Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera & housings

July 16th, 2012

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.

The E-M5 has a 16 megapixel sensor with Olympus' new 5 axis image stabilization that works on both still images and video. It shoots full HD 1080, 60i video. One huge imrpovement with the E-M5 is the increased strobe sync speed of 1/ 250, faster than other competitors like the GX1, or NEX-5n and 7 which have a sync speed of 1/160. The camera has a high continuous shooting rate of 9 frames per second, though we found when shooting a fast moving subject there can be some focus drop. The camera handles high ISO well and offers ISO sensitivity up to 25,600. The E-M5 offers extremely quick focus speed, and still performed well in low light situations similar to those found underwater.

Pair the camera with the ever growing line of micro four thirds lenses for a wide variety of shooting options. The E-M5 is available as a kit with either the classic 14-42mm lens or Olympus' new 12-50mm lens, both of which work well underwater. Panasonic's 8mm fisheye lens and the upcoming Olympus 60mm macro lens will be a winning combination for any underwater set up.

Read the full review here.

Housing Options:

There are two housings available for the new E-M5 from either Olympus or Nauticam. Both housings offer full functionality of the camera with easy port changes. Here's a few specs from both of these options.

Nauticam NA-EM5:

- Machined aluminum, nicely sized with a good grip, and well placed buttons.
- Includes Nauticam's class port release system, making port changes quick and easy.
- Zoom control is easy to turn with one finger, and works well with gloves, all buttons are tiered for ease of use underwater
- Aperture and shutter speed buttons are easy to turn and well placed for easy manipulation and quick setting changes
- Viewfinder control button allows switching between the LCD and EVF
- included moisture detection system
- LCD window is large, and allows easy viewing of the LCD, which is tilted for an optimal viewing angle.
- The EVF window has slight magnification making it easy to view the full viewfinder.
- Housing is designed for flash to be popped up, so there is no need to change the camera settings for UW mode (allowing for customization of the both of the Fn buttons
- Shutter is firm and easy to use - easy to get half shutter focus
- Video record is a lever, easy to activate while keeping hand on housing
- Includes HS mount and fiber optic ports ( S&S and inon style)
- A good range of ports is available for both Olympus and Panasonic's Micro 4/3rds lenses

Olympus PT-EP08:

- Polycarbonate housing, clear backplate allowing some view into the o-ring with a good front grip.
- Shutter lever is precise and easy to get half shutter focus
- All the buttons are tiered, making it easy to use underwater, even in gloves
- Zoom control is placed well and easy to use with two fingers
- One downside: The aperature and shutter speed dials are not easily reached, and require moving the hand off the housing and using two fingers to turn.
- Housing was designed to be more ergonomic, and to be used with the UW Mode activated so the flash will fire without being popped up. Unfortinately this also take up one of the customizeable Fn Buttons.
- The port system was completely redesign from previous housing allowing quick and easy port changes, with a loud secure click on the locking mechanism.
- Includes a hot shoe mount and 2 fiber optic ports