Need Advice. X-E1 or OMD EM5 as FIRST SERIOUS CAMERA to learn Photography?

Heh, I think that might have been due to the fact that on any given day there are about four new "OMD or NEX-7????" postings over on the NEX forum, and people have sort of tuned them out.

Really, the OMD vs. NEX-7 vs. either X camera debate is a tough one. All three have their pros and cons, of course. I wound up going with a NEX-7, but I very often wonder if I'd be happier with one of the other two.

The X-E1/Pro1 might be the best cameras to learn on, as they're the closest thing to "learning on an old film SLR" you can get these days. I think having a dedicated shutter speed dial is a pretty useful thing (while the EC dial is a bit less so). IQ is also fantastic, and they've got one of the best primes (the 35) and by far the best standard zoom in the mirrorless category. I think it's a slightly less flexible system, as the lens lineup is still quite spare, but that'll hopefully get better. They're all waay expensive though unless you get them in a kit. The big (very big for me) drawback is that it'll make learning PP a bit more of a challenge, as RAW processing support is still very shaky. Thankfully the JPEG engine is miles ahead of the other two, so that makes up for it to an extent.

The NEX-7, in my opinion, has the best manual controls of the three. I prefer having aperture control on the lens a la Fuji, but a more standard wheel for shutter speed, along with being able to assign ISO to a dedicated wheel, trump that for me. The NEX menu system is pretty awful, though. The NEX-7's RAW images are pretty lifeless straight out of the camera, but the leeway you get with them is fantastic. It's got the best dynamic range of any camera I've ever used, and while high ISO performance isn't up to the Fuji, there is little to no pattern noise and you can make up for a lot of the difference by downresing to 16MP. Of course the NEX lens lineup isn't the greatest either (though rapidly improving) and the sensor has plenty of issues with certain wide angle lenses. And of the three cameras mentioned here, it feels by far the least "like a camera," which is something I only don't mind because I have an X100 to comfort me in times of need :-D. Oh, and it has a non-standard hotshoe, which is obnoxious.

The OMD is maybe the most "growable" camera of the bunch, because of the extensive m4/3 lens lineup. It's also got a fantastic in-body stabilization system, which means that all of your lenses will be stabilized, and is (I think?) the only weather-sealed mirrorless body. It also looks great, at least in my opinion. The small sensor is a double-edged sword; you have to stop down less far to get a deep depth of field, but you're much more limited if you want a narrow one. And while IQ is generally not as good as the other two cameras listed, it's still pretty damned good and the best in the m4/3 family (well there's the E-PL5 now too.) Manual controls are also the worst of the three, but again, they're still better than most other mirrorless cameras.

I suggest doing what a couple of other people have said...go to a store and get your hands on these cameras. They each have their strengths, so ergonomics might end up making all the difference!