Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Announced

Today Olympus officially announced the OM-D E-M5 high end micro four thirds camera body. The feature set of the camera is impressive for this type of camera. The camera features a 16 megapixel CMOS image sensor, updated fast auto focus, a built in electronic viewfinder, a new image stabilization system, a retro design similar to the film Olympus OM series, magnesium alloy / aluminum construction, and weather/dust sealing. Not bad for a camera body that costs $999 Cdn.


Full Details Of OM-D E-M5 (Olympus Canada)

Although a 16MP sensor is nothing new for a micro fourth thirds camera, Panasonic has had one in the G3 and GX1 for a while now, it is the first time Olympus has included one in their cameras. The build quality of the E-M5 should be outstanding, considering it is said to equal that of the high end four thirds E-5 DSLR. Having a weather sealed m4/3s camera, and being the first to do so, should help propel Olympus to be a leader in mirrorless cameras (they currently lead in mirrorless cameras sold in Japan). This camera is clearly targeted at enthusiasts and pro 4/3s system users.


Fuji's recently announced X Pro-1 is an impressive camera, but the price may put some people off. Olympus rightly puts the price of the body in the sub $1000 category ($999 Cdn/USD), which should attract more people to it.  Not to mention that the m4/3 system has some very attractive, and decently priced primes to keep the camera compact (think 14mm F2.5, 25mm F1.4, 45mm F1.8 and new 75mm F1.8). Olympus also offers a kit with the also weather sealed 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 lens.


Overall the E-M5 looks to be an impressive camera, but we'll have to wait until it is in the hands of consumers and reviewers to know if it meets expectations.


2 comments:

  1. Seriously considering selling my 5D and Canon glass for this and the primes. I currently have a GF3 (because it was super cheap) and love it barring the poor external controls. The 20/1.7 is great, and being able to use my film Nikon lenses with it is great.

    I only occasionally shoot for money, I love street and portrait stuff. Any thoughts?

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  2. I'd wait and read some reviews before purchasing, but I suspect that the image quality and auto focus (in good light) is very close to the 5D.

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