Having trouble getting on with the E-M5 that I got last Friday. Shot about 50 shots with it and have literally zero keepers. Wife tried it on iAuto to take some pictures of our bulldog puppy and they were bad. Camera store said try it out for about 7 days and see if I liked it. So far I’m not.

So, is it me, the example I have, or the camera. Really thinking about taking it back and exchanging it for a D7000, a lens for the D40 (and maybe a fuji), or just money towards something else.

I'm afraid you're not going to get much (usable) advice unless you provide us with some more detail of what you are not liking about the E-M5. What types of problems do your images exhibit that keeps them from being "keepers"? In what ways are the images "bad"? Is it an issue with focus, low-light performance, dynamic range, etc.?

Perhaps you can post some of the images that you're unsatisfied with?

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Sarcasm is my default tone, so please consider that before taking offense to the preceding message.

Criticism (no matter how harsh) is welcomed of ANY and ALL images I post.

You gotta really like your camera. If you loved your other gear, then I'm assuming your switch was driven by the need to go light? I believe tremendously in the m43 system, but maybe try one of the less expensive bodies first, to get a feel for it???

Any rate, any sample pics you can post, and talk about what you don't like? Or at least tell us what you were shooting. One known weak speak that a DSLR should do better at is AF in action/sports. If it was a kid's soccer match, that could be an issue.

Samples always help.

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EM5; 9-18, PL25, 100-300 and some others.
(also, 6D + RX100)

Why were none of your shots keepers to you? What lens are you using?

If you got zero keepers out of 50 shots since Friday, sounds like it's not the camera for you. Return it and move on, I'm sure the camera store will be able to sell it very quickly.

Not sure I'd agree 50 shots is an actual good sample, given the move is from DSLRs. DSLR and mirrorless shooting are, in my experience, fairly different, especially at the consumer end, where the OP might be accustomed to the "auto" setting. m43 cameras require you to slow down just a bit because of CDAF, but the results can be better. So a bit of patient can yield improvements in output, but I think that has to be learned.

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EM5; 9-18, PL25, 100-300 and some others.
(also, 6D + RX100)

I don't see where a D7000 is doing to work better for you if you are only using fully automatic modes. The only place where this would be different would be for using continuous focusing. If you need continuous focusing, then I don't think any mirrorless camera would be the right choice.

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Olympus OM-D E-M5, Olympus 12-50mm, Olympus 45mm, Olympus FL-300R

Shooting with the EM5 is the easiest I've ever experienced with any camera. Something is off with your settings or lens. The dynamic range of this sensor is truly fantastic and the camera is very forgiving.

That said the camera is complex. Once you have a basic grasp of all the parameters its just ... fire away. I change IS from off to 1 and go back and forth from center weighted metering to spot and occasionally change one or two other settings and that's it. I can't even bring myself to try 'my settings' as I'll forget which is which. I use AEL once in a while if stitching a landscape panel. I do everything through the super control panel and never go into the menu except to format a card.

The camera should work like a dream right out of the box.

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EP-3, EM-5, 12/50, 12mm, 17mm, 14/42mm, 40/150, 75/300, Nikon 400mm f/3.5 AIS IF ED, HLD6, FL 600R

That’s why I’m wondering if it’s a bad example or some setting got off somewhere. Maybe it’s the kit 12-50 that isn’t what I was expecting.

Here’s a shot my wife tried on all auto -


here’s my attempt with shutter priority and all other settings left alone:


Seems to consistenly underexpose for my taste. Doesn’t seem sharp to me either. The last one was at f6.3 at 100mm.