Olympus OM-D EM-5 review

I would start off by getting this off my chest: Olympus OM-D EM5 is my dream camera design come true. I always dreamed of a digital FM-2 or OM, rugged, compact  with manual controls, and flexibility of taking wide angle to telephoto lenses. Leica M9 fit the first 3 criteria, but looses out on the flexibility, not to mention cost half a car.

I bought this camera after  some very positive experience with the EP-2, I found micro 4/3 system to have the right balance between image quality and size, the images out of EP-2 were very different full frame sensor images, they had a charm of their own, they were flatter, sharp and had more of a film look to me.

I did not expect much of a jump in image quality for the EM-5 over the EP-2 to be honest, after all it was more pixels in the same sensor area, however, I was suprised that image out of EM-5 is a huge step above EP-2. The images had more detail, had much better dynamic range, however still retained that film look.

The noise performance is also very good, better than M9 again, I could shoot ISO1600 comfortably, and it will match the performance for ISO800 out of the M9 comfortably. The colors from the camera is also very accurate and pleasing, not too warm like Canon, nor washed out.

Comparing to the M9, I would say the image is different, the obvious edge for M9 is that the tonal change is more gradual and has higher resoultion, making the images look "finer". But the E-M5 has better colors (my personal view), better dynamic range, performs better at high ISO, and it is more "film" like.

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is a camera that can be complex or simple, it has many features, like video, art filters, multiple mode of exposure, etc, which can be dauntingat at first. However, it can be a real simple camera too, which is how I am using it, using only center focus point, center weighted exposure and single focus, everything becomes simple and very accessible, I found I was right at home with this camera within half an hour of using it.

The most satisfying aspect of the E-M5 is that it is quick and accurate. The exposure is very accurate, the focus is instant, and the white balance is great too. The back of the camera layout is simpler than the EP-2, and the 2 function buttons make accessing important functions like ISO and White balance change much faster, the only gripe I had with it is that FN1 button is a bit small.

One more thing I just have to mention about this camera, the EVF. Its something really special, it was like looking through an optical viewfinder, high res, no lag, and no ugly noise in low light, its even better than the Olympus VF-2. I turned off all info on the EVF to reduce clutter, and never felt I was looking at a tiny video screen. The advantage of EVF is also apparent, when lighting is difficult or quickly changing, the EVF is great for getting the right exposure.



So what do I think of the OM-D? I think its THE perfect camera, its fast, accurate, no fuss. Its rugged and weather proof. Its images are very very nice, different to full frame cameras, but has beautiful colors and film like quality. Best of all, it has a very nice set of prime lenses to support it (except for a nice 35mm equiv). I will be shooting it more in the coming weeks, will give more feed back soon :).