Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Could this be the best Olympus camera to date?

Olympus PEN E-P5 review
Editor's Choice
The Olympus PEN E-P5 is a CSC with Wi-Fi

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

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There's plenty of detail captured by the Olympus PEN E-P5 - look out for the fine detail of the hair in this shot. Colours are nice and vibrant, without displaying too much saturation.

Olympus PEN E-P5 review

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The standard kit lens offers an equivalent focal length of 28-84mm, making it a good walkaround lens.

Olympus PEN E-P5 review

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The Olympus PEN E-P5 uses the same sensor as the excellent Olympus OM-D, making it capable of resolving plenty of detail. This was taken with a 60mm f/2.8 macro lens, which we've also found to be a fantastic performer.

Olympus PEN E-P5 review

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Because of its small size (compared with a DSLR), cameras like the Olympus PEN E-P5 are good for street photography. This was taken with a 12mm lens, which offers an equivalent focal length of 24mm, making it ideal for this kind of work.

Olympus PEN E-P5 review

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Micro Four Thirds cameras have the widest range of proprietary optics of all the compact system cameras. Panasonic lenses can also be used with Olympus cameras - this was shot using the Panasonic 7-14mm lens. Third party lenses are also available.

Olympus PEN E-P5 review

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The Olympus PEN E-P5's tilting screen is useful when you want to shoot from awkward angles. This was shot with the camera on the floor and the screen angled upwards to compose the shot.

Olympus PEN E-P5 review

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Colours straight from the Olympus PEN E-P5 are natural, without being overly saturated. You can experiment with different contrasts and saturations with different Picture modes, or create your own for complete control.

Olympus PEN E-P5 review

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Using lenses with a wide aperture, such as the Olympus 12mm f/2.0 lens, enables you to get creative with shallow depth of field effects.

Olympus PEN E-P5 review

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As well as a number of different art filters, you can also shoot with a simple monochrome setting for a more classic look.

Art filters

Olympus has become well known for its wide range of digital filters. The E-P5 includes 12 different filters, with most of these being customisable to bring that total up higher.

Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Dramatic Tone - colour

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Pop Art

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Soft Focus

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Pale and Light Color

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Light Tone

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Grainy Film

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Pinhole - standard with frame

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Diorama - miniature

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Cross Process - standard

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Gentle Sepia

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Key Line

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Olympus PEN E-P5 review

Watercolor

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Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar.