DPreview posted the full E-p5 test and the camera earned a Silver award:
“The E-P5 is the most substantial re-working of the original PEN model and it’s the most impressive, yet. It produces the same excellent image quality as the E-M5 and has a proper two-dial control system. This, combined with a better touch screen and arguably the prettiest PEN body, make it a more attractive and more complete camera than the series has seen before.”
The only not so pretty thing about the E-P5 is the price but at least in Germany you now got an incredible 300 Euro price drop at (more info here at DealsRunner.com). Original price was 1099 and now it’s 800 Euro. In US there is a $50 price drop on all E-P5 kits at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). I still think price should be lower when compared with the GX7 and other mirrorless cameras…
81 Responses
they didn’t like it.
I bought he kit with the VF4, & 17mm….
Sold my GX1 and silver 17mm. Best MFT camera to date for me…it definitely has more function and versatility than my E-M5.
I think it was worth the price. Anyone who is armchair-quarterbacking this camera needs to hold one in their hands and get familiar with ALL it can do…amazing little camera.
+1
Thank you! I still dig the EM-5 more, but I held one of these in my hand and used it for a while helping my buddy who just got it and I think the ergonomics on it are one of the best out there (to me at least).
Glad you are enjoying it!
I have not noticed this camera shake phenomenon..(maybe in a couple of shots) .and have used the camera a LOT ….
but it almost sounds like something that could be attended to in the firmware of the camera and the IS. I am betting that Olympus will address this matter….I hope that they do..as it is a great addition to MFT and it should sell well with the perceived problem addressed.
I am going to try to duplicate the effect. ( I have only noticed this when I am shooting at super slow shutter speeds…i.e. outside of what the IS can control…when I am “pushing the envelope” so-to-speak to shoot at a lower ISO….
I will have to test this this weekend.
Has your buddy noticed any issues with his images?????
If he did, he did not mention it to me. I will ask him for sure to see what was his experience.
YOU really need to try the camera (E-P5) with the VF4….that is why my E-M5 is somewhat secondary now…
I have a Gariz half-case on it too to improve the size and grip for my big hands..that set-up is pretty sweet.
Still like to use the E-M5 and the grip for larger lenses…..
…but I plan on selling both and replacing with an E-M1 and 12-40mm in the next month or so. Take advantage of the free give-a-way and the $200 rebate for the kit.
For what I do the EM-5 is fine I guess. I am not a “pro” or anything. All I do is purely a hobby and love for the art.
…that and that if I get it (which I wanted to) would surely mean a divorce or eating cereal for breakfast/lunch/dinner for three months (the least cruel punishment I think my wife would put on me LOL).
E-M5 is a great camera. We (“I” LOL) are splitting hairs here!
they are wankers. took them almost half a year to make up their review – shows where their priorities are…
I agree somewhat…but their reviews have become sooooooooooo extensive and the expectation for perfection from us just a casual given…that it must take a LOT of time to do those reviews. Look how complete they are and detailed. I would not want to be on DPR reviewers side of the fence….everyone is so critical.
perhaps – but if they take a liking to a camera the review get published much quicker.
it’s human – but it doesn’t seem appropriate to a website that should offer impartial coverage.
anyways – they couldn’t wholeheartedly recommend the EP5 – but the only thing really wrong with it is the price. so I just jumped on that German Ebay offer. (thanks Admin for the info!) been waiting for a PEN sufficiently better to upgrade my EP1 – and this is it.
OK…have the camera. Read the review about the shake. Did a simple test.
Tested with Pann 25mm f/1.4, Oly 45mm f/1.8, Oly 75mm 1.8.
Shot horizontally as this is where they had the probelm.
Shot shutter speeds between 1/80- 1/800. Varied speeds for each lens in this shutter speed range.
Handheld.
Shot a poster in my apt. at 12ft away…had clean letters and graphics, so I could clearly see any problem.
Shot it with Auto IS and IS Mode 1 (all axis).
Every thing looked fine except one shot with the 75mm at ISO 80 (auto IS mode)…but that had vertical blur not horizontal. (as stated in DPR there was a horizontal problem). ..and it wasn’t really double imaging. Could just be my unsteady hands as for that lens that close to the subject we are starting to get to the zone where IS may not be able to keep it steady.
Went back and tested that shutter speed. 1/80 in both modes with the 75mm. Did some at 1/60 and they were blurring but I think I was getting out of the ability of the IS. I was using a 75mm and was relatively close to my subject…so I would expect it to start blurring there perhaps…but it was not the “double imaging” that DPR was getting…it was just getting soft.
So…this is not an extensive test…but just a quick, simple test with my camera and I see no evidence of what DPR is talking about. NONE? Not saying that they are not thurough or did not have a problem..I am sure that they did. Those guys are careful with testing.
Hope that they tested multiple bodies. …but my EP5 seems just fine.
I just shot 2000 photos on a trip in Italy, not a single one with this blur they mention.
I think it is obvious that Nikon or Canon paid DP Review to write some nonsense. The D600 sensor oil issue is an important issue and DP Review swept it under the rug…
I absolutely love the camera…….
..but I believe there must be something to what DPR is saying. Maybe there is manufacturing fault… It is a very complicated piece of equipment. Perhaps there was a bad batch.
It is odd that NONE of the other reviews mention the issue…hmmm….
I found myself wondering if it was user error. Not to discount the professionalism of the tester, but holding a small, light camera like ta PEN is different than a big DSLR stabilized to your face. I dunno, it’s just weird.
Actually, admiring-light.com noted a similar issue. And he is very pro m43. He thought it was an issue with the IS.
You gotta love these people. “I never had any problem with my camera, therefore the problem doesn’t exist.”
It never occurred to you that some cameras may have the problem, but not all of them? Or that the problem may only occur under very specific conditions that you may not have fully replicated? Or that some people aren’t pixel-peeping their images closely enough to notice the problem?
Anyway, any problems reported in a review only pertain to the unit/s actually tested by the reviewer. How could it be otherwise? DPR didn’t test your camera, so their conclusion doesn’t contradict your experience.
And for the record, DPR did mention the oil issue with D600, just like they did with the Fuji X10 white orbs, and now this problem with the E-P5. They always report on strange and unexpected findings, as they should.
i also encountered the same problem,.when i was using the Bower 7.5 fisheye and i shot vertical i did try like 5 times but had the same result,..,first i thought it because a manual lens but it just it did not make sense ,..the camera shake has become more and more problem,.now,.i though that i’m the only one who experienced it
thx guy
did you setup the lens correctly? if so, you should try disabling the IBIS, to check if that’s causing the problem.
but it looks to me if you didn’t setup your lens correctly…
oly marketing failed again…
Marketing’s fine. People just don’t want to spend 1K and not get a viewfinder, whether it’s built in or not, could have been a success (from the start) if they included the awesome VF-4 for free. With a good pricedrop like this though, it starts to get interesting as it’s certainly an awesomely feature-packed tool otherwise.
^^^
Nevermind this post, wrong “reply” place.
why no HDR, no Panorama (& no EVF)
but all the in build filters: what is the philosophy of Olympus? In-camera working or externe. I would prefer in-camera..
-> sorry for that i have to switch to Panasonics GX7.
I would pây the more price – but give me pls the option!
by the way: let all the gimmicks away (makes the camera cheaper)& let the user configure the camera -> App Store! Thanks
Please just keep using your cell phone to take photos alexander. Please.
The price of E-P5 and GX7 should be the same or a bit lower than NEX-6.
That’s right. Regardless of the fact that the E-P5 and GX7 are feature-packed and better cameras than the NEX6, you want the price lower. So Oly should just lower the price because you are too cheap to buy either one. Whatever you say.
Too many trolls here.
Too bad there’s “shutter shock” or something else causing blurred images at “safe” shutter speeds even when IS is active (otherwise a “Gold Award” would have been in order). I don’t find their shutter-button explanation satisfactory, by the way.
Even more bad that reports (as well as my own test shots which I managed to get this week) seem to hint at the possibility that the E-M1 might be affected, too. Which would make the fast (1/8000 s) shutter the prime suspect.
If that was the case, why didn´t anyone mention it who could test these cameras?
My e-Pl1 produces blurry images everytime I turn the ibis on – but that doesn´t matter because ibis is almost useless on the e-Pl1. I hope that the higher weight and better grip of the em1 will make it less prone to shutter shock.
And it would be very interesting whether the Panasonic GX7 is also affected by that shutter shock problem.
Because most of the testers were Olympus employees.
What shutter speeds and lens combos did the issue show up on a EM-1, just that I am checking one out tomorrow that I am looking at buying. Did you tripod mount the camera or handhold or both?
This is an interesting read:
http://cameraergonomics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/micro-43-shutter-shock-revisited-omd-em.html
interesting conclusion with that image-shake issue, never had troubles on my ep3, though i still think m4/3 cameras are a tad overprices compared to what sony is delivering with the NEX-6, that goes for ep5 and gx7, other cameras not included…
I remember having shutter shock with my epl2 with IS active. Without IS it was alright.
Since then on my newest m43 bodies i activate IS only when it’s necessary.
“I still think price should be lower when compared with the GX7 and other mirrorless cameras…”
Why?! It is niche product and fondler’s delight.
It should have healthy price tag. For the masses, there is always an EP-L and or an EP-M.
this shutter shock problem with IBIS exisits since the E-P1. oly didn’t seem to be able to fix it since then. they had enough time to really dig into this.
there is a similar problem which happens with some panasonic lenses, like the X14-42, it also seems to be a combination of unlucky OIS-operation with strong shutter-vibration. but so far on panasonic bodies only some lenses are affected, while on olympus cameras the IBIS becomes unsuable most of the time. i wanted to like the E-PL3, but so many of my photos had a blurring issue, that i sent it back again, and my main reason for switching over from panasonic to olympus was IBIS.
I have it and like it without EVF.
I have 2 bodies and tested both systematicaaly with 5 different prime lenses of different focal lengths and shutter speeds 50-200. NO SHUTTER SHOCK HERE, Sry 🙂
Same here. I have the E-P1, E-PM2 and R-M5. No hint of shutter shock and I have really tried to make it happen.
here yes…
Two E-P5 bodies?
I remember a couple of years back when Panasonic came out with the 45-175 IS lens and it had a shake problem (obviously not shutter shock or whatever DPR is calling it)… I owned the lens and was experiencing the problem. Panasonic issued a firmware update for lens (where the IS resided) and the problem is gone. Perhaps that is a solution in this instance???
So that leaves the defense force to come in and say “there is no problem with mine..”
Hmm.. my E-M5 started at firmware 1.0, now at 1.7, with 2 new features and a number of bugfixes.
You are a loud mouthed idiot.
now cut it in half and it would be appropriate. the ff nex is coming for 1600€ it is smaller (yeah I know the lenses) and has a sensor four times as big. and it has a viewfinder and weather sealing. hmm now I think even 400€ is too much for the pen, also the lenses are crazy expensive (25/1.4 three times more expensive than a 35/1.8 for aps-c dslr or 50/1.8 for ff dslrs).
Just curious, where it and when have you found an aps-c ir ff 50mm lens that is 1/3 the cost of an Panny 25mm? Warning your fud is showing
the 25/1.4 is $628 the nikkor 50/1.8 D is $125 and the G is $217. the 1.4 is only $469, the D only $289. check bh. mft prices are crazy.
ok the panny has leica on it, that could explain it. but the 45/1.8 doesn’t and it still is waaaay overpriced (production cost can’t or really shouldn’t be that high).
It also has nano coating, but yeah I agree with you it is expensive.
I own it, I do not regret it. I shoot black and white with it and I love the results (people say it gives some CA wide open in some cases, but obviously I have not seen it).
I see the 25/1.4 for $529 on Amazon, which is a bit high I agree, but is still within reason. The 50/1.8 D is an old design (same with the Canon 50/1.8 II which I have) and doesn’t perform well wide open and it’s only 1.8. Probably should be the same price as a Nikon 50/1.4 or even less, but if you factor in the price of a FF body to get that FoV, then any m4/3 body + 25/1.4 is still cheaper and you get the benefit of the same speed with a bit more DoF. The Nikon 35/1.8 is a good lens for a good price but not as fast either. And on Canon, you only have 35/2 or 28/1.8 EF as your closest options for a Rebel.
As for the 45/1.8, I have one and though you’d expect a hood/pouch and more metal for the price, the optical quality is superb and is very sharp from wide open. Better than a Canikon 50mm, which a tad short for portraits on APS-C. If you get a 60mm for APS-C to get similar FoV, then you’d spend more. So, m4/3 is still cheaper.
I have 3 other lenses: Pany 20/1.7, Oly 14-150mm and 9-18mm. The pancake is much cheaper than a Sony 24/1.8 and there isn’t really an option with a similar FoV (35-40mm) for Nikon DX at that price. The Olympus 14-150mm is cheaper than a Canikon 18-200mm. The 9-18mm (which I bought for $500 from BestBuy) is reasonable when compared to a Canikon wide angle zoom.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. Have you ever used a 25mm f/1.4 side by side with the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G? The difference is night and day. I’d say the Panny Leica is about twice as sharp and has a rendering to die for, while the Nikkor has some of the worst bokeh of any lens I’ve ever seen. I don’t even bother with my 35mm f/1.8, as my 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom takes far more pleasing images than this overrated abomination.
The Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 is slightly better but still suffers from the poor bokeh rendering. And that lens is as expensive as the Panasonic. The 85mm f/1.8 is far better, but costs a lot more.
Frankly, with the image quality that the Panasonic 20mm and 25mm produce, the price really doesn’t matter.
And I don’t know what you’re talking about with the 45mm f/1.8, but I paid $200 for mine. And to be honest, I really wish it would be $400 and come with a more solid construction.
the 12/2 is one of the few lenses in the mft lineup that is actually somewhat reasonably priced.
The FF 50mm are not as good as the Panny 25. They are poorly built, offer mediocre IQ…everyone is complaining about it for years…I bought he Sigma 1.4 and I think the Panny is better and costs a little more….
Hoping that Sigma makes an Art series 50mm….so that there will be a decent cost effective 50mm without too many issues.
It is a great camera, granted a tad pricey. A friend of mine got it and he is very happy with it so far. Although I am a very BIG fan of EVFs (hence I have an EM-5) I found the ergonomics to be awesome. My wife loved it and she might want to get one in a year when the prices drop mainly for the tilting screen, otherwise she is still happy using my old E-P3.
Not even the relatively easy to get Silver Rating from DPR. Too expensive, a bizzare menu structure, and uncompetitive video – the bane of Olympus. I really wish they would hire a real human interface specialist to deal with the menu situation. Sure you can get used to it but it isn’t immediately intuitive for new users or those coming from other systems. I could make the same comment for most Japanese camera companies but Oly is on the worse end of the scale for this.
Absolutely.
I’ve used Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, Olympus and Sony…
… and while they all have their quirks and foibles, Olympus is just outright dreadful.
I would seriously consider getting an EM1 if it weren’t for the Byzantine interface.
I’d love to see Apple design a camera interface! They’d do it right!
Yes…apple could have been SOME help with the Olympus UI…it is dreadful. Now that I am used to it I have to say it does not affect my photography in any way…but boy ….was that a learning curve. I just like the cameras so much ..it was an issue I decided to overcome. It is not intuitive in so many ways. You are right about that.
Absolutely not! Come on, it is not that terrible. You exaggerate a lot. In general, after you have configured the camera, it isn’t necessary to go to the menu often anyway. The most important and often used parameters are easily acessed via the system control panel (SCP) or the live control panel (LCP), both of them are quite pleasantly to use.
Your statement give the impression, that you haven’t used the Olympus menu system quite often.
To me,it is a lot better than Canon’s.
I admit that coming from other DSLRs system, the Olympus menu is daunting. That was my experience when I added the E-P1 to a Canon 5D. In those times the E-P1 wasn’t such a good camera, so when I found a good deal on the Panasonic G1 I decided to get it. I thought, wrongly, that after the Olympus menu the Panasonic would be a piece of cake, but it wasn’t. With the Olympus, once you get their logic you are ok, but I could never get the Panasonic logic. Things went worse when I updated to the G3 with a touch screen I never liked nor understood. By contrast, Olympus rearranged the E-P3 menu organization and now it is complicated, granted, but very logically arranged.
That said, once you are accustomed to a brand, others will always seem more complicated and less intuitive.
I never understand this complaint? The Superuser Screen has been around since the early 4:3 models and it’s about as concise and practical as any menu I have ever seen … All tabbed menu systems take getting used to, and I have yet to see a brand excel in making a tab menu anything other than something you need to shuffle through … After hearing all the propaganda about how bad Olympus is, when I did get a Lumix, I two found it’s menu even more confusing, because with all Oly models I tend to simply default to the Superuser Screen. You don’t get that choice on the Lumix, it’s a mix of tabs and icons and touch controls. I’ve gotten used to it, but that lack of the one screen that covers 89% of all your needs is a very handy feature on every Olympus body I have own in the last 10 years
Concerning the Olympus bodies : once you have set it up to your liking, yes, the SCP is a great way to control your camera without digging into the menus.
However, there are so many options that setting up the camera isn’t so simple. The good thing is that you don’t have to do it every time you take the camera in hands. But for someone completely new to Olympus this is a hard task to do from scratch. Especially since a) the SCP is disabled by default b) to change that, you have to go to the cogwheel menu c) that cogwheel menu too is deactivated by default d) at least, the first pages of the manual should indicate clearly where an advanced user has to look up for the SCP and the cogwheel menu activation, but unless you read the whole manual, you are lost e) Olympus naming us confusing : it took me a while with the E-P1 to understand what the liveview mode was : for someone coming with a DSLR background : with an EVF you are always in liveview mode !
You have to dig in the menu for different setups (scenic and landscape, portrait, actions, tripod and night shooting etc..) you can store your favorite settings for up to four tasks and pick them from the custom menus, but it will take time to sort things out and optimize your camera for each task.
Also : I would like to have more than four custom modes available. And since the E-Pl5 you can affect these custom modes to the mode dial, but on my E-M5 you still have to dig into the menu for that and the wording is so bad they I do still have worries as to whether I’m calling back my custom settings number X or whether I’m going to update/modify the custom settings number X with the actual settings of the body… Quite noyous..
I dont mean to sound bad, but how many people in here really use the video features of the camera you own?
I dont mean for the casual video of friends or family…I mean actual serious work (be it pro or hobby).
Never use it. I have a 5D Mark III, E-M5 and E-P5…First thing I do when I open the box and put the battery in is disable/reassign the video button. Stills only for me…I find that that is enough to keep me busy. LOL!
Exactly what I do. I also disable the LCD unless I press the button to preview my shots or on the rare occasion that I want to use it to frame (it is helpful on its given occasion). It saves me a TON of battery.
Yes…I NEVER “chimp” my images. and usually review them in the viewfinder. I have to use reading glasses to look a the LCD so that is one of the things I love about MFT…look Ma…no glasses…try to do that with my 5DMark III…LOL.
I don’t think a rumour site is the place to ask that question. I’m not sure that question even makes sense to begin with. If you want to find professional work done with a specific camera, then it’s your job to go out there and find it.
It’s certainly sensitive to NOT mention a serious and well and broadly explained criticism that DPR had – the IBIS malfunction at certain shutter speeds such as 1/160.
For a camera that’s ceaselessly touted as having a fab “5 axis stabilization”, the IBIS malfunction as described by DPR is a major flaw and could drag customers to other camera makers, which is undesirable from 43rumor’s viewpoint.
So, don’t mention the flaw, just as you do now.
I have used the E-M5 extensively for 1 1/2 years. I have never, not once, seen anything like “shutter shock”. And believe me, if I’d seen it, I would have screamed.
I have followed this site for 2 years, and this thread is the first I have seen mentioning “shutter shock”.
My interpretation? Either an invention, or ridiculously exaggerated — like the IBIS “humming”
http://cameraergonomics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/micro-43-shutter-shock-revisited-omd-em.html
I though EP5 should be another Gold Award as the EM5 did .
What is next for DP ? GX7 likely .
Moment of truth for GX7 , folks .
Well I can’t find shutter shock on EP5 and have tested it extensively all around these shutter speeds with various primes and zooms!
a comparison E-M1 >< E-M5 by robin wong
http://robinwong.blogspot.com/2013/10/olympus-omd-e-m1-review-comparison-with.html
More olympus sponsored, jpeg based felatio. The fantards are eating it up!
Sensor shake problem is something I have seen on my OM-D EM-5 too. It seems to be a software bug of some kind. The image stabilization seems to get into unprovoked shake mode and the resultning pictures are shaken. Fastening the camera does not help. After turning the camera off, waiting a bit and then turning on again, the problem seems to disappear.
I’m also driven crazy by shutter shock. First I thought it’s because of the E-PL1’s wobbly kit lens (as detected by Imaging Resource, see http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/EP1/EP1BLUR.HTM).
I collected a lot of lenses and moved to the E-PL3. Blurring still present.
Now I bought an E-PM2. There’s still the blur, what’s more, it seems to be worse than with the E-PL3, especially with the 45/1.8.
I went to the local Olympus store in Budapest to cross check with another E-PM2 and 45/1.8: the behaviour is maddening, completely inconsistent and unpredictable. But at least I know it’s not my copy’s fault.
That’s the worst: you never know when shutter shock hits you.
I’m wondering how it can happen that half of the population has shutter shock and the other half doesn’t.
I have an E-PM2 and have struggled with random “shutter shock/ blurred images” since day one with both native and vintage lenses. Some of the best information I have gotten from these boards is “turn IBS off unless you need it”… at least I know then that blurry images are my fault and not some random software/ hardware bug.
Shuttershock is the hysterics of modern day mirrorless. People should have their gonads seriously checked.
Perhaps they are undergoing a change of sex unaware…
shuttershock because of spontaneous sex change? hm you might be unto something. perhaps you can get this precious info to olympus engineers so they can build some coutermeasures in. perhaps regular release of some hormones through the shutter. I would feel safer already
What is important is to avoid a hard on, otherwise it begins to resonate with the levitating sensor, and you get shutter shock 🙂
I think that perhaps is cock shock…but I could be mistaken.
too many people rely on reviews. this guy shoots it and doesn’t seem to complain.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10435080@N00/10097866073/