OM System OM-5 Announced - What do you think?

[Rob Trek]

OM System announced the new OM-5. It is the successor to the Olympus E-M5 Mark III. It is the first camera to not bare the "Olympus" brand.

Here is my take. Let me know what you think.

It is exactly as I expected, but not everything I would have hoped for. It's basically a baby E-M1 Mark III.
Hence, it carries over all the improvements the E-M1 Mark III had over the E-M1 Mark II, save a few of things.

New:
-Live ND
-Hand Held Hi-Res Shot
-Starry Sky AF
-Improvements in Face Detect
-Improved IBIS to 6.5 stops, 7.5 with lens IS
-Truepic IV processor
-Custom Modes can now be programmed to buttons (Yeah!)
-Vertical Video mode
-Unlimited Record Time
-OM400-Log video profile
-Webcam mode

Missing vs E-M1 Mark III
-Micro USB instead of USB-C
-Cannot power the camera via USB
-No Tethering
-No vertical battery grip option
-No headphone jack
-Single SD Card Slot
-Smaller Battery

Same old, Same old,
-20mp Sensor (not stacked, despite the amazon description)
-Menu System
-EVF & LCD screens
-Body design

Who should get this camera IMHO?
People looking for a small capable camera system.
People upgrading from EM10 series or EM5.2 or EM5.1, any Pen Camera

Who should skip this camera IMHO?
People who already own the EM5.3, EM1.3, or EM1.2

Alternative Cameras to consider:
Olympus EM1.2, EM1.3, EM5.3
Fujifilm X-T30 (no ibis, no weather sealing), X-E4 (no ibis, no weather sealing), X-S10
Panasonic G9, GH5, G95, GX9 (no weather sealing)

Of course, there are many others from Sony, Nikon, and Canon. I just listed alternatives I'd consider.

I think for the travel/adventure photographer, the OM-5 is the ideal camera. It is weather-sealed, compact, and has many available compact lenses.
Unmatched IBIS, unique computational features like Live ND, Pro-capture, and Live Comp.

This camera is no longer what the old E-M5 Mark II was - a small professional camera. The E-M5 Mark III lost key features a professional would use and the OM-5 didn't bring any of them back.

Image quality is a known quantity and I won't get into it. It's sufficient to say there will be compromises in low light vs full frame. IBIS and noise reduction software mitigates that to a great extent, but not always.

So I think it's a great camera and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to almost anyone. The camera can be used professionally in some genres, but it's too limited for some of them. The price point is about right considering its rather unique combination of features - weather sealing, ibis, and computational stuff.

Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

Here is my affiliate link if you are considering it:
https://amzn.to/3DI6Unw

[mgversion1]

It is actually a great camera but at the same time OM have been lazy. Not having the new menu, unforgivable. No USB-C in 2022! The old sensor again?
They have not given me a reason to replace my GX9.

[DeMorcan]

As any business manager or owner knows, the customer it not always right. The potential cutomer base is. There are some customers you do not want. They cost the customer money. This was not built for the people who want an OM1 as the OM5 price point. That was never going to happen. It is only recently the OM1 was in stock. They sold more than they could make for such a long time. They are not going to put those features in a chaper camera. The EM1 lost sales to the EM5II. The EM1III lost sales to the EM5III. Olympus had to sell the camera division because it was not making a profit. OM Systems cannot expect to do the same thing. They have to make a profit. The customer who wants OM1 capabilities at a cheaper price is not a customer they want. They chose the niche for this camera. Then build a camera to fullfill that niche. If they advertise this right (not just to existing camera owners) they can sell a ton of them between not and the end of the year. They built the product. I hope marketing steps up now and promotes it widely to the general public. All they need now is an app that allows better sharinig to go with the camea.

[Siegfried]

Hi guys

I wrote a short article on my blog with my thoughts about OM-System and the OM-5.

https://myolympusomd.blogspot.com/2022/ ... tions.html

I agree with Rob, the OM-5 will be a good camera and easy to recommend to others. We have reached a point in IQ where the differences are small between cameras. In fact the OM-5 is based on the 2016 EM1 II platform and is still competitive in terms of IQ.

You guys will have to think about the commercial "size and capture" theory that was designed to sell more FF cameras. Almost every review promotes the idea that size and ONLY sensor size is responsible for IQ and noise. You will never see a but...

Why is this important? It's simple, you cannot explain the differences between 24MP full-frame cameras with the size and capture theory. If not, what other explanation will tell us why the S5 is such an awesome camera in terms of IQ or low noise and the Sony A7 II has so much noise...

Your ability to control your camera and IQ (incl noise) will improve in leaps and bounds as you learn more and you are able to explain these differences...

My advice is to get the EM1 III if anyone asks me...

Best

Siegfried

PS. What did Fuji say that indicates that the XT4 and XT5 will have the same low noise performance?