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You can read the full Olympus E-5 review at DPreview (Click here): “The E-5 is a tough and capable camera that is fun to shoot with…but the E-5 isn’t the game-changer that we always hoped Olympus might come up with“.
Click on the store name to directly check price and availability of the E-5: Amazon US
Leonard Goh from CNET Asia tested the Olympus E-PL2: “Shutterbugs who are looking to buy a mirrorless ILC should really keep the E-PL2 in mind because it offers plenty of useful features in a compact body.”
Also Steve Huff tested the E-PL2: “The E-PL2 is basically a “Hot Rodded” E-PL1 and it really is a fantastic photographic tool.”
Click on the store name to directly check price and availability of the E-PL2: Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR
59 Responses
as i told you before i once tried this camera and i came home and look at the photos i shot. I said the results are disaster for a 2010 year camera and lots of Oly fanbois flamed at me. Now look at dpreview results. Look at raw image quality results. Raw image quality is the worst camera that dpreview tested, and price is $1600, this means one thing we try to screw our fanbois. Again i am saying one more time. RAW image quality has the worst rating on dpreview.
> RAW image quality
for the RAW blame adobe 😉 (dpreview uses Adobe camera RAW)
Anyway .. E-5 raw is not as half-cooked (see DxO what it means) as it is in my E-P1 .. which is good (if some better algorithm apears)
> I said the results are disaster
Usually it is not (only) camera fault.
When I discussed in the forum about some of brother’s pictures (from 500D) canonists said that camera is perfect but I don’t know to shoot…
DxO is that you rely on 🙂
check out sony a55 DxO results with nikon D3x other than ISO rest is same so SonyA55 is good as D3x according to your judment 🙂
I checked .. results are not the same.
BTW: why it can’t be as good?
(just because D3x is more expensive? it si not a reason…)
For DxO objectivity (canon user wrote):
“I analyzed the model and the data, but didn’t find any serious flaws.”
( http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/dxomark_sensor_for_benchmarking_cameras.shtml )
They know what they are doing…
I think because D3X is a Full Frame camera which represents the current class leading image quality of Nikon…
And a55 is a crop sensor with a 30% of the light obtrusive fix mirror…
The D3X has almost twice the surface and no fixed mirror, hence the full amount of light received by the sensor is higher than the a55.
Also, as the sensor size increases, the need for a “sharpest lens decreases… you get more details at the same focal lens simply because the imager is bigger.
Good thing you checked. When reading opinion off a forum like this, it’s safe to verify the fact rather than accept tertiary info as fact. I see that’s what’s going on here that many negative opinions are based on other people’s opinion, rather than something they truly believe and observed from first hand data.
DxO data aside (btw, I also compared data with 7D with E-5 to see how they think), when you work with a system, it’s all the component in a system.
I hope people here who had negative opinions on E-5 based on DPReview’s data (if they actually read it), actually read the whole review. DPReview often does their test but their conclusion page says something else, not based on their findings, but their own feelings. When read a review like this, always check the fact, do a little critical thinking, and check their methodology, to protect yourself from being lead with a noose. Just because it’s something you would like to believe does not make it the truth.
I agree with George. In this day and age, the fanboys cling tightly to what’s left of the Olympus franchise, and they stay ever-so-defensive….admirable, but a losing battle. Do as I did. Join the Big 2 and your lives will be less stressful, I promise. Oly shot themselves in the foot with this one.
Good enough for my taste. If you need more than ISO1600 you should really look somewhere else, but don’t expect the lenses to be the same. The E-5 strongest point is its build standard. It’s a real camera, like the ones they used to make 30-40 years ago.
+1 on that.
The E-5 can take a beating from any weather, so do most of the Zuiko lenses. You won’t get that from Canon/Nikon.
I have only two expensive FT lenses, the Zuiko 12-60mm and the Panasonic Leica 25mm. For these two lenses the investment into an E-5 is already justified. I want to get the Zuiko 50mm and the Zuiko 50-200mm, then I consider my lens bag complete. Name one system where I can have these focal lengths and use cases covered with just three to four lenses and in GREAT quality too. Yeah, I thought so.
you’re right. i have never seen a good picture from any other system.
Canon and Nikon still develop 5-6 lenses a year. they will eventually catch up to Olympus who will produce no lenses, ever, for 43.
I am not saying any one system is better, just that you will be defending the last bastion of 43 against every new camera and lens combo that ever comes out.
BTW, I thought the E-5 test results were a bit better than I initially expected when it was announced. A good camera, to be sure, just a little overpriced IMO.
no one is defending Olympus. we find that Olympus products are just enough for the work that we do, with less money and time spent on processing. i personal know people who are involved in photograpfy. they make money from that. they were very suspicios about the E510 that i boughted 3 years ago. everytime the question was : way don’t you get the Nikon x or Canon x? those are good, leneses everywhere etc. one time i had the camera with me so they have tryed. BIG suprise!!! everyone liked. from the quality of the body to the quality of photos. they were shocked second time when i get the 14-54II. Shocked again about the quality of the lens. not to mention 50-200 SWD. conclusion : most of the people who says the Oly is far behind are those who never used them, or not enough. every photographer will understand that every camera is not good for all the work, but not the pixel peepers or gear maniacs.
Uhhh…a 50mm lens, a 100 mm lens, a medium zoom, and a long zoom? Honestly every single system has quality lenses in this range, except maybe m4/3rds.
+1
Here we go again. In summary (with no references to “fanbois” – whatever they are):
-E5 sensor is outdated and has poor high ISO
-E5 has great build and lenses
-E5 makes sense for those with lots of Oly glass
-E5 does not make sense for newcomers
…… Now let’s all get back on with photography.
2 additions
-E5 focus is a disappointment for a flag ship
-E5 videos is for the old fogeys who don’t believe in video
regarding to the noise and dynamic range issues i agree that those are not the strongest points of Olympus, but they aren’t weak either, its just about average. but the tonal/colour/resolution results are great. I loved my E-1 & E-3….i did some great sessions with them. if i didn’t decide to move to MFT….i would probably still shoot with those cameras. I am sure the E-5 is one heck of a camera, you must decide yourself its its worth the money, and not rely on opinions from sites like dpreview in this respect.
and instead rely on your opinions??? i see.
by the way, the market has pretty much decided.
look at bcn japan ranking for the japan market and look at the amazon ranking.
e-5 is so far down, it’s sad.
well any pro body from olympus never got high sales ranking, people tend to stick with nikon and canon, not only because they are good cameras, but many times also because its safe to choose for them.
nobody needs to rely on my opinion btw.
I’d rather pick a camera with “poor” high ISO (like E-5) – instead of a camera system where I had to spent great time choosing a lens and then spend even more time post-processing every picture, removing the optical artifacts.
On the recent company event, shots from my E-620 + 12-60 were by far the best of the bunch (vs. 400D, 1000D and D5000). And they were best largely because of the outstanding quality of 12-60. Great body is worth not much if there are no lenses to back it up. I’d love to see the progress, but it is just not there.
Time to create “12-60s Anonymous”, mutual aid movement to help people overcome their addiction to good zoom lenses.
I agree the Olympus lenses rule, and “Wife” is just a hater, why do people come here if they hate Olympus so much?
“Wife” everyone of your comments is about hating on Olympus. Go elsewhere if you don’t like the lenses so much.
Sensor is outdated? OMG people. The quality is as good as full frame cameras. Why is Canon and Nikon full frame not twice as good since there sensors are 2x’s as big? You dont buy Olympus to shoot at Hi ISO’s. The secret is with Olympus you dont have to shoot with Hi ISO’s. You have to compare systems not sensors.
Wow, so many things wrong with your post. What is your definition of “quality” in referring to FF cameras?
Canikon sensors are 4x bigger, not twice, and in terms of noise they are close to 4 stops better (compare a D3s at ISO 102,400 to E5 6,400 — about the same)
You don’t have to shoot high ISOs? How exactly do you shoot available light without motion blur (not shake reduced by IS, but MOTION blur)? Are you saying you only buy Oly for studio light? What’s the weatherproofing for then?
Compare systems, not sensors. Ok, Oly hasn’t put out a new SHG lens since 2007, an HG lens since 2008 (and just a series II at that), or a new SG lens since MFT. And don’t tell me there aren’t holes in the Oly lineup when there isn’t a single lens faster than f/2.
Oly died with the ANNOUNCEMENT of the E-5, that’s when I switched. DP Review just confirmed it.
+1
+2
Yes the diagonal distance is 2x’s the length not 4x’s
Who said i was talking about shutter speed? You can shoot wide open @ 2.0 with Olympus and it is sharp. With Canon you have to shoot a least shoot at 4.0 to get the same sharpness. So Olympus let it 2 stops more light which means 2 stops lower on the ISO.
Who needs more lenses? Canon is starting to redo their lenses cause the new 1ds m4 showed to many flaws in them. I always get told on this site that nobody has the money to invest in the SHG that read this blog. Well then your not going to buy the L glass either and who in their right mind would compare a D3x to an E-5?
People always say “I cant afford good glass” then they turn around and say “I am switching to Canon because they make n 85 1.2” They cant afford that either.
Yes canon makes a lens that is lower than 2.0 but you cant use it unless you stop down.
OMG and what did you switch to anyway? You better have bought at least a 1dm2 or a d3x to with all prime lenses that are 2.0 and lower to justify it
so its:
– Nice camera, shame about the price
– Nice camera, shame about the uncertain future lens production
If Olympus made a BIG PEN next, a scaled up PEN to fit big 43 lenses then at least we’d have something to call ‘options’ in terms of body choice!
Again, nothing wrong with my E-30 + 14-54II + 50/2 … but it makes me think of a move to the Canon 60D or Nikon D7000. Looks at lenses, Nikon 35/1.8 could be good. 50/1.4 available from both. But really – the E-30 is tough to beat in the studio.
“who in their right mind would compare a D3x to an E-5?” I assume that’s rhetorical since you posted “Why is Canon and Nikon full frame not twice as good since there sensors are 2x’s as big.” And, to be fair, I compared the D3s, but I’d stand by my statement with a D3x.
“Who said i was talking about shutter speed?” You weren’t talking about it, that was the problem. If “with Olympus you dont have to shoot with Hi ISO’s” how do you shoot available light and prevent motion blur? Sharpness at f/2 does not prevent motion blur. I can shoot f/1.4 12800. Sharp or not, it’s not a blur. Please, explain how you don’t have to do that with Olympus. Is that a new art filter?
“Yes canon makes a lens that is lower than 2.0 but you cant use it unless you stop down.” My f/1.8 and f/1.4 must be defective then. I did not stop them down and, shockingly, they still took pictures. Now, a true statement is you can’t use Olympus unless the ISO is 6400 or below.
PS – Canon makes 8 lenses below f/2 — not “a lens”.
If you are shooting something at 12800 ISO @ 1.4 your in the freakin dark. You cant even focus on it. You act like your talking somebody who has never shot with Canon. You have to put on the 580 flash with focus assist to focus in that kind of light. Show me a usable picture you have taken with those settings.
You can easily take pics at 1/60th without motion blurr but with a canon you better know how to hold your camera steady to shoot 1/125 and below. Goodluck
You know one of the tools in our tool bag is a flash. Flash stops motion and if you know how to use it and know how to place it then it looks like natural light and guess what? You dont get those nasty racoon eyes you get when you shoot low light photography.
Just because you camera will shoot Hi ISO doesnt mean it looks good!!!
If your going to move to 7d or 60d then you will have to invest in Lglass to get good results. Why not invest in SHG 2.0 glass? It would be cheaper in the end.
Love Oly colors & feeling but need to do nature/wildlife/bird shots now and wonder if not better to move to Nikon D7000 or Canon 60D– if I need 600-800mm reach , is that possible with Nikon/Canon without spending a fortune? Have lots of Oly glass also legacy primes which I hate to part with..any suggestions? been waiting for the new E for many years but alot of my subjects are low light?
Just get a 50-200 thats 400mm and get a 2x’s converter. You will not find anything from nikon or canon to do that as cheap
To get a 600-800mm reach consider going with the Sigma 50-500mm. For Oly you’ll have to look at secondary markets such as eBay, which is where I purchased one. Lot’s of folks selling these days 🙂
sig 50-500 is a lens designed for full frame … its very unlikely that it would come anywhere near the optical performance if the Oly 50-200
dCap– I’m not sure what you mean by “sig 50-500 is designed for full frame”. I’m using one on an E-620 and I find the results are quite good. I’ve compared the Sig to an Oly 50-288 f.8 and I agree that the results of the 50-200 are better, however, if you want to get to 600-800mm then the 50-200 isn’t going to get you there even with the Olympus teleconverters. Oly primes at that distance are going to cost a fortune.
I just can’t contemplate popping that sort of cash on Oly f2 glass when the E-5 may be the last FT camera? if I invest that in L glass like the best prime they have, the 35/1.4, or maybe the 24-70 zoom then at least. know that there will be another new camera in 3 years for me to lust after … with Oly there is no such certainty.
I’d need a strong signal from Oly that the FT system is continuing – entry camera, mid range camera, E-5 level, some fast primes – before I could spend more on FT. mFT I’m happy to throw cash at. 😉
dCap, I feel for you. I was in the same boat. Save yourself the stress and agony, just switch and you will no longer have to go through second guessing/doubt/justifying Oly purchases/constantly comparing to the Big 2. It’s not painful, I guarantee you….the grass IS greener, and you’ll feel like you’ve finally escaped and see the light just like people who defect from Scientology. I was an Oly fanboy…now I laugh at them.
E-5 is not last FT camera, but maybe last DSLR!
finally someone understands. very well said.
yes … that is our only hope: semantics! that there will be more FT cameras but without a mirror box?
dCap, you know you love Oly and you’re not going to switch. I just finally got a new Oly camera, the EPL2 (on its way here), it will act as a temporary replacement, until I get the E-5 or the MFT Pro camera. The progress on lenses is slow, and believe me it pisses me off the same as you – but we both know that switching to Canon or Nikon is not the solution.
I’ll be attaching my favorite lens, the 50 mm f2.0 macro, to the EPL2, via the MMF-2 adapter.
Olympus glass is just better, plain and simple. I’ll take a Zuiko or Leica lens any day over Nikon or Canon glass.
@Tom & @Boss
… I am more tempted to just dump the FT stuff and have just m43 – what I need to do is get an MMF-2 and try my 50/2 on the E-P1. I like the freedom that the size of the PEN gives. The pocketability, the portability. The E-30 is near enough the same size as a Canon/Nikon. The 14-54/2.8-3.5 is wonderful, but frankly with 14/17/20 + 50 I could live without the zoom.
I like the E-30 but it now seems a strange investment. Even if I keep it for another year and keep using it, perhaps then Oly will make a modular FT camera or a FT sized PEN! The good thing at the moment is that the E-30 is very hard to find, so it would be a good time to sell and with the 14-54II would be a good bundle.
I cannot say that the 50mm f2.0 connected to an EPL2 with an MMF-2 will be the solution, but I’ll know sometime next week when it arrives in the mail.
I’ll let you know then, if it is a sufficient solution.
Just get a 50-200 thats 400mm and get a 2x’s converter. You will not find anything from nikon or canon to do that as cheap
“Just because you camera will shoot Hi ISO doesnt mean it looks good!!!”
Exactly the reason I left Olympus 😉
OK Olympus, now please put all the E-5 features in a E-PL2 sized body.
a weather sealed E-P3 with a triplet of weather sealed pancakes … yes please!
The EPl2 does have many of the features of the E-5, and in fact, the image quality is almost identical. The colors are slightly better on the E-5, and the handling is of course better. And weatherproofing, and screen, level sensor, 5 fps speed, 1/8000 shutter, faster flash sync etc…. But the EPL2 does have the weight and cost advantage.
That said, I cannot wait to see what the EP3 Pro looks like and what features it has. I’m assuming it will be like a GH2, but maybe it will be retro, either way it should be nice. I wonder if it will have the Truepic V+ ( or higher) and same with the sensor (maybe 14 -16 megapixels, but I cannot see them going any higher.)
Yes a EP3 weatherproof or OM4 design & new sensor design to take 43 lenses & a 400mm prime that we can afford!!
I’m amazed at the religious fanatics that come here to convert people. Aren’t there websites to follow if you love canon and nikon. I’m sure there are good things about their systems but they certainly have their faults too. Do you really only want 2 camera companies left to compete with each other producing the same stuff? I find it interesting that Nikons DSLR sales are down and Coolpics are increasing. I wonder what that will do to research budgets. I have purchased a e-5 and I like it. The advantages that Olympus offer are why I got it.
These people really want Olympus to fail so they could finally decide to move to Canikon. Okay guys, you can move on now. 🙂
Leave us 4/3 users to our devices. I have “downgraded” to the E-500 and loving it. If only I could get that stabilized 14-50mm leica lens 🙂
Obviously the people complaining are the ones that *don’t* want a Canikon-dominated world. The Canikon crowd couldn’t care less about what Oly does, because it doesn’t affect them in the slightest.
The E-5 is too little, too late. This is not a good move for Oly, for FT, or even necessarily for m43.
Then why are you on this site?
I wrote this a year ago now writing same thing again.
Sell all your Oly gear before it is too late. Otherwise you will not find a single buyer in a very near future. Not only you will save lots of money but after spending your bucks on Canikon you will enjoy taking indoor shots at night
1/250 shutter 🙂
I guess I am confused. As a professional I was able to take awesome indoor pictures at nite with film, Then with my E1, Then with my E3, Then with my 5Dm2 then with my E5. What the hell does Canon or Nikon got to do with take good indoor pics at night. If your a real photographer and you understand light you can get amazing shots with any camera
Point well taken. I still shoot with my E1 and sell my work! I am happy I have a pair of eyes to appreciate the creative process, no matter what it is taken with.
As they say, “the best camera is the one you have with you.” It is always about the image; not the equipment.
cheers!
That’s exactly what I did. Sound advice, recover as much money as you can while you can.
crap review, they might give it 75%
took too long, had too many mishandling mistakes in it
No serious four thirds user would shoot everything at F8 only to have to do it all again. No serious four thirds user would leave autograd on for all the higher ISO shots. Whine about start up times and how you cant use it with gloves on!
I give them 25% and the broken glass award