Olympus Micro Four Thirds Overview

Olympus is one of the companies who created the Micro Four Thirds standard and along with Panasonic they are the market leaders in this particular field. (Samsung is technically not a Micro Four Third camera). Apart from being a good camera, Olympus also make beautiful retro looking cameras. If for no other reason this will be why I would consider one of these cameras.

The first model from Olympus that I will mention headlines their brand. The OM-D E-M5 will turn heads and make people who do not know better think you are carrying a right old pro film camera.

It was designed to be a full replacement for a DSLR and at that about 1,400,000 won for just the body it had better be. Its 16.1 mega pixel sensor with a whopping ISO 200-25600 range. My brand new DLSR only goes to 12800 and at maximum you it is terribly grainy. I don’t see how you will get quality images on a smaller sensor at an ISO higher than that. A feature to take note of is the tilting screen. Unfortunately it does not swivel like high end models from other brands, but you will still be able to get interesting angles.

EDIT: I finally made it to an Olympus store to have a look at the product. it is really good looking and the fact that it is lighter than an SLR is nice, but my Cannon 650D, with a rather expensive lens and some freebies did not even cost 1,800,000 won (with a kit lens)

The Olympus E-P3 will cost a little less, but bit it seems to me that this is just a smaller version of the OM-D E-M5. For 1,100,000 won (but I saw a listing as low as 850,000 won) you will be provided with a 12,3 megapixel sensor and an ISO range of 200-12800. For a sensor of this size it seems like a much more reasonable range. In terms of looks it is still rather retro looking, but much more minimalistic and less “pro” looking.

Olympus’s E-PM1 was designed to be the Mini version of the E-P3. It looks very similar with just a few line changes and offers most of the same features, but in a much lighter cheaper package. It is listed in the Olympus store at 750,000 won. (On 17 September 2012 Olympus announced the PM2)

Unfortunately most of the great Retro look is completely lost with this model and it has a rather plastic feel to it, but if you don’t have the extra money to spend, then don’t shy away from buying cheaper camera like this. In the end the lenses and photographer make great photo. The camera body just helps. Use the money you save to get that special lens you would rather be using.

Halfway between the E-P3 and E-PM1 is the E-PL3. At 900,000won it is a bit more expensive, but it fees like a nicer camera in hand. (On 17 September 2012 Olympus announced the PL5)

Comparing the three main cameras directly shows that the OM-D E-M5 is clearly the camera with more features, but there is very little between the two smaller camera. Apart from looks, the E-P3 has a touch screen and a pop up flash, but that is about it.

If I had to choose one of these cameras I would likely go for the the E-PM1. Not so many dials, but the LCD interface still has all you need.