Olympus E-5 (and Panasonic 8mm) review.
Pocket Lint posted the new Olympus E-5 review with the intriguing title: “Has Olympus saved its best Four Thirds DSLR until last?” But their virdict is a little bit strange: “That said, as the E-5 appears to be more an evolution of its existing E-3 owners might also want to consider the likes of an E-PL1 if they want an Olympus feel, less bulk, and a camera that feels a little more in line with current thinking and future development. We do like the E-5, but in a tough present climate we’re just wondering who else will.” Can you really put the E-PL1 on the same level of the E-5??? Click here to read the full review at Pocket Lint.
Photographyblog tested the Panasonic 8mm fisheye: “it is a very specialist lens that provides a unique view on the world. It delivers great image quality in a tiny package“. Build quality is excellent, focus is fast and silent, low CA, high resolution…so what’s the problem with the that lens? The high price 
spam
3 years ago |>> Can you really put the E-PL1 on the same level of the E-5???
Same sensor, same image quality. The rest of the hardware is obviously targeted at different users. The E-5 answers the question: How big can you make a 4/3 camera? The E-PL1 is on the other end of the lineup, I wonder which is the bestseller.
Abi
3 years ago |Agreed. E-PL1 also has sharper JPEG engine although it is noisier at high iso. I have E-PL1, weather sealing be damned. Just stow it into your jacket when it’s rain while backpacking and I’m set
It is hard compose in the middle of the rain anyway 
Amanda
3 years ago |Quote:
“At most focal lengths, you can safely use it wide open or for optimum results stopped down to F/4.0, with even the edges of the frame looking sharp. Chromatic aberrations are present but are generally well-controlled, while distortions are automatically corrected on both Olympus and Panasonic bodies.”
Do we take this serious???? LOL
I have the panasonic 8mm and I had the Olympus 8mm (I sold it after thge test I did). I did a quick test and my results are; the panasonic is (a lot) sharper especially wide open, at F5 the panasonic is stil a little sharper. Also the panasonic has much more contrast. Build quality is not as nice as the olympus though…..
Robbie
3 years ago |Yes, the E-5 is basically the same camera as the rest of the PEN series albeit a few tweaks. Therefore, it really kind s*cks when they don’t have an E-620 or E-30 upgrade (using the same sensor) for those who want fast PDAF, able to use S/HG lenses or simply, a better grip.
Voldenuit
3 years ago |The E-620 and E-30 already use the same sensor as the E-5 (actually, that should be the other way around, I guess).
But yeah, it would have been nice to see upgraded models with faster processors and a more modern feature set.
The sad truth is, none of the 4/3 cameras have ever captured the market in mindshare nor sales-wise, and I guess Olympus concentrated on the one market (pros with E-3s or consumers with an E-30 looking to get a top end camera) they could be reasonably certain would upgrade to a new 4/3 camera. For everyone else, the sensible move from 4/3 is to go either down (m4/3) or up (APS-C, FF).
Laci
3 years ago |How come there is so much coverage on the Olympus E-5? This is a m43 rumour site, isn’t it?
admin
3 years ago |Where is that written???
Laci
3 years ago |… ok, you’re right, my mistake
CKDexterHaven
3 years ago |I own bodies (330, 420, 620, 3); lenses (7-14,8,14-54,12-60,50-200,50,25 2..8, 25 1.4); I’m a 4/3rds fool.
The e-5 is such a massive disappointment I found myself reading Hogan’s review of the D7000 and wondering how painful it would be to switch.
G_C
3 years ago |lol @ admin. nice one.
for people wondering about why olympus don’t do an e-630 or e-35.. put yourself in the shoes of olympus.
assuming you DO have a limited budget. would it make more sense to invest more into a new, ground-breaking, rapidly growing, rapidly selling system
or to hold onto a system that’s never really broken through the market?
ideally both (as i love 4/3)
but for now i’d personally invest in the rapidly growing/popular system, and then if i have enough resources to, try to revive the old system.
Dummy00001
3 years ago |Nobody asked Oly for totally new body – just a refresh, say E-30 with updated sensor/AF/filters/etc.
I understand their desire to capitalize on the small camera frenzy right now.
But that is a very short living opportunity: the area turned now into wrestling ground where Pannay and Sony fight their cat fight. Oly is too small and insignificant to be able to extract profits there for much longer. Now keeping that in mind, recalling that they also announced “no new developments for 43″, year or two from now when they would want to release new 43 body they might find that half of their customers have already migrated elsewhere. And all the investments Oly made over years into the 43 lens catalog became worthless.
They made a risky decision by switching to m43 completely. Something tells me that they hoped to complement the Pannay and haven’t seen the Sony NEX coming…
43photo
3 years ago |All the pens and E5 have a very basic 30fps HD lite. Years behind panasonic.
I know a cinematographer who asked Olympus to do something about it but they seem not interested (yet).
Olympus makes really cracking cameras for stills but they seem to mis the whole video revolutions which is going on.
I own E5 with a bunch of greatest SHG glass. My second body will be a micro cam with good film functions. If Olympus does not deliver I will buy GH2 to use with my SHG lenses for shooting film and occasional backup for piccs and time lapse.
spam
3 years ago |It would make sense to try to keep existing customers happy until the “ground-breaking, rapidly growing, rapidly selling system” has a model that can replace at least a E-620 level camera, even if it would mean delaying the new camera in the “ground-breaking, rapidly growing, rapidly selling system” a couple of weeks.
Dummy00001
3 years ago |From the RTFA: “we can’t envisage new adopters flocking to the Olympus E-5 in significant numbers and, particularly as it is not being offered bundled with any kit lens”
There are no E-5 kits??? Olympus really has lost its senses…
Voldenuit
3 years ago |I think it’s sensible. What’s the point of a pro body with a kit lens? A pro would already have a huge selection of 4/3 glass, and an extra kit lens would just be a paperweight or ebay item for them.
And which lens would you bundle with it? 12-60? 14-54 mk II? 14-35? 50 macro?
OK, I’d take the 14-35 (^_^), but then the whole package would cost a bomb, as that lens costs nearly twice as much as the Canikon alternative.
Pro cameras are usually sold body only, because the target market either already has the gear or is very discerning (and critical) about what crap you bundle with their body.
Dummy00001
3 years ago |For hobbyist and enthusiasts kits are important. Same kits as for the E-3 would have made lots of sense: 12-60, 14-35, 50. A 12-60 kit alone would have sufficed as it is one of the most popular zooms.
To me this is like a message that Oly doesn’t want new customers.
P.S. And note that I intentionally skip your “E-5 is a pro” line of argument
Wife
3 years ago |Somewhat of a moot point. It’s not like they’re going to sell a whole lot of E-5s with or without a lens.
Voland_IT
3 years ago |There’s no Canikon alternative – from quality standpoint – for 15-35 f/2…
Wife
3 years ago |Gee… makes you wonder how people ever take good pictures without it.
Gene
3 years ago |Mirrorless cameras uses its sensor for live view and EVF, right? That heats up the sensor and makes more noise. That’s what I don’t like about mirrorless. I’d still prefer a DSLR.
spam
3 years ago |Dpreview tested the effect of using Live View with a big sesnor and couldn’t find any difference even after extended use. I’m sure it’s even less of a problem now with newer and more energy efficient technology. FT and MFT are more noisy than APS-C cameras becuse of smaller sensors and possibly better sensor technology from Canon and Sony than from Panasonic.
spam
3 years ago |And here’s a link to the dpreview R1 test:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscr1/page16.asp
The heat related noise increase was pretty insignificant even five years ago.
Rocky
3 years ago |More like a preview then a review…
kaptnk
3 years ago |The two cameras are not the same. They share the same sensor. So the sensor reviews will be the same but the image in camera processing is vastly different.
The E-5 has fine image processing with the new TruPic 5+ sensor. I believe that it might have greatly benefited from use of the now out of date GH1 sensor.
At 200 ISO you will get really great images and up to 800 ISO. Images still can be usable up to 6400 ISO with some post processing noise reduction.