Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review

Overall Score

67

Main Features

  • 16 MP Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • 200 - 25600 ISO
  • 5-axis Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • Electronic Viewfinder
  • 1440k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 9 fps continuous shooting
  • 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • Built-In Wireless
  • 122 x 89 x 43 mm, 425g.
  • Price Category:
  • Replaced by: OM-D E-M5 II

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Olympus OM-D E-M5 Overview


First introduced in April, 2012, Olympus OM-D E-M5 is a 16 MP Mirrorless with a Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sized CMOS sensor.

Olympus replaced OM-D E-M5 with Olympus E-M5 II. Follow the link to read our detailed comparison of these models:

Compare Olympus E-M5 with Olympus E-M5 II


Olympus E-M5 comes with a 17.3 x 13 mm CMOS sensor, which has a diagonal of 21.64 mm (0.84").

- Full Frame
- Olympus OM-D E-M5

Sensor resolution of Olympus E-M5 ~ 4613 x 3468 pixels.

Olympus E-M5 has Crop Factor: 2.0

The sensor has a surface area of 224.9 mm².

There are approximate 15,997,884 photosites (pixels) on this area.

Olympus E-M5 Series History
Model Year $ Sensor ISO Weight Dimensions
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III Olympus E-M1 MIII 2020 20MP 200 - 25600 580g 134 x 91 x 69mm
Olympus OM-D E-M5 III Olympus E-M5 III 2019 20MP 200 - 25600 414g 125 x 85 x 50mm
Olympus OM-D E-M1X Olympus E-M1X 2019 20MP 200 - 25600 997g 144 x 147 x 75mm
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III Olympus E-M10 MIII 2017 16MP 200 - 25600 410g 122 x 84 x 50mm
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II Olympus E-M1 II 2016 20MP 200 - 25600 574g 134 x 91 x 67mm

Proc and Cons of Olympus E-M5


Get to know this camera closer. Let's look at the features and characteristics of this model. Compare Olympus OM-D E-M5 with competitors in semi-pro mirrorless cameras.

Pros
Built-in Wireless
Tilting Screen
External Flash
RAW Support
610k dots Screen Resolution
1/4000s Max Shutter Speed
Manual Exposure Mode
Microphone Port
1440k dot Viewfinder Resolution
±3 AE Bracketing Range
Focus Bracketing
5-axis Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
Touch Screen
AF Face Detection
25600 Max Native ISO
9.0 fps Continuous Shooting
Manual Focus
425g Light Body
Environmental Sealing
35 Focus Points
Flash Sync Port
Cons
No Bluetooth
Low Battery Life: 360 shots
No Articulating Screen
Type Scores

Olympus OM-D E-M5 has an Overall Score of 67/100 and ranked #112 out of 214 in Mirrorless cameras, and ranked #216 out of 1222 in all cameras.

Olympus E-M5 Scores
Imaging score
52
Features score
71
Value for money score
80
Portability score
88
Overall score
67
Average Scores in Semi-Pro Mirrorless
Imaging Score
53
Features Score
69
Value For Money Score
76
Portability Score
83
Overall score
67

Physical Dimensions of Olympus E-M5


Olympus OM-D E-M5 weighs 425g and has external dimensions of 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8 x 3.5 x 1.69"). Considering that the average weight of Semi-Pro Mirrorless cameras is 444g, Olympus E-M5 is 19 grams less than the average weight of cameras in this category. Olympus E-M5 is less by 4mm more than the average length in Semi-Pro Mirrorless.

Weight Comparison
Semi-Pro Mirrorless Cameras


Olympus E-M5
425g
Average weight
444g
Min weight
140g
Max weight
635g

Thickness Comparison
Semi-Pro Mirrorless Cameras


Olympus E-M5
43mm
Average Thickness
54mm
Min Thickness
33mm
Max Thickness
93mm

Here is the front and top view image of Olympus OM-D E-M5 with the dimensions:

Olympus OM-D E-M5

Size Compared to Major Competitors


Model Weight OM-D E-M5 Dimensions OM-D E-M5
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Olympus E-M10 396 g 425 g 119 x 82 x 46 mm 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Olympus OM-D E-M5 II Olympus E-M5 II 469 g 425 g 124 x 85 x 45 mm 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II Olympus E-M10 II 390 g 425 g 120 x 83 x 47 mm 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Sony Alpha a6000 Sony A6000 344 g 425 g 120 x 67 x 45 mm 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus E-M1 497 g 425 g 130 x 94 x 63 mm 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 Panasonic GX7 402 g 425 g 123 x 71 x 55 mm 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Olympus PEN E-PL7 Olympus E-PL7 357 g 425 g 115 x 67 x 38 mm 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Olympus PEN E-PL5 Olympus E-PL5 325 g 425 g 111 x 64 x 38 mm 122 x 89 x 43 mm

Specifications of Olympus OM-D E-M5


General
Brand Olympus
Model OM-D E-M5
Announced April, 2012
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless
Lens
Lens Mount Micro Four Thirds
Manual Focus
Focal Lens Multiplier 2
Number of Lenses 103
Macro Focus Range n/a
Screen
Screen Size 3"
Screen Type Tilting
Screen Resolution 610k pixels
Touch Screen
Live View
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution 1440
Viewfinder Coverage 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.58
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 35
Number of Cross Focus Points 0
Photography Features
RAW Support
Min Shutter Speed 1/60 sec
Max Shutter Speed 1/4000 sec
Continuous Shooting 9.0 fps
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Exposure Compensation
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization
Built-in Flash
Flash Range no built-in flash
Flash Modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels)
External Flash
AE Bracketing
AE Bracketing Range ±3 EV
WB Bracketing
Sensor
Sensor Size Four Thirds
Sensor Type CMOS
Sensor Dimensions 17.3 x 13 mm
Sensor Area 224.9 mm²
Sensor Resolution 16 MP
Max Image Resolution 4608 x 3456
Max Native ISO 25600
Min Native ISO 200
Max Boosted ISO 0
Min Boosted ISO 100
Video Features
4K
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080
Video Formats H.264, Motion JPEG
Timelapse Recording
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Exposure Modes
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
Connectivity
GPS None
Wireless Connectivity Built-In
Bluetooth
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
Battery
Battery Life 360 shots
Battery Type Battery Pack
Battery Model BLN-1
Physical
Weight 425 g
Physical Dimensions 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Environmental Sealing
Water Proof
Dust Proof
Shock Proof
Crush Proof
Freeze Proof
Shock Proof
Storage
Storage Type SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage Slots 1
Other Features
Self Timer
Selfie Friendly

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