Olympus E-5 at a glance:
- 12.3-million-pixel Live MOS sensor
- TruePic V+ image processor
- Four Thirds lens mount
- Splashproof body and lens
- 3in, 921,000-dot, swivel LCD screen
- 49-zone, multi-pattern sensing metering
- New dramatic tone art filter
- Street price around £1,500 (body only)
Olympus E-5 review – Introduction
When the E-5 was announced in September this year, Olympus stated that this could be the last Four Thirds DSLR from the company as it was focusing its efforts on the new Micro Four Thirds models, such as the Pen E-P1. This might seem a strange announcement to make at the launch of a new flagship model, but Olympus has stated that it would always support the E-system Zuiko lenses with a high-end camera to put them on. We can only speculate what will follow, but it seems there is more to come in the higher end Olympus models – just maybe not in the form we’ve seen in the past.
The E-5 is only the third flagship DSLR from Olympus, following on from the E-1 and E-3, which have been impressive cameras in their own right with some really strong features. The E-5, then, is not so much of a reinvention, but rather a progression from the previous models following feedback from current E-series users. The E-5 incorporates elements from other recent Olympus models, such as the array of art filters and the 12.3-million-pixel Live MOS sensor, while introducing some new elements of its own, such as the new TruePic V+ processor, the 3in free-angle LCD screen and, for the first time on an E-series DSLR, HD video.
As a professional camera the E-5 might not have the big numbers on its specification list to draw studio photographers in, as some of its competitors are able to do, but it does have the durability and handling to withstand heavy use. The latest Olympus compact system cameras (CSCs) are drawing in a new market for the brand and having a camera such as the E-5 positioned above them not only gives users confidence in the brand’s photographic experience, but also gives more creative users something they can aspire to own.
Features
While it may seem strange, the 12.3-million-pixel sensor in the E-5 has come from the entry-level E-PL1 compact system camera. Despite the different lens mount, the Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds models share the same 17.3x13mm, 4:3 sensor.
This sensor gives a 2x focal-length magnification on lenses and an output size of 4032×3024 pixels, which allows a 10x13in print at 300ppi to be reproduced or an A2 print at a respectable 172ppi without interpolation. Images can be saved as either 12-bit ORF raw, JPEG or raw and JPEG simultaneously.
The camera uses the new TruePic V+, which is an improved version of the processor featured in the E-PL1 and E-P2 CSC models. This gives an ISO range of 100-6400, which puts the E-5 level with the newer CSC models, but about a stop behind its direct competition. The sensor is fitted with a Supersonic Wave Filter for dust reduction and sensor-shift image stabilisation to provide up to 5EV of compensation.
Metering is in the form of the 49-zone multi-pattern sensing system seen in the E-620 and gives the choice of evaluative (or ESP), spot, centreweighted, or the popular highlight and shadow metering modes. There is also an exposure compensation range of ±5EV, exposure bracketing of up to seven frames and ISO bracketing of three frames.
The autofocus system uses 11 cross-type AF points and makes the bold claim of being the world’s fastest (as of 10 September). Olympus makes this claim based on the biaxial nature of the sensors, meaning that each is effectively two cross-type sensors on top of each other, slightly staggered at each AF point.
The system is also found in the E-3 and other manufacturers have used similar methods, such as Canon’s zigzag array. The E-5 also allows fine-tuning of the AF system for individual lenses and a total of 20 corrections can be stored in the camera. In Live View, the E-5 uses contrast-detectiion AF with a similar choice of 11 AF points with the addition of face detection.
White balance is catered for with a hybrid auto mode that reads from a dedicated external sensor and the main sensor. There is a range of presets, including sunny, shadow, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent, underwater and flash. WB adjustment is available in auto and preset modes. Values are also selectable in Kelvin or via a custom reading.
As with the E-3, shooting modes are accessed by a button and dial combination rather than a dedicated shooting-mode dial, and offer the standard array of program, aperture, shutter, manual and bulb settings.
There are no scene modes or full auto modes – this is a professional camera – but there are art filters. These have previously featured on both DSLR and CSC models, and are a simple way to produce creative effects, ranging from pop art to grainy film.
The E-5 features the nine previously seen filters plus a new dramatic tone that simulates an HDR-type image. Where previously these art filters have been treated as scene modes, on the E-5 they are more like picture styles in that they can be applied in any shooting mode rather than just an auto setting, and can even be applied to video. Half the filters also provide fine-tuning of the contrast, sharpness, saturation and gradation.
Although the grainy film (black & white) isn’t one of these, there is a monotone setting in addition that allows for fine-tuning, including filter and tone control. Post-capture, the E-5 provides in-camera editing, such as simple resizing and rotation, but also raw conversion and a series of JPEG adjustments such as shadow adjustment, redeye, black & white, saturation and e-portrait.
The viewfinder offers a full 100% field of view and a 1.15x magnification to give a nice large view for composition. There’s a decent-sized rubber eyepiece, a dioptre adjustment to fine-tune the focus and a shutter to avoid incidental light entering the camera during long exposures.
The rear LCD screen is a new 3in, 921,000-dot display, making it not only larger than the previous screen on the E-3 but also four times the resolution. The LCD is mounted on a vari-angle bracket that allows it to be rotated 180° horizontally and 270° vertically for reviewing and composing via Live View from almost any angle. Within the screen display options there is even a digital level for both pitch and roll alignment.
There are dual memory-card slots for storage, and while the CompactFlash remains from the E-3, an SD slot has now replaced the xD-Picture Card. This new slot is compatible with SDHC and SHXC cards to ensure high-speed transfer rates.
In continuous shooting the E-5 is capable of a 5fps burst rate for nine raw+JPEG shots, 22 raw shots or, in Fine JPEG mode, it will continue shooting until it fills the card (as tested with a 600x UDMA Lexar card). Individual write times are around 0.5secs for a JPEG, 1sec for raw and 1.5secs for raw+JPEG. This is thanks to the fast processor and relatively low pixel count.
Art filters
Although we have covered Olympus’s art filters in the past, the changes made to those on this camera make them worthy of a second look. This is mainly down to their repositioning in the menu as a picture style that makes them accessible from every shooting mode – including video.
A big criticism of the art filters in the past has been that you are forced to use auto settings. Now you can remain in aperture priority, for instance, and use the effect with the aperture you require.
There are ten art filters on the E-5, and of those five allow further adjustment to fine-tune the look and feel of the image.
Those that cannot be adjusted tend to be the more extreme effects, such as pop art, diorama and grainy film. This is a shame, because it would really be handy to play around with these effects. Some of my favourite filters include the diorama, which gives a tilt/shift effect to create miniature scenes; the grainy film for a retro b&w feel; and the new dramatic tone filter.
Although the effect created using dramatic tone is a little over the top for some scenes, it is a lot of fun. It looks great on videos, too, adding a slight time-lapse effect to the filming. Thankfully, processing time is faster, and effects are instant rather than taking a extra seconds to process after each shot, as on earlier Olympus DSLRs.
Build and handling
The E-5 is certainly built like a professional camera, as it features an aluminium and magnesium-alloy frame and is weather-sealed well enough to claim to be splash-proof.
This means you could pour a bottle of water over the camera (although we don’t recommend that you do so!) or remain shooting in heavy rain with no detriment to the E-5.
As is the case with Olympus’s other top E-series models, the E-5 is a solid and chunky piece of kit. It has a standard body height without a vertical grip.
The right-hand grip is large enough to get a solid hold of the camera and you can place all your fingers around it. The E-5’s weight is comparable with cameras of a similar class and price, and with the 12-60mm kit lens it feels nicely balanced in the hand.
The detailing on the camera appears well thought out, even down to the tripod bush being replaceable and rubber pads around it to avoid the camera slipping on the plate. The buttons, however, are a little small and not always easy to navigate. One saving grace is that the camera can be customised and set up to your own specification. You can vary everything, from the direction of the focus ring to the button functions of the four-way directional controls.
On the top of the camera sits a sizeable LCD screen to display shooting information, along with a series of quick-access buttons for ISO, white balance, exposure compensation and a light for the display.
These are quite a distance from the shutter button, so a change of grip is needed to access them – especially the exposure compensation, which is inset to stop it being accidentally pressed with the ISO button and thus causing a camera reset.
The function buttons to the left of the top panel are all dual-format, controlling different functions depending on whether the front or rear control dials are turned. This information is displayed on the rear LCD when pressed to aid operation. Some buttons seem to have been made purposefully difficult to press by accident, such as the Live View display.
The shooting information that appears on the rear screen also acts as a quick menu, and the displayed functions can be scrolled through and changed by pressing the central OK button in the four-way control. With all these routes to shooting functions on offer, the main menu is fairly sparse and only really needs accessing for customisation.
However, it is often quicker to access the art filters and file format via the main menu, so perhaps both functions should have had dedicated buttons even though the file format can be selected as a custom function.
Navigation takes some getting used to if you’re not familiar with the Olympus menu layout and at times finding certain functions was not obvious. Those used to handling the E-3, however, should feel at home with the layout.
The 12-60mm standard kit lens offers an f/2.8-4 aperture and Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) focusing for quiet and speedy travel across the focal range. It’s a solid lens, and with an equivalent focal length of 24-120mm it makes a great all-purpose optic.
White Balance and Colour
The E-5 delivers bright, punchy images as standard from its JPEGs. My only criticism is that they may be a little too punchy for some DSLR users. Raw files look slightly more natural and the colours can be tweaked to suit your preference.
I really liked the colours, though, and was actually drawn to make them even more punchy using some of the art filters. For more creative shots, I found the vivid and grainy film filters worked well at achieving something a little more interesting. The dramatic tone mode, although completely over the top for most uses, is a lot of fun to play around with.
The auto white balance system in the E-5 is very impressive thanks to the additional dedicated white balance sensor on the front of the camera. I rarely found the need to leave this mode as it delivered neutral tones both indoors and outdoors. Only when shooting sunsets did I get better results by switching to the cloudy preset. If anything, the results were on the cool side when faced with extreme contrast in the image.
Using the cloudy white balance preset allowed the image to maintain the nice warm tones of the sunset
Noise, Resolution, and Sensitivity
The 12.3-million-pixel resolution of the E-5 seems slightly on the low side when compared to cameras of a similar price point or level, with most having moved up to around 16 or 18 million pixels.
Realistically, though, a 12.3-million-pixel sensor is more than adequate and it means file sizes remain manageable and data transfer rapid. It also means, though, that when viewed at 100% on a computer monitor, detail isn’t quite as defined, especially when compared to ‘professional’ DSLRs such as the 24.6-million-pixel Sony Alpha 850.
On our resolution chart the E-5 reached the 24 marker with both raw files and JPEGs at ISO 100.
Noise starts to creep in at ISO 1600, but is fairly well controlled to ISO 3200, where the detail starts to drop as the noise reduction really kicks in.
ISO 6400 is heavily affected by colour noise, and while ISO 3200 still managed a 20 on our chart, by ISO 6400 this has dropped to 16. Control over raw processing is a little basic within Olympus’s Viewer 2 software, but with noise reduction and sharpening it was possible to achieve a slightly smoother and more detailed image than from the JPEG.
These images show 72ppi sections of images of a resolution chart, captured using the 12-60mm f/2.8-4 Zuiko lens. We show the section of the resolution chart where the camera starts to fail to reproduce the lines separately. The higher the number visible in these images, the better the camera’s detail resolution is at the specified sensitivity setting.
Metering
The 49-zone metering system has served the E-series cameras well in models such as the E-620, and in general conditions it sticks to a perfect midtone.
Under trickier lighting conditions, however, I did find I needed to occasionally dial in a negative exposure compensation of 1/3 or 2/3 of a stop to avoid overexposure. There was a tipping point of around the halfway mark where the exposure would prioritise over either the exposure of the land or the sky, depending on the composition.
This is perfectly sensible for a metering system, but is worth bearing in mind if you are shooting without grad filters. For critical detail it is a sensible option to use the camera’s highlight and shadow metering options to ensure that the greatest detail is maintained in whichever option you choose. The exposure compensation is also a generous ±5EV, so there’s plenty of leeway to adjust between shots or bracket should you wish.
A little fill-in flash really helped with portraits and the E-5 balanced the exposure nicely
Dynamic Range
From our real-world testing and from the score given by DxO labs in its testing, we believe the E-5 to have a maximum dynamic range of 10.5EV. While this is not a bad performance, it is more in line with entry-level models rather than a professional model such as this.
The camera features an i-Enhance mode, which is designed to optimise the exposure by lightening darker areas of the image. However, this can be achieved just as well by processing the raw file, and once the new raw format is more widely supported by the main raw processors there will be even more scope to pull added detail from the images.
Viewfinder, LCD, Live View, Video
The E5’s viewfinder is a full 100% field of view prism finder and offers a large magnification so the image dominates the view through the finder.
This really stakes the E-5’s position as an advanced camera and one that can be used for critical composition. Shooting information in the viewfinder sits on two lines underneath the image, and is clear and easy to read.
The rear LCD is an impressive feature of the E-5, and the 3in high-resolution display makes reviewing and composing with Live View a pleasure.
Also, the vari-angle mount on which the LCD sits means you can place the camera in almost any position and still view the screen to compose the shot. This is ideal for high and low-angle shots as much as it is for tripod use, video recording and even self-portraiture.
Live View is an integral part of the camera’s operation thanks to the vari-angle nature of the screen. The display is bright and clear with a good refresh rate. Shooting information can be displayed along the sides of the screen for Live View shooting as in the Micro Four Thirds models, or you can access the super control panel for a full range of options.
Focusing is nowhere near as rapid using the contrast-detection method, but it doesn’t hunt forward and back to the extent that some models used to and it manages to lock on to subjects with relative ease.
The HD video function on the E-5 is the first of its kind on an E-series DSLR. It uses a 720p resolution (1280×720 pixels) and outputs the files in AVI format so they will play directly on most machines. The frame rate is a full 30fps with no option to adjust, with a maximum clip length of seven minutes at HD resolution.
Bit rate is a respectable 32Mb/sec for a 720p recording and the overall image quality is impressive. Audio is recorded via a mono microphone in the body, but there is also the option to plug an external microphone in for more professional sound.
Our Verdict
The Olympus E-5 is a pleasant camera to use and is capable of some nice results. The body is solid and feels sturdy in the hand, with a wealth of buttons and functions that, once customised to your own way of working, allow speedy operation. For current Olympus users this camera provides something to aspire to, and thanks to the HD video, art filters and LCD, it may offer enough advantages over the E-3, and even the E-620, for some to consider upgrading.
For users looking to come into the system for the first time the E-5 is up against some very tough competition from Nikon, Pentax and Canon, and without previous attachment it would be a difficult choice to pick the E-5 over them.
What this camera really needed was a new, higher resolution sensor to make it competitive, even if it were just to 18 million pixels. It would be very sad if this were to be the last Olympus DSLR, and hopefully what will follow will be a hybrid of a CSC and DSLR that will maintain an upgrade path for Olympus users. For now at least, though, the E-5 is still a flagship product to be proud of.
Olympus E-5: Focal points
Optical viewfinder
This gives a full 100% field of view with a 1.15x magnification for easy composition
Auto adjustment sensor
The small sensor above the LCD allows the camera to adjust the brightness of the screen depending on the lighting conditions
Function button
This can be customised to suit your requirements and can provide access to a range of menu functions
Four-way selection pad
This remains a simple series of four outer buttons rather than the multi-directional pads that feature on many DSLRs
Video mode
The E-5 can record video in AVI format at 720p HD resolution. The art filters can also be added to the video modes for a more creative effect.
Weatherproofing
The body is splashproof and dust proof, meaning it is designed to stand up to shooting in some of the toughest conditions.
Dual card slots
There is a choice of CompactFlash and Secure Digital (SD) card options, and you can easily move between these using the camera’s quick menu.
Live View focusing
This is offered by an 11-point contrast-detection autofocus, or manual focusing with up to a 10x magnified view for precise adjustment.
The competition
Images: Nikon D300S – £1,050 (body only), Canon EOS 7D – £1,150 (body only)
Despite pitching itself as a professional camera with a body-only price of around £1,500, the E-5 sits more comfortably among the advanced consumer models, such as the Nikon D300S, Canon EOS 7D and Pentax K-5. These advanced amateur/semi-professional cameras offer similar body sizes and comparable specification to the E-5.
The Canon EOS 7D and Pentax K-5 offer higher pixel counts and all offer faster frame rates, but the Olympus has the advantage of a vari-angle screen and creative art filters.
Currently, the E-5 is at a disadvantage because it has only recently been launched and is still holding its recommended retail price, while the others have dropped their prices slightly. This makes the E-5 the most expensive option of the four, but this is bound to even out after a few months of sale.
