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The OM-5ii is pretty nice, but...

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MJ_Photo38

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... but I can't stop feeling underwhelmed about this camera.

The camera itself is pretty nice, it's pretty much the same as the OM-5 which was already pretty damn good. Most of the problems of the OM-5 were fixed (lack of USB-C, old menu systems,...) but the biggest dealbreaker for me was always the snapping bottom plate when using the camera with larger lenses and a peakdesign-esque capture clip thing.

As I'm using my MFT cameras pretty much only for travel and hiking, this was very underwhelming to see that the OM-5ii is going to be yet another pass for me.



c3592d6d6ceb48c79a76600e26ece81d.jpg.png

I feel like if I want to spend a large amount of money to get a modern MFT camera, I'd spend the premium for the OM-3. Right now though, I'm fine staying with my old E-M5II when it comes to this kind of form factor.

--
(G.A.S. and collectionnite will get my skin one day)
 
The "snapping bottom plate" is a youtuber/influencer made-up problem. I had my OM-5 countless times on a tripod and never had any issues. Of course I'm not a hip youtuber hiking through the scottish highlands while my OM-5 is dangling from my backpack strap via some 3rd party clip. I tend to either stow away my camera or have it on a strap. But that's just me. 🤷

I also never met anyone (offline or online) who had their bottom plate snap.
 
But it has USB C and a new menu and a new grip!

And a new color!!!!!!!

I would totally buy it for $500.
 
HicHic said:
But it has USB C and a new menu and a new grip!

And a new color!!!!!!!

I would totally buy it for $500.
Click to expand...
I think a fair price would be around $750 but camera prices are crazy so I stopped complaining. At least OM's prices aren't Fuji levels of delusional :)
 
jlsturbo said:
The "snapping bottom plate" is a youtuber/influencer made-up problem.
Click to expand...
Yeah, right...



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from reddit
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jlsturbo said:
I had my OM-5 countless times on a tripod and never had any issues.
Click to expand...
That's because tripods are not the issue.
jlsturbo said:
Of course I'm not a hip youtuber hiking through the scottish highlands while my OM-5 is dangling from my backpack strap via some 3rd party clip.
Click to expand...
Then that's all good, you're not part of the demographic affected by the issue.
jlsturbo said:
I tend to either stow away my camera or have it on a strap. But that's just me. 🤷

I also never met anyone (offline or online) who had their bottom plate snap.
Click to expand...
Well I've seen a few (as you can see above)

--
(G.A.S. and collectionnite will get my skin one day)
 
MJ_Photo38 said:
jlsturbo said:
The "snapping bottom plate" is a youtuber/influencer made-up problem.
Click to expand...
Yeah, right...

from DPR forums
from DPR forums

from DPR forums
from DPR forums

e7fd343339824c4f9331939981f12477.jpg.png

from reddit
from reddit
MJ_Photo38 said:
I had my OM-5 countless times on a tripod and never had any issues.
Click to expand...
That's because tripods are not the issue.
MJ_Photo38 said:
Of course I'm not a hip youtuber hiking through the scottish highlands while my OM-5 is dangling from my backpack strap via some 3rd party clip.
Click to expand...
Then that's all good, you're not part of the demographic affected by the issue.
MJ_Photo38 said:
I tend to either stow away my camera or have it on a strap. But that's just me. 🤷

I also never met anyone (offline or online) who had their bottom plate snap.
Click to expand...
Well I've seen a few (as you can see above)
Click to expand...
Must be faked with AI or photoshopped. If not, then it's 100% user abuse, misuse, neglect. OM System does not produce bad products!!!!!!!!
 
HicHic said:
But it has USB C and a new menu and a new grip!

And a new color!!!!!!!

I would totally buy it for $500.
Click to expand...
The new grip and new color is pretty anecdotal to me. New menus and USB-C though, I'm very happy to see (especially the menus).

But yeah, for $1200 I think I'll pass. Would have been perfect as a $999 release imho. Solid camera for that kind of price, competing extremely well with equivalents from Nikon and Canon (neither of their competing models have IBIS).

At $1200, well it's in striking distance of the $1400 Sony A6700, $1300 Fuji X-S20... and $1000 used OM-1 😬

Which all have better sensors, better autofocus, better video, ... the list is long.
 
jlsturbo said:
HicHic said:
But it has USB C and a new menu and a new grip!

And a new color!!!!!!!

I would totally buy it for $500.
Click to expand...
I think a fair price would be around $750 but camera prices are crazy so I stopped complaining. At least OM's prices aren't Fuji levels of delusional :)
Click to expand...
I would do $750 if they didn't have the plastic fragile bottom plate and didn't remove the subject detection AF features.

I can see it already. OM-5iii will be launched in 2028 with an all new color, they'll call it tree-green. Subject detection modes no longer excluded. And no longer limiting the mechanical shutter. It'll go back to 10FPS like the E-M5ii from 2015.

On a serious note, it's absolutely insane that OM System is cr1ppling their cameras, given M43's sentiment and market share. I guess it makes it easier to always be able to "release a next model with slight improvements". Says a lot about how much R&D they're willing to spend on, or even capable of.
 
HicHic said:
jlsturbo said:
HicHic said:
But it has USB C and a new menu and a new grip!

And a new color!!!!!!!

I would totally buy it for $500.
Click to expand...
I think a fair price would be around $750 but camera prices are crazy so I stopped complaining. At least OM's prices aren't Fuji levels of delusional :)
Click to expand...
I would do $750 if they didn't have the plastic fragile bottom plate and didn't remove the subject detection AF features.

I can see it already. OM-5iii will be launched in 2028 with an all new color, they'll call it tree-green. Subject detection modes no longer excluded. And no longer limiting the mechanical shutter. It'll go back to 10FPS like the E-M5ii from 2015.

On a serious note, it's absolutely insane that OM System is cr1ppling their cameras, given M43's sentiment and market share. I guess it makes it easier to always be able to "release a next model with slight improvements". Says a lot about how much R&D they're willing to spend on, or even capable of.
Click to expand...
I mean apart from some molds used for new body parts (larger grip for the OM-5ii, OM-3, OM-1ii without the Olympus logo on the front,...), everything that those cameras have is coming straight from Olympus R&D :

- the new menu system, processor and stacked sensor of the OM-1 is mostly Olympus era development. The OM-1ii is just a RAM upgrade with a new firmware.

- the 20MP chip in the OM-5ii has been introduced in 2016

- the 2.36M dot OLED EVF unsed in the OM-3 and 5 lines was introduced on the E-M5iii in 2019

- the OM-5 and OM-5ii's processor was introduced with the E-M1X and E-M1iii in 2019/20

- no new battery type has been introduced since the OM-1, which as previously stated was mostly done under Olympus.

I'll have confidence in OMDS' capabilities in developping cameras when they'll release a new sensor or new processor architechture. For now though, this is just overall nice hardware that isn't too outdated yet being rehoused in different forms.
 
Kasuobes said:
https://www.mpb.com/en-us/product/om-system-om-5

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?sts=ma&InitialSearch=yes&searchType=USED&q=om5

New product launches rarely excite me anymore. What does excite me is how much cheaper I can pick up used or older gear, the OM-5.1 in particular is pretty much identical to the OM-5.2 in performance.

I see no reason to perpetually chase after new and shiny gear when older gear are still capable of delivering.
Click to expand...
Granted. That's why I'm holding onto my E-M5II and am looking at picking an E-M1II instead of newer models.

I was simply really hoping to finally see a fix for that bottom plate issue, as I use the carrying clips quite a lot with my E-M5.

Lightweight, good performance, weather sealed, ergos I want in such a camera... in theory the E-M5III / OM-5 are the perfect camera for my needs, if it wasn't for that bottom plate ! The Lack of USB-C and older meny system on the OM-5 was definitely an annoyance, but I made do with the E-M5II so it's not a deal breaker.

Without that bottom plate fix, there is effectively no upgrade path for my E-M5II, unless I go for something bigger (hence the E-M1ii prospects)
 
The tone of the review is really fair. It’s basically the 3rd iteration of the same thing but it’s still a good value for some people.

the entry class cameras it’s up against has better modern subject detection which is really a glaring difference. Does the computational stuff make up for it? I don’t know, maybe.
 
MJ_Photo38 said:
jlsturbo said:
The "snapping bottom plate" is a youtuber/influencer made-up problem.
Click to expand...
Yeah, right...

from DPR forums
from DPR forums

from DPR forums
from DPR forums

e7fd343339824c4f9331939981f12477.jpg.png

from reddit
from reddit
MJ_Photo38 said:
I had my OM-5 countless times on a tripod and never had any issues.
Click to expand...
That's because tripods are not the issue.
MJ_Photo38 said:
Of course I'm not a hip youtuber hiking through the scottish highlands while my OM-5 is dangling from my backpack strap via some 3rd party clip.
Click to expand...
Then that's all good, you're not part of the demographic affected by the issue.
MJ_Photo38 said:
I tend to either stow away my camera or have it on a strap. But that's just me. 🤷

I also never met anyone (offline or online) who had their bottom plate snap.
Click to expand...
Well I've seen a few (as you can see above)
Click to expand...
I had the baseplate break on an EM5iii, but the OM-5 has been okay after 18 months (more carful) use. So maybe they did change the design slightly?

With the new grip design on the OM-5ii, it looks like the baseplate is also different? The ribbed area has been extended because the cutout for the rubber cover on the electronic contacts seems have disappeared. I’ve not seen an image of the full baseplate, but if there is no longer a cutout for the contacts then that would be a significant improvement.
 
MJ_Photo38 said:
... but I can't stop feeling underwhelmed about this camera.

The camera itself is pretty nice, it's pretty much the same as the OM-5 which was already pretty damn good. Most of the problems of the OM-5 were fixed (lack of USB-C, old menu systems,...) but the biggest dealbreaker for me was always the snapping bottom plate when using the camera with larger lenses and a peakdesign-esque capture clip thing.

As I'm using my MFT cameras pretty much only for travel and hiking, this was very underwhelming to see that the OM-5ii is going to be yet another pass for me.

c3592d6d6ceb48c79a76600e26ece81d.jpg.png

I feel like if I want to spend a large amount of money to get a modern MFT camera, I'd spend the premium for the OM-3. Right now though, I'm fine staying with my old E-M5II when it comes to this kind of form factor.
Click to expand...
What is the source of this image?
 
I guess my cup is a lot fuller than yours.
MJ_Photo38 said:
I mean apart from some molds used for new body parts (larger grip for the OM-5ii, OM-3, OM-1ii without the Olympus logo on the front,...), everything that those cameras have is coming straight from Olympus R&D :
Click to expand...
You mean apart from all the stuff they've done? All the things you list take time and money - these days, the biggest cost is usually manpower.
MJ_Photo38 said:
- the new menu system, processor and stacked sensor of the OM-1 is mostly Olympus era development. The OM-1ii is just a RAM upgrade with a new firmware.
Click to expand...
So what? Olympus had good tech and the lead time for development in the camera world is quite extensive. Even with the largest camera company on earth (I mean Apple here - they may not actually make the most cameras but they must be up there...), we get a sense from leaks / rumours of what is coming in 2-3 years time. .
MJ_Photo38 said:
- the 20MP chip in the OM-5ii has been introduced in 2016
Click to expand...
And? This is the end (perhaps not "the") entry level camera and OMS only has one more recent sensor - why would you expect that to be in an entry level camera?

In any case, If you suffer from sensor angst, I would have thought the obvious thing to do is move to a 60+MP sensor system - I don't see M43 making you happy in the foreseeable future. Me, I'm not limited by the sensor, I'm limited by my own abilities.
MJ_Photo38 said:
- the 2.36M dot OLED EVF unsed in the OM-3 and 5 lines was introduced on the E-M5iii in 2019

- the OM-5 and OM-5ii's processor was introduced with the E-M1X and E-M1iii in 2019/20
Click to expand...
IIRC the EM1X had 2x TruePic VIII not IX. Again, the entry level OM5 is only 1 generation back from the latest processor.

In any case, the processor doesn't actually matter that much - it's what you want to do with it and what you need from it to do what you want to do. Only 1 generation back for the entry-level OM-5; I see nothing to complain about.
MJ_Photo38 said:
- no new battery type has been introduced since the OM-1, which as previously stated was mostly done under Olympus.
Click to expand...
What new battery type is needed right now? The last thing I (if I were a camera manufacturer) would do would be invest valuable resources in battery development until I could see a significant benefit from it. Battery life seems OK to me.
MJ_Photo38 said:
I'll have confidence in OMDS' capabilities in developping cameras when they'll release a new sensor or new processor architechture. For now though, this is just overall nice hardware that isn't too outdated yet being rehoused in different forms.
Click to expand...
I actually think they are doing quite well. It takes time to recover from the (necessary and unavoidable) upheaval of being split out of Olympus and restructured; Covid would have slowed them down too.

I suspect that we are seeing the later stages of them sorting out their camera lines (OM-5 looks like a stopgap while they sort their product introduction sequencing out. They are also continuing to introduce new lenses. I think the OM-3 is quite an interesting move.

The acid test will be the OM1.3 when it comes and what they do with that. I anticipate a next gen processor, probably the same sensor (others have said here that sensors aren't moving very fast now); might be some interesting computational stuff.
 
challenger12 said:
I had the baseplate break on an EM5iii, but the OM-5 has been okay after 18 months (more carful) use. So maybe they did change the design slightly?

With the new grip design on the OM-5ii, it looks like the baseplate is also different? The ribbed area has been extended because the cutout for the rubber cover on the electronic contacts seems have disappeared. I’ve not seen an image of the full baseplate, but if there is no longer a cutout for the contacts then that would be a significant improvement.
Click to expand...
If they didn't make the tripod socket bulletproof, they are fools. It seems to me that if there is one thing that universally has turned off potential buyers, it has been the "fragile" tripod socket and those photos of the damage.

The new menu is welcome, the larger grip is a good feature, the sleeker moldings look nice, the USB-C port is OK if not state of the art...but for gods sake why would they do those and other nice things and not make the tripod socket so freaking beefy that nobody would ever whine about it again?

If they fixed it, they should tout it from the mountain top...show me that hanging it from the socket doesn't crack it. I'd buy it and shelve my well-used and much appreciated E-M5iii. If they didn't, they should fire the design and marketing teams...or whoever is responsible for that glaring failure to get it.

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/143821723@N06/
 
Last edited:
MJ_Photo38 said:
HicHic said:
But it has USB C and a new menu and a new grip!

And a new color!!!!!!!

I would totally buy it for $500.
Click to expand...
The new grip and new color is pretty anecdotal to me. New menus and USB-C though, I'm very happy to see (especially the menus).

But yeah, for $1200 I think I'll pass. Would have been perfect as a $999 release imho. Solid camera for that kind of price, competing extremely well with equivalents from Nikon and Canon (neither of their competing models have IBIS).

At $1200, well it's in striking distance of the $1400 Sony A6700, $1300 Fuji X-S20... and $1000 used OM-1 😬

Which all have better sensors, better autofocus, better video, ... the list is long.
Click to expand...
 
Kasuobes said:
https://www.mpb.com/en-us/product/om-system-om-5

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?sts=ma&InitialSearch=yes&searchType=USED&q=om5

New product launches rarely excite me anymore. What does excite me is how much cheaper I can pick up used or older gear, the OM-5.1 in particular is pretty much identical to the OM-5.2 in performance.

I see no reason to perpetually chase after new and shiny gear when older gear are still capable of delivering.
Click to expand...
Sure especially when it’s almost the same exact gear with some tweaks. This one just isn’t very “new.”

I really do get it, the company needs to make money to survive. I’ll pay market price for a compact high end camera but they appear to be unprofitable.



G
 
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