Olympus OMD-EM-5 Ergonomic Review

Excellent photos,  puzzles included

Announcement and reaction   Olympus announced the EM-5 in February 2012 and quickly generated a very positive response from reviewers and early adopters.  It provoked  renewed  interest in the M43 system and in Olympus cameras at a time when Olympus really needed a good news story. For many months after it's release the camera was difficult to obtain, indicating strong takeup from buyers.

Author's background  I have discovered from my photographic experience over the last 50 years that the only way for me to really appreciate the capabilities of a camera is to buy and use it over a period of several months, making many exposures in a wide variety of conditions.  Earlier this year I bought a Panasonic GH2 then an Olympus EM5 then a Samsung NX20, each with a selection of lenses, mostly zooms as I prefer their versatility. I have been using them often side by side and often with the same subject matter. The intention was always to keep one and let the others go, as I do not care to clutter up the house with underutilised camera gear and there are budget issues to consider. By the way, I decided to keep the GH2, for reasons which I will discuss in another post on this blog. This article is a review of the EM5, with an emphasis on ergonomic issues,  but also referring to image quality and performance which obviously influence the user experience.

Market position, target user group and buyer expectations  The EM5 is Olympus' flagship ILC. It has an extensive feature set, a complex user interface and is priced with mid level DSLR's at the upper end of the ILC range.  It would be possible for snapshooters to manage the EM5 with the Mode dial set to iAuto.  But the expert/enthusiast camera user will make better use of the many features and user interface options available. Such a user will expect very good image quality and performance from the EM5 and in large measure it delivers. It also delivers a few challenges which have made my time with the camera a mixed experience.

Review priorities This review is written for the expert/enthusiast photographer who likes to take control of the photographic process and who uses a camera frequently.  I have not reviewed video operation or the touch screen function as I do not use either of these features. You can read about these and a list of the camera's specifications and features in great detail elsewhere. I have nothing to say about scene modes or art filters. 

Image Quality  IQ is excellent, easily the best of the M43 cameras at the time of this report. You can read all about it  in technical reviews.  Resolution, Dynamic Range and noise are all very good.  JPG and RAW files are both very good.  To quote dpreview's assessment.............."moving up to......... full frame is the only way of gaining a significant step up [in image quality] from the EM-5". DXO Mark recently scored the EM5 at 71 with a Dynamic Range of 12.3 which places it in the middle of the APS-C sensor group.

Autofocus, single shot:  This is very fast and sensitive, latching onto the slightest hint of texture including brush strokes in paint. The downside  is a significant rate of slight misfocussing. The degree of misfocus might not be noticed with many photographs, but can become an issue with big enlargements or prints.  Sometimes the camera signals it cannot focus but more often it indicates focus has been achieved when that is not quite the case. Misfocussing appears more frequent in conditions of low light level and/or low subject brightness range, but also when there are many bright light sources in frame. It appears to me more frequent with Panasonic lenses than Olympus lenses, particularly the 7-14mm zoom. It is more frequent at the long end of the 12-50mm, 40-150mm and 75-300mm zooms and more frequent at long distance from the camera, possibly related to the lowered subject contrast inherent in that situation.  The actual rate of misfocus varies widely with circumstances. There have been days when all the frames were sharply in focus, but on other days with different lens/light conditions, as many as 50% of frames have been slightly unsharp with no evidence of camera shake (no doubling). 

Manual Focus, single shot: With focus assist enabled MF is readily achieved although the EVF's on both the GH2 and NX20 snap in and out of focus more clearly.

Autofocus, Continuous, Sequential drive, moving subject:  The EM5 with Olympus M 75-300mm lens will follow focus on a moving subject at 3.3 frames per second  with  IS operating, AF and live view on each frame even when the subject is a motor vehicle travelling at 60 kph. It has the best performance of any M43 camera to date with sport/action type subjects. It works best in bright sunlight with subjects moving at a steady speed. I discuss this in more detail in another post on this blog.

In normal single shot use the camera will refocus and shoot almost as fast as I can press the shutter button again after each shot even with RAW capture, an excellent performance. With image review off, monitor and EVF blackout is very brief to the point I don't notice it. Shutter lag is virtually nil.  In general the camera operates in a very brisk and responsive fashion. Note that if you activate copyright information [Custom Menu >H >Record/Erase >Copyright Settings >Copyright Info>On] the camera slows down markedly.

Image Stabiliser  The EM5 has the much advertised "Five Axis" In Body Image Stabiliser, which appears to work very well. I found it possible to get sharp pictures at very slow shutter speeds. There have been numerous questions in user forums online about the reliability of this system. The camera which I bought had no IBIS problems that I could detect. I suspect that some user's experience of image doubling may have been due to shutter shock rather than IBIS problems. Please see my aticles on shutter shock elsewhere on this blog.

Flash  I have only used the supplied, detachable unit and then only to a limited extent. I have read elsewhere that the EM5 has sophisticated off camera flash capabilities but I have not tested this aspect of performance.

Ergonomics  This discourse follows my usual approach, looking at each of the four phases of use in turn then investigating viewing, holding and operating in Capture Phase.

Setup Phase  The main task of this phase is making selections in the Menu. Many modern cameras have a complex menu system which can be hard to follow, even with the instruction manual to hand.  The Panasonic GH2 which I tested alongside the EM5 is no paragon of menu clarity.  But the EM5 menu system takes complexity to the next level which many people myself included find difficult to negotiate. Experienced Olympophiles on user forums scoff at people like me,  insisting the menus are perfectly simple and easy to negotiate.

Button Function   The EM5 allows extensive user configuration of button function. It even allows some buttons to be assigned single function or multifunction. This allows the expert  user to customise camera operation to personal preference, but, compared with most other cameras,  does require more choices to be made at the setup phase.

Dial Function     I am a great advocate of user selectable interface module function in electronic cameras but the EM5 takes the concept to extremes.  For instance in Custom Menu >B >Button/Dial >Dial Function, you can assign a different function to the dials in each of the P, A, S, M, Menu and Review modes, plus you can choose the dial direction in the same menu. Perhaps I lack the requisite imagination or aptitude for cognitive challenges but I simply don't understand why one would want the dials to change function on switching from one shooting mode to another.

Picture Mode Settings A long list of these appears in Camera 1 Menu >Picture Mode, but there is another not quite identical list in Custom Menu D >Disp/Sound/PC >Picture Mode Settings. Presumably there is a reason for this but I never figured it out.

Mysets  Many electronic cameras have positions on the Main Mode Dial usually labelled C1, C2.....etc. This allows groups of settings to be stored and recalled as required to streamline preparation for different photographic tasks.      There is room on the EM5 Mode dial for some presets but Olympus does things differently.  Mysets can only be accessed via the main menu which requires 9-12 button presses depending on which Myset you want. The active myset is not indicated anywhere at all. When the camera is switched on it will return to the settings in place at switch off  but does not inform you which set is active. There is also an option for a "quick myset" which can be allocated to a button but you must hold the button down while pressing the shutter for this to function. While the allocated button is being pressed there is a myset indicator in the lower left corner of the monitor. This is another example of a useful function which other camera makers provide in a reasonably straightforward fashion but which Olympus delivers in a manner which I find more opaque. Once registered and set, the Mysets work just fine.

Flash settings  There are five  places you can make settings for flash operation, two in the main menu, Camera Menu 2 >flash +/- and Custom Menu >F >Flash, two in the Super Control Panel and one on a scroll wheel if you have preset a  wheel to change flash output level. Some of these duplicate each other, some do not. Some of the help guides are difficult to understand.  Again we see complex arrangements when more direct ones would have served better. The other problem for flash use on this camera is that it lacks one built in.  You have to remove the hotshoe cover then a little plastic cover from the connection port, then take the (supplied) flash out of it's pouch and remove the  plastic protective cover, then put the three little bits of plastic in the pouch so they don't get lost, then push the flash unit into the hotshoe and connection port together, lift the flash head up and you are ready to go. Fortunately the camera has good  high ISO image quality so the flash is not often required in general photography.

IS Operation  There are several different places where settings affecting IS operation can be made.   In the Super Control Panel or Camera Menu 2, IS can be set to Off, 1, 2 or 3.

In Custom Menu C > Release/Drive, there are two settings: Halfway Rls with IS,  [which I suspect most users will set to On and wonder why the choice was provided]  and Sequential+IS Off  [which you have to set to Off in order to make the IS On with sequential drive] Go figure.

Then In Custom Menu D >Disp/sound/PC >LV closeup Mode, you can set Mode 1 or Mode 2, which I read on user forums has an influence on IS operation but I have to confess I never figured out how this relationship works.

Some cameras such as the GH2 have several set and see dials and levers on the top plate together with several maker and user configured buttons, for direct user control of Prepare Phase adjustments. But the EM5 has only one set and see dial (the Mode dial). If  the 4 way controller buttons are allocated to changing AF area position then Prepare Phase adjustments will involve a trip to the Super Control Panel.

Super Control Panel   This is generally well implemented with a few caveats. There are five different sub panel sizes the logic of which escapes me. It's not a big problem but scrolling around the screen is not as quick as it could be if each element was the same size.  The panel is approximately divided into a selection of Prepare Phase items on the left side and a few Setup items on the right side. Overall the appearance is somewhat that of a work in progress, with some items which should be on the SCP missing and others included unnecessarily, cluttering the panel.  One solution  would be to allow the operator  to move  user selected items from the main menu across to the SCP. That way each owner could have their own preferred items and no others on the SCP.   The Fn screen on the Samsung NX20 is  better implemented,  the Q Menu on the GH2 is  worse, with it's non user selectable items arranged around the periphery of the frame.

Auto Exposure Bracketing  Some cameras have a drive mode dial, lever or button on which you can select AEB, having previously set up the number, EV step and sequence in a main menu. Easy. But the Olympus is different. There is no drive mode dial, lever or button. No problem you might think, just put AEB  on the Super Control Panel. But it's not there. You have to go into Camera Menu 2 >Bracketing >Select an option. This takes 10-21 button presses depending on which option you want.  You have to repeat the whole sequence to turn AEB off. Alternatively you can include AEB in a Myset.  But you still have to go to the main menu to activate the myset.

Capture Phase, Holding   As part of my voyage of exploration into camera ergonomics, I have made several wooden mockup cameras. This has given me some insight into the process of design. Early in that process come basic decisions about dimensions, layout, control systems and style. These early decisions limit the range of options available at later stages of the detail design process. I am just an ordinary consumer with no knowlege of the people who design  cameras or their decision making activities. However one can make some inference about these things from the product itself and the maker's promotional material. Olympus makes much of the EM5's homage to their 1980's OM series film SLR's. One Olympus spokesman referred to the EM5 as  having "the beautiful shape".   I don't care to comment on whether the shape is beautiful or not but it has a substantial effect on the ergonomic capabilities of the device.  

OM series film cameras established the leitmotif  for the OM digital cameras, however there are substantial  differences in their shape and form with ergonomic consequences.  The OM series film cameras (and many similar designs such as the Pentax ME series which I used for many years) were easy to hold and operate with the "no handle" design because they were, compared to the EM5, wider, deeper and devoid of any screen or interface modules on the rear. You could get ahold of them.

This is not the case with the EM5 which in standard configuration provides the user with a tenuous hold on the camera, particularly if a telephoto lens is mounted.  It feels much less secure than the GH2 or  NX20. 

An  accessory handle provides a more secure grip.  The first part of the Olympus HLD-6 is suitable. There are also several independent makers of accessory handles for the EM5. This arrangement may be a marketing triumph but is an ergonomic kludge.  With the grip attached there are two shutter buttons and three scroll wheels on the top plate, cluttering up high priority camera real estate with redundant user interface modules (UIM).  Worse, for my average sized adult hands none of the scroll wheels is optimally positioned or angled. My index finger keeps wanting to find a front scroll wheel between the two which are actually there and the same finger wants the axis of rotation of  that scroll wheel to be tilted 80 degrees so it matches the natural movement of the finger. The HLD-6  grip costs  an extra $300 over the initial price and you have to remove it to change a battery. Oh, yes, and try not to lose the little plastic contact cluster cover piece from the grip, and the little black rubber cover thingy from the contact cluster on the camera base. While I am complaining I note the accessory grip has a sharp corner which digs into the palm of my right hand. 

If Olympus had simply incorporated a properly designed handle in the first place,  the EM5 could have delivered a more effective ergonomic layout at lower cost.

Capture Phase, Viewing   The monitor is very nice, with plenty of user selectable options for content and characteristics of the  display. One of the most useful of these options is the orange/blue indication of highlight/shadow clipping, available on preview and review in both the monitor and EVF.  The level which activates the clipping indicator is also adjustable, a very sophisticated feature.   The monitor is of the swing up/down type which is good for waist level or over the head shooting in landscape (horizontal) format. Some people prefer the swing-out-and-swivel type, which is more versatile in some ways, not least the ability to turn it face in to the camera body.  I guess you can't have both.  Likewise the EVF is excellent, providing a natural looking view of the subject in all conditions and plenty of options for the display. I have just two ergonomic grumbles about the viewing experience. I like to set up the monitor and EVF to look the same so when I switch from one to the other the cognitive experience is continuous. This is possible on the EM5 but only using "Monitor" style with camera data overlaid on the image area. The EVF will, but the monitor will not allow the "DSLR style" with camera data in a strip beneath the image. The other grumble is about the eyepiece shape. This is short and wide which is comfortable in landscape orientation but in portrait orientation the ends of the eyepiece dig uncomfortably into the the upper and lower margins of the eye socket.

Capture Phase, Operating    This camera's operation is highly dependent on user configured setup which determines the function of most of the UIM's.  This level of user selectable UIM function is very welcome however the option to select functions is also an imperative which requires a longer familiarisation period than many less sophisticated cameras.  In general the camera operates quickly and efficiently in Capture Phase with some exceptions described below.

Autofocus Start  Several pro style cameras have a dedicated AF start/lock button on the upper rear of the body. There is no room for such a button but  the EM5 enables AF start to be activated by half press on the shutter button and thereby separated from AE and Capture which take place at full press. This works well and represents an  efficient  use of the shutter button.

Changing AF area position and size:    There is a set of features described on Page 45 of the Instruction Manual under the heading "Zoom Frame AF/Zoom AF".    This set of features, I have to confess, continues to baffle me completely despite reading the instructions many times, playing with the camera for many hours and trawling through the numerous posts and responses (literally hundreds of them, I am not the only one  having trouble with this) about it on multiple user forums and independent blogs. Some contributors to those user forums say they  have figured out how to make sense of this set of  focus functions. Maybe those  people are able to adapt more readily to the Olympus way of doing things.

Auto ISO  Is well implemented. The camera will increase ISO up to the preset maximum to ensure the shutter speed does not fall into camera shake territory.

Buttons  The Play and Fn1 buttons are very recessed, making them awkward to activate in any Phase of use and almost impossible in Capture Phase with one's eye to the EVF.   However if you are going to operate the rear scroll wheel with the thumb, which appears to be the designer's intention, then those buttons must be recessed or they will be pressed inadvertently.     The buttons generally are small because the body panels which accommodate them are also small. Panasonic M43 cameras have the same problem. One could be philosophical about this and say small buttons come with the territory of ILC's but I know this is not true because I have designed and built mockups which are even smaller than the EM5 yet have larger body panels with  larger buttons, better positioned for ease of operation. The size issue is in play but design decisions are the main determinants of the effectiveness of the user interface.

Review Phase  The EM5 has one of the best image review systems I have encountered.  One scroll wheel magnifies the review image centered on the AF area used to make that image. The other scroll wheel can advance to the next image at the same level of magnification. Very neat, very convenient, well implemented.

Conclusion   This camera's oficial name, Olympus OM-D- EM-5 sets the theme for the whole package: a convoluted  course to it's realisation when a more straightforward  pathway could have been provided.  This is no "safe",  middle of the  road product.  It's best features are very appealing but some aspects of the user interface can be either challenging or baffling depending on your aptitude for puzzles.  I suspect this camera will polarise users with some enjoying it's impressive capabilities while others become frustrated by it's sometimes obtuse user interface.  You pays your money and makes your choice. Good luck.