Three weeks ago I picked up a used EM-5 Mk2 camera and have wanted to
give it a little bit of time before I mouthed off too much about it.
Sadly, the camera is so complex that I'm still struggling quite a bit
with it, but at least I can spout off about a few things:
1. Controls setup. Yeah, that's an adventure. What does that button
mean this time? Seriously? OK, I don't remember doing that...
Whatever.
2. The dynamic range is stilted as it is in almost all Olympus cameras
with very awkward transitions to white. Highlight recovery is
definitely a bad thing, like it is in the E-1, but the shadow blocks
up pretty aggressively too. That said, it is amazing how very E-1 like
the camera is in color and tone. The skintones are absolutely lovely
and the colors are near perfect for Alaska skies. The GX85 still
produces a better B&W conversion and seems better off in the
highlights, but the colors of the EM-5 are very much to my liking.
High-ISO performance is a wow.
3. Image sharpness. Wow!!!! Identical pictures taken with the GX85,
with the same lenses, are night-and-day different. It doesn't matter
if it's at base-ISO or boosted, the EM-5 out-performs the GX85 in
sharpness. The legacy 12-60 SWD and 50-200 SWD lenses are bloody
sharp.
4. Focus with Lumix G lenses. The GX85 is definitely faster at
acquiring focus, but I think the EM-5 gets a more accurate and less
consistent focus. The Four-Thirds lenses are pretty slow at focus, but
not nearly as horribly slow as on Panasonic bodies. The EM-5 has
better "lens correction" than the GX85 and doesn't muck up the details
as much.
5. Viewfinder. The EVF is certainly better in bright light than either
my GX85 or A7ii. I rather like the EVF, however, it is impossible to
use with polarizing sunglasses. Overall, the EVF is pretty
comfortable. I really dislike the level-gauge implementation, though.
The Sony and Panasonic are much superior in that regard.
6. Handling. Astonishingly bad. The body shape is just off. However,
with the Fotodiox metal grip thingy, it's bearable. That said, the
weight/size/shape of the camera is completely awkward to my hands and
I've dropped the camera more than once. Once in a while I've
encountered a camera like this that just ends up slipping out of my
hands, and this camera is one of them.
7. Ruggedness. First outing with the camera and I sent it tumbling 45
feet down a mountain slope. New scratches and dings in the Fotodiox
metal thingy. The shape of the camera with a m43 lens just makes it
roll, and roll, and roll, and roll... Between that, and dropping the
camera a couple of times, I'm sufficiently impressed with the
ruggedness of the camera.
8. The pleasure factor. Honestly, I'm having fun with the camera. It's
frustrating to get the controls setup right, but the camera is a
pleasure to use and I WANT to use it. (unlike the Sony which is great
at taking pictures but is not a pleasure to use).
The price was good, and the camera answers a need I had. The images
straight-out-of-camera are 100% old-school Olympus. It's a win.
AG Schnozz
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