Olympus E-5 Summary

An 11-point double-cross focusing system provides the most impressive performance of the E-5. While Olympus' claim of the fastest autofocus system cannot be verified it is believable. The AF system is quick, very sensitive and quite accurate, even down to relatively low light-levels. The same cannot be said of the contrast-detection system used in live-view which can take over 4 seconds to lock focus and makes quite a racket will doing so. The remainder of the camera's performance is generally fast except for the delay to review images which stands around 1½ seconds. Shot-to-shot speeds are below average for a high-end DSLR.

Ergonomically the Olympus E-5 is designed with some thought, putting all important controls on external buttons to avoid going through what must be one of the most twisted menu system among modern cameras. With gloves on, certain buttons, particularly EC, are a bit too flush and close together for comfort. In general though, after prolonged familiarity, using this DSLR should become fairly smooth. Our detailed review mentions other user-interface niggles but the only seriously problematic aspect is related to video shooting which borders on the unusable.

The Olympus E-5 is so feature rich that its only direct competitors are the Pentax K-5
Pentax K-5 and its older sibling the K-7
Pentax K-7. Those cameras are physically smaller and lighter while being more durable and even resistant to freezing temperatures. They also have the unique ability to prevent tilted photographs by rotating their sensors to compensate. Excluding image stabilization, the Canon EOS 7D
Canon EOS 7D and Nikon D300S
Nikon D300S can be added to the list of competitors. These cameras, like the K-5, have faster continuous drives with top speeds of 7 or 8 FPS. The Nikon D300S is particularly notable for its 51-point autofocus system which can precisely tracking moving subjects.

Neocamera detailed review Read the full Olympus E-5 review here.