Olympus E-M5 Comparison Review

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was revealed to the public in February 2012 and is equipped with a Four Thirds sensor. It offers a resolution of 15.9 megapixel.

Is the Olympus E-M5 a good camera? The E-M5 has a Camera Elo of 1622. This rating puts the E-M5 below average of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (Four Thirds cameras), the E-M5 also ranks below average. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 2.5-star performance rating. – Well, the Olympus E-M5 is more than 12 years old, and there have been many other good digital cameras released since 2012.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The physical dimensions of the Olympus E-M5 relative to a credit card are illustrated in the side-by-side display below. Three successive views from the front, the top, and the rear are shown. All width, height and depth measures are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Olympus E-M5 alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Olympus E-M5	122 mm	89 mm	43 mm	425 g	360	Y	Feb 2012	EUR 1 099	ebay.com
2.		Olympus E-M1	130 mm	94 mm	63 mm	497 g	350	Y	Sep 2013	EUR 1 499	ebay.com
3.		Olympus E-M5 II	124 mm	85 mm	45 mm	469 g	310	Y	Feb 2015	EUR 1 099	ebay.com
4.		Olympus E-M10	119 mm	82 mm	46 mm	396 g	320	n	Jan 2014	EUR 599	ebay.com
5.		Olympus E-M10 II	120 mm	83 mm	47 mm	390 g	320	n	Aug 2015	EUR 599	ebay.com
6.		Olympus E-P5	122 mm	69 mm	37 mm	420 g	330	n	May 2013	EUR 999	ebay.com
7.		Olympus E-PL7	115 mm	67 mm	38 mm	357 g	350	n	Aug 2014	EUR 599	ebay.com
8.		Olympus PEN-F	125 mm	72 mm	37 mm	427 g	330	n	Jan 2016	EUR 1 199	ebay.com
9.		Panasonic G80	128 mm	89 mm	74 mm	505 g	330	Y	Sep 2016	EUR 899	ebay.com
10.		Panasonic GX7	123 mm	71 mm	55 mm	402 g	350	n	Aug 2013	EUR 999	ebay.com
11.		Panasonic GX8	133 mm	78 mm	63 mm	487 g	330	Y	Jul 2015	EUR 1 199	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Olympus E-M5 was launched in the US market at a price of $1,299. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

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Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The imaging sensor is at the core of digital cameras and its size is one of the main determining factors of image quality. A large sensor will tend to have larger individual pixels that provide better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixel-units in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors tend to be more expensive and lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Olympus E-M5 features a Four Thirds sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 2.0. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Olympus E-M5 among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

For most cameras, data on sensor performance has been reported by DXO Mark. This service determines an overall sensor rating, as well as sub-scores for low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and color depth ("DXO Portrait"). The table below summarizes the physical sensor characteristics and sensor quality findings and compares them across a set of similar cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Olympus E-M5	Four Thirds	15.9	4608	3456	1080/60i	22.8	12.3	826	71
2.		Olympus E-M1	Four Thirds	15.9	4608	3456	1080/30p	23.0	12.7	757	73
3.		Olympus E-M5 II	Four Thirds	15.9	4608	3456	1080/60p	23.0	12.5	842	73
4.		Olympus E-M10	Four Thirds	15.9	4608	3456	1080/30p	22.8	12.3	884	72
5.		Olympus E-M10 II	Four Thirds	15.9	4608	3456	1080/60p	23.1	12.5	842	73
6.		Olympus E-P5	Four Thirds	15.9	4608	3456	1080/30p	22.8	12.4	895	72
7.		Olympus E-PL7	Four Thirds	15.9	4608	3456	1080/30p	22.7	12.4	873	72
8.		Olympus PEN-F	Four Thirds	20.2	5184	3888	1080/60p	23.1	12.4	894	74
9.		Panasonic G80	Four Thirds	15.8	4592	3448	4K/30p	22.8	12.5	656	71
10.		Panasonic GX7	Four Thirds	15.8	4592	3448	1080/60p	22.6	12.2	718	70
11.		Panasonic GX8	Four Thirds	20.2	5184	3888	4K/30p	23.5	12.6	806	75

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but can also record movies. The E-M5 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the E-M5 can use is 1080/60i.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the E-M5 has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 1440k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.58x. The adjacent tables list some of the other core features of the Olympus E-M5 along with similar information for a selection of comparators.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Olympus E-M5	1440	n	3.0 / 610	tilting	Y	1/4000s	9.0/s	n	Y
2.		Olympus E-M1	2360	n	3.0 / 1037	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
3.		Olympus E-M5 II	2360	n	3.0 / 1037	swivel	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
4.		Olympus E-M10	1440	n	3.0 / 1037	tilting	Y	1/4000s	8.0/s	Y	Y
5.		Olympus E-M10 II	2360	n	3.0 / 1040	tilting	Y	1/4000s	8.0/s	Y	Y
6.		Olympus E-P5	optional	n	3.0 / 1037	tilting	Y	1/8000s	9.0/s	Y	Y
7.		Olympus E-PL7	optional	n	3.0 / 1037	tilting	Y	1/4000s	8.0/s	n	Y
8.		Olympus PEN-F	2360	n	3.0 / 1037	swivel	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
9.		Panasonic G80	2360	n	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/4000s	9.0/s	Y	Y
10.		Panasonic GX7	2760	n	3.0 / 1040	tilting	Y	1/8000s	5.0/s	Y	Y
11.		Panasonic GX8	2360	n	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

The LCD screen on the Olympus OM-D E-M5 is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD can be tilted vertically to facilitate odd-angle shots in landscape orientation. This tilting design is often preferred, for example, by street photographers to a fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment, as it is more unobtrusive during shooting than a screen that flips out to the side.

One feature that differentiates the E-M5 from many older cameras is in-body image stabilization (IBIS). The E-M5 reduces the risk of handshake-induced blur with all attached lenses, while cameras without IBIS have to rely on optical image stabilization in OIS-equipped lenses to achieve the same effect.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Olympus E-M5	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
2.		Olympus E-M1	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
3.		Olympus E-M5 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
4.		Olympus E-M10	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
5.		Olympus E-M10 II	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
6.		Olympus E-P5	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
7.		Olympus E-PL7	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
8.		Olympus PEN-F	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
9.		Panasonic G80	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
10.		Panasonic GX7	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	-
11.		Panasonic GX8	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-

Further information on the features and operation of the E-M5 can be found in the free online Olympus E-M5 Manual or on the Olympus support site.

Expert reviews

While the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it remains incomplete and does no justice, for example, to the way the E-M5 handle or perform in practice. User reviews, such as those found at amazon, can sometimes inform about these issues, but such feedback is often incomplete, inconsistent, and biased. This is why hands-on reviews by experts are important. The table below summarizes the assessments of some of the best known camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Olympus E-M5	4/5	+ +	..	80/100	4.5/5	5/5	Feb 2012	EUR 1 099	ebay.com
2.		Olympus E-M1	5/5	+ +	..	84/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2013	EUR 1 499	ebay.com
3.		Olympus E-M5 II	5/5	+ +	4.5/5	81/100	5/5	5/5	Feb 2015	EUR 1 099	ebay.com
4.		Olympus E-M10	4/5	..	..	80/100	5/5	5/5	Jan 2014	EUR 599	ebay.com
5.		Olympus E-M10 II	4.5/5	+ +	..	80/100	5/5	5/5	Aug 2015	EUR 599	ebay.com
6.		Olympus E-P5	5/5	+ +	..	78/100	4.5/5	5/5	May 2013	EUR 999	ebay.com
7.		Olympus E-PL7	4/5	+	..	..	5/5	4/5	Aug 2014	EUR 599	ebay.com
8.		Olympus PEN-F	..	..	4/5	82/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jan 2016	EUR 1 199	ebay.com
9.		Panasonic G80	..	+ +	..	84/100	5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2016	EUR 899	ebay.com
10.		Panasonic GX7	4/5	+	..	79/100	5/5	5/5	Aug 2013	EUR 999	ebay.com
11.		Panasonic GX8	5/5	+	..	82/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Jul 2015	EUR 1 199	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

Care should be taken when interpreting the review scores above, though. The ratings are only valid when referring to cameras in the same category and of the same age. Hence, a score should always be seen in the context of the camera's market launch date and its price, and rating-comparisons among cameras that span long time periods or concern very differently equipped models make little sense. It should also be noted that some of the review sites have over time altered the way they render their verdicts.

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Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just make your choice using the following search menu. There is also a set of direct links to comparison reviews that other users of the CAM-parator app explored.

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