Olympus OM-D EM-5 review

The E-M5 sailed through our image quality tests. There’s something subtly brilliant about the colour processing in Olympus’s PEN cameras, and the E-M5 was no different, giving JPEGs a rich, almost radiant glow. Details were extremely crisp but we did spot some evidence of noise reduction smoothing over subtle textures, even in brightly lit shots. The lack of in-camera chromatic aberration removal is disappointing, especially as Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds cameras routinely employ it, but there was rarely any sign of chromatic aberrations from the kit lens anyhow.

Details are razor sharp, and we love Olympus’s ability to capture lush, vibrant colours without making skin tones look overcooked – click to enlarge

This photo is reasonably detailed but it looks to us like noise reduction has glossed over the foliage a little – click to enlarge

Noise levels at fast ISO speeds weren’t as low as from the Sony NEX-7, which uses a bigger APS-C sensor, but they were significantly lower than from the Olympus Pen E-PL3 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1. This is without doubt the best Micro Four Thirds camera to date for image quality.

It doesn’t break records for noise levels, but reasonably clean skin tones from a Micro Four Thirds sensor at ISO 1600 is a fine achievement – click to enlarge

We can’t remember the last time a camera has been so eagerly anticipated, so we feel like killjoys for reporting that we’re a little disappointed by the E-M5. There’s a lot that we love about it, but we found it a little awkward to use. Not everyone is as picky, and we can see why it’s picking up awards left, right and centre. The Sony NEX-7 has its own strengths and weaknesses but it remains our favourite premium CSC.