It’s been a while since Olympus introduced the OMD E-M5. Since the launch, the web has been awash with glowing reviews, mixed with complaints from those who had pre-ordered and were still waiting for their new toy. My neighbour Nik read the reviews but ignored the reports about limited supplies; and sold his old camera on the assumption he could easily pick up an E-M5.
Weeks passed, but it finally arrived yesterday, and he did what he usually does with his new gear; he gives it to me for twenty four hours to play with. Unfortunately, in my current condition, I spent most of that twenty four hours asleep or staring at the wall in a dazed, drooling state; but I did play with it enough to gain an impression.
Isn’t it pretty?:
Looks even more gorgeous in the flesh than it does in the photographs. It’s also much smaller than you expect it to be. Dwarfed by a Canon DSLR:
Similar in size to she who must be obeyed’s Pen:
It may be small in size, but it has a heft to it, is well-constructed and is waterproof to the extent you could take in the shower should you feel the urge. I didn’t, but I did spend some time playing with it.
The obvious comparison for me is with my Panasonic GX1, and in terms of handling the GX1 is the better camera. The customisation options on the E-M5 are extensive; but they are buried in a mess of menus and inadequately supported by a crap user manual. There is a “super control panel” on the E-M5 which displays the most used options; but is not customisable and selecting and modifying an option requires the pressing of buttons as well as the touch screen. The Panasonic Quick Menu is user defined and much quicker to operate.
The button array on each camera is similar:
But the Panasonic buttons are more accessible, and the Olympus buttons inevitably suffer from the impact of the weatherproofing which makes the button response a little rubbery and indistinct. The Olympus has two wheels, used to adjust aperture and exposure compensation when in Aperture mode, for example. The Panasonic offers a single wheel which you push to change options. If find the latter easier to use and the Olympus wheels not so easy to access.
So the Panasonic wins on handling, and I have rather got used to opening up the viewfinder by ninety degrees so I can look down when lining up a shot. On the other hand, the E-M5 scores points for it’s bright, clear rear panel which can be folded out, and it has a slightly better viewfinder. Oh, and it has a beautiful, quiet shutter sound.
I dragged myself outside and took a few shots with it. Fast, accurate auto-focus; just like the Panasonic. Unlike the Panasonic, it produces wonderful JPEGs straight out of the camera. I believe that the tests indicate that overall RAW image quality would be slightly better than the GX1; but not something you would notice unless you indulged in extensive pixel peeping.
So, a beautiful little camera, but not significantly better than the Panasonic GX1.
And what about the much-heralded (by Olympus) five axis stabilisation system? The little hump on top of the camera house not only the viewfinder, but devices which detect five different planes of movement. These devices then interact with the sensor which is floating in a magnetic field and keep everything steady. There is even a stabiliser in the viewfinder.
Sounds very clever, literally, because if you stick the camera next to your ear you can hear it humming away, doing its stabilisation thing.
This is the first camera to use such a system, and I wondered whether it was really an innovation or just marketing bullshit. I am an ideal subject to test a stabilisation system. Being ancient, I already have slightly shaky hands, and whatever my thyroid is doing to my body has resulted in even more spectacular tremors. Stabilise that, Olympus.
With a 25mm lens I would never normally shoot below 1/60th second. At 1/60th I would probably get a bit of shake and 1/125th would be a better bet. So I pointed the camera at a painting in a dark hallway and took a shot handheld at 1/10th second. Sharp!
Experimented with some other subjects and got down to 1/8second with some of them, which is just ridiculous.
I handed back the E-M5 and picked up my GX1. In most respects I am happy to keep on shooting with the Panasonic; but I would really love to have that image stabilisation system.
If you are in the market for a micro-four thirds camera, then the OMD E-M5 is clearly the best of the bunch at the moment. I’ll carry on with my GX1 for now; but I can see an E-M5 (or E-M6) in my future.
Comments 🔗
2012-05-12| Spanky saysI am on a wait list for one. I will sell my E-P2 to help fund the purchase. If you were to get a real comaprison to a Panasonic M 4/3 the G3 would have been a better choice. It shares many of the features of the OM-D except the in body stabalization.
2012-05-13| Spike saysWhich is why I said “The obvious comparison for me”. Are you getting black or silver? There is a black one sitting in a shop in Pattaya; but I am resisting.
2012-05-13| Spanky saysI read it on my phone in the back of a taxi on the way to the airport to fly home!
I like the silver one with the black trim. Will go better with the various lenses which are mostly black but when I use an Olympus lens it will look good as well. If you can get one grab it. They are rare in America still. Shops get them and they are gone as fast as they come in.
2012-05-13| Grant saysBe strong Spike, be strong. Real cameras are silver, black cameras are nought but a sad fashion trend…
2012-05-14| TheSon saysMore great hardware ruined by shoddy software. I don’t understand why they don’t hire some proper UX guys to make these cameras properly shine.