Olympus EP5 (not e-pl5) - still worth it?

Just got my hands on an EP5.

It's a 2013 camera which has 5-axis ibis (although it needed a firmware update to make it effective);  No silent shutter and no viewfinder (it's not a Pen-F).

Still, it's metal built and it has a great retro-look. Supposedly has the same sensor as the original M5-I.

It has 161 clicks and it still has the foil on the LCD.

I know the Pen-F is popular but I had not heard of this model.  It feels like a lot of fun - it has two control wheels, an Fn-lever, 4 custom modes programmable on the dial (feature was eventually removed on the M10.III) and 3 freely programmable buttons.

Opinions - rare or common?  Is it a tad too old? Great fun?

Great camera! I used mine regularly up until the middle of 2020 (when I got an EM5-3). I'm thinking of having mine converted to full-spectrum.

I'm definitely glad I upgraded, but I still like the size and capabilities of the E-P5. If you're an evf user, I recommend the vf-4. I appreciate having one and also being able to remove the evf if I want something more compact.

The day we see a true successor to the E-P5 will be a Great Day, indeed.

It's a superb, beautifully built small camera. Paired with a tiny pancake-style lens - the 20mm or 14mm immediately come to mind - it's almost a semi-pocketable take-everywhere camera. And in terms of quality, its output is virtually (in real-world terms, at least) indistinguishable from most of the other higher-end and newer micro-four-thirds bodies.

Short answer: YES.  It's 'worth it', and much, much more.

techie takes pics wrote:

Just got my hands on an EP5.

It's a 2013 camera which has 5-axis ibis (although it needed a firmware update to make it effective); No silent shutter and no viewfinder (it's not a Pen-F).

Still, it's metal built and it has a great retro-look. Supposedly has the same sensor as the original M5-I.

It has 161 clicks and it still has the foil on the LCD.

I know the Pen-F is popular but I had not heard of this model. It feels like a lot of fun - it has two control wheels, an Fn-lever, 4 custom modes programmable on the dial (feature was eventually removed on the M10.III) and 3 freely programmable buttons.

Opinions - rare or common? Is it a tad too old? Great fun?

E-P5 is a great camera, but be very carefully when purchase used. The front and back dials are prone to fail after 2-3 years of use. The dials might appears normal at first, only missing one or two clicks per full rotation, but will quickly deteriorate to total non-responsiveness.

Pen F, I own one at the moment, purchased used. Howver, it doesn't feel very solid and well built. The fully articulate LCD screen seems to wiggle abit when tilted open, i saw a small crack on bottom left corner, maybe it has been used extensively or damaged by accident. I only hope it is alot more durable than the E-P5.

I bought mine in 2013. What a wonderful camera!

An unconspicuous, solid, customizable one. Perfect for street photography and long trips. Wonderful colours.

As for sharpness, the RAW files are a bit soft,, but JPGs are only a little bit less defined than those from my E-M1 Mk III I bought last year. A little difference.

L

I've found that both JPG and RAW images from mine suffer from very noticeable chromatic aberrations (bright blue-purple edges against overcast skies, and sometimes purple and green fringes to the sides of objects), particularly when used with the Panasonic 14mm f2.5 prime and the Olympus 9-18 zoom.

With Panasonic 14mm

With Oly 9-18

Those are both from RAWs. (The offending areas can often be partly or entirely wholly cleaned up in LR or similar, but rather a chore if you've lots of shots to do!)

I gather it wasn't until the subsequent launch of their E-M1, which used the next version of their TruePic processor, that Oly came closer to a fix for this - so I'd advise noting which, if any, of your own lenses are best not used with the camera.

Such problems aside, a lovely machine that's also very enjoyable to use!

Peter

Chromatic abberation - is that normally already corrected in Raw and does this camera not do a good job correcting it?

Or is it because of the sensor that it is more prone to CA?

(and indeed, very enjoyable to use. It is about as vintage as a digital camera can be while at the same time totally relevant and up to standards. I love that)

techie takes pics wrote:

Just got my hands on an EP5.

It's a 2013 camera which has 5-axis ibis (although it needed a firmware update to make it effective); No silent shutter and no viewfinder (it's not a Pen-F).

Still, it's metal built and it has a great retro-look. Supposedly has the same sensor as the original M5-I.

It has 161 clicks and it still has the foil on the LCD.

I know the Pen-F is popular but I had not heard of this model. It feels like a lot of fun - it has two control wheels, an Fn-lever, 4 custom modes programmable on the dial (feature was eventually removed on the M10.III) and 3 freely programmable buttons.

Opinions - rare or common? Is it a tad too old? Great fun?

It's a good one, simple by modern standards but a quality camera. I used one for a while, there are 2 things to think about. First, the obvious lack of viewfinder. You can plug one in but it stands out a bit, a minor annoyance. It also suffer from the same rear-wheel problem the E-M1 did where it skips a click when you turn it, mine had this issue.

Personally, I would get an E-M10 II instead. Nothing wrong with the e-p5, it's a high quality camera. E-M10 II has a built-in EVF making the whole package a bit smaller, plus it has newer features (live composite, etc). I just love those long exposure features.

inlawbiker wrote:

techie takes pics wrote:

Just got my hands on an EP5.

It's a 2013 camera which has 5-axis ibis (although it needed a firmware update to make it effective); No silent shutter and no viewfinder (it's not a Pen-F).

Still, it's metal built and it has a great retro-look. Supposedly has the same sensor as the original M5-I.

It has 161 clicks and it still has the foil on the LCD.

I know the Pen-F is popular but I had not heard of this model. It feels like a lot of fun - it has two control wheels, an Fn-lever, 4 custom modes programmable on the dial (feature was eventually removed on the M10.III) and 3 freely programmable buttons.

Opinions - rare or common? Is it a tad too old? Great fun?

It's a good one, simple by modern standards but a quality camera. I used one for a while, there are 2 things to think about. First, the obvious lack of viewfinder. You can plug one in but it stands out a bit, a minor annoyance. It also suffer from the same rear-wheel problem the E-M1 did where it skips a click when you turn it, mine had this issue.

Personally, I would get an E-M10 II instead. Nothing wrong with the e-M5, it's a high quality camera. E-M10 II has a built-in EVF making the whole package a bit smaller, plus it has newer features (live composite, etc). I just love those long exposure features.

You're right there - the M10.II is a total gem.   Mine was damaged, which made me look at the second hand market.  There I saw an E-PL5 advertised but when I went to the seller, I noticed it was an E-P5.  I haggled the price down a bit and I was very happy with the result.

I'm still getting my M10.II repaired though! That camera is just so much goodness in such a small package.
No wonder they simplified it in the Mark III - it was just too good.
Example: Even the M5.III (much newer, and a more advanced model) does not have program 4 custom modes it can program on the mode-dial.

Absolutely love the EP5. Beautiful to use, look at, probably has had more attention than my PEN-F when out and about. Flip screen so much better than the side-swinger. Love that you can add a viewfinder (VF2 in my case). Image quality excellent, better low-light focusing than the PEN-F. Glorious, will never part with mine.

techie takes pics wrote:

Just got my hands on an EP5.

It's a 2013 camera which has 5-axis ibis (although it needed a firmware update to make it effective); No silent shutter and no viewfinder (it's not a Pen-F).

Still, it's metal built and it has a great retro-look. Supposedly has the same sensor as the original M5-I.

It has 161 clicks and it still has the foil on the LCD.

I know the Pen-F is popular but I had not heard of this model. It feels like a lot of fun - it has two control wheels, an Fn-lever, 4 custom modes programmable on the dial (feature was eventually removed on the M10.III) and 3 freely programmable buttons.

Opinions - rare or common? Is it a tad too old? Great fun?

I have one in silver along with the VF-4 viewfinder. Not using it since getting the E-M5.3. I will be selling it at some point. I just don't keep equipment that I am not using. Enjoyed the camera and it fit neatly along side an E-M1.1 for 5 years. E-P5 for travel and events and E-M1 for sports and outdoors.

One word of caution, that model was susceptible to dial failure. Mine did and was repaired under warranty. No issues since.