Motivation needed to buy EM5

[MuBear]

Hello fellow Olympus and OMD camera owners, here is my story. I have been thinking on purchasing an Olympus m43 camera. And I have been checking out the EM10, EM5 and EM1 and in the end I decided to go for the EM5 because it suits my needs and I like the design of it but just when I was about to click on the "buy" button, I hesitated. And the reason for that was the price, or should I say, the price/value. A used EM5 with a decent lens can cost up to $1700 and that for me is quite expensive if you compare it to a mid-entry level DSLR. I have been scourging the Internet looking at pictures taken with this camera, and I just don't find the IQ good enough to justify the cost. A Nikon D5100 + 50mm f1.8 is roughly about the same size, costs around $800 and it offers better IQ, slower AF (but not that bad), longer battery life, and has an OVF. Sure, it doesn't have weather sealing but the price difference is nearly $1000! There must be something I'm missing here! Please enlighten me!

 

[jo45800]

I don't know where you found a used EM5 with lens for 1700$ but that's not the price, maybe it was an EM1 or an EM5 with de 12-40 f2.8 lens. You can find brand new em10 with kit lens for 700$ plus taxes. A used EM5 body will go around 500$-600$ and you have plenty of capable lens that are not expensive. Sure if you are talking about the 12-40 f2.8, It's a pro zoom with high quality. But you are talking about the nikon 50mm f1.8. so you can find a used EM5 body for 500$ and you can find the olympus 25mm f1.8 lens for 320$ plus taxes in refurb. Far away from you're 1700$.

Also in your comparaison, sou said both camera are roughly the same size but the EM5 is 80% thinner. and is lighter. And all m43 lenses are smaller due to the crop factor.
The Em5 have the wonderfull 5 axes stabilisation, colors rendering from olympus, the evf is not as good as the em1 or the evf4 but it's good enough.

I will not enter in the battle of better IQ or not, It's often a matter of tastes...

 

[fsuscotphoto]

What lens? and where were you looking? That seems VERY high.

 

[Robstar1963]

Hi
I will throw a couple of points in for you

The D5100 is much larger than the E-M5 !
Image quality will be slightly better with the Nikon and it is cheaper but it all depends on what your priorities are
Don't forget that as well as the E-M5 body being MUCH MORE COMPACT the lenses for M43 are also much more compact so you get a lighter kit and the ability to carry a body and several lenses in a reasonably sized bag with much less weight
There are several features which the E-M5 has in its favour such as 'live bulb' which enables you to see a long exposure developing in real time on the LCD screen
The E- M5 has a renowned 5 axis image stabilisation built in which works with 'legacy' lenses - some consider the performance of this IBIS to be astonishingly good
The weather sealing might not be a priority but it is a nice bonus to have if you get caught in unexpected conditions etc
The EM5 has dual control dials which are very light and easy to use
Regards
Rob

 

[demiro]

MuBear, for that kind of cash you should get the E-M5 + 17/1.8 + 25/1.8 + 45/1.8 and the 12-50. At least in the US. If your pricing is different I would certainly lean toward the Nikon based on what you are telling us.

 

[spdavies]

The camera should only cost $500 - $650, even with the added grip.
An excellent lens in the 20-25mm range would be $200 - $300.
Total $700 - $950.
I don't know where you're getting $1700.

Until you experience m43, you won't understand the attraction.
The size & weight difference is one big advantage.
Working with an excellent electronic viewfinder takes it to a whole 'nother level.

Plus the lens ecosystem for m43 is far more developed than the DX lens system for Nikon.
More choice, better prices (lots of great used lenses available).
And the icing on the cake, the incredible 5-axis in-body stabilization of the E-M5.
Makes EVERY LENS you put on the camera (even adapted old classic 35mm lenses) stabilized.

It's ultimately your decision and what works best for you.
The Nikon gear is certainly an excellent setup too, if that's what you decide on.

(I'm selling a nice E-M5, grip and lenses - ad should be on forum later today).

 

[fransglans]

i've had alot of canon dslr and when i compare the iq against m43 i can only say that the canon is quite boring. i shoot alot of ef lenses with it but so far im feel m43 gives a completely different touch to the picture. subtile yes, but still there.

 

[MuBear]

The camera should only cost $500 - $650, even with the added grip.
An excellent lens in the 20-25mm range would be $200 - $300.
Total $700 - $950.
I don't know where you're getting $1700.

Until you experience m43, you won't understand the attraction.
The size & weight difference is one big advantage.
Working with an excellent electronic viewfinder takes it to a whole 'nother level.

Plus the lens ecosystem for m43 is far more developed than the DX lens system for Nikon.
More choice, better prices (lots of great used lenses available).
And the icing on the cake, the incredible 5-axis in-body stabilization of the E-M5.
Makes EVERY LENS you put on the camera (even adapted old classic 35mm lenses) stabilized.

It's ultimately your decision and what works best for you.
The Nikon gear is certainly an excellent setup too, if that's what you decide on.

(I'm selling a nice E-M5, grip and lenses - ad should be on forum later today).

Thanks everyone for your responses. So it seems the key takeaway here based on the comments, is the image stabilization allowing me go to lower shutter speeds. Fair enough...
Just to clear things, at $1700, I was thinking of a $700 body with a $999 Olympus 12-40mm 2.8 PRO, or a voigtlander 25mm f0.95 to give me that nice bokeh. To confess, I come from the Nikon D5100 (already sold) so I don't think I be going back there anytime soon... but IQ is one of those things, once you have reached a milestone, you cannot settle for anything lower. It's just so heartbreaking! I know, I'm probably a lousy photog.

 

[demiro]

Well, that makes more sense. $700 is still a lot for a used E-M5. You'll see them here for as low as $450 at times. I haven't shot the 12-40/2.8 or 25/0.95, but if you pair the E-M5 with the F1.8 primes from Olympus or the 25/1.4 from Panny you won't have to make any excuses vs the IQ you got from the Nikon kit. Like others have said, it's not an absolute that one is better, but to most eyes they are close enough to not worry about it.

 

[MuBear]

Weather sealing is definitely a nice to have, but for someone like me living in Costa Rica, the value is much higher as the climate here is humid and rainy. So unless you want to have a bag wrapped around your camera every time you go out to shoot, you will want weather sealing here.

 

[MuBear]

Well, that makes more sense. $700 is still a lot for a used E-M5. You'll see them here for as low as $450 at times. I haven't shot the 12-40/2.8 or 25/0.95, but if you pair the E-M5 with the F1.8 primes from Olympus or the 25/1.4 from Panny you won't have to make any excuses vs the IQ you got from the Nikon kit. Like others have said, it's not an absolute that one is better, but to most eyes they are close enough to not worry about it.

You are right, the 25/1.4 from Panny is VERY enticing. And the 1.8 Olies are not bad either! I might think of settling with the combo you mentioned E-M5 + 17/1.8 + 25/1.8 + 45/1.8.

 

[fsuscotphoto]

You would have a great line up if you did those three lenses. Don't tell us you are a lousy photographer. Post some pics and let us tell you that!!!:smile:

 

[tkc9789]

Check this out. Mint condition E-M5 body for $480.

https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=67404

disclaimer: I'm in no way associated with the seller. Just relate the info in case you missed it.

 

[wjiang]

If you are keen to chase the ultra shallow DoF style, an APS-C sensor isn't going to be miles better than m4/3, especially given that most m4/3 lenses are decent when shot wide open.

Why were you dissatisfied with your ASP-C body so much that you sold it in the first place, and what prompted you to look at m4/3? If there is nothing beyond shallow DoF, IQ and price, then perhaps Fuji X or back to DSLR would be a better pick.

 

[MuBear]

Check this out. Mint condition E-M5 body for $480.

https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=67404

disclaimer: I'm in no way associated with the seller. Just relate the info in case you missed it.

That's nice, unfortunately I won't be able to partake on that deal since I'm buying with a credit card from Costa Rica and Paypal requires the credit card to be associated with a US billing address. I have a shipping address in Florida where I usually ship my things and have someone else pick it up for me. That's how I buy stuff from Amazon US, and there's a nice deal right now for a used EM-5 at $524.99.

 

[MuBear]

If you are keen to chase the ultra shallow DoF style, an APS-C sensor isn't going to be miles better than m4/3, especially given that most m4/3 lenses are decent when shot wide open.

Why were you dissatisfied with your ASP-C body so much that you sold it in the first place, and what prompted you to look at m4/3? If there is nothing beyond shallow DoF, IQ and price, then perhaps Fuji X or back to DSLR would be a better pick.

I sold the Nikon because I thought carrying a DSLR when one is not a full-time professional photographer looked rather silly, especially if its a entry level DSLR, if I ever to go back to DSLR, I would go all the way with a D800 or a 5D markIII, and get a job as a pro, no offense to all DSLR shooters out there. And then there is Fuji X series, great image quality but a bit slow and quirky. And I'm not a fan of the X-trans sensor either, their sensors makes for good portraits and BWs, but everything else looks a bit dull unless you apply some color filter to make them film-like and artsy.

 

[twalker294]

What exactly is it about the image quality on the Nikon that makes you say it's that much better than the EM5? I'm not being argumentative -- I am asking because it's important to know what you are looking for as far as IQ goes.

 

[aveda6]

MuBear,

I just made the decision to buy an EM-5 after a long, protracted debate. I have an older Evolt E-500 and my wife has an EPL-1 so I wanted a system that would enable a sharing of lenses and still have a great image quality. The price, for a used camera, was very enticing. I was able to find an EM-5 with a kit lens for less than $600 in the US. That was 1/2 the price of a new system on Amazon. I think it will be well worth the investment.

 

[fsuscotphoto]

I sold the Nikon because I thought carrying a DSLR when one is not a full-time professional photographer looked rather silly, especially if its a entry level DSLR, if I ever to go back to DSLR, I would go all the way with a D800 or a 5D markIII, and get a job as a pro, no offense to all DSLR shooters out there. And then there is Fuji X series, great image quality but a bit slow and quirky. And I'm not a fan of the X-trans sensor either, their sensors makes for good portraits and BWs, but everything else looks a bit dull unless you apply some color filter to make them film-like and artsy.

Hmmmm..... Do you know my wife? She thinks it's overkill to use a DSLR on vacation. I always said what is the point of having it if I can't use it. Since I now own an EM-5 as well as DSLRs I can have the best of both worlds. I don't need a full frame to get what I need out of my DSLRs that my EM-5 can't do. Maybe one of these days I'll have a MFT that can do it all. Till then or I change my interests of what I shoot, I'll keep both.

 

[rhom]

MuBear,

I own a D5100 and have shot it with a number of high quality Nikon DX lenses. I took it to Japan on vacation two years ago and was very pleased with its IQ. However, I bought an EM5 just over a year ago because I was blown away by the IQ from this small camera. When used with the higher quality MFT lenses, I just don't find my D5100 to have superior IQ at all. Shoot with an EM5 and then look at the images on your own PC...then you will see what you need to know about IQ.

As mentioned by others, do not underestimate the performance of IBIS! My EM5 images are much sharper than my D5100 or D700 images and I know that this is due to IBIS. My experience is that Nikon's VR is delivers significantly less performance. Also, try to find VR in Nikon's best/pro quality DX lenses...not much to offer here with VR and absolutely no VR primes. Buy any of the better MFT lenses and all will have IBIS.

Last, the small size of the EM5 is a big plus. I have no issues with carrying it on important assignments, check out this website, http://www.bestmirrorlesscamerareviews.com/ and note that there are many pros featured using OMDs.

In two months, my wife and I will be vacationing overseas again. My D5100 will be staying at home.

Wishing you the best,

Rick