Is OM-5 vs OM-5 Mark II Autofocus different?

agc73 · Aug 11, 2025

After luggging the G9 around with 3 kids on a recent trip I’ve decided I want something smaller and am pretty settled on the OM-5 1 or 2.

One thing I’ve seen fleetingly mentioned in the reviews is that AF for people and eye focus has been improved. Can anyone who has used both OM-5s confirm an improvement in AF?

One of the videos I saw said it was just the indicator that was improved and didn’t specifically say AF accuracy or reliability.

In my country (NZ) the price difference is about $400 between the two cameras so it’s pretty significant.

agc73 · Aug 12, 2025

What’s the improvements you have liked the most?

Bassam Guy · Aug 12, 2025

agc73 said:
I was thinking there can’t be too much difference because as you say they both use the same processor.

I was thinking since they replaced the menu system they could have added software improvements to the mark ii AF. Panasonic made significant AF improvements to the G9 via firmware. In hind sight if that was the case they would have put a lot more marketing effort into the AF improvements.

I could look at it as buy the OM-5 now for significant discount and then in a few years time when the AF gets Sony levels of magic AF upgrade again.

You'll find that any body with PDAF (G9 II, E-M5 III+, E-M1+, OM-all) is a vast AF improvement vs. the CDAF-only G9*, especially for moving subjects.

*I haven't hear enough good about the proprietary P. lens-only DFD to consider it competitive.

EZGritz · Aug 12, 2025

I did not own the OM-5 MKI. I have not challenged the AF in the OM-5 MKII or compared it with the OM-5 MKI because I have an OM1 for moving subjects. I don't know if the OM-5 MKII AF is significantly better than the OM-5 MKI.

I waited for the MKII OM-5 for:

New menu system

Software ND filters

Better grip

Starry Night Composition

Better AF than the EM5.3 I wanted to replace

I bought the OM-5 MKII to replace the EM5.3. Once I owned the OM1 I would not buy another OLY/OMS camera without the new menu introduced in the OM1. The new menu is much better and I wanted the same menu as the OM1 so I didn't have to switch back and forth between two different menus when I wanted to change camera bodies and when the setting I want to change requires diving into the menu. It's so much easer to switch from camera to camera when they use the same menu and when the new menu is so much better than the one OLY used for the previous decade or so since they introduced the original EM5. I very much disliked the old menu originating from the EM5. That alone was reason enough for me to pass on the OM-5 MKI and wait for the OM-5 MKII.

agc73 · Aug 12, 2025

Thanks for the write up about the OM-5ii benefits, much appreciated.

Good point about the menus, for something so important to the interaction with the camera if it’s annoying to use I could see it nagging me each time I have to dive into the menus.

I double checked the live ND and the OM-5 mk I has that too, it’s something I’ll use a lot based on my use of the inbuilt ND filter in the Fuji X100.

EZGritz · Aug 13, 2025

The old menu annoyed and frustrated me for years since I bought the original EM5. It was a source of complaining for a lot of users.

The new menu is great. Easy to use, not difficult to understand how to use it.

I forgot the OM5 had the ND filters. Probably I knew it at the time but I was determined not to buy a replacement forthe EM5.3 without the new menu since it was already available with the OM! I already owned. I did not want two different menus to work with when I switched cameras. It was important enough for me to wait for the next model to replace the EM5.3. I'm glad I did. I would be replacing the OM% with the OM5 MKII now. Two bodies to lose more money on. Waste of money.

The EM5 is a good value now but I keep camera bodies for 3-6 years and replace them usually every other model update. Usually the next one is not enough of an improvement for me. If I divide the upgrade cost into the number of years I keep the body it seems worth it to me for the cost per year.

I am so satisfied with the OM1 and the OM5 MKII I expect to have them for a very long time. For the benefit of the EM5 MKII menu, upgrading from the EM5.3 was enough value for me. I am enjoying the camera very much. I bought a used 8-25 f/4 PRO at the saem time. Its a great lens for this body for a lot of the photography I enjoy. Its a much better lens than the 9-18 I have for less distortion, constant aperture, and better quality build with weather sealing. Its a lot heavier but it balances well and I find is comfortable to carry with a wrist strap with the large grip of the EM5 MKII. With the 25 f/1.8 and 14-150 f/4-5.6 this three lens kit covers most of what I photograph unless I go to a sporting event or birding. I think I will be satisfied for a very long time. I have sharp images of a bat hitting a baseball at the plate with the OM5 MKII. Pro Capture works great and the grip is big enough to use the 40-150 f/.28 PRO when I need it. The EM5.3 grip was not.

--
Author of "The Pelican Squadron" - Harvey Gene Sherman
https://www.amazon.com/Pelican-Squadron-Tale-Internet-Bubble-ebook/dp/B08FCY6V7Y

Skeeterbytes · Aug 13, 2025

While only the OM-5ii has the new OM-1-style main menu, both OM-5s have My Menu, which allows you to aggregate and save your favorite/most-used items for easy access.

That feature reduced my menu-diving considerably, starting with the E-M1iii.

Rick

EZGritz · Aug 13, 2025

A good way around the old menu. I prefer the new menu. So much better.

HicHic · Aug 13, 2025

EZGritz said:
A good way around the old menu. I prefer the new menu. So much better.

EZGritz · Aug 13, 2025

Makes using this body so much more fun and less frustrating.

I think OMS is going to sell a lot of these bodies because its a good value for the combination of all the things it can do for the money.

EZGritz · Aug 13, 2025

I like the USB battery charging too. No need for a charger. Use a power bank, AC adaptor, or USB port in the car. Big benefit for me. Not fast charging but good for adding to battery reserve on the go. Charge overnight in the camera or at a restaurant. A lot of them have AC at the table. I kept the charger from the EM5.3 I traded in and a couple of spare batteries but I doubt I'll need either. Except that Pro Capture eats batteries. I don't use it often but when I do it will go through a battery quickly.

agc73 · Aug 13, 2025

Good point about the grip it was one of the reasons I went from a GX85 to G9. I recall my only real complaint about the gx85 was its lack of grip (XL hands) and always clawing at the grip with my right hand.

Despite the AF being the same for me I think the combination of grip improvement and new menu is enough to justify the Mkii. Ill wait for the first sale in a couple months or more likely in a week ill just get the full price mkII.

Thanks for everyone’s feedback, the frequency of my camera buying is inverse to my marriage length so making the right choice has significant benefits!

EZGritz · Aug 13, 2025

The grip does not make a huge difference but it helps. I had a leather half case for the EM5.3 that fits the OM5 MKII. I'm glad I don't have to buy another one or more batteries because the EM5.3 batteries fit too. I use the half case on the OM5 MKII. It protects the silver finish and the tripod port.

The OLY grip for the EM5.3 does not fit the OM5 MKII. I left it in a drawer. I shot the 40-150 f/2.8 PRO on the OM5 MKII and thought that worked OK even though its a relatively big and heavy lens. The 40-150 f/4 PRO on it is sublime for the range and lens quality.

This camera body handles great for me.

Some people focus on the sensor but there is more to photography than that. The EM5 MKII is a good all around and very capable camera. Maybe not the best at anything except light weight, but very good at a lot of things that make for a good photography experience.

--
Author of "The Pelican Squadron" - Harvey Gene Sherman
https://www.amazon.com/Pelican-Squadron-Tale-Internet-Bubble-ebook/dp/B08FCY6V7Y

agc73 · Sep 23, 2025

Thanks everyone for your input, I ended up getting an OM5 mk1 after trying one out in store to see what the handling and silver finish was like.

Compared to the GX85 the grip is so much more confident in the hand.

Compared to the G9 I’m enjoying the smaller form factor and less weight. Mainly using Panasonic 12-35 2.8 and Panasonic 25 1.7 I find the balance to be just right. Even the Panasonic 12-60 3.5 feels better on the OM5 vs G9 some how.

Still getting used to the jpeg settings, I’ve had the OM5 for a couple weeks and been experimenting with settings. The jpegs are not bad but after 10 years using Panasonic I’m used to their output. Initially I much preferred Panasonic jpeg but now I think it’s mostly even.

As well as physical size a main contributor to wanting to change from G9 was the high 3200 and 6400 ISO noise output. I always found it made skin tones displeasing to my eye and was just too noisy for my liking. The OM5 I have found really good at 6400, not noise free but the noise is more pleasing to my eye. While it slightly removes detail in a photo the OM5 noise doesn’t make me dislike the image as a whole. Might be a bit exaggerated but I find the way OM System and Panasonic handle noise very different.

The OM5 menu system with my menu and scp isn’t too bad… just lucky I have the manual on my phone and iPad and AI help too. LUMIX really does have a great user interface. The cost of going for the mkii was just too much to justify when juggling house renovations, broken appliances etc. Without the other projects competing for my dollar a mkii would probably be worth it if the menu upgrade makes it as good as LUMIX.

AF is not an improvement over the G9. While the continuous AF is good and not having blackout between shots is nice I’m not finding any improvement in % of in focus shots for fast moving erratic children. Face and eye detection is significantly better on the G9, the OM5 loses focus on faces and eyes much more frequently and often than the G9. I’ve tried experimenting with AF sensitivity but haven’t found anything to improve it. AF is good, I was just expecting to find it significantly better than the G9 contrast detect.

I wish the OM5 did raw editing in camera the same as Panasonic.

Overall the OM5 is great, highly recommended and if you have the cash go mkii.

ahaslett · Sep 23, 2025

agc73 said:
Thanks everyone for your input, I ended up getting an OM5 mk1 after trying one out in store to see what the handling and silver finish was like.

Compared to the GX85 the grip is so much more confident in the hand.

Compared to the G9 I’m enjoying the smaller form factor and less weight. Mainly using Panasonic 12-35 2.8 and Panasonic 25 1.7 I find the balance to be just right. Even the Panasonic 12-60 3.5 feels better on the OM5 vs G9 some how.

Still getting used to the jpeg settings, I’ve had the OM5 for a couple weeks and been experimenting with settings. The jpegs are not bad but after 10 years using Panasonic I’m used to their output. Initially I much preferred Panasonic jpeg but now I think it’s mostly even.

As well as physical size a main contributor to wanting to change from G9 was the high 3200 and 6400 ISO noise output. I always found it made skin tones displeasing to my eye and was just too noisy for my liking. The OM5 I have found really good at 6400, not noise free but the noise is more pleasing to my eye. While it slightly removes detail in a photo the OM5 noise doesn’t make me dislike the image as a whole. Might be a bit exaggerated but I find the way OM System and Panasonic handle noise very different.

The OM5 menu system with my menu and scp isn’t too bad… just lucky I have the manual on my phone and iPad and AI help too. LUMIX really does have a great user interface. The cost of going for the mkii was just too much to justify when juggling house renovations, broken appliances etc. Without the other projects competing for my dollar a mkii would probably be worth it if the menu upgrade makes it as good as LUMIX.

AF is not an improvement over the G9. While the continuous AF is good and not having blackout between shots is nice I’m not finding any improvement in % of in focus shots for fast moving erratic children. Face and eye detection is significantly better on the G9, the OM5 loses focus on faces and eyes much more frequently and often than the G9. I’ve tried experimenting with AF sensitivity but haven’t found anything to improve it. AF is good, I was just expecting to find it significantly better than the G9 contrast detect.

I wish the OM5 did raw editing in camera the same as Panasonic.
Overall the OM5 is great, highly recommended and if you have the cash go mkii.

You ought to be able to do RAW editing in camera. Olympus have had this as a basic function forever.

I agree that FaceEyeAF on OM bodies other than the OM1 mk ii and OM3 is industry lagging. I find it’s OK on my OM5 provided the subject is large enough in the frame.

PDAF gives fast focus but the camera still needs to find the subject. They are different functions. I can shoot my granddaughter on a trampoline at 10fps but only if she is close enough.

It’s good that you like the camera overall. My OM5 is my most carried camera, followed by my A7CR.

Every one of my cameras has a different UI, even ones from the same OEM. I guess “improvements” are always with us. I’m neutral as between the older and newer OM menus, but I’ve used Olympus for years and I’m used to switching between cameras. With OM bodies you need to set them up and then menu diving ought to be relatively rare. My problem with OM is how poorly the manuals explain how to use the functions.

Andrew

agc73 · Sep 23, 2025

I’ve been using the in camera raw processing on OM5, I just find the LUMIX version of in camera processing far superior.

I made the mistake of handling an OM1 mkii in store and found it melted into my hands, just a beautifully ergonomic camera for my mits, even far surpassing the G9. By the time I’ve worn the OM5 out there should be some well priced OM1.2s that I can get within my budget and also enjoy the improved subject tracking.

I’ve gotten some great action shots so far with the OM5 and will get many more Im sure, just surprised how much better the G9s face/ eye/ body subject recognition was compared to OM5 especially with the amount of online “experts” spouting about how much superior PDAF is compared to DFD contrast AF.

Art_P · Sep 23, 2025

For me, the major difference is in the menu structure, and for that alone I might consider the MkII over the MkI.

BleeKar · Sep 23, 2025

Art_P said:
For me, the major difference is in the menu structure, and for that alone I might consider the MkII over the MkI.

And the sand beige! I really like the look after seeing it in person.

Art_P · Sep 24, 2025

Unfortunately, you had to pre-order to get one. Now it seems if you want one in sand you have to settle for a Japanese only model shipped from Japan.

Thearch · Sep 26, 2025

Photongraphy said:
Rafael Rivera said:

E-M5 III for that matter shares the same AF capabilities if I'm not mistaken. Could save even more with that camera.

Click to expand...

I think you are mistaken. AFAIK the em5.3 has the same algorithm as the em1.2, the em1.3 was the only/first Olympus with the new face detect algorithm. It was a significant improvement. The om5 shares the same algorithm with the em1.3.

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