OM-5 review by Photographyblog: “fine choice as a rugged, portable, go anywhere camera that is a pleasure to shoot with”

December 14, 2022
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OM-5 at Bhphoto, Amazon, Adorama, GetOlympus. Amazon EU, FotoKoch, FotoErhardt, WexUK.

Photographyblog tested the OM-5 and concluded:

The new OM System OM-5 is a rather modest upgrade of the three-year-old EM-5, which is perhaps no bad thing as we loved that camera when it was released back in 2019.
Still, if you were expecting a similar boost in performance as offered by the recent OM System OM-1 when compared to its predecessor, you’ll be somewhat underwhelmed by the more modest ambitions of the OM5.
The new OM5 retains a lot of the same core technologies as its predecessor, making the ahead-of-its-time three-year-old E-M5 III still worth considering if you can find one.
Whilst outwardly the OM5 is nigh-on identical to the EM5 Mark III, inside there are a number of notable improvements that do mark a small step forwards for this series.
It doesn’t offer any more resolution than the previous model, with the new owner of Olympus cameras resolutely sticking to 20 megapixels, and it still has the same now outdated menu system, but the new hand-held high res shooting mode makes it a lot more versatile, removing the need to always have a tripod with you.
The video specs and all-round performance have also seen a welcome boost, and the image stabilisation and weather-proofing are even better than before, which is no mean feat given how class-leading they already were.
While it may lack the magnesium-alloy body of the EM5 II and the battery life and micro-USB port are at best lacklustre for 2022, the inclusion of so many different computational photography modes (LiveND, ProCapture, Starry AF, HDR, Live Composite, Live Bulb, and Focus Stacking) certainly make the OM5 stand out from the crowd.
Olympus are hoping that the new OM-5 will find a place in the backpack of adventurers the world over, and we’d certainly agree that the OM5 makes a fine choice as a rugged, portable, go anywhere camera that is a pleasure to shoot with.