OM SYSTEM OM-5 Reviews
Oly EM-1 Mark-iii in a Smaller Package
By Jeff
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-23
The OM5 is a Swiss Army knife among $1000 class cameras. It does not excel at much, but does a whole lot of things well. Think of it as an EM-1 Mark 3 stuffed into a smaller body. That definitely is not a bad thing, as the Mark 3 is a very competent camera, and the smaller size and weight make the OM5 a more discrete tool. The electronic shutter is highly functional, and silent, since sensor read-out is rather speedy and rolling shutter usually is not an issue.
The menu has been panned as being too complex, obtuse, etc., but I have never met a camera menu that was really straightforward and simple (to me). The camera begs to be customized to the user's preferences. That means that a beginner who uses the camera in green mode will surely miss out on some neat features.
Image quality, of course, lags slightly behind IQ from larger sensors, but most people would never know the difference, since Micro-Four-Thirds sensors deliver better IQ than many people expect.
The lens eco-system has many options for glass and few photographers would be disappointed at the selection. The weather sealing takes the worry out of being outdoors with the camera, assuming the lens in use is also weather sealed.
The OM5 is not a world-beater, but is is a very nice, small, surprisingly capable, camera.
OM-5, One Camera Does it All.
By Don
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-07
There are 2 very important things a camera has to have. IBIS and Weather Resistance. OM-5 has these and many more but these 2 items are a must-have. OM-5 IBIS is the best of the best. I can hand hold at 1/10sec and get tack-sharp photos. I can go slower but I dare not speak of such things. With any other camera, I have, L, and F cameras included, I can't do that. The slowest speed I can shoot any camera is 1/250 sec. Parkinson's forces IBIS.
Weather Resistance gives the ability to make photos under any circumstances. Both of these features are mandatory and critical for photography. OM-5 does both with care and class. The menu system is what you expect from a fine camera, actually better than most. Image quality, well, beautiful. Now, now the third feature is a camera killer. Oh yeah, all your fancy dancy cameras with all the features and lenses in your suitcase to lug them around. See, Olympus makes cameras the way WE want and need them to be. They make them for us, the shooters. Other makers make great cameras the way they want them to be for themselves. OM-5 is very compact, lightweight, and fits in a jacket pocket with ease. I use the 20mm 1.4 and it's sweet.
So, it should be obvious how I feel about OM-5 and Olympus in general.
B&H has always offered top service by any means to its customers and I would suggest when you get the OM-5, get it from B&H.
Last but not least, I asked Olympus to install IBIS in my brain so I can be stable. I Have not heard back from them, but I will, oh yes I will.
Great Light Weight and Small Camera
By Douglass
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-02
Great light and small camera. Wouldn,t want anything smaller. Despite being small it fairly easy to hold on to; it has great thumb rest on the back and a reasonable grip on the front, but would still recommend getting a wrist strap. One of the reasons I bought it is because it has 50 MP handheld high resolution option using sensor shift along with excellent IS and weather sealing. I got the 12-40 f-2.8 Pro II lens and love the clutch for manual focus. On the negative side: 1) it does not come with an external battery charger (I got the Watson one from B & H that was reasonably priced; 2) it could use a higher resolution EVF; 3) it does not come with hard copy camera guide and the PDF is not convenient to use (Can't wait for some Third Party guides to come out.).
Great competence and portability
By Moreno
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-01
I have 50+ years of experience, the 2nd half of the time as a part-time pro, shooting many different subjects with a lot of different gear up to large format. Today, I do fine art/landscape/nature and some product photography and documentary video. I use a Nikon D780 in low light, Panasonic for video and OMS for still photography. I have had Olympus cameras since the original OM1. I recently upgraded my EM1M3 and EM5M3 to a new OM1 and the OM5. I believe that the initial response to the OM5 has suffered from the launch of the OM1 and the inflated expectations of some on-line
influencers. In its class, the EM5 series has always been a great combination of competence and extreme portability. I upgraded from the EM5M3 to the OM5 because some of the new/improved features are very helpful to me. I can use as much weatherization and IBIS as possible, the HHHRS and ND filter and exposure smoothing with my time lapse work (still to test with holy grail subjects). If these features are of no interest to you, the EM5M3 remains a great buy (used ones in excellent condition are a killer deal).
When I need subject recognition AF (i.e.: BIF), higher video specs (4K/60, better IQ) and the safety of a double card, I use the OM1, but
the OM5 is my absolute favorite camera. It can do most of what I want in a package that is exceedingly compact yet extremely well made. Its ergonomics makes it a pleasure and fun to carry around and work with. Paired with a set of M43 lenses, it's hard to match in terms of "shooting experience". When I go out with a photo shoot in mind, I always carry two bodies (now OM1 and OM5) with a couple of different lens sets: the Pana 8-18mm f/2.8-4 + Oly 12-40 f/2.8 and
0-150mm f/2.8 + MC-20 teleconverter (16-600mm equivalent), or the same Pana + Oly 12-100mm f/4 and 100-400mm f/5-6.3 (16-800mm equivalent). Either one set fits in a small pack. Lastly, I don't believe that the OM5 is a beginner's camera. Its feature set is too rich and complex to navigate. To exploit its capabilities, one must read the manual and follow the better YouTube "how-to" videos, experiment and (highly recommended) make use of the custom settings. Failing
to do your homework is unwise: I recently sold my EM1M3 and Pana GH5 on ebay. Both buyers took the effect of a camera setting for a malfunction. I managed to resolve one issue by email but had to take the other camera back as "broken". I immediately resold it for more money :-).
Wow
By Robert
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-01
I upgraded from the M5-3. It handles the same way, but operationally it's just like my M1 .3 just in a smaller package.
Extremely satisfied with this purchase
By Richard
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-14
Up to now I am very satisfied with the camera. I have used it for pictures and taken some videos during the day and also during a performance at night. All the images and videos were of excellent quality. Considering that my previous camera is an Olympus EPL-1, this is a mayor upgrade for me!
Excellent travel and family camera
By Justin
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-12
I bite bullet and upgraded from my Olympus em5 mark iii. the em5 mark iii is VERY similar to this camera and lots of reviewers have been harsh about that fact. This is true and somewhat of a letdown BUT that doesn't take away from the face this camera is excellent. For me, the eye detect AF and live ND features made the upgrade worth it since my em5 mark iii was getting a bit rough for wear. The eye detection autofocus is actually pretty good and now usable (it wasn't either on the em5 mark iii). There are some subtle upgrades I will enjoy such as the my menu feature as well. If you are upgrading from an em5 mark iii...perhaps this isn't a worthwhile upgrade but if you are looking for a small, super weather proof and versatile camera...then this is worth a look. I use it as my travel and family camera and with the right lenses can do anything from portraits, documentation, sports and action, etc. My only gripe is not the plastic build (which I don't find cheap feeling) it is the overall build quality. My em5 mark iii started to fall apart after a few years and I assume this one will do the same. I bought it during the free extended warranty deal so I have a bit more peace of mind.