Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black)

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

got my wife an OM1 in 1973. Incredible camera, wore it out. Thought the new OMD surely would be as dramatic a "new" camera -- so bought it. Spent a week trying to find why it cost so much, and my wife (it was birthday gift, repeat from 40 years ago!)decided her little Canon point and shoot takes 95% as good as the OMD, is less heavy and doesn't need to carry extra lenses. B and H allowed us to return the OMD for a refund. Dissappointed in the camera, but B and H sure won a loyal customer! Truly outstanding service!

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

Great image quality - have owned so many digital cameras and this one does all desired.
DSLR quality in a much smaller package - I was reduced to lugging around a backpack with a DSLR now can carry a much lighter package.
Excellent lens selections - 20 mm 1.7, 25mm 1.4 and 45mm 1.8 are all excellent primes

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

Great camera easy to use amazing photos. Only thing that I have found that I found as a negative would be without the battery grip (which I have now), my hand would start to hurt carrying it around for over an hour or so (not a fan of neck straps). That is the only minor minor issue I had. Otherwise this is an Amazing camera! Buy it now!

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

I use the E-M5 with my 4/3s lenses as well as the micro 4/3s Both mounts work on this camera. I have tried the 4/3s for fine art photography and think that it works better than the micro 4/3s

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

I don't typically bite the bullet on first generation tech and was fairly hesitant about jumping head-first into a new system especially since the previous m43 cameras didn't attract me too much but after three weeks of using the E-M5, I have no regrets.

Is it the perfect camera for everyone? No, but for many serious amateur photogs, this fits the bill with regards to customization, image quality, and compact size.

And with regards to the humming and lug 'fiascos', (which almost deterred me from buying the E-M5 in the first place), after experiencing it first-hand, are exaggerations.

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

Pre-orderd 23.02.12 from Olympus, but was lucky enough to find one at B&H late April. Having owned a Canon 5d and Nikon D700, I missed the speed and image quality when I switched to the E-30, then the E5 and then to the Pens 1, 2 & 3. I switched in anticipation that micro would take off sooner than later.

The E-M5 with a week under the belt appears to match speed and quality (based on my criteria) without the weight of the previously mentioned DSLRs. I also bought the 12-50 in order to have the dust and water tight kit for our wetcoast or travel to Alaska, the tropics, etc.

The 12-50 looks to be a good travel lens along with the 20mm and the 45mm, although IMO by no means matching the quality of the latter.
The zoom is silent and so much easier than zooming with the 14-140. Next for me will be to compare the video between this cam and the GH-2.

I am convinced that my wife will sell her E-P3 & D90 and will buy herself a OM-D, the more I describe the pluses of the new camera.

Even though it defeats the small pocketable camera option, I will be keeping the 1st stage grip on at all times, and the battery pack more often than not, but especially when shooting with the 100-300.

At my age, I use a monopod most of the time (except for fast primes), and a tripod for macros, but with the new IS system I am finding that I now can get good sharp shots handeld.

I will watch out for the small covers for the flash shoe and grip (although each section has a location to store), as I would be prone to loosing them on the road.

A final comment on the focusing. While shooting a macro in low light I found that the Leica 45mm hunted if the focal pointed was aimed at a dark area but if you moved it to overlapping dark with light brown, it wast instant.

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

I use the camera in nearly all photographic situations. It excels in street photography due to its blazing speed as well as general and landscape photography due to its improved dynamic range.Pros:It has excellent usability. The camera is quite responsive. The controls are well laid out and intuitive. The body is heavy and well balanced. The EVF is bright and clear. The image quality is outstanding.Cons:The buttons are a little soft and takes some time to get used to the feel. The on-off button feels like it is very delicate. The screen is exposed all the time and so might need a protector to prevent scratches.Overall, it is the best m43 camera I have used. It looks great and works great.

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

I've had the camera for about a week, it has replaced my GF-1 as my main camera. In every regard it bests the GF-1.
First off the EVF which was one of the main reasons I upgraded is great, it may not be class leading(NEX-7), but it is more than good enough for me.
The sensor is great, the higher ISO performance is a HUGE improvement. Very usable files up to 3200 and even 6400 isn't too bad. I was developing a shot and was shocked when I looked over to see ISO2500. The noise is very well controlled.
The AF is awesome in good light and pretty good in low light. I've had a couple hunting moments but most of the time it locks on right away. I even tried the continuous AF w/ face detection on a toddler the other day and it did quite good keeping a sharp focus for me.
The IBIS is so good I don't even know it's there, it just works, I haven't turned it off to see how many shots I'd miss without it, because, who wants to miss a shot?
Very much recommended.

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

Being new to m43 format cameras, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, especially loving the results of my dslr. But a camera is useless if you don't carry it around, and with the bulk that usually come with dslr's, I was intruiged by what the Olympus OM-D had to offer.

The size and weight are perfect! Has a good hand feel when you're carrying it around shooting and switching the dials on top. Has nice weight, and doesn't feel flimsy. And to have a high quality imaging sensor inside the beautifully designed small body is a definite selling point.

I consider myself the occasional photographer who likes to carry my camera to gatherings and walk around with a camera taking street shots, and functionality wise, this is my perfect companion. I particularly like the fast auto-focus (9fps continuous btw) that this camera has. And also the cool new feature of being able to focus by tapping the monitor screen itself.

Some things that initially stood out to me as not so great things was the fan/hum noise it made when I switched the camera on. I'm sure it serves a purpose, but it was kind of annoying to hear at first. Another annoyance is that it doesn't have a built in flash. Although an extra mini flash attachment is included, I personally perfer to not carry it around, since I never know when i'm going to need it.

Overall, a wonderful well rounded camera. Now time to invest in some more m43 lenses...

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

I just like to take pictures ... I don't like to do a lot of post processing.The JPEG's out of this camera always seem to be just right. The touch screen focus is just brilliant! I just select a focus point with my finger and I've nailed it. Spot ON!This is the Micro 4/3rd's camera that I hoped would come along one day.The only quibble that I have with this camera is that the buttons and dials seem to be a bit close together for comfort sometimes so its taken me a while to get used to. However, a lot of brilliant technology has been put into a very small form factor. I can live with it.The camera is fun. Its brilliantly unobtrusive. Its a joy to use!Sorry I'm just not a technical person. I just love to take pictures and this suits me tremendously.

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

This camera embodies everything that is good about the Micro Four Thirds Format. Superb image quality, advanced features, and a weather-sealed stylish body. I can now comfortably replace my large and heavy Canon gear with this camera and a selection of MFT lenses.

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

The E-M5, along with the extensive lens collection available for micro-four-thirds, now easily can claim to be the best all around mirrorless camera. It does just about everything right and it does most of it at or near the top in class.

Within the micro-four-thirds world there are probably better values (G3), smaller bodies (GF5), higher quality video (GH2) available. When it comes to the combination of features the E-M5 seems to hit a sweet spot.

Compared to other mirrorless formats the NEX5n and X1Pro probably have better sensors, but the E-M5 sensor is quite close. Use the IBIS in the E-M5 to lower your ISO a tad and it keeps up. These other systems also have interesting features (hybrid VF in Fuji, focus peaking in NEX) not available on the E-M5 but they also suffer from their own deficencies (slow AF, poor selection of lenses). Nonetheless, they deserve consideration if you have a specific narrow need that they might serve.

With that in mind, the E-M5 executes these features well:

- Image Stabilization, in live view and video too.
- Very fast single shot AF
- Very high burst rate
- Reasonably deep buffer
- Low ISO dynamic range (better than Canon, not as good as best Sony sensors)
- High ISO (just a smidge behind Sony sensors)
- Quality JPEGs (if you use them)
- Very configurable
- Good handling (but small so there are compromises)

Weaknesses/Compromises:

- No built in flash, but small flash included
- Like all mirrorless, continuous AF in burst is not very good. Nikon 1 probably rules the roost on this feature.
- Battery life less than a DSLR (live view takes power)

All in all, if you are looking for a mirrorless camera that does nearly everything right this is your camera. But do consider others, as refered to above if you have specific needs or target uses you might find a better fit.

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

I've replaced my Canon EOS system with the O-MD E-M5 and couldn't be happier. Although it is a very different camera than I am used to, I'm finding it very well suited to my needs, with the important addition of being much smaller and lighter than my previous gear, which makes it that much easier to bring along on both paid gigs and my own personal trips. It is packed with great new technology that I find very helpful (EVF, IS, Face & eye detect AF). The image files are excellent and the camera handles very well. I'll be buying a 2nd body shortly.

Comments about Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black):

Used this camera on a recent trip and it was amazing. The fast autofocus combined with the 3" OLED is great. The extra customizable dials allows you to personalize the camera exactly how you want.