Olympus OM-D E-M5 in the flesh, sample photos!

We got a pre-production unit of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 this morning and have been testing it all day with much gusto. Check out our live photos and sample shots taken with the camera after the jump.

Having owned and used the Olympus PEN E-P3 for several months now, I was kind of excited to see what the Olympus OM-D E-M5 brings to an already great line-up of impressive Olympus PEN series. After un-boxing a pre-production unit early this morning and taking a few sample shots, I was glad the OM-D did not disappoint. I am told that this unit still has some bugs so I’ll be more forgiving.

On the outside, the OM-D has that very solid feel, quite heavy for its size actually. It’s got that retro look with sharp lines and matte metal finish.

The OM-D borrowed some nice features from the E-PL3 and the EP-3 like the tilt-able LCD screen, the full capacitive touch display and an attachable electronic viewfinder. The Art filters and Scene modes are there as well.

There’s a proximity sensor that detects if your eyes is near the viewfinder and turns off the display screen.

If you’ve used a dSLR before, the interface and buttons of the OM-D will be familiar while the extra ones will show self-explanatory symbols. In any case, you should be able to learn how to properly navigate the camera after several minutes of familiarizing with the control and the menu.

The OM-D comes with an M.ZUIKO Digital ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ as part of the kit lens. It’s a pretty good lens for walk-around and some macro shots. The lens can do multi-speed powered zooming or can be set at manual zoom.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 specs:
16.05-megapixel new Live MOS Sensor
TruePic VI image processing engine
9.2 fps fast sequential shooting
ISO 200 – 25600 (customisable, default ISO 200 – 1600)
1/4000 – 60 seconds shutter speed
Evolved Art Filters
3.0-inch swivel-type OLED monitor, capacitive touchscreen panel with fast response
Full-HD (MOV) movie recording function

So I took as many sample photos I can get during the day (in between meetings and events). Here are some samples while the rest of the original ones I uploaded in Picasa here.

Was also able to get a quick full HD video recording at around 5:30 in the afternoon while inside a moving car.

Was able to do a more proper video recording (hand-held) this time. The E-M5 pretty much handles autofocus smoothly when zooming in and out of the subject.

I wish I could get samples using the OM-D but I only have an overnight chance to use this camera. Despite the very limited time, I was thoroughly impressed with the performance and photo/video quality of the EM5.

According to our source the price of the body is Php59,900USD 1,021INR 86,532EUR 972CNY 7,434 while the one with the 12-50mm kit lens Php65,900USD 1,123INR 95,199EUR 1,070CNY 8,178. The camera will be available in the Philippines this April 2012.

See more shots of the OM-D E-M5 below:

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