X

Olympus OM-D E-M5 photo samples and analysis

The E-M5's photos aren't quite up to the quality of some other cameras in its class, especially for JPEG shooters.

Lori Grunin
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
Lori Grunin
35133169_SIC1_620.jpg
1 of 13 Matthew Fitzgerald/CNET

Noise profile

As with the NEX-7, most of my issues with Olympus' images are with the JPEG processing rather than the noise profile. You can see the noise reduction kick in aggressively between ISO 200 and ISO 400 (compare the text under the bill).
35133169_SIC7_620-200-red.jpg
2 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

Reds

The E-M5 handles bright, saturated colors very well in both raw and JPEG; even just the red channel of this image doesn't look blown out, thereby preserving detail in highlight areas, as I see with a lot of cameras. Olympus also defaults to a neutral color profile and generally delivers saturated but still quite accurate colors.

(1/200 sec, f11, ISO 200, AWB, spot metering, Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 lens at 35mm)
35133169_SIC8_620-200-sharp.jpg
3 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

Sharpening

Here's an example of Olympus' aggressive default sharpening. It's also so broadly applied that it tries to force areas that perhaps aren't in focus into relief. This is both a blessing and a curse; photos that might otherwise have been a little too soft become usably sharp, but in-focus shots look oversharpened.

(1/250 sec, f6.3, ISO 200, AWB, spot metering, Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 lens at 35mm)
35133169_SIC6_620-200-lat.jpg
4 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

Highlight recovery

The camera's sensor does a pretty good job preserving detail in blown-out areas. Shadowed areas, however, can't be easily recovered without introducing a substantial amount of color noise, regardless of ISO sensitivity.

(1/100 sec, f6.3, ISO 200, AWB, spot metering, Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 lens at 35mm)
35133169_SIC4_620-400.jpg
5 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

ISO 400

By ISO 400 I saw a lot of clipping and contouring in shadow areas, plus the occasional hot pixel from the image processing.

(1/100 sec, f1.8, ISO 400, AWB, spot metering, Olympus 45mm f1.8 lens)
35133169_SIC5_620-400-rawjpg.jpg
6 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

ISO 400, raw vs. JPEG

At ISO 400, you lose an incredible amount of detail in textures because of the noise suppression. Given that ISO 400 is just one stop up from the base of ISO 200, it makes using JPEG a problem.

(1/80 sec, f5, ISO 400, AWB, spot metering, Olympus 45mm f1.8 lens)
35133169_SIC4_620-800.jpg
7 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

ISO 800

The evening sky doesn't have quite as smooth a tone as I'd like at ISO 800, but it's not too bad.

(1/60 sec, f7.1, ISO 800, AWB, spot metering, Olympus 45mm f1.8 lens)
35133169_SIC3_620-1600rawjpg.jpg
8 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

ISO 1600, raw vs. JPEG

With JPEGs, I wouldn't shoot above ISO 800; ISO 200 if you're really picky about detail. But you can probably go as high as ISO 1600 for decently lit shots -- there's too much clipping in the shadows on dark images to recommend this camera for midrange ISO sensitivities, though.

(1/60 sec, f6, ISO 1600, AWB, spot metering, Olympus 12-50mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 43mm)
35133169_SIC9_620-1600-nonr.jpg
9 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

ISO 1600, no noise reduction

The E-M5 has generally fine-grained noise.

(1/60 sec, f6, ISO 1600, AWB, spot metering, Olympus 12-50mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 43mm)
35133169_SIC3_620-3200.jpg
10 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

ISO 3200

By ISO 3200, I couldn't get any images, raw or JPEG, that I'd consider usable at full size. Viewed at 50 percent or smaller, though, they look OK.

(1/60 sec, f8, ISO 1600, AWB, spot metering, Olympus 12-50mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 43mm)
35133169_SIC2_620-6400.jpg
11 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

ISO 6400

ISO 6400 shots show artifacts even when viewed or scaled to 50 percent; they're OK at about a third of the original size.

(1/40 sec, f6.3, ISO 3200, AWB, spot metering, Olympus 12-50mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 50mm)
35133169_SIC10_620-vid-dusk.jpg
12 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

Video

Though shot at dusk, this video grab gives a fairly representative idea of what the E-M5's video tonality looks like, including the somewhat cool white balance.
35133169_SIC11_620-vid-dark.jpg
13 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

Video

I like the general visual quality of the E-M5's night video, but it suffers from the same problems as the stills: you can see the noise suppression artifacts.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos