Taking a look at the Olympus OM-D E-M5

camera and housing options

By Kelli Dickinson

The OM-D E-M5 camera from Olympus is the latest in its line of mirrorless, micro-four thirds cameras. This camera takes this line to the next step, bringing the mirrorless style camera one step closer to closing the gap between these and entry level dSLR cameras.

Olympus harkens back to the retro styled body similar to their original OM camera line with this new camera. Available in black or silver, the body design includes nice front grip. The new camera ties in many features found in larger dSLR cameras, like dual control dials for quick and easy setting changes. Most importantly, the new E-M5 includes an electronic viewfinder. This viewfinder is bright and crisp allowing for easy shooting in bright light, or for people who are used to shooting through a viewfinder. While set to the viewfinder, the LCD displays a nice, Super Control Panel for easy access to many important functions like flash settings, single or continuous shooting, ISO, focus control, white balance and more. For others upgrading from compact cameras, there is a live view option with the 3" LCD screen available at the touch of a button. The LCD screen is tiltable, which also come in handy when shooting on land in bright condition. In addition, the E-M5 body has extensive weather proofing, a feature that could come in handy in an unfortunate underwater leak situation.