Olympus E-M5

Olympus E-M5 is Olympus's Advanced Mirrorless camera initially revealed on April of 2012. The camera includes a 16MP, CMOS Four Thirds sized sensor and has a max resolution of 4608 x 3456.

Olympus released the more recent Olympus E-M5 II (Read Full Comparison) in an effort to update this camera.

The E-M5 places at #51 out of 62 in Advanced Mirrorless cameras and overall #326 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our database. You should test our Smart camera search to see camera rankings based on your customized factors.

The following is a chart of different factors used in the rating system.

The Olympus E-M5 comes with a history of related digital cameras. Here, you can take a look at all previous and more recent models alongside main specifications.

You can see the E-M5 from several angles in the gallery here.

Below is a shortlist of good and bad points of the Olympus E-M5 based on criterias that are typically considered important in a camera.

The Olympus E-M5 features the TruePic VI chip. The sensor size in the Olympus E-M5 is 17.3mm x 13mm (Four Thirds). The 225 mm² sensor can capture 4608 x 3456 pixels at aspect ratios of 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera has got Image Stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis). In body stabilization is more desirable than digital stabilization as the latter may produce cropping.

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The CMOS sensor boasts 16 megapixels and features a native ISO range of 200 - 25600. This ISO can also be widened electronically to a low of 100. RAW files are saved so you have wider room to maneuver in post.

The graphic below illustrates the E-M5's sensor dimensions compared to other common sizes. The E-M5 sensor comes with a crop factor of 2.1 and is shown in green.

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To get a sense of specific aspect ratios, you should refer to the visual below.

Olympus E-M5 is 0.94 pounds (425 gr / 14.99 oz) and the sizing of the camera is 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7"). The weight of typical Advanced Mirrorless camera is 454 gr so the Olympus E-M5 is very much the same as compared to other rivals.

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The following is a pic of the Olympus E-M5 with a softdrink to help you to have a feel for its scale.

The top view here will highlight the button arrangement on the E-M5.

The E-M5 fits the Micro Four Thirds mount and has 162 lenses that you can purchase. Below is some of the lenses we have in our database which will fit the E-M5.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight

Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm F2.8 ASPH Power OIS12-35mmf/2.8 305g

Panasonic Lumix G Vario 35-100mm F4.0-5.6 ASPH Mega OIS35-100mmf/4.0-5.6 135g

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Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10-25mm F1.7 ASPH10-25mmf/1.7690g

Sigma 24mm F1.8 EX DG Aspherical Macro24mmf/1.8 485g

Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II ASPH Mega OIS14-42mmf/3.5-5.6 110g

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm f4.0-5.69-18mmf/4.0-5.6 280g

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Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 8-25mm F4 Pro8-25mmf/4 411g

The E-M5 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• Wireless Yes
• HDMI Yes

Digital cameras that have NFC or Bluetooth support can easily be controlled wirelessly via smartphones. You can copy pictures and in some cases alter settings without the hassle of connecting physically to the camera.

Several applications even enable a Liveview and hit the shutter in case you are not close to the camera. If the camera features a HDMI out, it could be connected to an external monitor. Almost all cameras will allow you to charge the battery pack through the USB socket.

The max video quality in the Olympus E-M5 is 1920 x 1080 and it can capture in H.264 and Motion JPEG format. 1080p quality can provide a good balance for quality versus file sizes but 1080p will not leave you with much room to crop. The camera does not have a mic or headphone jack so you have no control over your sound. It is probably best to shop for another camera in case you need decent sound in your video clips.

Olympus E-M5 comes with weather proofing making it a great pick to use for tough climates. This is especially useful any time you are not sure about the conditions you may face for outdoor photography.

The Olympus E-M5 includes a 3 inch tilting display boasting a resolution of 610 thousand dots.

Additionally the display is touch friendly so you will be able to set focus point as well as adjust settings using your fingers.

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The ViewFinder specifications regarding Olympus E-M5 are below:

• ViewFinder Electronic
• ViewFinder Resolution 1,440 thousand dots
• ViewFinder Coverage 100%
• ViewFinder Magnification 0.58x

In those bright outdoor conditions which make the camera displays washed out and difficult to view, viewfinders can be particularly useful.

Olympus E-M5 can shoot continuously at 9.0 frames/s. The max shutter speed is 1/4000 sec.

Olympus E-M5 has got external flash support but is without in-built flash. The highest flash sync speed is 1/250 sec.

Olympus E-M5 has got just Contrast Based AF and doesn't have Phase Detect AF. Phase Detection autofocusing is a lot more faster & precise when compared with Contrast Based autofocusing. The camera includes Face detect which makes it handy for portraits.

The AF system includes 35 focus points to pick from. Olympus E-M5 has touch to focus. You can easily use your fingers in order to adjust focus. It also features Tracking AF for things on the move. Olympus E-M5 can use manual focusing when required for low light occasions or you require more precise control on focusing.

The battery pack (BLN-1) in the Olympus E-M5 is designed to last for 360 clicks with respect to the CIPA requirements which is about average when compared to its competitors. The usual Advanced Mirrorless camera battery life is 390. Sony A6600 offers the maximum (810) battery life for this class of cameras.

Underneath is a number of Advanced Mirrorless cameras which have the highest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Sony A6600
E-M5 vs A6600810 yesyesyes

Sony A7c
E-M5 vs A7c740 yesyesyes

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Fujifilm X-H2
E-M5 vs Fujifilm X-H2680 yesnoyes

Canon R7
E-M5 vs R7660 yesnoyes

Fujifilm X-H2S
E-M5 vs Fujifilm X-H2S580 yesnoyes

The following chart indicates a summary of the Olympus E-M5 for different styles of photography. To check out more, check out the specific section below.

The Olympus E-M5 receives a rating of 71 which is above average, and means the camera is a very decent pick for portrait photography. Shooting portrait images favors greatly towards sensor size, RAW support in addition to the flexibility to utilize off-camera flash.

Coming in at a terrific score of 82, the Olympus E-M5 is a great choice to buy for street photography. A decent street photography camera offers a perfect balance of image quality plus portability.

A nice sports photography score of 67 indicates the Olympus E-M5 is a fine fit for taking pictures of sports. A camera needs very good focusing plus fast continuous shooting for sports photography.

Size is pretty critical when selecting a camera for travel. All things considered, the Olympus E-M5 gets a nice 66 as a travelling camera which is a very decent choice to take with you on your journeys.

When you're planning to buy a camera for landscape photos, the most vital aspect will no doubt be image quality. The Olympus E-M5 and it's above average grade of 73 for a landscape camera is a fine fit amongst its competitors.

A vlogging camera ought to posses a articulating screen, microphone input and preferably image stabilization. Considering everything, the Olympus E-M5 is not appropriate as a vlog camera as it delivers a really bad score of 34.

If you are looking for replacements to the E-M5, below is a selection of the highest scored cameras which fall within the category of Advanced Mirrorless.

The diagram underneath shows you an overview of the E-M5 compared to it's top scoring competitors listed previously.

Following are additional cameras you might take a look at as alternate options. To read through a complete comparison, simply click on the "compare" link.