Over the weekend, I had a 3 days 2 nights trip out of the city to Fraser's Hill in Pahang for the international Bird Race 2025 event happening up there. I tagged along the YL Camera team, thanks for having me along and the great hospitality, and of course, the OM System team was also there, and they loaned me the new OM-5 Mark II to play around with during my duration of stay in Fraser's Hill. I took this opportunity to do some nature photography, a little bit of insect macro as well as bird shooting. I will be sharing image samples from the OM-5 Mark II in my coming entries. Here, I just want to divert your attention to my latest video (click here), a hands on preview of the OM-5 Mark II camera, after I have shot with it for a few days.
Here is a short summary of my thoughts on the new OM-5 Mark II camera.
What I like:
- I love the new "sand beige" color of the OM-5 Mark II camera. I thought it looks gorgeous, and it matches the outdoor, adventure theme very well - think of camo, earth tones (brown, green, etc.).
- The camera handling has been improved. Compared to the original OM-5, this OM-5 Mark II has a beefier hand gripping area, which greatly added stability and more secrure and comfortable gripping when handling larger lenses.
- Finally, OM-5 uses the USB-C port, took them a few iterations, but good to see it in the latest camera. It can be used for data transfer, charging battery in camera, webcam setup, or power delivery.
- Reworked menu, which is consistent with the new menu structure from newer OM System cameras (OM-1, OM-1 Mark II and OM-3). The new menu is easier to navigate around with, and definitely more user friendly.
- Core strengths of Micro Four Thirds are still maintained - powerful 5 -Axis Image Stabilization, full weather-sealing, and a host of fun and useful computational photography features like Live ND, Live Composite, Hand-Held High Res Shot, Pro-Capture mode, etc.
What I dislike:
- No more compatibility with FL-LM3 flash. I thought this was a bummer, because I did rely on the tiny FL-LM3 to trigger my off camera external flash wirelessly. Now if I get the OM-5 Mark II, I need to invest in new wireless flash system.
- Basically, the same hardware and internals, very similar overall specifications to the original OM-5 and even the E-M5 Mark III. Same image sensor, which means same image quality output, same features set, same LCD screen and EVF, same autofocus system and capabilities, same 8-bit video, there really isn't any improvement or update when it comes to image quality or camera performance, which honestly is a let down.
- No Ai Subject Detection AF. Any camera at this price point of even cheaper from other manufacturers would have some sort of Ai Subject Detection that greatly improved the AF efficiency in some shooting scenarios. Not having the Ai Subject Detection really does not entice new buyers, as this has become such a common feature for new cameras.
I did ask OM System Malaysia people directly about the tripod base mount issue. I was informed that the base mount area has been strengthened in the original OM-5, to address the fragile/easily breaking off tripod area issue in the E-M5 Mark III. I obviously can't verify this, or to tell you whether the base mount area has truly been improved, but I can share my own experience. I have been shooting with the E-M5 Mark III for many years, making 2 videos per week (my earlier days) and that means, I use the E-M5 Mark III on tripod for hundreds of times over the years. Zero issue with the tripod mount area, it was still perfectly fine and not showing any signs of breaking. I am not invalidating other comments on this issue, I am merely sharing my own experience, which I believe is equally valid. I don't think there are many people out there who use the E-M5 Mark III on a tripod as often as I do.
Having said all that, I genuinely believe there is a place for the OM-5 Mark II in the market. I also think the camera will sell very well. Hear me out.
There really is no alternative out there from other brands, if you consider all available features set built into the OM-5 Mark II. The camera has powerful 5-Axis IS and is fully weather sealed. Any camera from other manufacturer at this price point (USD1200) would either skip the IBIS or does not have weather-sealing. Even if they did (Sony A6700, for example) the 5-Axis IS is nowhere as effective as the one used in the OM-5 Mark II, and certainly the level of sealing reliability won't be close to the IP53 certified rating on the OM-5 Mark II. Add to that, a host of fun computational features like Live ND, Live Composite, Pro Capture mode, Hand-Held High Res Shot, Focus Stacking, many of these features are still currently unique to OM System. Yet all this, packed into a truly compact form factor, something Micro Four Thirds is advantageous at - making small cameras that deliver great results.
OM System should really rework their hardware - they can't keep recusing the same image sensor, EVF, same features set (AF capability) again and again in newer cameras. While I believe the OM-5 Mark II will do well in the market, considering the unique position of having many useful features, the aging hardware will encourage many new buyers to look elsewhere. Even with slight tweaks - better EVF and introduction of AI Subject detection would dramatically change the perception toward the new camera.
How can you call it a new camera, when it uses 95% of the old parts?
I did, however, enjoy my time using the OM-5 Mark II tremendously. I will share images in my coming entries, so stay tuned!
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