We’re quite happy with 16 megapixels, and the Olympus LiveMOS sensor used in this camera is one of the nicer sensors we’ve seen of late.
Overall, the image quality shines, and is easy to fall in love with, provided you have the right glass for whatever you’re shooting.
Also of note here is the WiFi functionality, which allows you to link up either a smartphone or tablet with your E-P5, creating a direct connection using a small wireless network.
With this engaged, you simply fire up the Olympus Image Share app and either import your images, or control the camera remotely, the latter of which lets you use your touchscreen device to select the focus point and fire, or simply fire from the shutter button.
Once your phone or tablet has fired the image, it can be saved to both that device and the camera, making it easy to Instagram, share on Facebook or Twitter, or even edit locally using app-based tools such as Snapseed, which makes for simple processing when you don’t have a computer with Photoshop handy.
Battery life also proved decent, and we managed around 200-400 photos with wireless control also used before the battery started whining about needing recharging.
Ultimately, the Olympus E-P5 proved to be an excellent camera. The few issues we did have, though seem to come down to something regarding the industrial design of the camera.
We’re probably the second or third reviewer to take this specific E-P5, but already within a month or two of use, the “On/off” switch markings are fading away.
While not a huge issue – and one that won’t likely bother you since the switch isn’t hard to work out – it doesn’t bode well for other sections that have been printed on the body.
The touchscreen on the back is very nice and crisp, but ultimately, it doesn’t have a lot of versatility in angles. You can pull it out, set it at 90 degrees and look down on it, or position it so that it’s possible to use the camera from below, but that’s about all you can do.
Autofocus can also be a little loud. We’re not quite sure why this happened, but you’ll hear a faint almost white-noise like sound when you try to focus using the AF motor.
Don’t be alarmed, as it appears to be normal, just a touch surprising.
Conclusion
With the compact camera market in decline and interchangeable devices coming out in droves, consumers eager to buy a camera they can grow with are truly spoiled for choice. Nearly every manufacturer has something decent, and the old idea of “pick it up and see if it’s comfy in your hands” doesn’t always give you the best result.
In the E-P5, though, Olympus has built something that is brilliant in so many ways that the camera is hard to fault. We had so much fun with this camera, and whether we were taking shots from afar or up close, the E-P5 performed admirably, so much so that we didn’t want to give it back.
The ergonomics are excellent, as is the button placement. The image quality is lovely, and the colours crisp. And then there’s that whole WiFi side of things, that makes not only possible to import your images to your phone or tablet wirelessly, but to control the camera altogether.
All up, the Olympus E-P5 is impressive, and it’s a camera that is very easy to recommend because frankly, it’s wonderful.
