Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review

Love It Not for Me

Olympus OM-D Review – Value & Verdict

Value

This is a high-end Compact System Camera, and the price reflects that. While the body only price of £999 means it’s a serious investment, there’s plenty here for your money. When compared to the combined price of around £825 for the E-P3 and VF2 viewfinder, then the extra outlay is very tempting when you consider the many improvements on offer over the PEN.

This price-point means it’s going to be compared with the virtually identically priced Sony NEX-7 – both are premium CSCs with EVFs and a host of advanced features. And while it may not offer the ultimate resolution of the NEX-7, there’s plenty of this that the OM-D does better, which is backed-up by an excellent selection of lenses.

Olympus OM-D review – Verdict

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is a very impressive camera. The retro styling is very much a success, especially if you opt for the two-tone silver/black finish, while the materials and weather sealing deliver an excellent, high-end feel.

There’s plenty of features on offer to satisfy even the most experienced photographer, which is backed-up by a very decent performance. The AF is a noticeable improvement over the PEN series, while the new image stabilisation system works a treat.

This would all be a waste if it didn’t deliver the goods when it came to images, but the OM-D E-M5, with its new sensor, doesn’t disappoint. There’s plenty of detail on offer – especially if you opt for Olympus’ growing number of prime lenses that we’ve already mentioned, while the ISO performance is strong.

The OM-D E-M5 stays true to the original OM philosophy of a compact, high-performance, quality camera for enthusiast photographers and has to be one of the best Compact System Cameras we’ve seen.