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Conclusions
The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is a very well engineered camera. I liked it a lot, and would encourage buyers for this genre of camera to look at it carefully. See Alternatives further below.
While the E-M5 did not quite fit into my particular needs at first glance, it impressed me and I consider it in a very favorable light.
My initial “reactive” considerations in not keeping it initially were as follows:
- Does not fit as easily into a cycling jersey pocket; too big, too heavy for that. Fuji X100 is still much more applicable here.
- Sensor has more noise than is viable for me at ISO 800/1600 (shooting at dusk, handheld). Pulling up shadow detail and similar gets quite grainy, even at lower ISO values.
- At about $1800 with one lens (the 12mm f/2), it’s simply too much money for a camera I’d have to struggle to find regular use for. And I’d need the 45/1.8 and 70/1.8 lenses and a 60 macro too, making it a $4K system or so— does not make sense for my uses.
- While it has many positive qualities over a Leica M9 in terms of usability, the M9 has superior image quality at not that much of a difference in weight and bulk.
- I am holding out for a 36-megapixel Sony NEX-8, or whatever. I see this space evolving. Especially if ray angle issues were to improve for Leica M lenses on Sony NEX.
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Diglloyd Guide to Mirrorless offers comprehensive integrated coverage of most APS-C and full frame mirrorless cameras and lenses.
Special emphasis is placed on Sony full-frame, including Sony lenses and the high performance Zeiss Batis and Zeiss Loxia lenses plus Rokinon/Samyang and others. Fujifilm X, Olympus and Panasonic M4/3, Sigma dp Merrill and dp/sd Quattro are also covered in depth. Years in the making, it offers a wealth of material for choosing and using a mirrorless camera.
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