The Olympus E-5, Olympusu2019s brand new, high-end E-5 DSLR gets the What Digital Camera hands on previewu2026

The new Olympus E-5 DSLR is a direct replacement for the current E-3 model. The Olympus E-5 has a 12.3 megapixel Four Thirds Live MOS sensor, an increase over the E-3’s 10.1MP resolution, but fully affirms that Olympus’s ethos to not push beyond the 12MP mark is being stringently adhered to.

The new TruePic V+ Imaging Engine sees advances in processing, with up to ISO 6400 now possible at full resolution (the E-3 maxed out at ISO 3200) alongside a five frames per second (5fps) burst mode.

With HD video becoming prevalent in DSLR cameras, the Olympus E-5 also introduces movie capture in an Olympus DSLR for the first time. A relative carbon copy of the Micro Four Thirds E-P1 model’s capabilities, the Olympus E-5 can capture 720p HD video at 30fps in the Motion-JPEG format. The built in mono microphone can be over-ridden when using the 3.5mm stereo microphone jack for more professional quality recording from an external microphone.

It’s not just the movie mode that has been pulled from elsewhere – new Art Filters, as seen in a variety of other Olympus models, also make way into the Olympus E-5’s spec, perhaps surprising for a pro-spec model, but a welcome feature for further creative use. The new Dramatic Tone Art Filter is a pseudo HDR-type effect that can be utilised in both stills and movie shooting.

The autofocus system is the same 11-point cross-type AF system found in the Olympus E-3, while the LCD screen is upgraded from the previous 2.5in size to a new 3in, 920k-dot version to complement the 100% field of view optical viewfinder.

As per all new Olympus cameras, the xD-format picture card is now a thing of the past: the Olympus E-5 utilises a CF and SD dual-slot system.

Available from October 2010, the Olympus E-5 will retail for around £1500 body only.

Watch the video preview of the Olympus E-5