Olympus OM-D E-M5 + 12-50/3.5-6.3
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14 years ago
Olympus OM-D E-M5 review
Three years after making its first entrance into the compact system camera arena with the PEN E-P1, Olympus has gone back to its roots again to produce the OM-D E-M5, with its retro styling owed to its analogue predecessor.
14 years ago
The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is certainly the most capable Micro Four Thirds camera we've reviewed and arguably the most likeable mirrorless model yet. It falls down a little bit on its continuous focusing but we have absolutely no complaints about the image quality.
Pros:
- Very good image quality
- even at high ISO
- Bright
- punchy JPEGs make the most of camera's capability
- Very fast autofocus with most Micro Four Thirds lenses
- Weather-sealed body
- Built-in image stabilization helps increase number of sharp shots
- Good level of direct control despite small body,...
Cons:
- Focus tracking distinctly unreliable
- Small controls sometimes awkward (especially with cold/gloved hands
- No in-camera correction of CA (which can be problematic with 12-50mm kit zoom
- Default JPEG settings a bit keen to blur detail away
- Several useful features hidden in obscure and...
14 years ago
Review: Olympus OM-D E-M5
The latest micro four-thirds camera from Olympus is clearly designed to appeal to all those hoary, wizened photographers who long for the good ol' days. Olympus' new digital OM series is modeled after the company's original, beloved OM film cameras from the 1970s.
Pros:
- Compact, relatively light magnesium body
- Both the body and the 12-50mm kit lens are weather-sealed
- Fun, creative art filters for in-camera experimentation
- A wide array of available lenses
- Super-comfortable and almost-indispensable grip attachment
Cons:
- No built-in pop-up flash
- Can't change exposure settings while shooting video
- Shallow eye cup diminishes the EVF's effectiveness in bright outdoor situations
14 years ago
Olympus OM-D review
Cameras with a retro look and feel are big business right now, a trend Olympus arguably started with its original E-P1 Compact System Camera (CSC) from 2009, which harked back to its maker's ‘Pen' camera range of the 1950s/60s.
Pros:
- Solid build and retro style
- Angle-adjustable OLED
- Integral viewfinder
Cons:
- Backplate buttons are tiny
14 years ago
Olympus OM-D E-M5 review
Olympus reached back to its design roots when crafting the new OM-D E-M5 micro four thirds camera . The original OM line of film SLRs was known for its rich feature set and stylish, compact design. Now, released as a digital body, the first offering in the new OM-D line is the E-M5.
Pros:
- Outstanding image quality
- highly customisable feature set
- compact design
- wide seleciton of accessories and lenses
- weather resistant body
- art filters add fun factor
- good macro mode on 12-50mm zoon
- fast autofocus and burst mode
Cons:
- Menu system can be daunting
- no built-in mic adapter
- small buttons can be difficult for large fingers
- soft humming when powered up
13 years ago
Olympus OM-D E-M5 is the latest in the flagship Micro Four Thirds Camera series. First of its kind, E-M5 is a classically styled DSLR version of camera, which has replaced the film with imaging system unlike its predecessors.
Pros:
- It has a compact body and is fully weather sealed
- Crisp LCD EVF
- Articulating rear display
- Sharp kit lens
- Very good image quality
- even at high ISO
- Good level of direct control despite small body
- Fast autofocus
- Bright
- punchy JPEGs make the most of camera's capability
- Good selection of Micro...
Cons:
- External flash
- Lacks a standard mic input
- Focus tracking distinctly unreliable
- Several useful features hidden in obscure and confusingly-named menu options
- No warning given that focus is locked during high-speed shooting
13 years ago
Unbelievable package
57 year old enthusiast. Have owned a massive 6 lb SLR with a 35-105 Zoom that was so heavy it took the fun out of photography. Moved to 35mm point and shoots and loved it. Got into digital with the original Sony Mavica (media was small 1.4mb floppies - good for 20 pics!).
Pros:
- Size
- Weight
- Build
- Features
- Appearance
- Weather sealed
- Flexibility
- Customizability
- Adapters
- Fantastic pictures
- Small with great viewfinder
- Art filters
- Good software
- Solid construction
- Included flash
Cons:
- no built in flash
- Complex if you want to do more than just use Auto
13 years ago
Olympus OM-D EM-5 review
Olympus and Panasonic jointly developed the Micro Four Thirds system that kick-started the compact system camera (CSC) movement, but Olympus's early PEN cameras were overshadowed by the sprightlier performance of Panasonic's G series and, later, the higher image quality of Sony's NEX range.
13 years ago
Olympus OM-D E-M5 review
The latest micro four-thirds camera from Olympus is clearly designed to appeal to all those hoary, wisened photographers who long for the good ol' days. Olympus' new digital OM series is modeled after the company's original, beloved OM film cameras from the 1970s.
Pros:
- Compact, relatively light magnesium body
- Both the body and the 12-50mm kit lens are weather-sealed
- Fun, creative art filters for in-camera experimentation
- A wide array of available lenses.
Cons:
- No built-in pop-up flash
- Can't change exposure settings while shooting video
- Shallow eye cup diminishes the EVF's effectiveness in bright outdoor situations
13 years ago
Olympus OM-D E-M5
The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is the flagship mirrorless camera from Olympus. It is an advanced model that delivers a professional feature set in a relatively compact weather-sealed body.
Pros:
- Excellent image quality
- Very good metering
- Reliable Automatic White-Balance
- Superb built-in stabilization
- Virtually no shutter-lag
- Fast contrast-detect AF
- Good shot-to-shot speed
- Very responsive
- Excellent automatic Manual Focus Assist
- Unique Live-Bulb mode
- Highly customizable interface,...
Cons:
- Poor color accuracy
- Low-contrast EVF
- Not always Exposure-Priority and frequently wrong Live-Histogram
- Modal Exposure-Compensation
- Some tiny buttons
- Uncomfortable eyelets
- Poorly placed tripod mount
- Low battery life
- Rear control-dial uncomfortably high
4.4
from 77 reviews
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4
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