I’m as guilty as anyone for wanting the latest shiny toy. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II was announced this past week and I’ve been hung up ever since with its features and design. The E-M5 Mark II offers a few impressive improvements over its predecessor and I think is a worthy upgrade from the old E-M5 or current E-M10.
However, that doesn’t mean the new E-M5 Mark II is the best bang for your buck at this point in time. If anything, the Mark II proves how great a value the E-M10 camera body remains to be.
For $600, the OM-D E-M10 offers the following features:
- 16 MP sensor
- 3 axis image stabilization
- 1/4000 max shutter speed
- Tiltable rear touch screen
For $1100, the OM-D E-M5 Mark II offers the following features:
- 16 MP sensor
- 5 axis image stabilization
- 1/16000 max shutter speed via electronic shutter
- Articulating rear touch screen
- 40 MP high res shooting mode via a tripod and stationary subject
- Weather sealing
Olympus may brag about a plethora of other benefits of the E-M5 Mark II over the baseline E-M10, but they are all features that don’t apply to everyone all the time.
Despite the above feature comparison, I’m still going to be making the upgrade in the next few months from the E-M10 to the E-M5 Mark II. The E-M5 Mark II offers weather sealing, and the fairly harsh Manitoba climate calls for a camera that can handle as much cold weather as possible. When shooting my sister’s engagement photos a few weeks ago, I noticed the E-M10’s poor reaction to cold temperatures. It only became apparent after an hour of shooting, but it was quite apparent at that point nonetheless.
Realistically, this is the only reason I am making the upgrade. The E-M10 offers every feature I need for shooting all the photos I want to shoot.
Do most people find themselves outdoors in temperatures lower than -20 Celsius for extended periods of time? I’m willing to bet not. So why spend almost twice the money for weather sealing? For the person in the market for a mainstream Micro 4/3 camera, the E-M5 Mark II’s weather sealing (in my opinion) doesn’t warrant the extra $500. If you recognize that you need a more robust camera body, then you’ve probably already made up your mind on the E-M5 Mark II.
With each Olympus camera release, we are reminded how great the OM-D E-M10 remains to be. It continues to offer the same sensors as the higher end OM-D bodies. It set the bar with wifi connectivity and other OM-D bodies are playing catch up. It offers a beautiful electronic viewfinder and a rear touch screen, just like the high end OM-D cameras. And best of all, it’s the same size or smaller than its more expensive brothers.
Until the E-M10 Mark II is released, I think the current OM-D E-M10 is the best camera for the majority of people to buy. It offers tons of high end features in a very small package for the incredibly low price of $600 — essentially half the price of the OM-D E-M5 Mark II.
If you’re in the market for a camera, you still can’t go wrong with the E-M10.