Photography Digest

Note: because of the many operational similarities between the E-5 and the E-3, this review does not contain the standard 'body' and 'operation and controls' pages which would normally be found in a dpreview in-depth review. For a full picture of how the E-5 handles, we strongly suggest that you read this review alongside our in-depth review of the E-3, published in 2008.

Taking what could most politely be described as a 'considered' approach to product upgrades, late last year Olympus lifted the curtain on the third generation of its professional SLR, in the form of the much anticipated E-5. Olympus introduced the world to the first Four Thirds camera, the E-1, back in June 2003, and finally got round to updating it with the E-3 four years later.
It is perhaps indicative of where Olympus's priorities lie - or the way the market is headed - that whereas the E-3 took the E-1 back to the drawing board and introduced several new features, the E-5 is probably best described as a warm-over of its predecessor. It's also interesting to note that it benefits from a 'trickle up' of technology from the latest developments in the company's Micro Four Thirds cameras - an unusual situation for what is, effectively, the hero product in the E-system range.
The long delay has caused some wild speculation about the E-5, borne not out of dissatisfaction with the existing model (in fact most E-1 and E-3 users are still happily taking pictures with their 'old' cameras), but, I suspect, out of a need to see Olympus competing with the 'big boys' at this level, and the (related) need for a clear sign that it hasn't abandoned Four Thirds in all the excitement surrounding the mirrorless system.

The E-5 sat here between two of its most obvious competitors (in spec terms): the Nikon D300s and Canon EOS 7D.

At first glance the E-5 (and the lack of any other E-system camera announcements) is unlikely to calm those fears; if anything it confirms that precious little R&D resource is going into the reflex system. Dig a little deeper, however, and you realize that the E-5 is a perfectly sensible upgrade that takes an excellent camera and addresses most all the complaints and offers, according to the marketing blurb, the best image quality ever seen in an Olympus DSLR. It also throws in a nice sprinkling of must-have features (such as 720p movie mode).
The E-5 is, without a doubt, a camera aimed at the Olympus faithful, designed (as described to us) to 'finally offer image quality to match that of Zuiko lenses'. Olympus knows that the E-system lenses are the jewel in its crown and isn't going to abandon that - or its users. The future for Zuiko Digital lens owners might not be a reflex camera (we've had strong hints that a common live view only FT / MFT platform lies ahead), but Four Thirds isn't going away.

Compared to E-3 - key differences

Evolutionary rather than revolutionary, the E-5 is, effectively, an E-3 with a bigger screen, an updated sensor and processor and a few new features. Physically the only changes are a spot of button rearranging (necessitated by the larger area of the screen) and the long-overdue replacement of the redundant xD card slot with an infinitely more useful SD version. Inevitably, after three years there's a lot of feature enhancements, though these are (almost) all lifted from the latest Micro Four Thirds models.
The thing Olympus is really pushing with the E-5 is image quality. It's not a new sensor (from what we can tell this is almost certainly the same as the one in the E-PL1 and E-PL2), but it does sport a redesigned (for which read lighter) Low Pass Filter (with moir� removed by the processor) and a new 'professionally tuned' Image Engine (The TruPic V+). The combination of Zuiko Digital lens, the new sensor and the new processor is claimed to offer image quality better than any 12MP APS-C camera, and, according to Olympus, many with even higher pixel counts.
Let's have a look at the main changes:

• New sensor (12MP vs 10MP Live MOS)
• New TruPic V+ processor (E-3 was TruPic III)
• Large 3.0" 921k vari-angle screen
• Fast Sensor AF (inc Face Detection)
• 720p movie mode (AVI M-JPEG) + Audio recording
• HDMI and Stereo Mic connections
• Art Filters (10, including new Dramatic Tone Filter)
• ISO 6400 top sensitivity (vs E-3's ISO 3200)
• More customization options
• Redesigned color-coded menu system
• New features including Level Gauge in the viewfinder, Multi-exposure, i-Enhance, 7 frame AEB
• SD / CF slots (E-3 was xD / CF)
• New BLM-5 battery (although compatibility is retained with the older PS-BLM1)

Key feature comparison (vs E-3)

Looking at the E-3 and E-5 together it's clear that from a photographic point of view the models share a lot more than they differ, with most of the changes relating to the sensor and to digital features (most of which have already debuted on MFT models). The main physical differences can be seen below - from the front they look almost identical, but round the back the larger, higher resolution screen takes up more space and has meant some buttons have moved (and a couple have gone altogether).

	Olympus E-5	Olympus E-3
Sensor	� 4/3 type Hi-Speed Live MOS � 13.1 million total pixels � 12.3 million effective pixels	� 4/3 type Hi-Speed Live MOS � 11.8 million total pixels � 10.1 million effective pixels
Sensitivity	� ISO 100-6400 � Customizable Auto ISO	� ISO 100-3200 � Customizable Auto ISO
Movie mode	� 720P � 30fps � AVI M-JPEG � Mono sound � External stereo mic connector	No
Processor	TruPic V+	TruPic III
Auto Focus	� 11-point TTL Phase Difference Detection � Automatic or manual point selection � EV -2 to 19 (ISO 100) detection range � AF assist using pop-up flash � Sensor AF (CD-AF) in live view	� 11-point TTL Phase Difference Detection � Automatic or manual point selection � EV -2 to 19 (ISO 100) detection range � AF assist using pop-up flash
AE bracketing	2,3,5 or 7 frames	3 or 5 frames
Scene modes	Yes	No
Art filters	10	No
LCD monitor	�3.0" HyperCrystal TFT LCD monitor (wide viewing angle, semi-transmissive) � Vari-angle (swing and tilt) � 920,000 pixels � 100% frame coverage � 15 step brightness adjustment	� 2.5" HyperCrystal TFT LCD monitor (wide viewing angle, semi-transmissive) � Vari-angle (swing and tilt) � 230,000 pixels � 100% frame coverage � 15 step brightness adjustment
Storage	� SD / SDHC / SDXC) � CF Type I/II	� xD Picture-card � CF I/II
Connectivity	� USB 2.0 (Hi Speed) � Video Out (NTSC / PAL) � IR Remote control (optional) � DC-IN � Remote terminal � PC Sync flash terminal � HDMI � Stereo mic jack	� USB 2.0 (Hi Speed) � Video Out (NTSC / PAL) � IR Remote control (optional) � DC-IN � Remote terminal � PC Sync flash terminal
Other features	� i-Enhance � 2 axis level gauge � Face Detection � Multi exposure mode � Improved customization � Shutter now tested to 150k exposures � Aspect ratio options � Add copyright info
Dimensions	142 x 116 x 75 mm (5.6 x 4.6 x 2.9 in)	142 x 116 x 75 mm (5.6 x 4.6 x 2.9 in)
Weight	813 g (1.8 lb.)	800 g (1.8 lb.

Original Article:www.dpreview.com

Back in 2001, when it was possible to charge $999 for a compact camera, Olympus produced the C-3040Z, C-4040Z and C5050Z which featured some of the brightest zooms to ever appear on such cameras. Sadly, as the years have gone on and prices have dropped, Olympus moved away from this part of the market and it's been a long time since we looked to it for class-leading compacts.
Despite the falling price of entry-level DSLRs and the arrival of their more compact mirrorless competitors, the enthusiast compact sector has seen a resurgence, with Samsung and Nikon weighing-in and Canon going as far as bringing a second model to the melee (the S90 revived the PowerShot 'S' series to sit alongside the company's stalwart G series). Olympus, meanwhile, has remained quiet.
With the launch of the XZ-1 it becomes apparent that Olympus hasn't been sitting idly by - instead it has clearly been watching the sector very closely and has studied the available cameras keenly. The result of this study is an enthusiast compact that takes the best elements of its rivals and synthesizes them into a very attractive package.
There's a bright lens, of course, with the XZ-1 becoming the first of the company's compacts to ever wear its respected 'Zuiko' designation. And it's clear why the company would want to draw attention to the optics, having created the brightest zoom lens of any current compact while still offering a truly useful range. The i.Zuiko lens is F1.8 at the 28mm equivalent end and a still very impressive F2.5 at the 112mm setting.
But the spec doesn't end at the lens - the XZ-1 is built around a high sensitivity 1/1.63" CCD which, along with its peers, makes it one of the larger sensors to appear in a compact camera with a built-in lens. To this it adds two control dials (including an S90-style dial around the lens) and a bright, high-resolution OLED screen. Other high-end highlights include a flash hot shoe and the ability to wirelessly control off-board flashguns. It's hard to imagine what else Olympus could have fitted into the XZ-1's attractive metal-fronted body.

From the front it's clear that the XZ-1 is slightly larger than the two smallest enthusiast compacts (the Panasonic LX5 and Canon S95). It's about the same size as Samsung's EX1/TL 500, making it much more conveniently sized than the larger Canon G12 or Nikon P7000.
The top-down view emphasizes the dimensional differences between the three cameras and also shows the flash hot shoe.

Olympus XZ-1 specification highlights:

• High Sensitivity 10MP CCD sensor
• 28-112mm equivalent lens
• F1.8-2.5 maximum aperture
• CCD-shift image stabilization
• Twin control dials, including one around the lens
• ISO 100-6400
• New TruPic V processor (as used in the company's PEN series)
• Large 3.0" 621k (VGA equivalent) OLED display
• 720p movie mode (30 fps in Motion JPEG format)
• Micro HDMI connector
• 6 Art Filters (As per the PEN series)
• In-camera RAW conversion
• Built-in flash, hotshoe and remote flash control
• Built-in ND filter
  

That lens in context:

The super-bright F1.8-2.5 lens does more than let you keep the ISO settings down in low light. It also allows a surprising degree of control over depth-of-field. It's sometimes hard to work out how much or little depth-of-field a lens will produce, thanks to differing sensor sizes (and the unclear manner in which they are often designated), but the key factors are the physical size of the aperture and the angle-of-view.
In this instance, at the long end of its zoom, the XZ-1 has an aperture with a diameter of 9.6mm at 112mm equivalent, which compares favorably to the 9.8mm maximum aperture at the 83mm equivalent of a typical APS-C 18-55 F3.5-5.6 kit lens. It means the XZ-1 should give at least as blurred a background and do so at something much closer to the traditional portrait focal length. Furthermore it means the XZ-1 should give greater control over depth-of-field than a Micro Four Thirds kit lens, since they tend to offer 7.5mm at 84mm equivalent.
All-in-all, it means the XZ-1 offers similar control over depth-of-field and a more flexible focal length range than most DSLRs or mirrorless cameras with their kit lenses, making it a competitive alternative unless you plan to buy additional lenses.

Original Article:www.dpreview.com

Note: because of the many operational similarities between the E-5 and the E-3, this review does not contain the standard 'body' and 'operation and controls' pages which would normally be found in a dpreview in-depth review. For a full picture of how the E-5 handles, we strongly suggest that you read this review alongside our in-depth review of the E-3, published in 2008.

Taking what could most politely be described as a 'considered' approach to product upgrades, late last year Olympus lifted the curtain on the third generation of its professional SLR, in the form of the much anticipated E-5. Olympus introduced the world to the first Four Thirds camera, the E-1, back in June 2003, and finally got round to updating it with the E-3 four years later.
It is perhaps indicative of where Olympus's priorities lie - or the way the market is headed - that whereas the E-3 took the E-1 back to the drawing board and introduced several new features, the E-5 is probably best described as a warm-over of its predecessor. It's also interesting to note that it benefits from a 'trickle up' of technology from the latest developments in the company's Micro Four Thirds cameras - an unusual situation for what is, effectively, the hero product in the E-system range.
The long delay has caused some wild speculation about the E-5, borne not out of dissatisfaction with the existing model (in fact most E-1 and E-3 users are still happily taking pictures with their 'old' cameras), but, I suspect, out of a need to see Olympus competing with the 'big boys' at this level, and the (related) need for a clear sign that it hasn't abandoned Four Thirds in all the excitement surrounding the mirrorless system.

The E-5 sat here between two of its most obvious competitors (in spec terms): the Nikon D300s and Canon EOS 7D.

At first glance the E-5 (and the lack of any other E-system camera announcements) is unlikely to calm those fears; if anything it confirms that precious little R&D resource is going into the reflex system. Dig a little deeper, however, and you realize that the E-5 is a perfectly sensible upgrade that takes an excellent camera and addresses most all the complaints and offers, according to the marketing blurb, the best image quality ever seen in an Olympus DSLR. It also throws in a nice sprinkling of must-have features (such as 720p movie mode).
The E-5 is, without a doubt, a camera aimed at the Olympus faithful, designed (as described to us) to 'finally offer image quality to match that of Zuiko lenses'. Olympus knows that the E-system lenses are the jewel in its crown and isn't going to abandon that - or its users. The future for Zuiko Digital lens owners might not be a reflex camera (we've had strong hints that a common live view only FT / MFT platform lies ahead), but Four Thirds isn't going away.

Compared to E-3 - key differences

Evolutionary rather than revolutionary, the E-5 is, effectively, an E-3 with a bigger screen, an updated sensor and processor and a few new features. Physically the only changes are a spot of button rearranging (necessitated by the larger area of the screen) and the long-overdue replacement of the redundant xD card slot with an infinitely more useful SD version. Inevitably, after three years there's a lot of feature enhancements, though these are (almost) all lifted from the latest Micro Four Thirds models.
The thing Olympus is really pushing with the E-5 is image quality. It's not a new sensor (from what we can tell this is almost certainly the same as the one in the E-PL1 and E-PL2), but it does sport a redesigned (for which read lighter) Low Pass Filter (with moir� removed by the processor) and a new 'professionally tuned' Image Engine (The TruPic V+). The combination of Zuiko Digital lens, the new sensor and the new processor is claimed to offer image quality better than any 12MP APS-C camera, and, according to Olympus, many with even higher pixel counts.
Let's have a look at the main changes:

• New sensor (12MP vs 10MP Live MOS)
• New TruPic V+ processor (E-3 was TruPic III)
• Large 3.0" 921k vari-angle screen
• Fast Sensor AF (inc Face Detection)
• 720p movie mode (AVI M-JPEG) + Audio recording
• HDMI and Stereo Mic connections
• Art Filters (10, including new Dramatic Tone Filter)
• ISO 6400 top sensitivity (vs E-3's ISO 3200)
• More customization options
• Redesigned color-coded menu system
• New features including Level Gauge in the viewfinder, Multi-exposure, i-Enhance, 7 frame AEB
• SD / CF slots (E-3 was xD / CF)
• New BLM-5 battery (although compatibility is retained with the older PS-BLM1)

Key feature comparison (vs E-3)

Looking at the E-3 and E-5 together it's clear that from a photographic point of view the models share a lot more than they differ, with most of the changes relating to the sensor and to digital features (most of which have already debuted on MFT models). The main physical differences can be seen below - from the front they look almost identical, but round the back the larger, higher resolution screen takes up more space and has meant some buttons have moved (and a couple have gone altogether).

	Olympus E-5	Olympus E-3
Sensor	� 4/3 type Hi-Speed Live MOS � 13.1 million total pixels � 12.3 million effective pixels	� 4/3 type Hi-Speed Live MOS � 11.8 million total pixels � 10.1 million effective pixels
Sensitivity	� ISO 100-6400 � Customizable Auto ISO	� ISO 100-3200 � Customizable Auto ISO
Movie mode	� 720P � 30fps � AVI M-JPEG � Mono sound � External stereo mic connector	No
Processor	TruPic V+	TruPic III
Auto Focus	� 11-point TTL Phase Difference Detection � Automatic or manual point selection � EV -2 to 19 (ISO 100) detection range � AF assist using pop-up flash � Sensor AF (CD-AF) in live view	� 11-point TTL Phase Difference Detection � Automatic or manual point selection � EV -2 to 19 (ISO 100) detection range � AF assist using pop-up flash
AE bracketing	2,3,5 or 7 frames	3 or 5 frames
Scene modes	Yes	No
Art filters	10	No
LCD monitor	�3.0" HyperCrystal TFT LCD monitor (wide viewing angle, semi-transmissive) � Vari-angle (swing and tilt) � 920,000 pixels � 100% frame coverage � 15 step brightness adjustment	� 2.5" HyperCrystal TFT LCD monitor (wide viewing angle, semi-transmissive) � Vari-angle (swing and tilt) � 230,000 pixels � 100% frame coverage � 15 step brightness adjustment
Storage	� SD / SDHC / SDXC) � CF Type I/II	� xD Picture-card � CF I/II
Connectivity	� USB 2.0 (Hi Speed) � Video Out (NTSC / PAL) � IR Remote control (optional) � DC-IN � Remote terminal � PC Sync flash terminal � HDMI � Stereo mic jack	� USB 2.0 (Hi Speed) � Video Out (NTSC / PAL) � IR Remote control (optional) � DC-IN � Remote terminal � PC Sync flash terminal
Other features	� i-Enhance � 2 axis level gauge � Face Detection � Multi exposure mode � Improved customization � Shutter now tested to 150k exposures � Aspect ratio options � Add copyright info
Dimensions	142 x 116 x 75 mm (5.6 x 4.6 x 2.9 in)	142 x 116 x 75 mm (5.6 x 4.6 x 2.9 in)
Weight	813 g (1.8 lb.)	800 g (1.8 lb.

Original Article:www.dpreview.com