Photo answers review
Photo answers rating 
The Four Thirds format has been around for quite some time, and the Compact System Camera revolution has seen the format evolve under the Micro Four Thirds banner. For the traditional photographer, however, the E-5 is a far more interesting development, and one that’s aimed towards the serious enthusiast who demands a top of the range performance for build and image quality.
End of the line? It’s been suggested that the E-5 may well be the last in the current line of traditional E-System Four Thirds DSLR models from Olympus – at least until the chip technology changes. One of the key benefits of Four Thirds is the doubling of focal lengths so the lenses deliver longer magnifications than they would on a full-frame or even APS-C sensor. The knock-on effect of this is that the lenses can be up to half the size and weight to deliver a comparable performance to the lenses used by full-frame and APS-C chip users. The Four Thirds chip is a lot smaller than a full-frame offering, and smaller than a standard APS-C chip. This doesn’t, however, mean that the 12.3MP Live MOS sensor isn’t capable of delivering a comparable quality of image. You can’t really push too many pixels onto a Four Thirds sensor, so the resolution of the E-5 is about right, with the TruPic V+ image processor being key to image quality management. The E-5 is basically all the best technical components the E-System has offered, put into a solid, durable and more advanced package to satisfy the most demanding enthusiast.
Splashing protection Before we delve into the technical features of the E-5, there’s one element of this camera that’s worthy of special mention. The E-5 (like the E-3 before it) has a splash-proof body and lens (with SWD optics). The term splash-proof could be interpreted in many ways, and we wouldn’t encourage you to dunk an E-5 under the water, but we have seen it done – and yes the camera carried on working. This means that the E-5 is well suited to life outdoors, as the dust and water protection allows you to carry on shooting in the rain, snow and even dusty conditions. This isn’t the only form of dust protection on the E-5, as the sensor is fitted with the Supersonic Wave Filter technology that shakes the sensor to budge any dust off the surface, thus helping to keep your image free from dust spots. One thing that is quite interesting about the camera design is that it still sports the ‘old school’ screw-in protection covers for the flash sync and remote sockets. This is a touch frustrating, as they can easily be lost if they become unscrewed, and that obviously isn’t ideal for protection from dust and water.
Features The E-5 introduces video recording to the E-System, with Full HD files at 1280x720p/30fps and stereo sound capture through an optional microphone (mono microphone built-in). The camera also offers built-in stabilisation in the form of Olympus’ sensor shift IS. This is great for controlling potential camera shake, especially as it works with any lens attached to the camera, so you don’t need a dedicated IS lens. The LCD is larger than that found on the E-3, with the E-5 sporting a 3in panel at 920k dots resolution. This is a flip-out panel, so you can pivot it out from the back of the camera body to allow you to view from alternative angles when using the Live View display. The many advantages include shooting from high and low angles, and flip the screen out to the side so you can view it from the front of the camera if shooting self-portraits. Traditional viewfinder fans will welcome the 100% coverage, so you get to see right to the edges. Sports fanatics attracted by the double focal length advantage will relish in 5fps drive speed and the more demanding user will be pleased to hear that the camera’s shutter is rated to 150k movements. There’s a built-in flash that provides a useful tool for fill-in light, but not ideal for general flash work as it only offers a GN13/ISO100 output. The good news is that the E-5 has built-in wireless flash control when used with compatible flashguns like the FL-50R and FL-36R. You can use either CF or SD/SDHC memory cards in the E-5 so you have dual slot options.
Creative shooting Focusing on the E-5 is provided by an 11-point selectable array of sensors, which offer biaxial coverage (cross-type sensors that work equally in vertical or horizontal orientations) and high-speed performance with the kitted 12-60mm SWD lens. The metering has a 49-zone pattern to give the camera plenty of scope when measuring across a scene to deliver more accurate results. If you struggle to keep your horizons flat, then in Live View you have a digital spirit level to help you. You have the usual mix of PASM shooting modes, and the newly added video capture mode. It’s good to see HD video on an E-System DSLR, but like many of these DSLR video offerings, there’s no real time AF. The more creative of you will enjoy the software filters this camera offers in its picture mode options. There’s Cross-Process, Pin Hole, Grainy Film and a bunch of other funky effects to utilise, including a new Dramatic Tone art filter. This addition applies rather extreme tones of light and dark to an image giving a rather unusual effect. Unlike on previous E-System models, all these filters can now also be used in shutter and aperture-priority, program and manual, plus they can also be used when shooting video.
Performance The Olympus E-5 feels great in the hand, with a sense of robustness and hardy performance. The buttons are well styled for operation with your fingers, but not so subtle that you can’t adjust the settings with gloves on. Given the fact that this camera is well suited to the outdoors, this is a great asset. The drive speed is perfect for most action photographer’s desires, and the focusing responsive across a range of lenses, although the best results were most definitely from the SWD lenses. As for the images, the combination of sensor and processor with Fine Detail Processing works well. The images are very vibrant and well detailed from the 12-60mm lens. Exposure is also very accurate with the camera managing to keep a good tonal balance in some contrasting lighting. It would have been good to have some form of continuous AF when using the HD video, but you are limited to single focus, and you really don’t want to be pressing the shutter button to reset focus during recording as the noise can be picked up by the mic.
Final verdict Although the E-5 doesn’t push the pixel count to the heights many other brands have reached, the Four Thirds sensor has been given its best shot with this camera. We really like the build and durability, and the fact that you have a 2x crop factor with smaller than average lenses is a major advantage to sports fans. Creative tools like the digital filters allow users to get involved with some fun effects and it’s great to have access to these across the shooting modes and video.
www.olympus.co.uk
Key spec Street price (body only) £1500
Effective resolution 12.3MP
Sensor type 17.3x13mm Four Thirds
Crop factor 2x
Lens mount Olympus Four Thirds
Metering 49-zone multi-pattern sensing system
ISO range 200-6400
Shooting speed (max) 5fps
Card type CF/SD/SDHC
LCD size 3in 920k dot
Video 1280x720p/30fps
Live View Yes
Built-in stabilisation Yes
Weight/size (wxhxd) 800g/142.5x116.5x74.5mm