Olympus E-5 Information

I did it with the Pentax 645D, so I figured I'd do it with another camera that greatly interests me, the Olympus E-5. I'm hoping that the E-5 is good, even though I have my doubts that it will be worth its startlingly high price tag.

DPReview Posts studio images: Link

DPReview has posted studio images of the Olympus E-5 which can be compared to other cameras. It does a very good job at extracting detail, but the noise level at all ISO levels, and especially the revealing RAW comparison, have the E-5's sensor being completely whomped by the competition. By ISO 3200, there is no comparison. I have reached my conclusion. The Olympus E-5 is not worth the price that they are asking. Not by a long shot.

DxOMark Rating: Link
DxOMark has finally rated the E-5, and it performed more poorly than I expected, garnering a piddly 56, but it also illustrates the limitations of Dx0Mark's review process. The E-5 actually performs slightly worse than the old E-3, but all image tests show the E-5 out-performing the old boy by a significant margin. Same goes for the Panasonic GH1/GH2 comparison. Regardless of anything, it's by far the most expensive 4/3's camera on the market and doesn't perform any better. It's Hundreds more than the Nikon D7000, Canon EOS 60D, or Pentax K5 and is soundly thrashed by all of them. And finally, the new price of the Sony Alpha A850 puts a 24Mp full-format camera only $100 above the Oly. I think that we can start coming to the conclusion that only a fool would buy this camera.

ePhotozine Review: Link
ePhotozine liked the E-5 a great deal, but only made fleeting mention of the camera's high price. They liked everything about the design of the camera and perhaps this is what made them sort of gloss over noise and image issues. Considering that the cost is body only, the E-5 doesn't make much of a case for itself against cheaper Olympus cameras and the Panasonic GH1/GH2 cameras which offer superior image quality.

Olympus Product Page: Link
Olympus doesn't provide any full-resolution images. Very disappointing.

FotoMagazin Review: Link (Via Google Translate)
I find this review preposterous. Third best camera ever? Really? You don't have to go far to see the difference between the E-5 and one of the more expensive cameras that it supposedly beat. Like here...

DPReview Forum Member's Comparison of the E-5, E-620, and Canon EOS 5D MkII: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1022&message=36578349

This really drives home that the EOS 5D is in a different league to the E-5. I'd be very interested in seeing direct comparisons between the E-5 and the Eos 7D and Nikon D7000. Still, though, Olympus was stupid to not undercut its rivals.

Pixiq Preview: Link
Not much good to say about the camera, here. Basically, he thinks that the small sensor is a real impediment to image quality at this price point.

FotoDigital Review: Link
Also not too hopeful. He likes the camera and what it offers, but it's too heavy, to pricey, and feels that it's obviously the end of a product cycle/era. There will be no more 4/3's cameras after this, only Micro 4/3's, and that unless you're already invested, it's pointless to buy in, now.

FotoHits test data: Link
Some test data that succeeds in being comprehensive yet totally useless. No wonder no one reads photography magazines anymore.