emossg wrote:
I checked both of these cameras specs from Olympus site, and E-M5 seems to be better or equal in every other way than EVF. E-M10 Mark II has sharper EVF with larger magnification. Well, E-M10 has newer software, but it didn't seem to give much advantage.
They both are quite similar in size. Small form factor is really important for me. E-M5 is slightly wider and taller, but much thinner than E-M10 Mark II. E-M10 Mark II looks much better, but that isn't really an important factor.
From price point, you can't really compare these. Used E-M5 is dirty cheap as E-M10 Mark II is new and cannot be found used yet. E-M10 Mark II costs twice as much.
Are there some features I might have missed just by looking specs? Usability for example. Button placement, feeling of buttons, size of the body, noise, etc.
I currently have E-PM2 and I want camera that is still small, but has more control on buttons rather than menu. I use camera mostly when traveling, but I do shoot landscapes, domestic animals and macro. I would like to get more into macro photography.
I shoot a a lot inside in low light, so image-stabilization is quite important for me.
Assuming you're talking about the original E-M5, the Olympus range has evolved quite a lot (sometimes beneath the surface) since then. The E-M10 II is the latest OM-D model, whilst the E-M5 was the first; the E-M5 effectively became the mid-range model of three (top being the later E-M1, bottom the yet-later original E-M10); the E-M10 II sits just above the original E-M10 in the range. The E-M5 was of course superceded by the E-M5 II, which moved some way upmarket. Olympus always adds features to its latest model, even if it occupies a lower point in the range, so the E-M10 II represents the fourth set of evolutions since the E-M5.
So, the obvious differences between the specific models you mention, the E-M5 and E-M10 II, are that the earlier E-M5 is weatherproof and is compatible with the two-part power grip (you can opt to only use the grip portion, or add the compartment with extra battery space and controls for portrait orientation). The E-M10 II will only take a grip which extends the size of the camera and grip, but has no power or controls.
Speaking of power, the E-M10 and E-M10 II use the same battery as your E-PM2; the E-M5 uses a different battery and charger (shared with the E-M5 II and E-M1).
Both E-M10 models ARE noticeably smaller and lighter in the hand than the E-M5 models, even if it isn't obvious in specs and photos. The E-M5 is not "much thinner" than the E-M10 II; it's just that the thumb grip on the back has got deeper with each generation; that has made it feel more secure, though the E-M10 II is the only one to have it made of hard (albeit leatherette pattern-moulded) polycarbonate, which I find a bit slippy, whereas all the others have it made of a flexible, rubberised material (though the original E-M5 only has a slight texture to it).
Regarding feel, the E-M5 was often criticised for its button feel - the weatherproofing makes most of them "spongy" with no obvious click in their travel. This is not the case on the E-M10 II.
Many people (myself included) find the main dials of the Mark II models (which are taller, lighter-clicked and slightly altered in lateral position relative to each other) a big improvement. Some will prefer the older layout, nevertheless.
The E-M10 II has a much higher resolution LCD monitor, versus the OLED of the E-M5.
I do find the image processor of the E-M10 II better than that of the E-M5 (they are a different generation and the newer one corrects more types of chromatic aberration and is faster; I think it gets slightly tweaked with each new model).
The E-M10 II has a built in flash which is lacking on the E-M5; the latter comes with the FL-LM2, which is very like the FL-LM1 of your E-PM2 but slightly larger and more powerful, weatherproof and black. The E-M10 II however is compatible with the FL-LM3 of the E-M5 Mark II which is a very excellent little flash with a tilt and swivel head, powered by the camera - the FL-LM3 can be bought separately for a reasonable price. This little flash is NOT compatible with earlier models.
The E-M10 II has a lot of new features through being more recent; here are those I can remember(!):
It has the wonderful Live Composite feature (recommend you read up about it to see if it is useful to you).
It has the focus bracketing feature which is great fun and very useful for macros.
It has 0-second Anti Shock (electronic first curtain shutter - EFCS) operation as an option - this is absent from the E-M5. You might have occasionally seen shutter shock on the E-PM2 - unexpected unsharp results in the 1/100 to 1/160 range typically, sometimes with a slight double-image of small, contrasty edges). EFCS eradicates this. The E-M5 is sometimes (but not often) affected by shutter shock but has no EFCS option. It does however have a slightly softer-sounding shutter.
The E-M10 II also has the option of silent shooting (fully electronic shutter) which can be very useful in certain situations (this increases the top shutter speed available to 1/16,000). It has certain limitations - not usable with flash (except in focus bracketing), can show horizontal banding at certain shutter speeds under certain types of lighting, can skew very fast moving subjects.
The E-M10 II's EVF is higher resolution but is OLED, which can be too contrasty for some and can draw attention to slight variations in its brightness. It has the option of automatic brightness adjustment (absent on the E-M5) and S-OVF mode which makes it much less contrasty (again, no such option on the E-M5, though arguably it doesn't need it). I do find the E-M10 II's EVF optics feel slightly more "tunnel like" for some reason, though it's still a good unit. The eyecup is less prone to coming off accidentally than on the E-M5.
The E-M10 II's proximity detector for the EVF seems a tad over-sensitive (a sin shared with the E-M5 II but none of the others). However, it is helpfully disabled with the screen tilted - not so on the original E-M5, so you could get the screen blanking as you touched it with that one.
You can assign MySets to unused positions on the mode dial on the E-M10 II if you wish. You cannot on the E-M5.
There are more Art Filters on the latest models, and you can do in-camera HDR shooting too with auto-alignment on the newer OM-D models like the E-M10 II; similarly, it offers keystone correction.
You can get the E-M10 II to remember your last-used position in the menu if required (no such feature on the E-M5).
You can use your thumb to move the AF point whilst looking through the EVF on the E-M10 II if required. Not possible on any other OM-D.
The original E-M5 had a rather odd EVF behaviour - it is nigh-on impossible to get playback images (particularly instant review) into the EVF - this is not the case on subsequent models.
Video features (which I don't use much myself) have developed a lot between the two models too.
I am bound to have missed something, but hopefully you see that there are a LOT of usability improvements on the later OM-D models. A lot came in with the E-M1 and E-M10 (and the E-M1 has had loads of big firmware updates too; the E-M5 only had one major update) with a whole swathe of other useful evolutions on the E-M5 II and E-M10 II.
