Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mirrorless Digital Camera, 16 Megapixel, Image Stabilized, 3" Tilting OLED Display, Full 1080 HD Video, Silver

2014-12-01T19:00:00

I am a previous Olympus PEN user. I once owned an E-PL1 and later an E-PL2. I missed having a built-in viewfinder and didn't really care for the Olympus EVF that plugged into the hot shoe. So, I sold off the Micro 4/3 equipment and went with one of the Big Two brands. That camera ("The world's smallest DSLR") was actually pretty nice, but heavy lenses on a small body kind of defeated the purpose of a small scale camera. After a year or so, I looked at Olympus again. When I saw the OMD-EM5 at a great price, I just had to have it. I added the 12-50mm EZ lens, and the 40-150mm zoom lens. I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of pictures coming from the EM5. I set up some informal comparison tests between the EM5 and my other camera. The Olympus, with either lens, was sharper and produced truer colors than my other camera. This was the case with both tripod-mounted and handheld shots. The 12-50mm lens is handy, and can do some macro work too. When used on the EM5, I don't have to worry much about taking pictures in less than ideal weather. But what I like the most, especially compared to the other camera, is the green frame you see in the viewfinder that indicates the area of focus. It is really frustrating on other systems to find that little red dot for a focus point. With the EM5, not only can I determine where the camera will focus, but it is especially easy to change the focus point, or even set a focus zone. This is a much better setup for me, and in combination with the EM5's quick focus, I am experiencing fewer out-of-focus shots. I know that many people are somewhat bewildered by the Olympus user interface, but it is easily learned. Many features are simply on/off options. The super control panel allows easy change of settings, as do the main/sub dials. When you combine this with the touch screen, you can really get comfortable with a particular way to set and use the camera. Overall, I am very happy to be back with Olympus. The OMD-EM5 is a great camera, with a solid feel, classic good looks, and excellent picture quality. The only reason I gave four stars is that, at this price point, Wi-Fi should be included. That is not a deal breaker though, with all of the other features and product quality. I would feel comfortable recommending this camera.

Daniel C.

2013-05-16T21:00:00

If you are a techie like me, this is the camera you need to get. This one offers so many little things you can configure and play around, it's so fun. oh and it also takes photos but that's not the point of this review. It takes a good photos but it's not anywhere APS-C or Full Frame quality. But as a techie, I do appreciate that the camera do produce nice looking pictures, just keep in mind that these are nice digitally looking photos, not exactly gives off that genuine film photos look and feel. but hey, it is what it is and as long as it looks good, that's all it matters, right? But like I said, this camera really shines when it comes to "using" the camera. It's just like a gadget toy that you can play around with setups and lens so much. If you are into playing around with cameras and taking photos is secondary, this is the camera for you! I love it!

Leica M.

2013-02-10T19:00:00

If your looking for a great camera that's compact, lightweight and take beautiful shots this is a good one. My other camera's are now collecting dust.

Dennis

2013-02-04T19:00:00

Olympus quality overall is a higher than the panasonic gh3. Image quality is arguably better than the gh3 despite having the same sensor.

SERGIO A.

2013-01-10T19:00:00

Ahh.. i guess i'll go into background of myself... Got into photography using a canon xsi, the t1i, wanted something more rugged and "professional" after a few years.. moved to the canon 60D.. liked the quality, love the size.. liked the look.. didnt like the weight. after a while it really got to u.. and then the big size you loved of it, (w/ grip) got to you, so I stopped using the grip.. and the camera got annoying to lug around... decided to make a full switch to m4/3.. got a epl-1 .. liked it alot. but after using a dslr.. its hard to admit it was a big downgrade. then i started to buy 4/3 (dslr) lenses for the epl-1 to improve the picture quality.. that worked well.. then missed a viewfinder.. bought a vf2.. liked it but hated how it was $$$ and it didnt lock on.. then the OMD comes out.. solved my problems. loved the size, the look , you can NOT deny looks awesome. the construction is very good, and feels like a small brick. the built in EVF is great too, and the screen on the back is nice and big. I use my olympus 4/3 14-54 mkii lens w/ the olympus mmf-3 to completely weather seal the camera and combo. this is the camera i've been waiting for and im glad i finally got it. picture quality is great. using my 14-54, or even the m4/3 14-42. i recently started experiementing w/ a 28mm 3.5 OM lens. and i love that combo and look. Image stablization on this camera is great, and u really notice it in shooting videos. its a great camera, alittle pricy, but you are really only going to get this if you know what you want and like the style.

wyluncustoms