OM-1 vs OM-5 size comparison

gary0319 · Jan 3, 2023

Recently there has been quite a bit of discussion about the size of the OM-5 vs the OM-1 and if it would be better for those with large hands to either opt for the OM-1 or pick another brand camera. I became curious and, since I have both the OM-1 and the OM-5, I thought I would do a comparison of my two side by side. So, I took both front and back images, and this actually revealed some things I hadn't noticed.

First, I always felt the 5 series and 10 series Olympus/OM cameras benefited from a little additional grip and since I really don't like the add on grip for the OM-5, and there isn't one for the OM10 IV, I've gone to adding cheap Faux leather half cases that I get from e-bay for under $15, This does two things. It adds just enough purchase to make lenses like the 40-150 f/4 or the 12-40 f/2.8 a bit more comfortable and secondly the half cases have a metal plate in the bottom that gives me a bit of peace of mind with the history of the recent 5 III base failures. So that's the way I photographed them side by side and as you can see my OM-1 really isn't much bigger than the OM-5, when the half case is added.

Secondly from the rear view something really popped out at me and that was the difference in size of the LCD...what gives? So...i measured them both, and sure enough. though both are the advertised 3", the 3" of the OM-5 is the actual screen size where the OM-1 3'" includes the bezel. This makes the overall width of the LCD on the OM-1 smaller than the OM-5 (and the screen is smaller, too) and makes room for the larger 4-way controller and the joystick. You can see the realignment by comparing the space between the 2-way AEL button and the EVF. Also, the thumb grip is more pronounced on the OM-5 to make up for the smaller front grip.

From my use of both, there is a weight difference between the two, but the real difference is what lenses I put on the front. My OM-1 is primarily for venues like birds and rodeo where larger telephoto and the focusing and shooting speed of theOM-1 is paramount.

Hope this helps a little bit for those pondering the purchase of either.

OM-5 on left, OM-1 on right

Note the larger LCD of the OM-5 and also the more pronounced thumb grip.

Regor250 · Jan 3, 2023

Thank you for that, I myself had been wondering. The difference in all practicality is not all that significant, which makes me feel even better in my choice with the OM-1 to replace my (now recently dead) EM10mk1. I was hesitant because of the more significant size difference, the EM10mk1 being the smallest body of the entire series, but in practical terms it didn't make much of a difference. Still fits my very small carry bag, still comfortable to carry all day and I love that big EVF

--

Roger

Michael Meissner · Jan 3, 2023

I have both an OM-1 and E-m5 mark III (i.e. essentially OM-5 in size). I find that in practice, that I prefer a deeper hand grip on the E-m5 mark III for my 3 larger lenses (Panasonic 100-300mm mark II, Olympus 12-200mm, and classic 4/3rds 50-200mm mark I + MMF-3 adapter).

I first added the leather grip like you have, but it didn't help with the longer lenses.

I then went to a third party L-bracket grip to the E-m5 mark III and it helps somewhat (I typically remove that part that provides the L-bracket, just keeping the base and hand grip bump). I still don't like the 100-300mm or 50-200mm lenses even with the L-bracket grip, but the 12-200mm is more hand-holdable.

GutiWong · Jan 3, 2023

I had E-M5 iii and now I’m using OM1.
I think the actual daily use both camera is more or less the same despite sizes are different.
I could still put the OM1 to my PD 3L Sling bag; It could be more spacious for E-M5 iii.

The difference in depth doesn’t matter if the camera is with lens.
However, for the weight is a different story.

If you attach a 300F4, the difference of weight of both camera is not significant. But for lens, such as 1.8 series. The difference is huge!
It is 550g vs 740g.
Also, you will tend to attach F2.8 zoom to OM-1 while using F4 zoom to E-M5 iii. It also create big difference in weight.

OM-1 is another level to E-M5 iii/ OM-5 if you could bear the extra weight.

gary0319 · Jan 3, 2023

GutiWong said:
I had E-M5 iii and now I’m using OM1.
I think the actual daily use both camera is more or less the same despite sizes are different.
I could still put the OM1 to my PD 3L Sling bag; It could be more spacious for E-M5 iii.

The difference in depth doesn’t matter if the camera is with lens.
However, for the weight is a different story.

If you attach a 300F4, the difference of weight of both camera is not significant. But for lens, such as 1.8 series. The difference is huge!
It is 550g vs 740g.
Also, you will tend to attach F2.8 zoom to OM-1 while using F4 zoom to E-M5 iii. It also create big difference in weight.

OM-1 is another level to E-M5 iii/ OM-5 if you could bear the extra weight.

Agree with both you and Michael. The secret I to match the lenses that complement the body for a particular use case. OMDS has given use a pretty good roadmap, though. They (OMDS) have pretty much pointed the OM-1 towards wildlife and birding where my PL100-400 excels, or the 300f/4 Pro. OMDS promotes the OM-5 as a travel adventure cam and it works just fine for that, particularly with my 12-45 and 40-150 f/4 pair. However, IMO, too often folks get themselves tied up in knots trying to make these two different-by-design cameras work for use cases they are not ideally suited for.

There are teaspoons and soup spoons. Sure, you can eat soup with a teaspoon and stir your tea with a soup spoon, but those aren’t the ideal tools for the job.

Hexlord79 · Jan 3, 2023

gary0319 said:
Recently there has been quite a bit of discussion about the size of the OM-5 vs the OM-1 and if it would be better for those with large hands to either opt for the OM-1 or pick another brand camera. I became curious and, since I have both the OM-1 and the OM-5, I thought I would do a comparison of my two side by side. So, I took both front and back images, and this actually revealed some things I hadn't noticed.

First, I always felt the 5 series and 10 series Olympus/OM cameras benefited from a little additional grip and since I really don't like the add on grip for the OM-5, and there isn't one for the OM10 IV, I've gone to adding cheap Faux leather half cases that I get from e-bay for under $15, This does two things. It adds just enough purchase to make lenses like the 40-150 f/4 or the 12-40 f/2.8 a bit more comfortable and secondly the half cases have a metal plate in the bottom that gives me a bit of peace of mind with the history of the recent 5 III base failures. So that's the way I photographed them side by side and as you can see my OM-1 really isn't much bigger than the OM-5, when the half case is added.

Secondly from the rear view something really popped out at me and that was the difference in size of the LCD...what gives? So...i measured them both, and sure enough. though both are the advertised 3", the 3" of the OM-5 is the actual screen size where the OM-1 3'" includes the bezel. This makes the overall width of the LCD on the OM-1 smaller than the OM-5 (and the screen is smaller, too) and makes room for the larger 4-way controller and the joystick. You can see the realignment by comparing the space between the 2-way AEL button and the EVF. Also, the thumb grip is more pronounced on the OM-5 to make up for the smaller front grip.

From my use of both, there is a weight difference between the two, but the real difference is what lenses I put on the front. My OM-1 is primarily for venues like birds and rodeo where larger telephoto and the focusing and shooting speed of theOM-1 is paramount.

Hope this helps a little bit for those pondering the purchase of either.

OM-5 on left, OM-1 on right

Note the larger LCD of the OM-5 and also the more pronounced thumb grip.

This is pretty informative, thanks! Although I recently got a 2nd hand E-M1, so OM-1 will be a bit further in the future.

Also the OM-5 is sadly still overpriced in Malaysia, hope the price drop soon.

MNE · Jan 3, 2023

gary0319 said:
Recently there has been quite a bit of discussion about the size of the OM-5 vs the OM-1 and if it would be better for those with large hands to either opt for the OM-1 or pick another brand camera. I became curious and, since I have both the OM-1 and the OM-5, I thought I would do a comparison of my two side by side. So, I took both front and back images, and this actually revealed some things I hadn't noticed.

First, I always felt the 5 series and 10 series Olympus/OM cameras benefited from a little additional grip and since I really don't like the add on grip for the OM-5, and there isn't one for the OM10 IV, I've gone to adding cheap Faux leather half cases that I get from e-bay for under $15, This does two things. It adds just enough purchase to make lenses like the 40-150 f/4 or the 12-40 f/2.8 a bit more comfortable and secondly the half cases have a metal plate in the bottom that gives me a bit of peace of mind with the history of the recent 5 III base failures. So that's the way I photographed them side by side and as you can see my OM-1 really isn't much bigger than the OM-5, when the half case is added.

Secondly from the rear view something really popped out at me and that was the difference in size of the LCD...what gives? So...i measured them both, and sure enough. though both are the advertised 3", the 3" of the OM-5 is the actual screen size where the OM-1 3'" includes the bezel. This makes the overall width of the LCD on the OM-1 smaller than the OM-5 (and the screen is smaller, too) and makes room for the larger 4-way controller and the joystick. You can see the realignment by comparing the space between the 2-way AEL button and the EVF. Also, the thumb grip is more pronounced on the OM-5 to make up for the smaller front grip.

From my use of both, there is a weight difference between the two, but the real difference is what lenses I put on the front. My OM-1 is primarily for venues like birds and rodeo where larger telephoto and the focusing and shooting speed of theOM-1 is paramount.

Hope this helps a little bit for those pondering the purchase of either.

Note the larger LCD of the OM-5 and also the more pronounced thumb grip.

I think having the half-case on the OM-5 is slightly misleading

gary0319 · Jan 3, 2023

MNE said:
gary0319 said:

Recently there has been quite a bit of discussion about the size of the OM-5 vs the OM-1 and if it would be better for those with large hands to either opt for the OM-1 or pick another brand camera. I became curious and, since I have both the OM-1 and the OM-5, I thought I would do a comparison of my two side by side. So, I took both front and back images, and this actually revealed some things I hadn't noticed.

First, I always felt the 5 series and 10 series Olympus/OM cameras benefited from a little additional grip and since I really don't like the add on grip for the OM-5, and there isn't one for the OM10 IV, I've gone to adding cheap Faux leather half cases that I get from e-bay for under $15, This does two things. It adds just enough purchase to make lenses like the 40-150 f/4 or the 12-40 f/2.8 a bit more comfortable and secondly the half cases have a metal plate in the bottom that gives me a bit of peace of mind with the history of the recent 5 III base failures. So that's the way I photographed them side by side and as you can see my OM-1 really isn't much bigger than the OM-5, when the half case is added.

Secondly from the rear view something really popped out at me and that was the difference in size of the LCD...what gives? So...i measured them both, and sure enough. though both are the advertised 3", the 3" of the OM-5 is the actual screen size where the OM-1 3'" includes the bezel. This makes the overall width of the LCD on the OM-1 smaller than the OM-5 (and the screen is smaller, too) and makes room for the larger 4-way controller and the joystick. You can see the realignment by comparing the space between the 2-way AEL button and the EVF. Also, the thumb grip is more pronounced on the OM-5 to make up for the smaller front grip.

From my use of both, there is a weight difference between the two, but the real difference is what lenses I put on the front. My OM-1 is primarily for venues like birds and rodeo where larger telephoto and the focusing and shooting speed of theOM-1 is paramount.

Hope this helps a little bit for those pondering the purchase of either.

Note the larger LCD of the OM-5 and also the more pronounced thumb grip.

Click to expand...

I think having the half-case on the OM-5 is slightly misleading

Yes, the size of the OM-5 is smaller, but as I noted, for my purposes the “naked” OM-5 is not as pleasant to use as with the half case. No desception was intended. YMMV.

ParietalPenguin · Jan 3, 2023

I find these discussions rather biased. We all handle small things everyday, regardless of the size of our hands. Cell phones, pens, and as we age, a hand full of pills. Could something be too big for our hands? Well, yes. I wouldn't hand my OM5 to a 3 year old. But as far as being too small, I think it's more a choice of what you WANT to work with. It seems too small because you have determined that "bigger" is better, but if you took the time to use it, I think you would find it fits your hands as you gain familiarity. YMMV. Admittedly, I have largish female hands but most males would have larger digits.

gary0319 · Jan 3, 2023

ParietalPenguin said:
I find these discussions rather biased. We all handle small things everyday, regardless of the size of our hands. Cell phones, pens, and as we age, a hand full of pills. Could something be too big for our hands? Well, yes. I wouldn't hand my OM5 to a 3 year old. But as far as being too small, I think it's more a choice of what you WANT to work with. It seems too small because you have determined that "bigger" is better, but if you took the time to use it, I think you would find it fits your hands as you gain familiarity. YMMV. Admittedly, I have largish female hands but most males would have larger digits.

Well, I’m actually in the “smaller is better” camp, but sometimes a smaller body is less comfortable particularly when using a larger lens. So, for me it’s about the feeling and control when using a larger lens like the 12-100 f/4 on a smaller body, not about navigating the controls on a smaller body, hence my addition of the half case for a bit of added purchase.

AussiePhil · Jan 4, 2023

ParietalPenguin said:
I find these discussions rather biased. We all handle small things everyday, regardless of the size of our hands. Cell phones, pens, and as we age, a hand full of pills.

even some pens can be too small for some and yeah we do handle them at times in this age of keyboards

ParietalPenguin said:
Could something be too big for our hands? Well, yes. I wouldn't hand my OM5 to a 3 year old. But as far as being too small, I think it's more a choice of what you WANT to work with.

Yes but when the item you want to work with is a set size then it can be too small

ParietalPenguin said:
It seems too small because you have determined that "bigger" is better, but if you took the time to use it, I think you would find it fits your hands as you gain familiarity.

Not at all, the OM5 is a lovely camera but it’s ergonomically too small for my hands, I’m adapting by using a wrist strap for general carry and trying to train the hand to not mash buttons.

ParietalPenguin said:
YMMV. Admittedly, I have largish female hands but most males would have larger digits.

I find that these discussions that ignore the ergonomics are just a waste

GutiWong · Jan 4, 2023

gary0319 said:
GutiWong said:

I had E-M5 iii and now I’m using OM1.
I think the actual daily use both camera is more or less the same despite sizes are different.
I could still put the OM1 to my PD 3L Sling bag; It could be more spacious for E-M5 iii.

The difference in depth doesn’t matter if the camera is with lens.
However, for the weight is a different story.

If you attach a 300F4, the difference of weight of both camera is not significant. But for lens, such as 1.8 series. The difference is huge!
It is 550g vs 740g.
Also, you will tend to attach F2.8 zoom to OM-1 while using F4 zoom to E-M5 iii. It also create big difference in weight.

OM-1 is another level to E-M5 iii/ OM-5 if you could bear the extra weight.

Click to expand...

Agree with both you and Michael. The secret I to match the lenses that complement the body for a particular use case. OMDS has given use a pretty good roadmap, though. They (OMDS) have pretty much pointed the OM-1 towards wildlife and birding where my PL100-400 excels, or the 300f/4 Pro. OMDS promotes the OM-5 as a travel adventure cam and it works just fine for that, particularly with my 12-45 and 40-150 f/4 pair. However, IMO, too often folks get themselves tied up in knots trying to make these two different-by-design cameras work for use cases they are not ideally suited for.

There are teaspoons and soup spoons. Sure, you can eat soup with a teaspoon and stir your tea with a soup spoon, but those aren’t the ideal tools for the job.

I agree with you totally.

OM-1 & OM-5 are targeting different purposes.

If you are towards wildlife or birding, it doesn't make sense not to buy OM-1 but OM-5 because of size and weight.

OM-5 is one of the best travel camera when pairing with F4 Pro lens. It's very much underrated!

unhappymeal · Jan 4, 2023

I've always found the E-M5/OM-5 to be a bit of an odd duck. It's only really appreciably smaller due to the grip and EVF size. The true size savings were always in the GX/PEN line compared to the E-M1/G95 bodies.

I am still depressed that we haven't seen a serious rangefinder-style successor in m4/3 and the last competitor that released one was the X-E4 or A7C. I guess the industry has decided you can only get the latest and greatest in a DSLR-style, roughly A7-sized and ~600-700g or stop buying cameras.

gary0319 · Jan 4, 2023

unhappymeal said:
I've always found the E-M5/OM-5 to be a bit of an odd duck. It's only really appreciably smaller due to the grip and EVF size. The true size savings were always in the GX/PEN line compared to the E-M1/G95 bodies.

I am still depressed that we haven't seen a serious rangefinder-style successor in m4/3 and the last competitor that released one was the X-E4 or A7C. I guess the industry has decided you can only get the latest and greatest in a DSLR-style, roughly A7-sized and ~600-700g or stop buying cameras.

It would be nice to have a new rangefinder-style camera in m43, but I don't think that is in the offing. First, I suspect the rangefinder market niche is pretty slim. Then...the Sony model is FF and retails for $2k, and the Fuji ASPC retails for about $1K with the lens. Just what do you suppose the price of an m43 sensor-based rangefinder would have to be for it to be commercially competitive. If the historical acceptance of either the Panny GM series or the Pen F is any indication, the price would have to be so low that it would be a losing venture for OMDS.

john isaacs · Jan 4, 2023

The OM-5 is the same as the E-M5 mark III. It is significantly smaller than the OM-1. It is smaller than I like (I have large hands) but with an RRS custom base plate, it is much better handling.

Comparing the size of these two cameras with one camera in a leather half case does not show the actual size difference; but the need to put the OM-5 in a half case demonstrates how small the camera actually is.

The thumb grip on the OM-5 is the same as that on the E-M5 mark III. It is more pronounced to improve the grip on the cameras, since the front grip is very shallow.

The LCD of the OM-5 is the same as the E-M5 mark III. While the physical LCD is larger, the viewing area is the same size. This is a characteristic of the improved LCD on the OM-1.

I don't usually use my E-M5 mark III with large lenses. I prefer the E-M5 mark III with the small f/1.8 primes and compact zoom lenses. In fact, since most of my Olympus small primes are silver, I prefer the look of them on the E-M5 mark III (which is also silver) as opposed to the all black OM-1 (and E-M1 models). I always thought a silver lens on a black camera looked like a pimple.

unhappymeal · Jan 4, 2023

john isaacs said:
The OM-5 is the same as the E-M5 mark III. It is significantly smaller than the OM-1. It is smaller than I like (I have large hands) but with an RRS custom base plate, it is much better handling.

Comparing the size of these two cameras with one camera in a leather half case does not show the actual size difference; but the need to put the OM-5 in a half case demonstrates how small the camera actually is.

The thumb grip on the OM-5 is the same as that on the E-M5 mark III. It is more pronounced to improve the grip on the cameras, since the front grip is very shallow.

The LCD of the OM-5 is the same as the E-M5 mark III. While the physical LCD is larger, the viewing area is the same size. This is a characteristic of the improved LCD on the OM-1.

I don't usually use my E-M5 mark III with large lenses. I prefer the E-M5 mark III with the small f/1.8 primes and compact zoom lenses. In fact, since most of my Olympus small primes are silver, I prefer the look of them on the E-M5 mark III (which is also silver) as opposed to the all black OM-1 (and E-M1 models). I always thought a silver lens on a black camera looked like a pimple.

I wouldn't say significantly smaller. To be honest, it's an E-M1 with the grip cut off and slightly shorter due to the smaller EVF.

TomFid · Jan 4, 2023

Your comparison is a little misleading. The OM5 half case adds about 6mm to its dimensions, which is pretty significant visually here. Also, there's no top or side view, which means you can't judge thickness of the bodies, yet that is where they vary most.

Here I've tipped the scales in the other direction, with an EM1ii sitting a little higher due to an Arca plate on the lens:

The EM5ii looks pretty tiny next to that behemoth, no?

For me, the big difference is really the weight. The EM1ii is over 100g heavier than the EM5ii, and the OM1/OM5 gap is even bigger. I find the difference very noticeable when the camera is on my pack strap (via PD Capture clip) for a long hike.

Certainly if you don't like the small grip of the 5 series, and feel compelled to add a grip or case, that erodes the advantage of the small body. But that's really just a way of saying that you value ergonomics above size/weight.

tedolf · Jan 4, 2023

ParietalPenguin said:
ParietalPenguin wrote:I find these discussions rather biased. We all handle small things everyday, regardless of the size of our hands. Cell phones

I hate my cell phone for exactly this reason. The ergonomics are maddening. I hate taking photo's with it.

ParietalPenguin said:
pens, and as we age, a hand full of pills. Could something be too big for our hands? Well, yes. I wouldn't hand my OM5 to a 3 year old. But as far as being too small, I think it's more a choice of what you WANT to work with. It seems too small because you have determined that "bigger" is better, but if you took the time to use it, I think you would find it fits your hands as you gain familiarity. YMMV. Admittedly, I have largish female hands but most males would have larger digits.

Small things can be made with good controls. Look at a Leica CL (the film version). All controls can be operated with gloves on at eye level.

Tedolph

tedolf · Jan 4, 2023

gary0319 said:
unhappymeal said:

I've always found the E-M5/OM-5 to be a bit of an odd duck. It's only really appreciably smaller due to the grip and EVF size. The true size savings were always in the GX/PEN line compared to the E-M1/G95 bodies.

I am still depressed that we haven't seen a serious rangefinder-style successor in m4/3 and the last competitor that released one was the X-E4 or A7C. I guess the industry has decided you can only get the latest and greatest in a DSLR-style, roughly A7-sized and ~600-700g or stop buying cameras.

Click to expand...

It would be nice to have a new rangefinder-style camera in m43, but I don't think that is in the offing. First, I suspect the rangefinder market niche is pretty slim. Then...the Sony model is FF and retails for $2k, and the Fuji ASPC retails for about $1K with the lens. Just what do you suppose the price of an m43 sensor-based rangefinder would have to be for it to be commercially competitive.

$600.00 USD body only.

It could be done with the 16mp sensor.

gary0319 said:
If the historical acceptance of either the Panny GM series or the Pen F is any indication, the price would have to be so low that it would be a losing venture for OMDS.

Tedolph

gary0319 · Jan 4, 2023

tedolf said:
gary0319 said:

unhappymeal said:

I've always found the E-M5/OM-5 to be a bit of an odd duck. It's only really appreciably smaller due to the grip and EVF size. The true size savings were always in the GX/PEN line compared to the E-M1/G95 bodies.

I am still depressed that we haven't seen a serious rangefinder-style successor in m4/3 and the last competitor that released one was the X-E4 or A7C. I guess the industry has decided you can only get the latest and greatest in a DSLR-style, roughly A7-sized and ~600-700g or stop buying cameras.

Click to expand...

It would be nice to have a new rangefinder-style camera in m43, but I don't think that is in the offing. First, I suspect the rangefinder market niche is pretty slim. Then...the Sony model is FF and retails for $2k, and the Fuji ASPC retails for about $1K with the lens. Just what do you suppose the price of an m43 sensor-based rangefinder would have to be for it to be commercially competitive.

Click to expand...

$600.00 USD body only.

It could be done with the 16mp sensor.

tedolf said:

If the historical acceptance of either the Panny GM series or the Pen F is any indication, the price would have to be so low that it would be a losing venture for OMDS.

Click to expand...

Tedolph

I suspect with the small niche market that would consider it, that at $600 there is not enough profit margin to make it viable for the R&D investment

OM-1 vs OM-5 size comparison

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