OMD-EM-5 vs Pentax K-5, I'm at the crossroads...

Harold66 wrote:

Hello John

I happen to own both the OMD and the K5 ( I am preparing my review of the E5 as we speak) so I think I can shed some light on your dilemma :

First of all , each of these systems has some pros and cons so it depends what is important to you :

1/SIZE & WEIGHT .Sizewise , the OMD is going to be a little smaller and significantly lighter if you compare each camera with the kitzoom . to be fair , one should include the OMD battery grip as the ergonomics of the OMD are MUCH weaker for a male with normal hands without the grip ( with just the first half of the grip but you cannot buy only half of it)

if you plan to carry a small bag , the weight is in favor of the oly but both cameras are very light

so even a price comparison between both cameras should include the $300 battery grip

That being said , I think the size difference plays less of a role IF this is going to be your MAIN system. as a back up to an existing DSLR , then of course the OMD makes more sense

2/ VIEWING EXPERIENCE.Depending on your experience , you may want to handle to check the view through the pentax OVF . the EVF of the em5 is quite good but as of now an EVF does not even come close to the comfort of an OVF

3/ For me one of the deciding factor is how many and what kind of lenses do you intend to get ? if you are fine with just the kit zoom , both of them are good but not excellent performers. but if you want to get better lenses than the kit zoom ( and there are a LOT OF THEM which are better than the kit for both cameras) that should be a major criteria in your decision.

if you intend to get more than the kit lens , do not forget that the weather sealing argument on the olympus is not that good since they only have ONE weather sealed lens ( and IMO not the one they should have) while Pentax has several choices

4/ Image quality.

this one is not a close call . the 16 MP sony sensor is MUCH better than the Panasonic one , especially over 800 ISO. No , really it is not EVEN CLOSE

of course , if you shot mostly underneath 800 ISO and shoot mostly for web posting , that probably does not matter much

5/ Build quality

Despite the fact that the Oly seems to have a pretty good built , the K5 is a much more sturdy machine . there is also no life expectancy for the OMD shutter so this one is everyone 's guess at this poin. the finish of pentax lenses , especially on the LIMITED series is another class altogether compared to the M zuiko lenses

6/ ASPECT RATIO. I know this usually does not get much cover in reviews but for me this criteria is one of the Three most important criteria when choosing a camera . the pentax K5 is a 3;2 only kind of camera while the OMD has a 4;3 native ratio ( with the possibility to use a cropped 3;2 ratio)

but cropping the already smaller Panasonic sensor is going to increase the difference in IQ.

I have been a photographer for 25 years and , having grown with medium format cameras , i have never get used to the oblong 35mm ratio , especially for verticals ( I shoot maybe 80% verticals)

if you like the 3;2 ratio better , that would give the Pentax K5 another advanatge

there are also several other points of lesser importance such as

LCD : the OMD swivels a bit which is practical for images made at waist level ( horizontals ONLY) but is not as good as the Pentax LCD

autonomy : the K5 has a much better autonomy than the Pentax ( you need 3 oly batteries to match the one from the K5)

RAW : pentax k5 has the adone DNG option as a raw in addition to the proprietary RAW which is way more convenient

IBIS: the stabilization of the Olympus is better than the one of the K5 ( we will have to wait a bit to see how many stops difference in prcatical use)

DUST REMOVAL : on this pont , while the K5 improves over its predecessors , there is no doubt that the OMD still has the advantage

well , there are lots of more things but maybe you have already made up your mind . if not , hopefully , you will find the above helpful

Let me know if you have other questions

Harold

--
http://www.harold-glit.com
http://www.modelmayhem.com/haroldglit