OM System OM-5 Gallery: New images from OMDS’ affordable, weather-resistant MFT camera
posted Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at 11:30 AM EDT
Click here to view our updated OM-5 Gallery
When the OM System OM-5 was announced in late October, we kicked off our coverage with William Brawley's in-depth Hands-on Preview and a hefty batch of real-world shots in the Gallery. If you haven't read William's Preview, you should check it out, as it discusses the OM-5's key new features, design and handling, image quality, autofocus and performance, and new video features. Since our original preview, we've also taken the OM-5 into the lab to shoot lab sample test images.
I've been going hands-on with the OM-5 for the last few weeks to flesh our coverage of OM Digital Solutions' newest Micro Four Thirds camera, the second released under the OM System branding, following the flagship OM-1 camera that launched earlier this year with a new stacked sensor. The OM-5 might not have a new stacked sensor, but it does include many interesting features and deliver impressive performance in a compact, weather-sealed body. In many ways, the OM-5 is a lot like the Olympus E-M5 Mark III. If you're unfamiliar with that camera and haven't read our OM-5 coverage, I'll give you a quick rundown of the OM-5's key features.
The OM-5 includes a 20.4-megapixel Live MOS Micro Four Thirds image sensor paired with an updated TruePic IX image processor. The OM-5 now offers a 50-megapixel handheld High-Res Shot mode thanks to the improved processing power and IBIS system. It also now includes Live Composite and Live ND shooting modes. OMDS has improved the camera's autofocus performance improved face/eye detection and Starry Sky AF. The camera isn't quite as swift as the extremely fast OM-1, but the OM-5 shoots at up 10 frames per second with its mechanical shutter and up to 30 fps with the electronic shutter. Not bad! The camera includes 4K/30p video with OM-Log400, vertical video and webcam support. The OM-5 is a very rugged camera with an upgraded dustproof, freezeproof and splashproof design. It even sports an IP53 rating. Plus, the camera is $1,199.99 body only, which is an aggressive price in today's photography market.
Those are just specs and features, though, so how does the camera perform in the real world? So far, my impressions have been very positive. The OM-5 is enjoyable to use, especially with a lightweight lens. It's much more compact than many cameras on the market today, and the retro-inspired design is stylish. The controls and design are identical to the E-M5 Mark III, which is mostly a good thing. However, I do wish the EVF was a bit larger or sharper. The EVF doesn't stand up too well against many other cameras released in the last 12-24 months.
The autofocus, built upon the same system found in the E-M5 Mark III, holds up quite nicely. The 121-point hybrid AF system is swift and accurate. All its autofocus points are cross-type, so the camera works well in both landscape and portrait orientations. The OM-5's AF is reliable, even in challenging conditions and low light.
The AF system works in conjunction with the 20.4MP image sensor to consistently deliver sharp, in-focus images with good detail, color and tonality. While the sensor is getting a bit long in the tooth, that doesn't mean it's bad. Further, with increased processing power, JPEG images from the camera look better than before, with improved sharpness and detail across a wide range of ISO Settings. Speaking of ISO, the native range is 200-6400, although you can expand it up to 25,600. It's not an extremely high ISO range, but it still works nicely for night sky photography. Plus, the new Starry Sky AF makes it easier to dial in focus on those tricky stars.
So far, so good with the OM-5. I'm enjoying my time with the camera and hope to have my Hands-on Review published soon. If you can't wait for more OM-5 content, head to our Gallery to see the updated images and check out our lab samples for all your pixel-peeping needs.