I want value, not salesmanship Is the Olympus OM-D E-M5 possibly the best value for my dollar?

If you want pics of birds in your backyard and are not trying to get shots of them flying away, the E-M5 is the perfect camera.

First, there is no other camaera that can match the stabilization of the E-M5. This means you can take all your pics handheld if you want...and that stabilization works with ANY lens. 

Second, if you are will to manually pre-focus, you can use virtually ANY lens on the planet. You will quickly find great telephoto lenses for under $100 that match the image quality of their auto-focus siblings that cost well over $1000.

Third, because of the sensor size in the E-M5, lenses have more reach. A 100mm lens becomes a 200mm and a 300mm becomes a 600mm lens.