming in just under the ASP-C format, but it's not nearly as small as even Nikon's CX sensors, still leaving plenty of room for great noise performance. The body includes 5-axis vibration re..." - Oct 31 2012 More » | |
| ePhotoZine: "I already own and use a Panasonic G2, but it had always left me feeling just a little short changed. Coming from the Olympus E-3 I was really missing the inbody IS and wireless flash control of the Olympus system so the OM-D EM-5 became the natural choice. There is no such thing as the perfect camera but Olympus really have hit the mark with the OM-D EM-5 and I believe that it does come very close, with just the rig..." - Oct 18 2012 More » | |
| EOSHD: "This camera has a unique place in my bag for handheld video with a large sensor and interchangeable lenses. Resolution is also a strong point. On medium to close up shots you get an image which really pops with detail. On wider shots it still holds up pretty well but with some artefacts like moire and aliasing. Not as bad as a Canon 650D but it sometimes is noticeable on rare occasions. Like crisp resolution on the..." - Jul 25 2012 More » | |
| Photoxels: "The Olympus OM-D E-M5 has excellent image quality including very good low-light performance at ISO 200 with good detail preserved. Image quality is very good up to ISO 800, and ISO 1600 is very usable; at higher ISOs, images suffer from noise and loss of detail. One of the many advantages of an ILC camera is the ability to use interchangeable lenses suited to specific jobs. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 comes with a M.ZUIKO..." - Jun 27 2012 More » | |
| pdn: "The aforementioned 5-axis image stabilizer is great for keeping your shots steady but since it's constantly moving as it adjusts, it makes the camera give off a white-noise type sound that, while not noticeable to anyone aside from the photographer, was distracting to me. (Others might not be bothered by it.) Thankfully, the sound is hushed during video recording--the E-M5 records at full 1080i HD--so it's not picke..." - Jun 21 2012 More » | |
| Camera Labs: "The OM-D E-M5 marks the beginning of a new strand in mirrorless CSC cameras that poses the strongest threat yet to the dominance of DSLRs in the higher-end of the consumer market. It cleverly combines a retro SLR design (which is still widely held in affection 40 years on) with the best that modern technology can offer. It looks good, handles beautifully, produces superb quality images and is great fun to take pictu..." - Jun 21 2012 More » | |
| Imaging Resource: "Olympus' new Micro Four Thirds flagship has made quite an impression. Not just enthusiasts, but pro photographers are taking the OM-D E-M5 and the platform's latest optics quite a bit more seriously. Our time with the OM-D E-M5 was pure fun. There was quite a bit to discover in the new design, and it all just worked better than before. As a big fan of the Pen cameras, the main author of this story was quite bowled o..." - Jun 17 2012 More » | |
| LuminousLandscape: "The bottom line on the Olympus OM-D E-M5 (other than its convoluted name) is that it's the best Micro Four Thirds cameras yet, and highly competitive with the current mirrorless segment market leader, the Sony NEX-7. Panasonic will undoubtedly have a strong response product later this year, but they'll have to really up their game if they're going to compete with Olympus in terms of features and functions. No doubt..." - Jun 12 2012 More » | |
| TOP: "The built-in eye-level finder of course is one big new thing that differentiates the OM-D from previous Olympus Micro 4/3 cameras. The OM-D's eye level finder refreshes much faster than the Panasonic add-on finder for the GX1, and it's less position-sensitive than the admittedly more hi-res finder on the NEX-7. What I mean is, particularly if you're an eyeglass wearer, the position of your eye relative to the finder..." - Jun 07 2012 More » | |
| MingThein: "In use, the OM-D shows that it was designed by photographers - or at least has had heavy photographer input in most of the engineering decisions. Menus are logical, and settings are mostly easy to find - though it could really use a way of saving settings to an SD card to transfer between multiple cameras (this is a 'pro' feature for users of multiple bodies), or reload if somebody plays with yours. It's solid, and..." - Jun 07 2012 More » | |
| CNET US: "The camera is quite fast -- generally fastest in its class. It powers on, focuses, and shoots in just under 1.1 seconds; that's not blazing, but acceptable. It takes 0.3 second to focus and shoot in good light, which is a hair slower than the NEX-7 but still quite fast. Two sequential shots take 0.5 second for JPEG and 0.6 second for raw, which more than doubles the shot-to-shot time at 1.8 seconds. But it zips alon..." - May 26 2012 More » | |
| Digital Camera Resource Page: "Performance is absolutely one of the OM-D's strong suits. The camera takes a little over a second before you can take a shot, and then it's off to the races. Olympus has appropriately named their AF system "FAST", and it certainly lives up to the hype. The OM-D focuses faster than any ILC that I've used, whether you're outdoors or in low light. I didn't find shutter lag to be a problem, and shot-to-shot de..." - May 20 2012 More » | |
| CNET AU: "We conducted most of the testing of the OM-D with the 12-50mm lens, which features an internal silent zooming mechanism that is ideal for movie recording. The OM-D produces very bright and punchy JPEG images on default settings, with saturated colours and good dynamic range. RAW files provide a lot of usable detail. The image-stabilisation system provides some stunning results. Most interchangeable lens cameras star..." - May 18 2012 More » | |
| MacWorld: "The E-M5 tops the charts in terms of image quality compared to other micro four thirds cameras we've tested. Exposure, Color, Sharpness, and Distortion categories were all ranked Superior. JPEGs look terrific with default settings. And we discovered that by changing the High ISO Noise Reduction setting to Low, they can be improved even further. Raw files processed with the bundled Olympus Viewer 2, or the latest ver..." - May 18 2012 More » | |
| PhotoReview Australia: "Despite its convoluted user interface, it's difficult not to be impressed by the E-M5. Performance-wise, this camera has a lot going for it. Image files straight from the camera appeared sharp with a wide dynamic range in JPEGs and plenty of detail accessible in raw files. Exposure metering was spot-on in most of the situations we experimented with (except for very low light levels) and for all metering modes. Autof..." - May 17 2012 More » | |
| Trusted Reviews: "Image quality is yet another area where the E-M5 impresses. Straight out of the camera JPEGs are impressively sharp with excellent levels of fine detail. The E-M5's five-axis image stabilisation technology certainly helps here, as it not only corrects for vertical and horizontal camera shake but also for pitch and roll. Even with the zoom set at its maximum 50mm we struggled to take a blurry shot at anything under 1..." - May 15 2012 More » | |
| Photography BLOG: "The OM-D E-M5 is the best Olympus compact system camera to date, and also a strong contender for best compact system camera full stop. It delivers a compelling mix of classic looks, excellent image quality, an extensive feature set and immediate responsiveness, with the camera so well designed that it rarely gets in the way of the creative process. The E-M5 may hark back to a bygone era, but it's definitely bang-up-..." - May 15 2012 More » | |
| Amateur Photographer: "I consider the styling and build quality of the OM-D E-M5 as being equal to the best compact system cameras around, especially with the grip and battery pack attached. Also, by using the micro four thirds to OM mount adapter, old OM lenses can find a new lease of life on this body. Among other things, the high-class feel of the camera and higher pixel count make the E-M5 the best Olympus model yet. Some will be put..." - May 14 2012 More » | |
| Digital Camera Review: "If I were in the market for a mirrorless, interchangeable lens compact digital and was not wedded to any particular manufacturer or system, the E-M5 would probably be it. Of all the other cameras in this class that I've already reviewed, I like this one the best. First and foremost, I love the viewfinder - now that reading glasses are a way of life capturing images with a camera monitor is a pain the E-M5 lets me do..." - May 10 2012 More » | |
| Engadget: "The E-M5 delivers excellent image quality for a camera of its size, but at $1,300 with a kit lens, you'd be right to expect perfection. There's no 51,200+ high-ISO magic at play here, but we weren't disappointed with image quality -- whenever the camera was able to focus, at least. One side effect of that low-contrast focus hunting is a slew of blurry photos, assuming you follow through with a capture after an un-sh..." - May 07 2012 More » | |
| TheVerge: "Typically the worrisome feature of a Micro Four Thirds camera, or any camera with a sensor smaller than a DSLR's, is low light performance -- smaller sensor means less light collected at a time, which usually means worse images. No such trouble here, though: the E-M5 can't quite see in the dark, but it does an impressive job of trying. Its ISO range goes as high as ISO 25,600, and I happily shot up to ISO 3200 witho..." - May 07 2012 More » | |
| SteveHuff: "So here we are at the end of this 6200 word review. The OM-D has impressed me and met all expectations and it seems Olympus has been getting better and better with each new release. I have loved all of the PEN series even though when I look back at the E-P1 it was seriously crippled in comparison to what we have to choose from today. The E-M5 is a serious camera with serious capabilities. When you shoot it with some..." - May 07 2012 More » | |
| Pocket-lint: "Despite all the fancy features and design, can the E-M5 take a decent picture? It's the first Olympus camera (outside of compacts) to break the long-standing 12-megapixel barrier, offering the same 16-megapixel sensor as found in the Panasonic Lumix G3. Of course Olympus has put its own stamp on the hardware: the latest TruPic VI engine can process images from ISO 200-25,600. The increase in resolution compared to o..." - May 06 2012 More » | |
| Digital Camera Info: "It hasn't taken Olympus long to speed into our hearts with their retro-inspired compact system camera lineup. The Micro Four Thirds PEN series was well-received not only for its style, but its image quality and usability. Seeing a gap at the top of their product line, Olympus now has the OM-D E-M5, answering the question: what would happen if you stuffed modern digital guts in a 1970s compact SLR body? The E-M5 is t..." - May 03 2012 More » | |
| dpreview: "The Olympus E-M5 is Olympus' eighth Micro Four Thirds camera and by far its most competitive. It combines the company's pleasing JPEG engine with a more modern sensor to create a photographic tool that lives up to the capabilities implied by its evocation of the fondly-remembered 'OM' name. Its retro design means it has a pleasantly traditional control layout which will be immediately familiar to most SLR and DSLR s..." - May 01 2012 More » | |
| ePhotoZine: "Olympus say that the camera has 1 stop lower noise compared to the 12 megapixel sensor in the Olympus PEN E-P3, and our results show impressive noise performance. In our E-P3 review we recommended resizing ISO12800 images, with the E-M5 the ISO12800 results are significantly better than the E-P3, with even ISO16000 and above producing usable results, although at ISO20000 colour loss is noticeable, so at this setting..." - May 01 2012 More » | |
| TechRadar: "Our initial impressions of this camera were very promising, and after having spent a lot more time with it now, we're happy to report that its charms still manage to hold our attention for the most part, especially now we have had a chance to fully examine image quality. While its retro looks may not appeal to everyone, for original OM users, it will certainly be a treat. Weatherproofing and ruggedness of the camera..." - Apr 18 2012 More » | |
| ColinSteel: "All I wanted to do here was show some early shots and share my thoughts on it as a travel camera. This post will focus on my views of the handling and usability of the camera and I will leave the technical and image quality tests to other better qualified testers. Please also bear in mind here that I couldn't open RAW files in Lightroom so I just edited the jpg's in Snapseed which I find great for simple stuff anywa..." - Apr 17 2012 More » | |
| CNET US: "As I guessed, the camera is quite fast. It focuses and shoots quickly enough that I was comfortable foregoing prefocusing and took more impulse and experimental shots where I simply pointed the camera in a direction that seemed interesting and snapped without framing. The one aspect of performance I find irritating is the lagginess coming out of sleep mode. I frequently had to check to ensure the power was on as I w..." - Apr 16 2012 More » | |
| What Digital Camera: "The OM-D E-M5 uses a 324 zone Multi-pattern Sensing System, so similar to the one found in the E-P3. There's a choice of either Multi-zone (ESP), Centre-Weighted, Spot, Spot Highlight and Spot Shadow. It's a system that works well - exposure is accurate, though in some circumstances could be seen to underexpose ever-so slightly, though this does mean highlight detail is maintained. Set in Auto White Balance and the..." - Mar 29 2012 More » | |
| RobinWong: "Olympus has always been known for having good resolution capture and impressive sharpness in their images, if good lenses (lovely Olympus Zuiko lenses and some newer more capable micro 4/3 primes) are coupled with the camera. The decision of Olympus to use a thinner Anti-Alias filter in front of their image sensor, starting from the E-5 onwards, has proven to be very beneficial to reveal even more details in their i..." - Mar 08 2012 More » | |
| Trusted Reviews: "Controls are well spaced and, for the most part, easy to reach too. We really like how Olympus has implemented two control wheels on the top of the camera as this makes for intuitive handling when the camera is being used in Manual mode, with one wheel assigned to aperture and the other to shutter speed. The positioning of the main on/off switch at the base of the camera is a bit of a departure from previous Olympus..." - Feb 27 2012 More » | |
| ePhotoZine: "The camera has an updated range of Art Filters, including a new Key Line mode that was described as similar to "Manga" and being all about emphasis of the lines in the image. Dramatic Tone has been updated to include a new black and white version and there are further options for Cross Process. Image stabilisation appears to have worked extremely well with the photo taken in the hotel at 1/6th of a second..." - Feb 23 2012 More » | |
| dpreview: "With the E-M5, Olympus is reclaiming the title of 'world's fastest autofocus', from the likes of the Panasonic DMC-GX1 and Nikon 1 cameras which surpassed the E-P3. But this is notably only for static subjects - not for tracking moving objects. With fast internal-focus lenses such as the matched M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 kit zoom or the lovely M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm F1.8 portrait lens, the E-M5's autofocu..." - Feb 22 2012 More » | |
| Pocket-lint: "Controlling the Olympus OM-D E-M5 can take place, as we've mentioned, through the screen or through the various buttons and dials. The shooting mode dial is nicely placed on the left-shoulder of the camera and we much prefer this arrangement to the menu-based offering of the Sony NEX line. But, just as you'll find on other cameras of this ilk, there are more settings than you probably know what to do with. Not only..." - Feb 18 2012 More » | |
| Amateur Photographer: "On first look, the new camera seems really impressive. It is available in silver and black finishes, with the silver being the most eye-catching, but both are pleasant to the touch and feel solid in the hand. The giveaway to the camera's digital identity is found on the back, as is often the case with these classic designs, due to the screen and menu functions. Unlike the Pen series, the E-M5 has a built-in electron..." - Feb 12 2012 More » | |
| What Digital Camera: "Fans of the original OM series may be surprised that the latest digital incarnation uses the same Micro Four Thirds sensor size as found in the PEN E-P-series, not a larger sensor that would mimic the original film camera's 35mm film frame size. The OM-D's biggest difference, however, is in the resolution: the 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor is the highest resolution that Olympus has ever used in any of its interchange..." - Feb 08 2012 More » | |
| Imaging Resource: "Our time with the OM-5 -- I mean E-M5 -- was limited, so I was only able to collect a few notes worth expounding upon here. Its fit was pretty solid, but buttons and dials were obviously not final. Software seemed fine so long as I didn't get too fancy, working mostly like an E-P3. I found the grip quite comfortable, and the overall ergonomics of the camera were great. As I said, the control dials were nice, to..." - Feb 08 2012 More » | |
| Digital Camera Review: "Olympus didn't just nod to the OM series with this new digital incarnation, it flat-out reproduced its original film camera in digital form. This design is carried out so far as to include a large housing for a non-existant pentaprism. Since it only contains an EVF and an accessory port for the hot shoe, we can assume this was for styling purposes rather than function. Looking at the E-M5 from the front you'd be for..." - Feb 08 2012 More » |
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