The OM-D E-M5 is Olympus’s most highly specified four thirds camera to date, and its most attractive, but is its performance good enough to provide a lasting legacy?
Metering
Like all current Olympus Pen models, the OM-D E-M5 uses a 324-zone multi-segment metering system. The evaluative mode in the E-M5 performs as I expected. I tested the system in a scene with a wide dynamic range, tilting the camera down from a frame dominated by a bright sky to the same scene dominated by the duller landscape. There is a gradual shift in exposure as the camera is tilted down, neither underexposing nor overexposing too soon.
Spot metering works via the 35-segment AF points, which can be individually selected using either the arrow controls on the D-pad or the touchscreen. The inclusion of spot meter modes for highlights or shadows is useful for quick and accurate control.
- Video: 1080 HD at 30p, 720P at 30p, AVCHD, AVI Motion JPEG
- Dioptre Adjustment: -4 to +1
- White Balance: Auto, 6 presets, manual, 2 custom modes
- External mic: Yes (accessory port 2 only)
- Shutter Type: Focal-plane shutter
- Memory Card: SD, SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I
- Built-in Flash: No. External unit supplied with GN 10m @ ISO 100 output
- LCD: 3in, 610,000-dot touchscreen OLED
- Viewfinder Type: Electronic, with 1.44-million-dots
- Output Size: 4608x3456 pixels
- Field of View: 100% (with 1.15x magnification)
- White Balance Bracket: Yes
- AF Points: 35-point system, touch focus, face and eye detection
- Sensor: 16.1-million-effective-pixel Live MOS (17.3x13mm)
- Exposure Modes: PASM, bulb, iAuto, 24 scene modes, 11 art filters
- Max Flash Sync: External flash X-sync 1/180sec and 1/4000sec (Super FP mode)
- Weight: 425g (including battery and card)
- Power: BLN-1 Rechargeable Li-Ion (330 shots)
- File Format: JPEG, raw (ORF), JPEG + raw, AVI (motion JPEG)
- Shutter Speeds: 60-1/4000sec + bulb up to 30 minutes
- Colour Space: Adobe RGB, sRGB
- Drive Mode: Up to 9fps, or 4.2fps with continuous AF
- RRP: £1,149 (body only)
- Lens Mount: Micro four thirds
- ISO: 200-25,600
- Focusing Modes: Single, continuous, manual, tracking
- DoF Preview: No (via test picture)
- Dimensions: 121.0x89.6x41.9mm
- Metering System: 324-zone multi-pattern TTL digital ESP, spot, centreweighted, highlight, shadow
- Connectivity / Interface: USB, HDMI
- Compression: 2-stage JPEG
- Exposure Comp: ±3EV