Фотоаппарат Olympus E-5

Judged purely on its own merits the E-5 is a good and capable camera in most situations. But is it good enough to warrant swapping systems from Canon, Nikon, Pentax or Sony to Olympus? Or good enough that an uncommitted photographer wanting to get into DSLR photography for the first time might choose the E-5 over competitive offerings? Sadly, our answer to both questions has to be 'no'. But, perhaps more importantly, is the E-5 better than the E-3? Yes, definitely. Should E-3 users with a solid investment in the E system consider upgrading? Again, we have no hesitation in saying yes. Let's make on thing very clear from the outset: the Olympus E-5 is the best Four Thirds DSLR ever made. It offers a better feature set, better baseline image quality, better ergonomics and better build quality than any previous E-series camera. Although at its heart is a relatively old 12MP CMOS sensor, Olympus has managed to squeeze more resolution out of it than we would have thought possible. Low ISO shots taken in good light are outstandingly detailed, and in these conditions the E-5's AF, metering and WB settings (coupled with a very good JPEG engine) work well together, and make the E-5 a pleasure to shoot with. There are frustrations though - for one, the E-5 is priced too high. Also, its sensor is relatively noisy, dynamic range is good but not as wide as we'd like, and the maximum continuous shooting rate is relatively slow. The E-5's menu system is a bit fussy, the lack of any meaningful customization in movie mode is frustrating, likewise unpredictable AF in multi-point mode. None of these issues is fatal by itself, but taken as a whole, they add up to a camera which just isn't quite good enough to compete in this market segment, especially given the strength of fresh-faced competitors like the Pentax K-5.

Very good resolution at low ISO sensitivity settings (rivaling higher pixel-count cameras) Reliable metering and white balance systems Excellent JPEG color Tank-like body that feels like it can take years of abuse. Large, bright viewfinder showing 100% coverage Useful pitch/roll electronic spirit level Exceptional amount of customization Versatile and fun Art Filters In-camera RAW editing Twin card slots (CF/SD) Good video image quality (but see 'cons' below) Access to excellent Four Thirds lens range.

Uncompetitive high ISO performance (when compared to APS-C peers Between 0.5-1EV less highlight dynamic range than APS-C competitors (but better than E-3) Unpredictable AF in multi-point mode Maximum framerate of 5fps unimpressive compared to competition Slow AF in poor light Contrast-detection AF slow and unreliable in some situations (and with some lenses) Some key control points hard to manipulate precisely with gloved hands In-built microphone very prone to picking up background/handling sounds in video mode Very little customization/control available in video mode Framerate in video mode drops considerably when some Art Filters are used

One of the initial promises of the Four Thirds system was that it would make camera bodies and lenses smaller. This has come true to an extent, but mainly for lenses. There is no denying, for example, that the super compact 9-18mm f/4-5.6 is much smaller and much lighter than an 18-36mm lens of the same nominal aperture range would be for a full-frame system, and the same goes for lenses such as the excellent 12-60mm f/2.8-4. Depth of field is a separate issue, but purely in terms of coverage, Olympus's Four Thirds lenses are generally smaller and more compact than equivalents designed for APS-C or full-frame systems. However, despite their smaller sensors, the top-end Four Thirds DSLRs - the E-1, E-30, E-3 and E-5 - have all been big, heavy, and comparatively expensive for their specification. In terms of bulk, the E-5 is comparable with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, which sports a sensor four times as large. Obviously the 5D II costs a lot more, but for the extra money you get more pixels, better high ISO image quality, better dynamic range, and a considerably better video mode. Yet the E-5 isn't a 'budget' camera - it is closer in cost to the Nikon D7000, Pentax K-5 and Canon EOS 7D (albeit more expensive than than all of them). Like the 5D II, the D7000, K-5 and 7D offer more versatile sensors, as well as plenty of customization and a degree of weatherproofing. So what is the E-5? Ultimately, as we said in the introduction to this review, it is a camera aimed squarely at the Four Thirds faithful - those photographers with a solid investment in the system that can't, or simply don't want to abandon it. We suspect that this narrow band of consumers will be extremely happy with the E-5, and they should be. The E-5 is a tough and capable camera that is fun to shoot with, and makes a very agreeable companion for Olympus's excellent range of lenses. However almost a decade after the inception of the Four Thirds system, the E-5 isn't the game-changer that we always hoped Olympus might come up with. Arguably, that was the PEN series. Scoring is relative only to the other cameras in the same category. Click here to learn about the changes to our scoring system and what these numbers mean.

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