Olympus EM-5 - first review (ultra brief)
Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 3:18 pmI have owned a silver Olympus OM-D Em-5 now for about 10 days. I haven't really had much time to take many photos, but here's a few initial thoughts:
Build quality
Exceptional. The Chinese/Japanese technological collaboration on this one has ensured a home run. The camera is surprisingly heavy and very small, which I actually like. I purchased the accompanying two piece grip. You can use it with one or both parts. The first section of the grip gives a much approved purchase on the camera. The second part adds vertical shutter/assorted controls. The machining of everything is top notch.
photo by Ozimax, on Flickr
Buttons and dials
There are so many buttons that it is maybe a bit of overkill. You can customize this camera to the nth degree. I find that the buttons are way too small for my hands, and it's something I will have to get used to. The "play image" button in particular is hard to get to, but I imagine I could programme a more easily reachable button to do the same thing if I was to actually read the manual!
Shutter(s)
The shutter sound is sensational, and very quiet, unlike the other m4/3 cameras I have used in recent years. I must add that with the complete grip attached, you have three shutter buttons, yes, three. Take your pick...
Screen
The screen is as good as any I have used. I haven't used the swivel up/down function as yet, but it will no doubt come in handy some day. The touch screen to focus, shoot and review is pretty amazing technology.
Focus
Coming from a Canon 5D Mkii perspective, the focusing capability of the EM-5 is lightning fast. When photographing kids, it seems to hit the eye point every time, which what I need, as I photograph a lot of kids.
ISO
6400 is very usable. I have some 6x8 prints in at Camera House, so I should get to see the high ISO capability soon. For web usage, ISO 6400 is a doddle. I have not tried to shoot raw as the format is not yet supported. Hopefully this will be remedied soon.
Image quality
Excellent. It is no 5D, that's for sure, but for what I do, I think I will like it very much.
Lens
The only package I could get was with the 14-42 kit lens, which I already own. (Anyone want to buy a brand new 14-42mm ii lens?) What really makes M4/3s shine are the primes. I also picked up an Olympus 45mm F1.8. This little gem is destined to be a classic, if you can find one to buy. It is sharp, with nice OOF detail (bokeh). Sure, it's not being used on a full frame, and it sure doesn't compete with my previous 5Dii/70-200ii combination for portraits, but it is still very good.
The proceeds of my Canon gear sale are now exhausted, but I may have to sell/raise/beg some more moolah to acquire the upcoming 75mm F1.8, which I feel will be a classic portrait lens.
It's very early days, but I'm so far very pleased with my switch to the new system. I would expect this camera to remain unobtainium for some time yet.
Ozi.
My mate Sam, 45mm @ F1.8
Sam1 by Ozimax, on Flickr
My friend Bethany, 45mm @ F1.8. (Notice the right eye in focus? The newer Pen series cameras give the ability to choose which eye to focus on, when using facial recognition etc)
Bethany1 by Ozimax, on Flickr
Build quality
Exceptional. The Chinese/Japanese technological collaboration on this one has ensured a home run. The camera is surprisingly heavy and very small, which I actually like. I purchased the accompanying two piece grip. You can use it with one or both parts. The first section of the grip gives a much approved purchase on the camera. The second part adds vertical shutter/assorted controls. The machining of everything is top notch.
photo by Ozimax, on Flickr
Buttons and dials
There are so many buttons that it is maybe a bit of overkill. You can customize this camera to the nth degree. I find that the buttons are way too small for my hands, and it's something I will have to get used to. The "play image" button in particular is hard to get to, but I imagine I could programme a more easily reachable button to do the same thing if I was to actually read the manual!
Shutter(s)
The shutter sound is sensational, and very quiet, unlike the other m4/3 cameras I have used in recent years. I must add that with the complete grip attached, you have three shutter buttons, yes, three. Take your pick...
Screen
The screen is as good as any I have used. I haven't used the swivel up/down function as yet, but it will no doubt come in handy some day. The touch screen to focus, shoot and review is pretty amazing technology.
Focus
Coming from a Canon 5D Mkii perspective, the focusing capability of the EM-5 is lightning fast. When photographing kids, it seems to hit the eye point every time, which what I need, as I photograph a lot of kids.
ISO
6400 is very usable. I have some 6x8 prints in at Camera House, so I should get to see the high ISO capability soon. For web usage, ISO 6400 is a doddle. I have not tried to shoot raw as the format is not yet supported. Hopefully this will be remedied soon.
Image quality
Excellent. It is no 5D, that's for sure, but for what I do, I think I will like it very much.
Lens
The only package I could get was with the 14-42 kit lens, which I already own. (Anyone want to buy a brand new 14-42mm ii lens?) What really makes M4/3s shine are the primes. I also picked up an Olympus 45mm F1.8. This little gem is destined to be a classic, if you can find one to buy. It is sharp, with nice OOF detail (bokeh). Sure, it's not being used on a full frame, and it sure doesn't compete with my previous 5Dii/70-200ii combination for portraits, but it is still very good.
The proceeds of my Canon gear sale are now exhausted, but I may have to sell/raise/beg some more moolah to acquire the upcoming 75mm F1.8, which I feel will be a classic portrait lens.
It's very early days, but I'm so far very pleased with my switch to the new system. I would expect this camera to remain unobtainium for some time yet.
Ozi.
My mate Sam, 45mm @ F1.8
Sam1 by Ozimax, on Flickr
My friend Bethany, 45mm @ F1.8. (Notice the right eye in focus? The newer Pen series cameras give the ability to choose which eye to focus on, when using facial recognition etc)
Bethany1 by Ozimax, on Flickr
